Construction Projects Around the World

What are there more of in Benidorm than New York?

2008-04-24T15:48:10Z

Pubs selling ‘authenic British food’? – Probably. Sunloungers – I think so. The cream of British holidaymakers? – Definitely. However, I have just discovered that the city with the most skyscrapers per population is indeed Benidorm. The likes of Hong Kong and Singapore, where space on their small islands is at a premium, only make it to 7th and 11th position. New York only just makes the top 25. The statistics are taken from Emporis data looking at the population divided by the number of buildings. For the full list visit http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/ma/ci/ Whilst you're at it, somebody tell me where Balneario Camboriu is (the second most skyscrapers per population in the world).

The Human Spider

2008-03-31T15:23:27Z

Regular readers will know that I have featured the mad Frenchman Alain Robert scaling the Petronas Towers, Sears Tower and the Federation Tower in Moscow. It seems he has landed on terra firma just long enough for Channel 4 to talk to him on Thursday night about why he climbs buildings...illegally and without a safety harness in sight. By the way, is it only me that thinks he bears an uncanny resemblance to Ricardo from the Salon? (An old reality show about...a salon in London).

Schumacher reaches for the sky

2008-03-04T13:34:00Z

According to a report in the German tabloid Bild, Schumacher is set to make five million euros (US$7.5mil) on the 29-floor office complex that will overlook the Burj Al Arab. The Michael Schumacher Business Avenue, both a commercial and residential building, looks set to open in 2010.

Beijing is a convenient city

2008-03-04T13:22:51Z

An amazing fact I just have to share with you is that Beijing has now become the World's No. 1 metropolis with public toilets. With 5,174 it is many more flushes ahead of New York and London. If you travel there for the Olympics you will apparently never be more than 8 minutes walk from one.

Water strange structure

2008-01-30T16:50:16Z

If you are lucky enough to go to the Beijing Olympics make sure you take a trip to the National Aquatics Centre, otherwise known as the Watercube. ]]> The outside skin is made of the Teflon-like material known as ETFE, or ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene. Composed of two layers, it's separated by an interior passage that allows the building to breathe like a greenhouse. For more information have a look at the offical site http://en.beijing2008.cn/46/39/WaterCube.shtml

Sticky man comes unstuck

2008-01-28T13:16:53Z

Although my main aim is to cover some of the more interesting projects around the World, it’s always good to see what use they can be put to. Most of us will remember the Sticky Man that used cause havoc on your mother's clean windows until we ripped off the legs or set fire to them - but they are seeing a small revival in Japan...

Hong Kong is number one

2007-12-12T10:20:05Z

The votes from my previous post are in and I can now reveal that, after 300 votes, Hong Kong is your top skyline in the world. 27% of the votes secured Hong Kong, not so closely followed by London (14.33%), Dubai (12.67%) and New York (12%). Apparently the latest Batman movie has just been shot there with Christian Bale jumping off Hong Kong's tallest building, the 90-floor International Finance Center, a sequence also featured in "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life". So there.

U2 Tower

2007-12-06T10:42:21Z

An egg-shaped recording studio suspended from the top of a luxury apartment block was recently unveiled but the Irish National Trust are disappointed. Although The "pod" studio will dangle beneath vertical wind turbines and a huge solar panel Ian Lumley of the National Trust is concerned that it "could potentially be an incongruous blot on the skyline on the south side of the city.” Furthermore there appears to have been no proper environmental impact survey carried out nor had they taken into account the key issueclimate change – in particular the rising sea levels. Maybe U2 have ‘found what they’re looking for’ but many will not think it’s the ‘sweetest thing’. I guess they will carry on ‘with or without you’. (Sorry). Construction is to begin in 2008 and end in 2011, at a cost of 200 million Euros. Norman Foster will be involved and the height will be at least 120 metres (32 storeys).

Dancing House

2007-11-30T12:57:04Z

The design is based on a man and woman dancing with 6 floors used as office space and a restaurant at the top. It appears that the early designs were not meant to represent a man and woman - more a single structure with 'pillow-like forms' but it was subsequently changed to include a more masculine block (on the right). This looks like a contractor's nightmare with the architect going mad. What may look good on paper is not always the easiest to construct.... And what is the man wearing on his 'head'?

Nou(er) Camp

2007-11-28T16:33:40Z

The cost is expected to be 250 million Euros. The new designs are said to be inspired by Gaudi’s that can be seen all around Barcelona. The exterior, made of a mixture of polycarbonate and glass panels, will be able to change colour allowing the outside of the stadium to be used for light displays at night or as a giant TV screen. Construction work will begin in 2009 and is due to be completed by the start of the 2011-2012 season.

Moving house?

2007-11-28T13:22:14Z

Thought I would share this with you, although I know nothing more that the what is in the photo as I pulled this off a foreign language site... A construction project within a construction project.

Burj Dubai reaches 601 m on schedule

2007-11-23T16:07:49Z

Burj Dubai broke the 600 metre mark and is already the tallest building on the planet. Doka, the formwork specialists, were on site for this event and never before in the history of formwork technology has climbing formwork been deployed over such a long period, at such a great height and under such extreme conditions. ]]> Successful completion of the in-situ concreting works on the structure core has brought Doka not only a world record but also some valuable experience of extreme situations. The architectural design, too, made some exceptionally tough demands of the formwork system. The Y-shaped, wing-walled structure core of the Burj Dubai tapers upwards, undergoing no fewer than 32 changes in layout as it does so. As early as when planning its “forming machine”, Doka had to make allowance for each of these adaptations, right down to the last detail. Separation points in the platform system enabled the formwork solution to be modified safely and reliably every time the layout changed, with only minimal impact upon the cycle time. In order for the storeys to be poured in a 3-day cycle, the system also had to be highly efficient and easy to operate. There is still no word on the final height but rumours are somewhere between 700 - 850 metres. To put that into perspective that is twice as tall as the Petronas Towers or the Sears Tower.

Whis is your favourite skyline?

2007-10-12T13:05:05Z

It seems my previous entry http://www.contractjournal.com/blogs/construction-projects-world/2007/10/the_top_5_skylines_in_the_worl.html has caused some confusion. The skylines are based on the number of buildings and the number of floors each has as recorded by Emporis. However, please vote below for your best looking skyline.

A little piece of Dubai in Devon

2007-10-10T13:10:20Z

Plans for the regeneration of the Millbay area in Plymouth, Devon have included some dubious drawings for a building very similar to the Burj al Arab in Dubai. The Burj has hired a firm of top lawyers and a letter has now been sent to the English Cities Fund. The gist of it is that this proposed building could ruin the Burj’s global marketing plan. ]]>

The top 5 skylines in the world

2007-10-09T08:09:59Z

Emporis, the supplier of Building related information has compiled a list of the top skylines in the world. The ranking is based on each building being assigned points in relation to its floor count. Therefore 12 to 19 floors = 1 point, 20 to 29 floors = 5 points, 30 to 39 floors = 25 points and so on with 600 points awarded to a building with over 100 floors. It appears that personal opinions are not taken into account but the data can’t be wrong as I’m not disputing the number one. Hong Kong – Way out in front with 121,874 points. Also the largest number of buildings with 7,663. They are so proud of their skyline they show it off every night with the ‘Symphony of Lights’. New York – A long way behind with 36,407 points. Seoul – Not the best looking skyline but Seoul has the largest population of any of these top 5. Chicago – The smallest population but presumably the Sears Tower elevates Chicago up the rankings. Singapore – If you have an island about the size of the Isle of Wight you would have no choice but to build skywards. London is well down at number 33 and Dubai is creeping up to 16. For the full list have a look at http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/sr/ © Emporis 10/2007 If you know of a better skyline that should be in the top 5 let me know.