Developed by San Francisco–based Awair, Omni is a small digital device for tracking indoor air quality. Omni monitors the interior atmosphere for temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide levels, fine dust (PM2.5), VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and other harmful chemicals, and provides users and building managers suggestions for creating healthier environments. Announced today in a press release, the device has been officially certified by RESET (a sensor-based and performance-driven building standard and certification program) as one of its Air Accredited Grade B monitors. According to Awair, developers now have the opportunity to submit air quality data to achieve RESET's Air for Commercial Interiors certification for their buildings. [Awair]
Created in 2016 by Rotterdam, Netherlands–based research and design studio the New Raw, Print Your City is an initiative that turns household plastic waste into 3D printed urban furniture. Announced this week, the studio has recently launched its first Zero Waste Lab in Thessaloniki, Greece, as part of the Coca-Cola's Zero Waste Future program. Equipped with a 3D-printing robotic arm and recycling facilities, the Zero Waste Lab provides an opportunity for citizens to recycle their plastic waste and design custom urban furniture. Featuring an ergonomic design, each piece of furniture can accommodate a bike rack, a tree pot, and a feeding bowl for pets, among other options. Since its launch in December 2018, the lab has received more than 3,000 designs from participating citizens. [The New Raw]
A new National Institute of Building Sciences study finds that investing in hazard mitigation strategies, resilient design, and high-quality infrastructure will eventually pay off. "Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: 2018 Interim Report" calculates benefit–cost ratios of 4:1 to 11:1 that result from applying different code requirements and mitigation strategies. [ARCHITECT]
Today, Washington, D.C.'s Mayor Muriel Bowser is scheduled to sign a new bill that would require "half of the existing buildings in D.C. ... to improve their energy performance over the next several years," says HOK director of sustainability Anica Landreneau, Assoc. AIA, who helped draft the Clean Energy DC Plan. "The bill also increases green financing options, making more money available to help pay for the improvements." According to a HOK press release, highlights of this bill include "cutting greenhouse gas emissions [in half] by 2032, requiring all electricity purchased in the District to be 100 percent renewable by 2032, and mandating that all public transportation and fleet vehicles be electric (or another zero-emission technology) by 2045." [HOK]
A new immersive exhibition by Italian studio Fuse is now open at Artechouse underground gallery space in Washington, D.C. Featuring four installations, "Everything in Existence" is the studio's first solo North American exhibition. [ARCHITECT]
After purchasing the historic Fifth Avenue Lord & Taylor flagship store in 2017 for its new Manhattan headquarters, WeWork's in-house realty capture team used a range of mapping equipment, including laser scanners, to produce detailed plans and renderings of the 676,000-square-foot raw retail space. According to the team's director of reality capture, Thad Wester, it took more than 4,000 scans to map the entire location; an average WeWork space takes up to 30 scans to capture. [WeWork]
