(continued)

At the same time, above ground, massive "hotels" are being built, up to one million square feet (93,000 square meters) in area to house not people but data—what might look to most of us like a warehouse "full of stereo equipment," according to Albee.

While many abandoned warehouses and outmoded utility buildings are being considered for such use, Mark Junghans, also with VHB, made clear that potential clients are looking for specific characteristics for this new building type.

These characteristics include proximity to major fiber routes, 200 pounds per square foot (9.6 kilopascals) loading capacity, large floor areas, high ceiling clearances, provision for high power needs, and state-of-the-art security measures. If these items can be provided for potential clients, said Albee, "the demand is huge."

Soft Landing

At Build Boston's keynote luncheon on opening day, Robert Murray of McGraw-Hill and F.W. Dodge noted that this new-technology building expansion is going a long way to help economists predict the desired "soft landing" for the U.S. boom economy rather than the dreaded "hard crash."

After a scintillating 17 percent growth in total construction dollars in New England this year, to $21.67 billion, F.W. Dodge is predicting only a modest decline to 20.735 billion for 2001. In the United States as a whole, Dodge is predicting a one-percent overall growth after a three-percent growth the previous year.

Only a "perfect storm" of rising oil prices, a precipitous Mideast crisis, and rising interest rates, said Murray, would transform the predicted soft landing into the more calamitous crash alternative.

Air Barriers

Surprisingly, one of the conference's most popular seminars was "Detailing and Specifying Air Barriers." But with the Massachusetts State Building code (chapter 13) requiring that all commercial buildings follow new energy provisions beginning January 1, 2001, architects and contractors were on the edge of their seats wondering if they would need to throw out all the standard wall details that they have been using for years.

"This code change is scary," said seminar moderator Mark Kalin, FAIA, of Kalin Associates, Inc. "The same old rules don't apply. The same details don't work." He outlined the dangers of designers using continuous air barriers in their building envelopes without understanding the implications.

Kalin, Bob Heywood of The Thomas & Lichtner Co., and Richard Piper, AIA, relayed how architects need to know the difference between air barriers and vapor barriers and how the location of insulation can adversely affect "dew point calculations."

If not careful, designers could create wall cavities that fill up with condensation and seriously degrade structural integrity in just a few years, they warned. No wonder attendees paid close attention and carefully studied the model details provided by the Pace Corporation.

Future Search

At the other end of the scale spectrum, architects and planners gathered to hear how a brainstorming process called "Future Search" is part of an ambitious new program termed a "Civic Initiative to a Livable New England," organized by the Boston Society of Architects (BSA).

"Sprawl" was clearly the dirty word in this seminar, but the goals were to "get beyond generalities," said Larissa Brown of Community Design Partnership. "It's not just about zoning," she added.

Planners hope to bring together all the key players who will be involved in the coming construction growth and, using real case studies, work toward real action plans with follow-up scenarios.

Gary Graham, FAIA, of Graham Meus Architects said, "You have to have the whole range of activities and people represented to be successful. The 'charrette' process (an intense, time-limited design project) can make things happen and open up lines of communication."

Graham went on to cite a similar process, which the BSA sponsored five years ago to call for visions for the soon-to-be defunct Fort Devens, as leading to remarkable developments becoming reality.

Incoming BSA president, Rebecca Barnes, FAIA, stressed the importance of using local, grassroots issues in a planning environment of multiple disciplines and concerns to achieve real, visualized futures.

The Civic Initiative kicked off on September 9, 2000 by bringing 450 planning professionals together with a "Challenge Conference" at the Kennedy Library in Boston.

It will continue with three workshops in the coming months on the interaction between city and suburb, on core growth, and on suburban sprawl, to be followed with a planning and design charrette in April, and capped with "Future Search" planning and implementation strategies in June of 2001. "This is the most ambitious series of events we've ever tried," said Barnes.

Other Conference Highlights

Even as keynote speaker, Nobert W. Young, Jr., FAIA, of the McGraw-Hill Construction Information Group, discussed the implications of "e-business" on the construction industry, new online offerings at Build Boston abounded.

These included Specs Online, free project extranets such as eProject.com, and many other high-tech offerings demonstrated at the new Technology Center in the showroom.

DBUG (the DataCAD Boston's Users Group) celebrated its 13th anniversary of service with user presentations served up with a side of chocolate cake. On the showroom floor, the "Big Booth" award went to DataCAD LLC which showed off its new software versions.

The Design Gallery highlighted unique work by "Women in Design," the Young Architects Design Awards, the Healthcare Facilities Design Awards, the Unbuilt Architecture Awards, the AIA New England Design Awards, the BSA Honor Awards, and the BSA/AIA New York Interior Architecture/Interior Design and Housing Design Awards.

Evan H. Shu, AIA, is an architect with Shu Associates Inc. in Melrose, Massachusetts. He is a frequent contributor to Architectural Record and publisher and editor of "Cheap Tricks," a monthly publication for DataCAD users.

Paul Stevenson Oles, FAIA and Jon Kletzien, of Advanced Media Design, demonstrated computer output overlaid with wax pencil in a rendering for the Brooklyn Federal Court by Cesar Pelli & Associates. Image: Advanced Media Design and Paul Stevenson Oles, FAIA At DBUG's 13th anniversary meeting, Ed Wolfstein, AIA, demonstrated how to link PDF output of DataCAD drawings, renderings, and QuickTime animations for easy client presentations. Image: Evan H. Shu, AIA Scully Hall at Princeton University, designed by Machado and Silvetti Associates, won a BSA Honor Award for Design Excellence. Photo: Edward Hueber/Arch Photo A Special Citation for Historical Importance went to this renovation of the Memorial Hall Tower Spire at Harvard University, designed by Childs Bertman Tseckares and Preservation Technology Associates. Photo: Peter Vanderwarker The Fine Arts Center lobby for the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, designed by Perry Dean Rogers & Partners, won a BSA Honor Award for Design Excellence. Photo: Peter Mauss/ESTO The corporate office for Cambridge Incubator in Cambridge, Massachusetts, designed by ADD Inc, won a BSA Honor Award for Design Excellence. Photo: Lucy Chen Model details showing air barrier requirements from the Massachusetts Building Commercial Energy Code. Image: Pace Corporation A "switch hotel," or telecommunications data distribution center, being developed by Cabot, Cabot and Forbes for Globix SuperPOP. Image: Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc.   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.