U.K. investigators studying the April 6 earthquake that rocked Italy west of Rome, killing some 300 people, found that traditional stone masonry buildings with even basic strengthening survived the temblor. As a result of their findings, the engineers are calling for simple reinforcements of older masonry buildings throughout Europe. Slide Show Photo: Cury Price Court Engineers are calling for retrofits of older stone masonry buildings after an earthquake that rocked an area west of Rome on April 6 killed 300 people. "It was good to see, where there had been upgrades, the buildings performed better," says Tiziana Rossetto, who led
Progress on two major European skyscrapers may not represent the green shoots of economic recovery, but they help lighten the gloom. In London, pile work is just starting on the 310- meter-tall “Shard,” planned as Europe’s second-tallest building. Elsewhere, workers in Frankfurt are beginning to mobilize the planned Tower 185. Photo: London Bridge Quarter Ltd. Celtic Crossing. Suspension bridge will maintain a context-sensitive profile. Related Links: London Shard Tower Rises From Gloom Photo: Viveco Real Estate With Middle Eastern backing, London Bridge Quarter Ltd. recently signed a construction contract with London-based Mace Ltd. for the estimated $1.5-billion riverside development, including
What do you get when you cross a farm commune with a traditional neighborhood, a suburban subdivision and a golf community? If T. Wall Properties has its way, you get the 717-acre Bishops Bay, a planned development for the rural towns of Westport and Middleton, Wis. The scheme, if approved, would contain a 240-acre neighborhood that integrates farming with housing. Slide Show Image: SWA Neighborhood planned near Madison, Wisc., would help preserve agriculture in the area. “This development can truly be a model to transform and improve the way communities are planned and the way people live,” says Andy Inman,
Cement scientist Brent Constantz wants concrete to be the "hero" that cleans up dirty coal. "The reality is, coal is not going away," he says. "We need to meet the world’s power demands without emitting more carbon." His answer? A new type of concrete that sequesters carbon without disturbing its traditional binder: portland cement. Slide Show Illustration: Calera Corp. How the Calera Process Works Photo: Tudor Van Hampton / ENR In Las Vegas, Constantz said he can use aggregate to store carbon in concrete. This past summer, the Stanford University professor’s Los Gatos, Calif.-based startup, Calera Corp., began making cement
Members of the International Code Council are all over the map about the revamped model code development process announced by the publisher of the widely adopted International Building Code and a dozen other model codes. Many greet the change with open arms, saying it will streamline the process. Others think the new process will stifle innovation, reduce the quality of the codes and allow special interests to more easily hijack the development process. The biggest change is that there will be one complete code development cycle every three years instead of two. A consequence of that is elimination of the
The normal clutter of braced shoring is absent on a U.K. job to replace viaduct bearings near London because the shoring firm has created a cheaper and simpler megaprop system by bolting together standard stock. “We’ve never made these composite props before,” says Ian Fryer, engineering director for supplier RMD Kwikform Ltd., Walsall. “We hadn’t thought of it.” Photo: RMD Kwikform Ltd. A propping system to support a bridge under reconstruction can handle varying heights and pier configurations. Related Links: Agile Robots Can Climb High Places Replacing the 108 bearings is part of a $9.2-million project to refurbish Country Way
Will Ikerd maintains it will take less than 10 years for building information modeling to transform structural engineering. He’s helping that happen as co-chair of the BIM committee, formed last year, of the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) and the Council of American Structural Related Links: Building Team Views Technological Tools as Best Chance For Change Virtual Collaborative Charrettes Give Glimpse of Future Forum Tackles Teamwork Issues Strong Owner Leadership Can Optimize Project Collaboration Building Information Modeling Snags Don’t Dampen Spirits Lawyers Struggle with Contract Terms Survey of Structural Engineers Says One-Third Are Using BIM Constructors Grapple With Resistance to Change
The Associated General Contractors BIM Forum is a wild success, attracting 1,600members in less than three years fromall areas of building design and construction.There is no cost to join, but that’s not whymembership is increasing daily, at a rate of30% each year. The forum is so popular becauseit is considered the best place for collaborationand collective action to relieve theaches and achieve the potential gains of theparadigm shift to building-information-modeling-enabled design and construction. Related Links: Building Team Views Technological Tools as Best Chance For Change Virtual Collaborative Charrettes Give Glimpse of Future Forum Tackles Teamwork Issues Strong Owner Leadership Can
First comes “lonely” BIM, when a firm begins to tool up for building-information-modeling-enabled projects. Then comes “social” BIM, when a firm collaborates with other firms using BIM. Next comes “intimate” BIM, when the owner, architect and contractor share risk and reward contractually via BIM-enabled integrated project delivery. Finally, when work gets heavenly, there is “cheruBIM.” Slide Show Photo: Onuma, Inc. Related Links: Building Team Views Technological Tools as Best Chance For Change Virtual Collaborative Charrettes Give Glimpse of Future Forum Tackles Teamwork Issues Strong Owner Leadership Can Optimize Project Collaboration Building Information Modeling Snags Don’t Dampen Spirits Lawyers Struggle with
Sub and specialty contractors are at the workplace every day, so many practical benefits that proponents of BIM claim will arise from its use should translate directly into cost and time savings for them, and they do, but not always, and not to the same degree as advertised. One concrete subcontractor who has spent four years and “invested millions” in developing his own system for producing construction BIM for process planning, and then purchased display technology for taking BIM to the jobsite to prep his crews, has decided the exercise hasn’t been worth it. Related Links: Building Team Views Technological
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