News

New Construction Starts in December Rebound 12 Percent; Annual Total for 2017 Advances 3 Percent to $745.9 Billion   NEW YORK – January 25, 2018 – New construction starts in December climbed 12% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $733.3 billion, bouncing back following November’s 12% decline, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. December’s gain for total construction reflected varied improvement by each of the three main construction sectors. Nonbuilding construction (public works and electric utilities/gas plants) jumped 43%, lifted by the start of the $2.3 billion I-66 Corridor Improvements Project in northern Virginia. Nonresidential building rose 10%, aided...

The new urbanscape UCLA’s cityLAB works to engineer changes in the role of physical spaces Matt Harbicht/UCLA Magazine Architecture Professor Dana Cuff — cityLAB’s founder — in front of a reimagined Broxton Avenue in Westwood Village. For a few weeks in the spring of 2015, in a patio behind UCLA’s Broad Art Center in the northeast corner of campus, stood a new building. It wasn’t a classroom or a lecture hall. It was a house. Just 350 square feet, with a frame of two-by-fours and bent metal poles wrapped in translucent plastic sheeting, the house was aggressively unconventional — in...

With renewed vigor, UCLA’S William Andrews Clark Memorial Library reopens The building was closed for two years for seismic retrofitting and renovations Reed Hutchinson/UCLA The reopened UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library has undergone an extensive seismic retrofit and brought into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. UCLA’s William Andrews Clark Memorial Library is ready for the future. The archival and architectural treasure is home to the university’s renowned collection of rare books and manuscripts from England’s Tudor period through the 18th century, including the world’s largest repository of materials related to Oscar Wilde. After being closed for more...

Downshift in growth expected for the nation and California, says latest UCLA Anderson Forecast Travis Wise/flickr The forecast for California notes that the housing market could be dampened by the new U.S. tax bill that is expected to become law, which would reduce economic growth in the state. UCLA Anderson Forecast’s final quarterly report for 2017 presents a somewhat mixed outlook, as the United States awaits the outcomes of a number of initiatives and proposals that could affect the economy. For the nation, the near-term outlook is optimistic, anticipating a 3 percent growth in the economy, thanks to strong equipment...

Program Mixes Creativity, Construction SACRA stands for the Society for the Advancement of Construction-Related Arts. It's a partnership between the Albright-Knox's Innovation Lab and Assembly House 150 — an experimental art and architecture space in Buffalo. The 15-week program helps students develop construction skills, build confidence, and discover their own creativity through various projects. Participants are referred to the program through the Erie County Department of Social Services. They are learning skills to help them enter and succeed in the workforce, while also addressing the need for skilled carpenters and woodworkers. Two students in the program already have jobs lined...