Metrics

Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the first quarter of 2019. Key points include:

The Center for Active Design will release Fitwel v2.1 in June of 2019. Promoting the creation of facilities that optimize health, Fitwel was developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the Center for Active Design acting as its licensed operator. The updated version of Fitwel includes a new construction pathway for pre-occupancy and post-occupancy projects and now provides both a Design Certification and a Built Certification. Existing facilities will continue to be eligible for certification in the Built category.

Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the fourth quarter of 2018. Key points include:

Too many expensive new science buildings are failing to meet their critical operational requirements. The number one cause of this costly and damaging outcome is a common yet preventable gap between 'build' and 'operate' that results in post-construction O&M staffing being too little, too late, and unprepared. But wait, there’s an algorithm for that!

Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the second quarter of 2018. Key points include:

Construction price escalation nationally has trended to 4 percent per annum for the second quarter of 2018. Due to consistent increases in construction costs over the past few years, the long-term trend for the Vermeulens Index is up to 3.4 percent from 3.3 percent.  

Built On Vision released a cloud-based construction schedule calculation engine in August of 2018. The project management software utilizes a proprietary smart algorithm that resolves a problem of similar applications related to imprecise time unit measurements. Instead of using only the hour or the day as the calculation base, Built On Vision allows users the ability to shape schedule unit fraction behavior so that event sequences can be accurately understood and planned for, enabling greater project delivery optimization, as well as legal defensibility.

London Health Sciences Centre is utilizing Honeywell Vector Space Sense to optimize facility utilization and reduce operational costs. The software solution shows where, when, and how spaces are being used at any given point in time, enabling the operations team to make informed real estate and space allocation decisions. London Health Sciences Centre is a hospital network in Ontario with 15,000 employees occupying 1.9 million square feet.

Saint-Gobain, a leading manufacturer of innovative building materials, has released the results of an occupant comfort study for its new North American headquarters in Malvern, Pa., a facility that has attained double LEED Platinum certification. Developed in partnership with the University of Oregon’s High Performance Environments Lab (HiPE), the longitudinal study revealed that a systems-based design approach utilizing multiple solutions and strategies can have a stronger collective impact on a building’s ability to optimize occupant comfort.

Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the fourth quarter of 2017. Key points include:

The American National Standards Institute published APPA 1000-1 in January of 2018, creating the first national standard for Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in the United States. The standard identifies and defines the foundational elements and the structure required to implement TCO principles for facilities. It is essential that the entire cost of purchasing and owning a building through its lifetime is understood by all stakeholders, especially before finalizing design plans for new construction.

Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the third quarter of 2017. Key points include:

Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the second quarter of 2017. Key points include:

Construction prices increased an average of 6 percent in 2016, as energy and commodity prices remained at levels not seen since the 1990s, due in large part to the strength of the U.S. dollar. Five consecutive years of above-average cost escalation has driven the construction cost trendline to 3.3 percent. Price increases are attributed to robust construction activity allowing contractors to increase their margins as demand grows. The construction sector is also reaching full employment levels, which is expected to drive wage increases in the near to mid-term.

Non-residential construction spending has dropped 6 percent since the beginning of 2016. This reduction was offset by a nearly equal increase in infrastructure spending and steady residential construction. Increases in construction prices for 2016 are now trending towards 6 percent annually, depending on location, while job growth saw a slight up-tick with an average of 192,000 jobs added per month in the third quarter of 2016 versus the 171,000 jobs per month averaged in the first half of the year.

It can be hard to know whether a building initiative is meeting the mark by looking at anecdotal feedback about what worked and what didn’t. Pre- and post-occupancy data make it possible to evaluate the success of a design strategy. Studies indicate that the new Center for the Sciences & Innovation (CSI) at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, is attracting more students from all departments to the building, boosting integration between science and non-science majors, and increasing interest in STEM studies among incoming students at a rate of 50 percent.