How can we in the building industry take effective steps to reverse global warming? We hope to answer this question over the coming year.
With the start of 2018, we are launching the Burnham Drawdown series on our blog, The Final Review. The inspiration for this series is the book Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, edited by Paul Hawken.
On December 14, 2016, Chicago’s Mayor Emanuel introduced a proposed ordinance, 02016-8628, that is intended to strengthen the city’s ability to prevent building code violations. The amendments to the Chicago Municipal Code (Code) broaden the enforcement powers of the Building Commissioner (Commissioner), making it easier to take action against construction contractors and others who put building safety at risk.
Community solar or shared renewable energy programs are a growing market for renewable energy.These programs are an important vehicle for expanding access to clean energy because one can participate in the benefits of renewable energy without locating the energy source on one’s property. Models for implementing shared renewable energy programs are still evolving because such programs are relatively new and pose regulatory and policy issues. We thought we would look at a well-developed program framework, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s (IREC) Model Rules for Shared Renewable Energy Programs.
With the holiday season quickly approaching, many businesses are working hard to wrap up projects before the end of the year. However, when it comes to construction work, many cities implement restrictions during the months of November and December. Although this is common practice across the country, different cities will have variations in how they execute these plans. Below we summarize these holiday restrictions for all the cities in which Burnham has an office.
I’m always encouraged to see productive conversation happening at home, in the workplace….and especially with the government authorities that regulate construction activity. There are so many new and more powerful threats that need to be considered in our policy making; therefore, I want to share the Administration’s recent initiative that brings together both public and private programs that are promoting building codes and standards for more resilient and safer buildings.
The University of Minnesota has created the Minnesota Solar Suitability Analysis application, an ongoing project aiming to map solar potential across Minnesota using Lidar data and GIS technology. The project is led by graduate students in the Masters of Geographic Information Science program.
The United Center is home to the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, as well as concerts and other events throughout the year. In 2015, construction began on a six story, 190,000-square-foot building that connects to the United Center via a public atrium for fans and guests to gather before, during, and after games or events. The addition also includes offices for the Chicago Bulls, Blackhawks, Levy Restaurants, and United Center employees and a 10,000-square-foot retail store on the ground floor. It is scheduled to be completed Fall of 2016.
Portillo’s is a national restaurant chain which operates 41 locations across the country. Despite getting its start in the Chicagoland area in 1963, for many years, there was only one location in the city. The announcement of a second restaurant, in the South Loop, was big news for fans of the chain. The new location has two floors, rooftop and ground floor patios, and seats approximately 240 people.
The founders of our company selected the name Burnham Nationwide to embrace the philosophy of Chicago architect and urban planner, Daniel Hudson Burnham. Just as Daniel Burnham envisioned greatness in every endeavor, at Burnham Nationwide we do so on a daily basis.
Solar mapping is an important tool for encouraging the adoption of solar. The number of solar maps for different communities has been steadily growing in recent years. These solar maps serve a variety of functions and incorporate different types of data. I have always found it interesting to analyze information that is overlaid on a map. In this post, we will take a closer look at two leading examples of solar maps, the New York City Solar Map (NYC Solar Map), and the soon to be released New York State Solar Map (NY Solar Map).
Arizona’s largest electric utility, Arizona Public Service Company (APS), is using the BurnhamEYE™ for its pioneering utility-owned rooftop solar program, the Solar Partner Program. APS is employing the BurnhamEYE to inspect the installation of its solar panels for compliance with code requirements and APS standards. This post will examine how APS is using the BurnhamEYE, a mobile application that verifies the quality and code compliance of a solar installation in a consistent, secure, and cost-effective manner.
