World Construction

Russia wants to kick Vancouver's butt, Winter Olympic style

2009-10-05T22:10:15Z

There is nothing like hosting an Olympics to fire up the competition. All that gold going begging, the sponsorship deals and of course, the design kudos.

With Russia set to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, officials have already come up with a design to beat Vancouver, the 2010 Winter Games host city.

With breathtaking snow capped mountains that cascade into the sparkling sea, Vancouver was going to be a hard one to beat.

But Populus, a HOK spin-off, has designed a translucent new stadium to be the epicentre of the Games in Sochi, Russia.

So far all we know is that it will have a shimmering, crystalline skin and lots of sustainability credentials. As for the rest and any kind of detail, um, stay tuned - the Russians are playing their cards close to their chests.

House building goes aquatic

2009-10-05T21:48:01Z

After a bit of a hiatus, World Construction is enjoying the sound of buzz saws and other construction sounds in Vancouver as the city gears up for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

There are plenty of new and shiny towers here, a few cranes on the skyline and a bit of reno work going on thanks to the government's tax back renovation credit, designed to stimulate the economy.

Amid all the excitement, I spotted this down at the marina yesterday. Takes houseboat to the extreme eh? It had a little balcony, a clothes line out the front...all it needed were some weeds on the front lawn...

There were an amazing number of homely houseboats by Vancouver's Stanley Park, which makes me think maybe this could be something for out of work builders to have a go at.

At least it would mean there would be less of these types of houseboats roaming our ever dangerous oceans...

Top 4 best tall buildings of 2009

2009-07-08T07:43:16Z

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has announced the Best Tall Buildings of 2009, recognising a building in each geographic region.

1. Manitoba Hydro Place, Winnipeg, Canada.

This 115m tall building by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects/Smith Carter Architects and Engineers was recognised for being completely site specific. Data on wind, sun and temperature at the site was analysed to produce a sustainable tower that uses 60% less energy than a regular office block.

2. Linked Hybrid, Beijing, China.

This 220,000 sq m project features 750 apartments, green space, commercial zones, entertainment and education facilities. But what makes it really special is how architect Steven Holl has managed to achieve a porous flow through the building with linked walkways, multifaceted layers and open passages. Its use of colour is admirable and adds to the buzzing feeling of this development.

3. The Broadgate Tower, London, UK.

Architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill were praised for the efficiency of this design and for the creation of a pedestrian connection through the site, which in turn connects the building to the surrounding environment. It also had a strong sustainability component.

4. Tornado Tower, Doha, Qatar.

This striking tower that allows for interesting exterior lighting took out the Middle East and Africa category. Judges commented that architects CICO Consulting Architects and Engineers / SIAT Architekten + Ingenieure Munchen GmbH for the lightweight structure that allows for flexible floor plans and efficiencies in construction, economics and energy.

Construction hero uses biceps to save drowning woman

2009-07-01T08:20:03Z

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Jason Oglesbee, a construction worker.

In a dramatic rescue in Des Moines, Iowa, Oglesbee managed to save a woman from drowning in a dam after her boat collapsed.

Suspended from a crane over the rushing waters of the Des Moines River, he was lowered towards the woman floundering in the water.

He managed to grab her hand and carry her to the safety of a nearby rescue boat.

She was taken to hospital but it is believed her male companion drowned.

Police said Oglesbee and his workmates saw the woman floating in a life jacket and tried to move the crane over to her, succeeding on the second try.

A good result for all and nice to see some construction biceps on show. More pics here.

Nine held over Shanghai building collapse

2009-07-01T07:55:39Z

Shanghai authorities are investigating a real estate firm, rumoured to have links to the Chinese government, after an apartment building collapsed on the weekend.

The almost finished 13-storey building in the Lotus Riverside area of Minhang District collapsed almost entirely intact on Saturday, killing one worker who had gone into the building to grab his tools.

Nine people employed by the contractor, project supervisor and developer Shanghai Meidu Real Estate are being investigated.

The probe follows reports that some of the developer's shareholders are government officials.

More than 350 people have demanded refunds since the building fell and the developer's bank account has been frozen.

China's construction sector has long been plagued by quality control problems, with collapsing bridges, highways and buildings often linked to corruption, as officials and contractors skimp on construction materials or issue approvals without proper inspections.

Anyone got a big crane?

Did these architects find inspiration in a bottle of red?

2009-06-29T23:25:25Z

Some of the best ideas are born in the bar and now a group of architects seem to have turned to the bottom of a bottle for inspiration.

Croatian architects Entasis won a competition to design new towers in Zagreb, with an eye-catching design featuring two leaning towers and two straight towers in clusters.

Local stirrers have renamed the 1+1 project the Drunk Towers because they look like drunks leaning on a lamp post.

Perhaps the project was born after a pub session got creative?

The towers will be 145m high and are slated for completion by 2011 if the approval process goes to plan.

Historic bridge goes boom - VIDEO

2009-06-24T07:42:45Z

Just because demolition videos rock, today I'm bringing you the implosion of a 104-year-old bridge in Minneapolis.

The historic Lowry Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River came down with a bang over the weekend to make way for a modern version.

Built in 1905, it was renovated in 1958, but that didn't stop one of the piers shifting out of place and turning it into a safety nightmare.

I've got two clips for the demolition nuts wanting all angles.

A sad day for skyscraper buffs, but a happy one for valets

2009-06-19T07:08:48Z

Russia has scrapped plans to build an eye-catching 600m tower designed by Lord Foster and might replace it with a car park.

Russia Tower was planned for Moscow and would have been the world's tallest naturally ventilated building but has been axed due to the financial crisis.

In February, reports emerged that it was to be scaled down to 200m.

'We have taken the decision not to build it,' Alexei Vedenskiy, head of special project in the Moscow city government told the Daily Telegraph.

'As to how to use this space, it will either be a park or car park.'

Spokespeople for Lord Foster said his office had not received confirmation of the axing.

8000 workers, 4 million man hours gets eco-motorway finished - VIDEO

2009-06-19T06:42:52Z

France's first eco-motorway and biggest road infrastructure project to date has been finished following 4 million man hours put in by more than 8000 workers.

The 101km A19 Artenay-Courtenay was completed this week, four months ahead of schedule.

Linking the A10, A6 and A77, it will complete the outer bypass of the greater Paris region.

It is the country's most eco-friendly road thanks to steps taken to prevent any water running off the motorway without being treated first.

To achieve this, the road has 107 run-off treatment basins as well as animal crossings and lots of trees to suck up that carbon dioxide.

Apart from its environmental credentials, the project is also being praised for its record fast completion.

It took just four years to get it up and running from the signing of the concession contract, which concessionaire Arcour claims shows how effective its operator-designer-builder business model is.

Below is a clip of the road's completely bizarre launch, which included line dancing, a giant inflatable giraffe, the Blues Brothers, a man making fire from a stick and donkeys.

Nothing says j'aime la France like some boot scootin' Blues Brothers (hoping my Babelfish worked with that one).

Why artists shouldn't build houses - VIDEO

2009-06-16T02:28:32Z

American artist Mike Bouchet has proved why house building should be left to the professionals with his entry into the Venice Biennale of modern art (see video link below).

Good old Mike decided to bring a bit of suburbia to Venice in the form of an ugly American house.

But it seemed his construction skills weren't up to scratch and Venice's infamous rising waters claimed the floating house in a matter of minutes once it was towed into place.

Check out the clip, it gets pretty funny about one minute in.

Tubby tradies face health tune-up in Australia

2009-06-16T02:02:06Z

Australia's tubby tradesmen will be encouraged to swap their sausage sarnies for salads under a Federal Government initiative to tune-up their health.

Amid concerns the tradies are getting too fat and have higher levels of obesity than office workers, a government-funded van will roam worksites to monitor weight, cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose.

The tradies will get a card stating how healthy they are and how they might be able to improve - a few less cans after knock-off Friday, perhaps?

Aussie health minister Nicola Roxon explained: 'Just as utes, vans and trucks need regular tune-ups to keep them functioning at maximum efficiency, so do men require the same tune-ups.'

Hahahaha! Good luck finding fat chippies - most of them have been laid off because of the recession.

Architects have the best offices

2009-06-15T09:17:27Z

One of the best bits of being an architect would have to be designing your own office.

Selgascano in Spain has done just this, designing one of the coolest offices you could ever find in the woods anywhere.

Yep, the long tunnel-like office is nicknamed the 'office in the woods' (creative).

It features a curved, transparent acrylic window 20mm thick and a 110mm thick opaque wall made of insulated fibreglass and polyester.

It's certainly a good looker.

Is it April fool's? Dome proposed for Houston, Texas

2009-06-10T07:01:30Z

In what sounds like the stuff of sci-fi fantasy, engineers have proposed building a dome over the US city of Houston in Texas.

Covering 1.9 million square metres and the city's entire downtown core - including skyscrapers - the dome would help solve the city's environmental problems and protect it for the future.

Houston is regularly at the mercy of sweltering summer temperatures, high humidity and was battered by hurricane Ike last year.

Engineers have gone past merely talking of a dome, and have outlined a plan of how exactly they would construct one.

They say they would use ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a material that weighs a fraction of glass and can withstand massive winds.

They would use heavy-lifting helicopters and helium-filled air ships to lift the dome pieces into place.

I really hope this scheme goes ahead, if only for the fact we'll be able to tell critical, complaining Houstonites 'people in glass houses...'

The batty plan to design skyscraper for animals

2009-06-10T06:40:27Z

The sweet sound of birdsong could return to the cities and industrial heartlands of the UK under a batty plan to build skyscrapers for animals.

The 12m man-made tree towers are designed to provide valuable habitat for birds, bats, butterflies, insects and foxes in areas where urbanisation has pushed local species out.

Designed by Neil Oxlee of Garnett Netherwood Architects, the man-made tree towers won a competition launched by Holbeck Urban Village in Leeds to return the area's biodiversity.

The towers would be made of recycled materials from nearby buildings facing demolition and would allow the animals to 'reclaim their urban landscape'.

There are no plans to start construction of the towers, but the scheme has the support of wildlife enthusiasts and Leeds City Council.

Taiwanese stadium has lots and lots of solar panels

2009-06-04T07:15:55Z

Taiwan has recently finished building a new sports stadium that will generate 100% of its electricity from solar power.

The 50,000 seat dragon-shaped Taiwan solar stadium is clad in 8844 solar panels that illuminate the track and field.

A test run in January found that it took just six minutes to power up the stadium's entire lighting system, which includes more than 3330 lights and two huge vision screens.

The stadium officially opens later this year and was designed by Toyo Ito.