Friday5 – May 12, 2023

According to Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), nonresidential construction spending increased by 0.7% in March. Spending increased on a monthly basis in 8 of the 16 nonresidential subcategories and private nonresidential spending rose 1%. “Nonresidential construction spending increased for the 10th time in the past 11 months,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “As has been the case for the past several months, though, the expansion in nonresidential investment is attributable to manufacturing.” Contractors remain optimistic looking ahead to the next six months thanks to the resilience of the construction industry in the face of interest rate hikes and the threat of recession. “Spending has increased over the past year in every nonresidential subsector except for power, and multifamily construction is up 23%.”

“Modern architects are undoubtedly under more pressure than their predecessors to prioritize sustainable design, which has resulted in some revolutionary eco-friendly architecture. But even with respect to the most energy-efficient buildings, it takes an average of 20 to 30 years to overcome (through efficient operations, such as the use of solar panels and temperature-regulating insulation) the climate impact of construction, per the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Adaptive reuse considers how the old bones of a structure might lend themselves to changing demands, offering a resourceful, green middle ground between the wrecking ball approach and simply inhabiting a space ill-suited to new requirements.” See how the operators of these 11 buildings decided against scrapping all remnants of the past, and opted to embrace the gifts of their original blueprints to reimagine their futures.