Rebuilding The Winter Garden We are writing about the cover story "Lightning Renewal of Dazzling Atrium Lifts Lagging Spirits" in your magazines 9/11 commemoration issue (ENR 9/9 p. 8). W&W Glass Systems Inc. was a key subcontractor involved in the reconstruction of the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center that was damaged in last years 9/11 attack. As such, we are pleased to see the amount of coverage devoted to the monumental task of rebuilding the damaged complex. One of the biggest challenges was the aggressive schedule. W&W agreed to complete the repairs and new installations before the anniversary
Wind Analysis Evolves Your discussion of the numerical "virtual wind tunnel" in the article "Catching the Wind," in which the topic of computational wind engineering for flows around buildings was discussed, suggests that this technology was suitable for showing wind patterns, surface pressures, pedestrian-level winds and snow drifting (ENR 9/2 p. 31). This sort of technical misinformation is truly frightening. To date, there have been three international conferences on CWE. On rare occasions that CWE results have been compared to full-scale data or wind-tunnel data, that comparison has not shown the computational values to be ready for routine design use.
No, I am not talking about cooking the books. I am talking about planning, strategizing and putting resources where needed to achieve desired results. Does it sound like too much for an engineering firm? Well, its not. Engineers do it, although not at the same scale as big businesses do it. We also dont take the process as seriously as we should and that, I believe, will have long-term business consequences. To think in terms of this seemingly radical ideaengineering the bottom lineI thought getting an MBA might be an answer. It was like getting a different pair of glasses,
No Surprise I was surprised at the brief and inaccurate characterization of the voting methods utilized by the International Code of Council and the National Fire Protection Association (ENR 7/29 p. 7). The false claim that only building officials vote in the ICC arena has been abandoned even by the most ardent of NFPA supporters. All members of the model code organizations, including building product manufacturers and fire officials, have a right to vote on matters that come before the ICC public hearing assembly. But my earlier surprise was exceeded in reviewing comments in a succeeding story (ENR 8/5 p.
Building codes in the U.S. are at a crossroads. Until recently, we took the safety of our buildings for granted, confident that designs meeting code requirements would perform well. However, the collapse of 60% of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 and destruction of the World Trade Center towers in 2001 shook that confidence, not only with the general public, but with engineers as well. I propose a new path for building codesperformance design within a unified U.S. code. Instead of a one-size-fits-all' code mandate, performance design requirements can vary, based on the hazards being considered, the
Sticking to Story In his ENR Viewpoint article "don't Believe Maglev's Critics" (ENR 8/19 p. 59), Chris Brady of Transrapid International-USA reports that I "erroneously claimed last year that there are no manufacturers of maglev components or spare parts,'" (ENR 2/26/01 p. 99). Brady also reports that he "can definitively state that the Transrapid companies are the only ones in the world that currently provide maglev technology for very high-speed travel." Given this high level of support, I cannot help but stick to my story. Once Transrapid's Shanghai Airport Shuttle is complete, the firm may yet qualify as a manufacturer
After a four-day halt of air travel a year ago, this country's need for an efficient high-speed ground transportation system became even more obvious in the wake of Sept. 11. Now, Congress is seriously considering funding the development of true high-speed rail, or HSR. As Congress mulls a reauthorization of highway and transit funding for 2003-2009, the multi-billion-dollar measure seems likely to call for an innovative version of high-speed rail called magnetic levitation. Maglev uses electromagnetic forces for vertical and horizontal support as well as for propulsion. Unlike traditional HSR with steel wheels on steel rails, maglev eliminates any contact
Ethics and Independent Reviews Your recent editorial made a number of very good points about the ripple effects of the recent accounting scandals (ENR 7/15 p. 48). There are three other points that I think are worth noting. First, these scandals may have been avoided if the involved professionals had adhered to the ethical standards promulgated by their own professional bodies, rather than manipulating technical rules, whether the results were to their client's liking or not. Second, its a fair bet that once a business begins manipulating its financials it will be no better at overcoming the urge to contSinue
Toward Cost Control The article "Mega Projects Need More Study Up Front To Avoid Cost Overruns" was interesting but nothing new (ENR 7/15 p. 11). It doesn't take a brain surgeon to know that a definitive project scope of work and competent cost estimate, taking into account all variables and preferably performed by a cost engineer or quantity surveyor, are part of the solution. Another factor not mentioned is the practice of owners predominantly awarding the contract(s) to the lowest bidder and not the right bidder. A serious analysis of all bids and a post-bid interview with all bidders to
I didn't get into this business to be a social worker," a developer complained to me recently. After 30 years of helping builders bring projects to completion, I'm hearing more and more of them complain that public officials aren't satisfied anymore when private developers bring projects in on time and budget. Increasingly, the public sector expects private developments to include recreation facilities, affordable housing and such. Real estate developers have always had their share of problems. I've helped many of them solve the challenges of unseasonable weather, unscheduled union demands, fluctuating financing, last-minute client revisions, uncertain entitlements, inexplicable zoning, conflicting