Target Center’s green roof controls stormwater runoff
July 1st, 2010
By Adam Regn Arvidson Green roofs are all about the cross-section. Building one is like making a giant sandwich, with different layers of materials serving different purposes. In most cases, geotextile fabrics play a prominent role in green roofs, beginning with the roof membrane itself. Atop the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis (home of the […]
Water bank stores stormwater underground
July 1st, 2010
Geosynthetic materials play a major role in new underground stormwater detention system. By Terence G. Sheridan Stormwater management is an ever-increasing expense on site development projects. Stormwater detention ponds are designed to protect against downstream flooding and environmental degradation. The standard of practice is to ensure that post-development flow from a site does not exceed […]
Shade canopies benefit Arizona campus plaza
July 1st, 2010
Phoenix-based architects Studio Ma, has a track record of successfully improving life for Arizona State University (ASU) students at the Tempe campus. Besides completely redesigning a student union building that dates to the early 1950s (by upgrading the facility and adding classrooms to create the award-winning Memorial Union), Studio Ma reworked the ASU Bookstore to […]
Sun valleys and cable-membrane roof define Shanghai’s Expo Boulevard
July 1st, 2010
By Zou Bin Taking center stage at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is Expo Boulevard, a 1km-long and 110m-wide north-south transportation axis that extends from Riverside Expo Park to Yaohua Road and serves as the main entrance to the Expo complex’s main pavilions. In addition to its traffic and transportation function, the three-level boulevard […]
Architecture students design vertical exhibition center
July 1st, 2010
By Bruce N. Wright Following their professor’s quirky challenge in a construction class, architecture students Jan-Frederik Flor and Ernesto Viquez Alas designed an exhibition hall to fit into a 10-story fabric-clad tower overlooking a San Jose, Costa Rica, city lake. The result is a strikingly dynamic and energetic structure that utilizes the strength of a […]