MRA Seeking Top Survivor Home of the Year January 01, 2019 The Metal Roofing Alliance (MRA) is seeking stories from homeowners with metal roofs who survived Mother Nature’s wrath for a chance to earn the title of MRA’s Top Survivor Home of the Year and a $1,500 grand prize. To enter, homeowners simply need to submit their story in 200 words or less about the challenge […] Read More
RCI and RCIF Kick Off Choctaw Academy Initiative December 01, 2018 By Tara Wilson Pictured on the cover of this month’s RCI Interface is the last remaining structure of what was once the Choctaw Academy in Georgetown, Kentucky. The Academy was the first federally funded, racially integrated, non-missionary, and non-military school for Native American boys in the U.S.—an institution that brought together students from 18 different […] Read More
Water Tank Morphs Into Library for Kenyan Kids December 01, 2018 An abandoned rainwater collection tank was transformed into a children’s library in a small farming community in the Nyeri West region of Kenya. The project was designed by San Francisco firm Natoma Architects and bankrolled by the Nobelity Project, an Austin, Texas-based group that builds school infrastructures. The organizer’s cofounder, Turk Pipkin, conceived of the […] Read More
Why Historic Buildings? December 01, 2018 By Trevor Vilac This article is for information purposes and is not intended to replace the advice of a heritage professional or other conservation specialists. Have you ever been captivated by a sense of intrigue in an old building? Or been fascinated by the lasting impact of past events associated with a particular space? There […] Read More
Ural Philharmonic Concert Hall to Mimic Sound Waves December 01, 2018 Zaha Hadid Architects has won a competition to design the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Concert Hall in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The venue will contain a 1600-seat concert hall and a smaller 400-seat chamber music hall. “Echoing the physical aspects of sound waves, the design of the new philharmonic concert hall is based on the properties of musical sound […] Read More
Laser Etching of Building Artifacts December 01, 2018 By Don Kilpatrick On a recent assignment where the owner opted to replace rather than lift and re-lay the existing materials, our staff was afforded the opportunity to experiment with slate that was otherwise destined for the dumpster, or to be salvaged for reuse at other locations. Through sounding, pieces of slate that retained structural […] Read More
The #Metoo Movement – How #Youtoo Can Mitigate Your Risk November 01, 2018 By Trent Cotney and Marci Britt Beginning in October 2017, when dozens of women in the entertainment industry came forward with allegations that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein had sexually harassed or assaulted them, the #MeToo Movement was launched, and soon a tidal wave of similar allegations flooded in against a long list of other prominent, […] Read More
Opioid Use and Abuse in Construction November 01, 2018 Due to jobsite hazards and strenuous activity, pain afflicts construction workers, making them more susceptible than many other workers to substance abuse in the form of opioid misuse. Construction inflicts particular stress on backs, knees, shoulders, and other joints. The highly addictive drugs have caused 2.5 million Americans to become addicted. An estimated 15% of […] Read More
Oregon Approves Tall Timber Buildings November 01, 2018 Oregon has become the first U.S. state to provide code approval for construction of tall-timber buildings (over six stories) via a hybrid approach. Crosslaminated timber and other mass timber products are allowed if the vertical elements of the seismic force-resisting system are concrete, steel, or masonry. It provided new classifications of “Type IV” or “heavy […] Read More
NWIR: The Idea That Grew Into an Industry Movement November 01, 2018 By Sarah Harweth-De Marco It is hard to believe that National Women in Roofing (NWIR), a volunteer-based organization that supports and advances the careers of female roofing professionals, just officially launched at the International Roofing Expo (IRE) as recently as 2016. The idea, whose genesis was a conversation on a break at an industry meeting […] Read More
