The U.K.’s commitment to cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 80% by 2050 is doable but will have a big impact on its building stock, infrastructure and economy, says a new report by Parsons Brinckerhoff, the New York City-based unit of U.K.-based contractor Balfour Beatty LLC. Based on two years of research, the report is one of the first independent studies of the “full implications” of the 2050 mandate on the U.K.’s power, transportation, industrial and building sectors, says PB. The report notes impacts such as the need to build extensive battery-charging infrastructure to meet the planned need for electric vehicles, develop

After a design summit to cut costs, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors have headed off a possible $150-million to $300-million cost overrun on the $1-billion Gulf Intracoastal Waterway West Closure Complex in New Orleans. The closure complex consists of a strategic storm-surge barrier of walls, levees, gates and pumps to protect the southern flank of the city. It includes navigation gates and what will become the largest pump station in the U.S. Photo: USACE Sheet-pile wall and dolphins for large sector gates on the West Bank Closure Complex were already taking shape in early December. Photo:

Art courtesy of The Cloud Project A proposal is afoot for a lightweight observation tower topped by inflatable, light-emitting spheres that would display information during the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The LEDs in the “Cloud,” fed by real-time information, would be viewable from all over the city. People would be able to visit the bubbles, while information about the games, local traffic, weather or news was being displayed. Various energy-saving and -collecting strategies would keep the installation carbon neutral, say the promoters. The only dark cloud on the horizon is a lack of funding. More information is available at

It’s a tired, old story and the bane of many a design team: Win an international design competition and then watch helplessly as all the brilliant concepts get whittled away by the developer and its “value engineers” until the constructed building bares little resemblance to the original submission. Slide Show Image Rendering: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture Masdar Headquarters, just starting construction, is billed as the world’s largest carbon- and waste-neutral office building. Slide Show Image: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture This exploded view of the building shows, conceptually, the seven-acre steel-pipe trellis and its support cones (top),

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) announced on Dec. 8 the roll-out of a pilot energy-labeling program for buildings. The Building Energy Quotient program, being tested on about 20 buildings in the private and public sectors, will provide for most building types both design and operational ratings, which will be posted on the structures. The goal is to provide building owners, operators, tenants and prospective buyers with a realistic picture of energy use, ASHRAE says. Initially, volunteer ASHRAE members will conduct the assessments, but the group plans to launch a program to certify assessors, according to

According to Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney, work on the eyebar will not require a full bridge closure; instead, crews will work overnight, which will require three lanes to close on the upper deck and one lane on the lower deck. The repair and related lane closures will last approximately three weeks, with an additional five weeks possibly needed at a later date. Photo: Caltrans “We would like to thank motorists in advance for their patience during the upcoming lane closures,” says Caltrans Director Randell Iwasaki. “This is the right fix and a long-term one that should keep the 73-year old

In an effort to accelerate the development of cost-effective, sustainable concrete, Masdar, the developer of the planned carbon and waste-neutral Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, is holding a concrete mix design competition. The first prize is $150,000, for a sustainable concrete production method. The second prize is $50,000 for the lowest-carbon- footprint concrete mix. This is the first of several competitions to help Masdar, an initiative of the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co., achieve its goals for sustainability at Masdar City, says Omar. M. Waqfi, Masdar's specifications manager. "We are pushing and challenging people on all aspects [of sustainable development],

The Army Corps of Engineers’ New Orleans District expects on Dec. 4 to open a 30-day public comment period on plans to construct an Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) Seabrook Floodgate Structure, consisting of a sector gate and two vertical lift gates in New Orleans. The new structure would tie into the Lake Pontchartrain levee system and operate in tandem with the IHNC Lake Borgne Surge Barrier, now under construction, to reduce the risk of storm damage. Comments will be taken on an Individual Environmental Report, which investigates alternative alignments and designs, potential impacts, construction methods and details.

A funding delay, a cableway collapse and a death: Construction of the Hoover Dam Bypass is a challenge-filled saga that rivals the building of the historic dam itself. But the light at the end of the canyon is beckoning. North America’s longest single-arch concrete crossing, at 1,960 ft, now soars 88 ft over the Colorado River and is scheduled to open to traffic in November 2010. It will carry vehicles 1,500 ft downstream from Hoover Dam, spanning the Black Canyon at the borders of Nevada and Arizona and answering a need that dates back to the 1960s. Slide Show Photo:

Designing a custom system to lift and set 2,200-ton and 2,600-ton offshore platforms is notable enough. But Belle Chasse, La.-based Versabar Inc. had to work with three different cultures across nine time zones and sail past real-life pirates to a site 8,500 miles away to make its most recent job successful—all within 10 months. Photo: Versabar Inc. Versatruss raises deck and carefully positions it over its jacket (above), then gently lowers it onto the jacket (below). Operators tested the procedure dockside before executing in 110 ft of open water. Versabar was hired by Al Khafji Joint Operations to use its