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Amazon’s mini rainforest work space spheres are opening in Seattle After seven years of planning and construction, Amazon’s mini rainforest spheres are finally opening in Seattle. “The Spheres,” as they’re known, hold 40,000 plants from 30 different countries around the world. They were designed as places employees can go to take a break or meet up with others away from their desks. The spheres also feature living walls, which are vertical gardens with over 25,000 plants woven into 4,000 square feet of mesh. The structure is made of three connected spheres constructed from glass and steel, and, as reported by...

Trump steel tariffs will make construction, infrastructure projects more expensive The proposed steel and aluminum tariffs President Trump announced last week made domestic steel and aluminum mills very happy. But the potential shift in metal prices has many industries, including construction, expecting higher costs, and may also impact infrastructure spending across the nation. In a study released yesterday, the D.C.-based Trade Partnership, an economic consulting group, projected that 28,000 jobs would be lost in the construction industry alone due to the tariffs. Last Thursday, President Trump proposed imposing a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff...

BMO building new 'urban campus' at corner of Yonge and Dundas The Bank of Montreal is building a new 346,000 square foot “urban campus” at the southwest corner of Yonge and Dundas streets. The four-story building will be located above an existing Nordstrom at the former home of a Sears department store that closed in 2014. Once completed, the bank says the building will be home to 3,500 employees. It will feature “advanced digital technology, natural light through a four-storey atrium and collaborative workspaces,” according to BMO. “It is new progressive workplace right here in the heart of Canada’s most...

What We Will Lose When the Union Carbide Building Falls The Union Carbide building, on Park Avenue in New York City, soon after its completion in 1961. It is now the headquarters for JPMorgan Chase, which plans to demolish it. Credit Archive Photos/Getty Images To paraphrase the famous Blackglama fur advertisements: What becomes a landmark most? Is a building a landmark of architectural design or of architectural taste? Or is it the role it plays in a city’s memory as an embodiment of a set of cultural, economic and political values? The Union Carbide building, now the headquarters of JPMorgan...

Framing up resources: Home Show to feature dozens of building-related vendors PETOSKEY — Whether they’re seeking construction resources for a new home or looking to improve on their existing residence, visitors to the 42nd annual Northern Michigan Home Show can learn about a number of products and services available for the project. The event, presented by the Home Builders Association of Northern Michigan, is planned for Friday and Saturday, March 9 and 10, in North Central Michigan College’s Student and Community Resource Center. Hours for the Home Show will be 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on March 9, and 9 a.m.-5 p.m....