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Blair Kamin recently wrote about the spread of high-rise construction to suburban areas in The Chicago Tribune's Cityscape online site. In the blog, he noted that "new high rises offer [the] chance for compact, walkable communities, but suburbs can't decide whether they want to be like the big city or distinct from it." His article centered on the experience of Chicago and its suburbs.

Schindler Elevator Corp. is offering three courses approved for credit from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Continuing Education System. Each hour-and-a-half-long seminar provides the chance for architects, designers and builders to learn about the latest developments in escalator and other general vertical-transportation technology and earn 1.5 learning credit units. The courses include “Escalators for Public Transportation,” “Vertical Transportation -- Escalators” and “General Vertical Transportation." The Continuing Education System from AIA is designed to offer opportunities for members to maximize their professional skills through learning partnerships with companies like Schindler. As part of the AIA program, architects are required to complete 18 credit hours per year in order to remain active members.

A US$115-million project for Boston’s South End is to include a 16-floor hotel planned to be Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifiable. Designed by ADD Inc. and to be developed by Bluehawk and Normandy, the proposed project would occupy a parking lot situated between Harrison and East Berkeley Street, bordered on one side by an interstate overpass. The high rise will top out at 185 feet, while an adjacent nine-floor building will rise 115 feet. Both hotel developments will contain approximately 200 rooms and include a three-story parking garage. The complex is intended to take advantage of an absence of hotels close to the downtown convention center and provide an alternative to the center’s own hotel facilities. Construction is expected to begin in 2012.

Sematic Group has supplied its automatic doors for goods and passenger high-speed lifts for the new headquarters of the regional government entity of Lombardy, in Milan (Italy). Palazzo Lombardia, a 161-meter, 39-floor building, designed by the U.S. internationally renowned architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, has been inaugurated in January and it’s currently the tallest building in Italy. For this project Sematic has supplied its 2000 B and 2000 B-HR Top automatic lift doors; the former are suitable for every application and can be adapted also for freight lifts guaranteeing improved resistance and robustness, while the latter are specially designed for high rise elevators and include special solutions and devices, such as the car front sealing, which assures a better travel comfort. Palazzo Lombardia’s lifts, manufactured by ThyssenKrupp Elevator Italia, feature outstanding performances (speed: 7,0 – 8,0 m/sec), which are among the best in Europe for high rise buildings.