The task of structuring information on built environment has presented challenges to the research community, software developers and the industry for the last 20 years. Recent work has taken advantage of Web and industry standards such as XML, OWL, IFC and STEP. Another important technology for the fragmented AEC industry is digital communication. Wired or wireless, it brings together architects, engineers and construction site workers, enabling them to exchange information, communicate and work together. Virtual enterprise organization structures, involving mobile teams over distance, are highly compatible with the needs of the construction industry.

This dictionary contains essential language for homeowners or tradesmen maintaining or renovating property in Spain. It contains the most up-to-date dictionary of Spanish building terms, including hundreds of technical words you won't find in a usual dictionary. Easy to use, this book will help you to communicate and avoid costly misunderstandings.

Most labor and migration studies classify migrants with limited formal education or credentials as "unskilled." Despite the value of migrants' work experiences and the substantial technical and interpersonal skills developed throughout their lives, the labor-market contributions of these migrants are often overlooked and their mobility pathways poorly understood. Skills of the "Unskilled" reports the findings of a five-year study that draws on research including interviews with 320 Mexican migrants and return migrants in North Carolina and Guanajuato, Mexico. The authors uncover these migrants’ lifelong human capital and identify mobility pathways associated with the acquisition and transfer of skills across the migratory circuit, including reskilling, occupational mobility, job jumping, and entrepreneurship.

Vernacular architecture in general and earthen architecture in particular, with their rich variety of forms worldwide, are custodians of the material culture and identity of the peoples who built them. In addition, they are widely recognized as ancestral examples of sustainability in all their variants and interpretations, and the architecture of the present ought to learn from these when designing the sustainable architecture of the future. The conservation of these architectures – seemingly simple yet full of wisdom – is to be undertaken now given their intrinsic value and their status as genuine examples of sustainability to be learnt from and interpreted in contemporary architecture. Vernacular and earthen architecture: Conservation and Sustainability will be a valuable source of information for academics and professionals in the fields of Environmental Science, Civil Engineering, Construction and Building Engineering and Architecture.

During the life of a dam, changes in safety standards, legislation and land use will inevitably occur, and functional deterioration may also appear. To meet these challenges, these Proceedings from a panel of international experts assess, define and re-evaluate the design criteria for the construction of dams and the many attendant issues in on-going maintenance and management. Authors include international specialists: academics, professionals and those in local government, utilities and suppliers. Practitioners from these same fields will find the book a useful tool in acquiring a comprehensive knowledge of managing and retrofitting dams, so that they can continue to meet society's needs.

Includes a free CD containing the full contents of the book. The rammed earth technique, in all its variants, is widespread all over the world. This enormously prevalent building technique harbours an important richness of varieties both in application and in materials used. Interventions on historical rammed earth buildings have also been carried out in all the geographical areas where these structures are found. This historical heritage has undergone diverse forms of reconstruction, conservation, repair, substitution and/or structural consolidation. The different criteria applied require different techniques, materials or forms of intervention. The results of the interventions have also been manifold, both in terms of the impact on the building and the technical and material durability. With a view to these issues, this book deals with rammed earth architecture and its restoration, and, in a more general sense, with the construction techniques and restoration of all earthen structures. Rammed Earth Conservation will be a valuable source of information for academics and professionals in the fields of Civil Engineering, Construction and Building Engineering and Architecture.