World Construction

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

World Construction — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:10:15 GMT

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...(read more)

House building goes aquatic

World Construction — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:48:01 GMT

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...(read more)

Top 4 best tall buildings of 2009

World Construction — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:43:16 GMT

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...(read more)

Construction hero uses biceps to save drowning woman

World Construction — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:20:03 GMT

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...(read more)

Nine held over Shanghai building collapse

World Construction — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:55:39 GMT

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...(read more)

Did these architects find inspiration in a bottle of red?

World Construction — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:25:25 GMT

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...(read more)

Historic bridge goes boom - VIDEO

World Construction — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:42:45 GMT

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...(read more)

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

World Construction — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:08:48 GMT

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...(read more)

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

World Construction — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:42:52 GMT

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...(read more)

Why artists shouldn't build houses - VIDEO

World Construction — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:28:32 GMT

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...(read more)

Tubby tradies face health tune-up in Australia

World Construction — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:02:06 GMT

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...(read more)

Architects have the best offices

World Construction — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:17:27 GMT

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...(read more)

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

World Construction — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:01:30 GMT

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...(read more)

The batty plan to design skyscraper for animals

World Construction — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:40:27 GMT

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...(read more)

Taiwanese stadium has lots and lots of solar panels

World Construction — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:15:55 GMT

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...(read more)