As several devastating natural disasters have leveled towns and stalled economies, industry attention returns to smarter building. Construction professionals seek materials that are durable, versatile, and sustainable. An existing concrete product may be the key to better building. Conventional concrete—the go-to material for low- and mid-rise buildings— lacks the combination of compressive strength, tensile strength, and durability needed to withstand high magnitude earthquakes and daily wear. Concrete cracks, crumbles and collapses during earthquakes, leaving high repair costs and the potential loss of life. Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) sought to improve upon concrete without increasing the cost of construction. Their creation, eco-friendly ductile cementitious composite (EDCC), eclipses conventional concrete in three ways. Sustainability Conventional concrete production is a leading contributor to greenhouse gas, totaling 7 percent of global emissions. EDCC replaces 70 percent of cement with fly ash, which reduces the levels of carbon dioxide emitted. Additionally, EDCC reduces land and water pollution. The fly ash in EDCC is industrial waste that would otherwise end up in landfills or dumped into rivers and streams. Strength + Malleability Once dry, EDCC becomes as strong as steel yet is much more flexible. A half-inch thick concrete wall can resist a magnitude 9 earthquake when sprayed with a layer of EDCC  10 millimeters thick, UBC reports. Without the EDCC reinforcement, a wall of that thickness would collapse at 65 percent intensity. Versatility EDCC is a sprayable concrete mixture that can be used to reinforce and support thin concrete walls. Thinner concrete walls expand design possibilities without limiting the integrity of the structure. The spray facilitates easier application and a broader range of uses. Builders and engineers are already using the fiber-reinforced concrete to create in schools and businesses. EDCC can also be applied to...

Investing in earth-friendly energy solutions is an ongoing trend in real estate, across all market sectors.  Political and ethical reasons for implementing green building and utility systems notwithstanding, investors and owners of real property assets are often motivated to use new technology for monitoring and controlling energy use for an even simpler purpose: to cut costs. Government-supported initiatives, like Ontario’s saveONenergy for business, are just one of many motivators. Commercial owners and managers across North America are looking for creative ways to increase ROI and add investment value to existing properties. Energy retrofit projects are one pragmatic and earth-friendly way to achieve added value. In some cases, incentive funding can cover up to 25-30 percent of the project cost. But given the cost of implementing a new system or choosing a new contractor to handle your real estate energy needs, it isn’t easy to determine whether a significant investment is saving you money, and energy is one of the most expensive requirements of commercial property management. At the Green Real Estate Conference, held in late March in Toronto, a panel of experts from the energy sector addressed this topic and provided valuable insight on the best practices for energy management in commercial real estate. One analysis, provided by the forum organizers, estimates that energy costs comprise around 40 percent of building operating expenses. But the opportunity to reduce those costs is tremendous: a newly constructed green building typically cuts down conventional energy output by around 30 percent. And even if you are not building a new structure from the ground up, there are now alternative management methods to save resources and reduce expenses – often with minimal work required. Swift advancement in technology monitoring systems now makes it possible for large commercial buildings, with...