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Welcome to the premiere issue of the electronic version of Building Sciences!
The National Institute of Building Sciences is going green. With this new, monthly e-newsletter, we hope to provide you with the relevant information you need about Institute activities and industry news in a timely, cost-effective format. This April issue should catch you up on all of the Institute’s news since our last printed issue in December. Future monthly issues will be streamlined to keep you in touch with current news and information.
Going green with our newsletter is just one of many changes we are putting into place to position the Institute as “an authoritative source of innovative solutions for the built environment.” We welcome your suggestions and feedback, so let us know what you think. And, if you think your colleagues might have an interest in this newsletter, please pass it on.
Sincerely,
Henry L. Green, Hon. AIA
President
Happy Earth Day!
  Get Moy, Chairman of the Institute’s High-Performance Building Council,
talks with Luis Luna, Professional Staff Member for the U.S. Senate Committee on
Environment and Public Works, during the 2009 U.S. Senate Earth Day Eco Roadshow in Washington, D.C. More than 50 organizations attended the event, which helped educate Senate staff and the public about green services and green products. The Institute provided handouts about high-performance buildings, building enclosure technology, and the High Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition, of which
the Institute is a member.
Building Industry Urges Congress to Support Economic Stimulus
Economic recovery must include policies focused on building construction. That’s the message building industry representatives sent in a letter to Congressional leaders earlier this year. The letter, which represented 28 building industry organizations and the National Institute of Building Sciences, urged Congress to support programs that will renovate federal buildings, modernize schools and create more affordable housing.
Read the letter and view a complete list of the 28 building industry organizations.
Welcome to the "New Kids" in Town
 American
Institute of Architects (AIA) Executive Vice President/CEO Christine McEntee
(right) and Building Owners and Managers Association President and Chief
Operating Officer Henry Chamberlain (second from left) welcome new National
Institute of Building Sciences President Henry Green (second right) and his
wife, Angela (left), to the Washington, D.C., community. AIA and BOMA co-hosted
a reception in honor of the Greens, who moved from Michigan to lead the
Institute.
Institute Touches Base with Code Council
The National Institute of Building Sciences team listens while International Code Council Senior Vice President of Member Services Michael Armstrong (right) talks about a potential joint project between the two organizations. The Institute is reaching out to
building industry associations and others to discuss opportunities to work together on different program activities. Pictured from left: Institute Vice President of Building Seismic Safety Council/Multihazard Mitigation Council Claret Heider, Institute President Henry Green, Institute Vice President Earle Kennett, Council Vice President David Karmol, Council Government Relations Senior Vice President Sara Yerkes and Armstrong.
Call for Institute Board Nominations
The National Institute of Building Sciences Board Nominations Committee is soliciting candidates to be considered for election to positions on the Institute’s Board of Directors. The three-year terms begin in December 2009. People may nominate one or more candidates, but a separate nomination form must be completed for each. In preparing the election ballot, the Board Nominations Committee will give equal consideration to single and multiple nominations. Membership in the Institute is not a requirement for nomination or election. Nominations must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, July 24.
Download the nomination form
(Word).
World Trade Center Recommendations Committee Talks
Tactics
The World Trade Center (WTC) Recommendations Committee discussed strategy at its most recent meeting, held March 9, in Washington, D.C. After the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published its WTC investigation report, the National Institute of Building Sciences Multihazard Mitigation Council organized the WTC Recommendations Committee to translate those findings into the model building codes. At its latest meeting, the committee discussed the best way to address the remaining WTC recommendations. Representatives from the International Code Council (ICC) Ad Hoc Committee on Terrorism Resistant Buildings and the ICC Code Technology Committee briefed the group on their activities. The meeting wrapped up with a discussion of ongoing standards development activities. The WTC Recommendations Committee is expected to continue its work throughout the current ICC code development cycle.
Almost Done
─ NEHRP Provisions Update
Committee Close to Finalizing 2009 Edition
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The Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) Provisions Update Committee (PUC) held what is expected to be its last meeting before it finalizes the 2009 edition of the
NEHRP (National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program) Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures. The meeting, held March 26-27, in Washington, D.C., concludes a
five-year project to update the 2003 edition of the NEHRP Recommended Provisions for re-issuance. Attendees debated comments received on a recently completed BSSC member organization ballot. The committee substantively modified four proposals for change, which will be re-balloted to the BSSC member organizations over the next six weeks. This is the last ballot to be conducted this cycle. Any comments that cannot be resolved will be addressed during the next update, planned for 2009-2014. Delivery of the final product to the project’s sponsor, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is scheduled for late summer.
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Provisions Update Committee (PUC) member C.B. Crouse, of the URS
Corporation, discusses a ballot comment during the PUC meeting in
Washington, D.C.
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Transforming VA Healthcare Facilities in the New Millennium
A draft report to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) could help VA move healthcare facilities into the 21st century. Last year, VA asked the National Institute of Building Sciences to coordinate its exploration for a new paradigm to provide a new generation of high-performance, sustainable healthcare environments for the changing population of veterans. The Institute organized a task group to develop a draft report, which the Institute submitted to VA in January 2009. The report includes specific recommendations, incorporating the latest technologies, to develop and implement comprehensive and innovative solutions for new and renovated healthcare facilities. The recommendations will enable VA to establish the most effective
and efficient healthcare facility system for veterans, based on anticipated needs
and state-of-the-art tecnology. more
 High Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition Convenes
Doug Read (second from left), Program Director of Government Affairs at the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and High Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition (HPBCCC) Chair, discusses an upcoming Coalition briefing on Capitol Hill. The Coalition hosts a series of monthly briefings to educate Congress about high-performance building.
Get
Energized about High Performance Buildings
The National High Performance Building Conference® debuts at this year’s Ecobuild® conference, December 7-10, in Washington, D.C. This new, co-located conference includes meetings, roundtable discussions, seminars, workshops and product exhibits. Sessions will cover federal high performance building policies and industry developments.
more
New Agreement Will Advance Education in the Building Sciences
 The
National Institute of Building Sciences and AEC Science and Technology,
LLC signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) this week to make the Institute the exclusive high-level sponsor of Ecobuild America, the conference AEC produces each December in Washington, D.C. The Institute has been a co-sponsor of Ecobuild America for years, but this is the first time the Institute will be lead sponsor and hold its Annual Meeting in tandem with the event.
more
 National
Institute of Building Sciences President Henry Green (right) and AEC Science and Technology
Principal George Borkovich sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to make the Institute the exclusive high-level sponsor of Ecobuild America.
This is
a Test...of the AECOO-1 Testbed
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Architects, engineers, construction, owners and operators (AECOO) put interoperability to the test at the National Building Museum March 26. Industry representatives validated the latest experiment in information exchange with the AECOO-1 Testbed Demonstration, the culmination of a nine-month effort to increase interoperability within the buildings and capital facilities professions.
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Steve
Hagan, FAIA, Project Knowledge Center, Property Development Division at the U.S.
General Services Administration, discusses the merits of building
information
modeling for energy and cost relationships
during the AECOO Testbed
demonstration. |
Organizations to Look at BIM for Cost Engineering,
Estimating
Projects
Building-related organizations want to find out if building information modeling (BIM) can make cost engineering and estimating practices more efficient. Officials from eight organizations signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to develop processes to more accurately estimate facility lifecycle costs. The organizations will form teams under the sponsorship of the buildingSMART alliance™ (a council of the National Institute of Building Sciences), to see if BIM can solve cost engineering and estimating problems. Positive results could lead to new candidate standards for the National Building Information Modeling Standard.
Read
the full story.
FEDCon® '08: The Highlights
FEDCon '08 gave attendees an idea of what federal construction activity is budgeted and expected to occur in the 2009 fiscal year. Eight senior federal agency managers delivered presentations during the event, referencing billions of dollars of projected activity. Agencies included the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, U.S. Air Force, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Transportation.
Get the highlights.
Learn about FEDCon '09.
Recovery Act Funding for School Facilities
The National Institute of Building Sciences National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF) is helping to raise awareness of how the new stimulus package affects schools. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) can benefit school facilities with funding sources and new tax credit bonds to finance school construction, modernization and repair.
more
Dept. of Education Talks Stimulus Bill Implementation
The National Institute of Building Sciences recently attended a briefing on the implementation of the U.S. Department of Education's portion of the federal stimulus bill, held April 3, by top Department officials. During the invitation-only event, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and his senior staff updated Washington-area organizational leaders on the Department's stimulus plans, answered questions and listened to organizational concerns. Following the presentation, Institute President Henry Green spoke with Secretary Duncan about the Institute and the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, which the Institute manages for the Department. Institute Vice President and Clearinghouse Director Bill Brenner talked with several Department officials, including Special Assistant Mike Smith and Chief of Staff Jon Schnur.
Learn the Latest about Federal Building Plans and Budgets
Construction industry professionals can get up-to-date information on federal building and infrastructure budgets, hear federal construction forecasts and find out the latest regulatory updates affecting federally commissioned projects at FEDCon® 2009 -The Market Outlook Conference on Federal Construction, to be held December 8, in Washington, D.C. Top officials from a variety of federal agencies will present their current-year construction budgets; planned budgets for future years; types of buildings that will be designed; regional and international construction information; and the overall direction of their design and construction programs. Presented by the National Institute of Building Sciences, FEDCon®
will take place alongside the Ecobuild®
America conference and exhibition at the Washington Convention Center.
Get more information.
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