WCN blog

Ancient Roman city discovered in Sofia, Bulgaria

Plans for the construction of the 80 metre long, two platform metro station in Sofia, Bulgaria have been altered four times. The contractors have been discovering relics of an ancient Roman city Serdica - so many of them that the city now plans to build a two-level underground museum above the metro station.

]]>

Most recently, during excavation near Sveta Nadalya square in the heart of the Sofia city, archaeologists unearthed remains of two churches belonging to the 14th and 16th century. Stretches of the traditional east-west street in Roman cities, christened the Decumanus Maximus, and the north-south urban axis, christened the Cardo Maxima, have also been found. Interestingly, these arteries of ancient cities coincide with the locations of state institutions and shopping areas in modern day Sofia.

Archaeologists have also found remains of an eight-room mansion - complete with a patio, arched galleries, mosaic-covered living areas and baths - believed to be the residence of a local ruler. Two sixth century toilets, considered as an extremely rare find, is also discovered. A 5.5 metre wide and 17 metre long section of slate stone street leading to the mansion has also been uncovered.

The planned design in the city's representative centre Largo includes a two hectare pedestrian zone at the upper level, the glass dome museum housing a model of the ancient city of Serdica at the middle level and the subway train station at the lower level. The metro train will pass 24 metres underground.

Finding archaeological ruins is pretty common, but finding an ancient city buried beneath a bustling modern day metropolis is sure rare. A trip to Sofia to take a look at these ruins and the unique museum sure seems to be in place!!!

Lotus-shaped 91 feet prayer hall to be unveiled in Kerala, India

India's fascination with marble structures sure seems to be timeless. After the Taj Mahal and other monuments across the country built with white marble, yet another architectural marvel is set to be unveiled in the south Indian state of Kerala. Built as an epitome of world peace and religious harmony, the new structure features a lotus-shaped prayer hall, 91 feet tall and 84 feet wide, christened the 'Parnasala'. The structure features 21 petals with 12 facing upwards and nine facing downwards. The upward facing petals are 41 feet tall while the downward facing petals have a length of 31 feet each.

]]> Pristine white marble has been used for the construction of the structure that is studded on the outside with white Makrana marble chips (Makrana marble is the stone used in the construction of the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World). The concrete lotus is anchored to the core by steel bars.

At the heart of the concrete lotus is another lotus made from teak wood that contains a marble cask in which the body of Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru, a spiritual leader, has been laid to rest. The teak lotus is 27 feet high with a diameter of 21 feet and is completely encased with brass on the inside. In front of the concrete lotus, an elevated platform, christened the 'Balalayam' is built. The entire floor of the platform is paved with black granite. The platform is guarded by two majestic elephants carved out of rosewood.

The Parnasala, which sits in the Santhigiri Ashram in the Pothencode village in Kerala, will be unveiled by the Indian President Pratibha Patil on 13 August 2010 and dedicated to the world on 12 September 2010.

Eight construction firms are amongst Britain's best employers

An interesting press release arrived at WCN blog HQ this morning. The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list has hailed the Lindum Group as the best company to work for in the construction sector. The business is ranked 10th overall in the UK according to the dedicated 80-page supplement which will be published this Sunday, March 7th.

The survey is compiled from results given by employees to 70 questions related to workplace culture, covering their company's leadership; their personal wellbeing; career development; pay and benefits; their feelings towards colleagues, managers and the company as a whole; and giving something back to the community and environment.

]]> An astonishing 50% of Lindum's workforce have been with the company for over five years, with 25% seeing over ten years' service. The employees benefit from flexible working options including job sharing, home working and term-time only or school hour contracts. The organisation also offers sabbaticals, career breaks, occupational health programme and a subsidised gym membership. It all helps the firm rank 5th overall for staff wellbeing.

Employees report a lack of stress, giving an 86% positive score, the third best among all 100 companies, and they are happy with their work-life balance (76%, and another top 10 score).

Another company that fared well is Hydrock Group, who came 23rd overall but ranked 2nd in the construction sector. Brian McConnell, the managing director of Hydrock Group, is not letting the recession spoil the company's fun. Paintballing, chariot racing, dinners and sports matches are but a few of the team events the group have offered staff. Even the annual conference took the shape of a curry tour, with business forecasts delivered over vindaloos across the country!

McConnell's leadership is one of the top three areas for Hydrock in the survey, and it ranks even higher for giving something back and fair dealing with its employees, earning the firm ranks of 11th and 10th respectively. Staff are happy with their pay and benefits (giving a 70% positive score) and they feel the business is not driven by budget concerns, the 74% positive score here ranking the firm seventh on this measure.

Final immersed tube of TT2 project laid

A few weeks ago, I paid a visit to Newcastle to see how progress on the second Tyne Tunnel (or TT2) was coming along for an article for Tunnels and Tunnelling International magazine. It's one of the largest infrastructure jobs in the UK right now.To create this new vehicle tunnel, several construction methods were undertaken simultaneously. Top and bottom down cut and cover, spray concrete lining (SCL), interlocking secant piles, reinforced concrete box structures - and most importantly - an immersed tube section, which runs through the river itself.

]]> This immersed section was made up of four elements, which were cast nearby by VokerStevin UK, who was appointed by the design and build contractor Bouygues Travaux Publics to construct the reinforced concrete tunnel segments at Walker Dry Dock and transport them 3km downstream to their final destination. The fourth and final one was lowered in to place last Tuesday 23rd February, completing the under-river link of the new vehicle tunnel.

The river section of the tunnel is made up of four 90 metres long, 15 metres wide and 8.5 metres high concrete units. Despite weighing in at 10,000 tonnes each, the units must be weighted with water through use of internal ballast tanks in order to lower them into position.

This series of images shows these four elements being constructed in the dry dock from May 2008.

May 2008

2nd September 2008

19th September 2008

24 October 2008

21st January 2009

March 31st 2009

17th April 2009

11th June 2009

With all tunnel units now positioned beneath the Tyne, a loading fill and rock armour will be placed above the tunnel, within the river bed, to protect it from potential damage. The internal bulk head walls and ballast tanks will be removed so that by late spring 2010 there will be clear passage from one side of the river to the other.

The next stage in the project is to refurb the existing Tyne Tunnel which dates from 1967. When this is completed, the new tunnel will carry traffic north to south and the existing tunnel, which currently carries vehicles in both directions, will carry vehicles south to north, reducing congestion and improving quality of life for those in the North East of England.

You can read my article about the new Tyne crossing in April's issue of Tunnels and Tunnelling.

Oil and Steel's Octopussy Evo

This is Oil and Steel's new Octopussy Evo, a crab like crane that can stretch and twist as required as it can be fitted with a fixed or rotating hydraulic jib. The fixed hydraulic jib performs a vertical movement from -85° to +60°; the rotating hydraulic jib performs the vertical movement and also a horizontal rotational movement 45° to the right and 45° to the left. This feature combined with the hydraulic rotation of the platform allows a 90° rotation on both sides, making it possible when necessary to go round corners or work on different fronts (e.g. to prune a tree).

]]>

Octopussy Evo is fitted with an innovative stabilisation system which allows the outriggers to be opened and positioned in 3 different positions: completely open, completely open on one side and partially open on the opposite side or partially open. According to the position selected Octopussy Evo automatically calculates the work area allowing work to be performed only in this area. A particular feature of this system is that if one outrigger is completely open and the other one is partially open the arm can be extended on the side of the latter meaning that the platform can be positioned closer to the work face.

Using the new wired or radio-controlled remote control systems, the operator can manoeuvre the platform without standing in its range of action, meaning increased operating safety for the operator. Oil Steel has also developed and patented a special safety system called Safety Ring which is a special ultrasound transreceiving device installed on the upper part of the platform.This is in continuous contact with the radio-controlled remote control so the system only allows the operator to move the platform within a safety ring area, avoiding any movement too close or too far from said area.

Cutting red tape

By Richard Howes, Group Editor of Cranes Today, Hoist, OCH and Middle East Cranes

The UK's Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is growing on me. As group editor for three construction and industrial lifting titles, you can imagine that I have closely monitored its work for some years now.

Three and a half years ago, for example, I wrote a damning comment piece for Cranes Today's sister title, Hoist, about how its response to a lifting accident involving a coil was misleading.

]]> I'd concluded at the time that the HSE was more reactive than proactive and struggled to put a positive spin on its existence.

Over time, that opinion changed. Indeed, I think the HSE itself has for a long time been trying to improve its image. With great responsibility placed upon its shoulders, probably on a tight budget, it has an important role to play.

My respect grew further last November when Phil Parry, HSE specialist inspector, electrical and control systems group, delivered a solid presentation to visitors to the 2009 LiftEx show (held at the Chester Racecourse, UK), exploring the use of remote controls.

Parry's talk was an example of the more proactive approach that I think the HSE has been trying to take.

Then, in an interview for Cranes Today's December issue (p19), I spoke with Philip White, head of the construction division, and was refreshingly impressed by his approach and willingness to engage with folk in industry.

The HSE recently announced that its national tower crane register will become effective in a couple of months (April) and with it, White hopes, the UK could take a huge step towards avoiding a repeat of "Canada Square, Worthing, Croydon and Battersea," to name some of the high profile examples he refers to, and, indeed, Liverpool last year.

The GBP20 per register entry fee is a small price to pay in return. I hope it works. What are your opinions of/experiences with the UK's HSE? What do you think of the new tower crane register concept?

Richard Howes Editor, Cranes Today

One St. Peter's Square plans get the green light

The Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund (GMPVF) and its joint venture development partner, Argent, have today received planning approval from Manchester City Council for the redevelopment of Elisabeth House for a new 270,000 sq ft office building, which will now be known as One St. Peter's Square. The planning application was submitted to the Council in November 2009. Prior to the application being submitted, a public exhibition was held in October 2009, as part of which, visitors had the opportunity to view the plans and discuss them with the developers, the project's architects and its planning advisors. The results from the consultation were then reviewed and incorporated into the final submission before being presented to the Council.

]]> How the new building will look

The 270,000 sq ft BREEAM Excellent building will incorporate office floorplates of up to 22,500 sq ft, as well as flexible cooling strategies for occupiers. The scheme will include an active mix of uses at ground floor level, with cultural space for public exhibitions, as well as a stunning, double height reception, offering panoramic views across the proposed redeveloped St Peter's Square, refurbished Central Library and Town Hall extension. The team at One St Peter's Square includes architect Glenn Howells Architects, building services consultant Hoare Lea, structural engineers Tier and planning consultant GVA Grimley. GVA Grimley and Savills are joint agents for the scheme.

The China syndrome

By Jon Young Editor of Tunnels and Tunnelling International Magazine

Most, if not all, tunneling businesses will be looking to China to boost their returns over the coming years as previously buoyant markets slow. Understanding the opportunities that exist in the nation and its neighbours, how to integrate with local business and at the same time protect the companies' self interest is probably the greatest challenge to overcome.

]]> The size and importance of the market is plain. It was recently pointed out to me that some 70 per cent of China's Harmony Express high-speed rail line from Wuhan to Guangzhou runs on elevated track or through tunnels. There are 226 tunnels on the 968km route. With some 25 000km of track to be completed by 2012 it is hard to perceive a greater challenge for the tunneling industry.

Many are already cashing in on this opportunity. Speaking at the T&TI conference in September Martin Herrenknecht told delegates he has 120 TBMs working in China. Manufacturers across the board have opened factories in the China to keep up with demand and benefit from the regions low production costs.

The industry is confident of China's potential. On page eight a digest of a recent outlook survey shows some two thirds of respondents expect positive growth in the region, with the rest largely expecting the economy to maintain its current level.

But there are drawbacks to entering the market. Manufacturers distributing in China have had difficulty getting repeat orders for equipment. Once in China it is quickly replicated and sold for less. There are a couple of solutions being trialed. As mentioned above, manufacturers are opening factories in China to take advantage of the low production costs. This helps the firm deliver a more competitive price locally but doesn't cover the r&d costs - which the replica hasn't incurred.

The second is a silver lining to the issue. On page 16 of our February issue Björn Rosengren of Atlas Copco tells technical editor Maurice Jones about his move to Shanghai. Rosengren says one tactic is to keep developing new technologies and thereby staying one step ahead of the replicaters. In this Atlas Copco is employing local skills and talent, of which there is plenty.

To keep selling to the largest tunnelling market in the world, manufacturers must keep developing new and more advanced solutions. If this is true, China will be a major driver of innovation and the industry worldwide will benefit. Watch this space.

Before I run out of space I'd like to welcome Kris Mole to the team. Kris has joined us as news editor after spending the past few years travelling Europe to cover transport news. London Daily Telegraph readers among you may already be familiar with Kris after one sharpeyed commentator drew the hilarious link between 'Mr Mole' and tunnels. I've just been told The Independent has gone with the same angle.

All the fun of the fair

By Richard Howes, Group Editor of Cranes Today, Hoist, OCH and Middle East Cranes

Manufacturers preening their feathers and an inbox swamped with marketing literature and Photoshopped images are sure signs that the trade show season will shortly be upon us. For cranes, indeed, many construction and earth-moving equipment sectors, April's Bauma show in Munich is the biggest trade fair of the lot. Also preparing for showtime is the industry's independent international magazine, Cranes Today. As editor, I'm looking forward to exchanging stories with fellow exhibitors and visitors alike, some of which I haven't seen since the previous large-scale construction event, Intermat, which was held in Paris, last April.

]]> As always, the industry's jet-setters will be exchanging travel notes from the past year. In recalling many highlights to the past 12 months in readiness, I got to thinking about the moments where things didn't quite go to plan. I'll share one with you.

It was the Monday night of Intermat itself and two colleagues and I were setting out for a business dinner when we walked into a violent clash between supporters of the Tamil Tigers and French police. With our eyes streaming and our throats burning, we instinctively retreated back into the lobby of the hotel. The air was thick with pepper spray - that we managed to navigate our way through the carnage and make our appointment, albeit half an hour late, didn't matter: I was beginning to wish I wasn't in Paris.

While we were in the wrong place at the wrong time--you can't travel as much as we do without stories to tell--there weren't many exhibitors or visitors at Intermat, who near the Gare du Nord, organisers were left to assess the damage caused by a hadn't felt the same at least once during the week. Like the owners of the shops, vehicles and properties that were targeted during the clashes show which was quiet on every single day.

At trade shows the size of Intermat and Bauma, every stand represents a staggering cash outlay; it's a potential waste even in good times, let alone in a recession. The over-priced floor space itself costs money, as does the staffing, entertaining and cost of transporting cranes, sometimes from the other side of the world. Also consider the downtime endured by equipment spending sometimes weeks before and after the show in transit, in addition to the week it stands redundant at the exhibition. Nobody can use a crane productively if it's stuck in a show ground being prodded by tyre-kickers.

As high as some of the cranes themselves would be the pile of cash if you stacked it all up.

Not that you can blame show organisers for political unrest, but I expect Bauma to be better than its Paris-based counterpart. Frankly, it is in a different league. But suppliers, and visitors, will be hoping the least they get in return for their sometimes multi-million dollar investment is some indication that the market will soon recover.

Fresh off the back of the pre-Bauma press event in Munich, Gerold Dobler, corporate communications, trade press, Liebherr-International Deutschland GmbH, told me: "Judging on the impact of previous Bauma shows, it could prompt an upturn."

Indeed, many are hoping Bauma will be the catalyst to an improvement in fortunes for an industry barely recognisable to the one which turned out at the previous Bauma in 2007. We're canvassing opinion in our current poll.

First for the team here is our fourth Middle East Cranes conference in Dubai. It has been well documented how the economy there has nose-dived, but there are still opportunities in the UAE, as delegates will discover. Register today.

Richard Howes Editor, Cranes Today

Eliminate the positive, accentuate the negative

By Mike Jeffree editor of Timber Trade Journal

A decade ago I scoffed and sneered with the best of them when a BBC newscaster, Martyn Lewis, said there was too much stress on bad news in the UK media. But experience and, no doubt, accelerating middle age are increasingly persuading me he had a point. And for the media, include in the best selling British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

]]> This week there was some positive news, be it ever so humble, for the tropical rainforests. A UK government-backed initiative, the Forest Footprint Disclosure project (FFD), published its first report highlighting those businesses which are going the extra mile to ensure their product and materials sourcing doesn't contribute to deforestation.

The focus was specifically on "forest risk commodities", materials most associated with damaging forest cover - timber, soy, beef, leather, biofuels and palm oil

The FFD's conclusions were based on responses to a questionnaire sent to companies worldwide. This quizzed them on a range of topics, such as whether their raw materials and products were environmentally certified and they could trace them back down the supply chain.

The idea is to flag up best practice, underline that being an environmental good-egg and commercially successful are not mutually exclusive and to encourage the others. And top performers, according to the FFD report, included US forest and timber construction products giant Weyerhaeuser, UK timber and builders merchant Travis Perkins, plus the likes of UK retailers Marks & Spencer and J Sainsbury, Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier and French cosmetics producer L'Oreal.

However, when I spoke to one of The Daily Telegraph's environment correspondents about this initiative, the response was pretty much that it was all very nice, but she wasn't interested in "pats on the back" for companies doing the right thing, just exposing the eco-villains who are laying waste to the rainforest and sending us all to a polar bear-less hell in an over-heated hand cart.

Is it me, or isn't it time for the media generally to lighten up and give businesses some eco-credit where eco-credit's due?

It's small wonder, under the constant press and tv barrage of gloom and doom on so many topics, that a poll recently found that 42% of Britons wanted to emigrate - depressing news in itself.

Green lighting gets greener

Lighting is part of the government's focus on promoting energy efficiency. The advancement of LED lighting is aimed at reducing energy consumption for lighting by one third by 2030

]]>

The US Department of Energy on January 15, 2010 has pledged $37 million of funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act towards research projects in high-efficiency solid-state lighting, which includes light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).

DOE selected 17 projects to receive funding in the areas of research, development, and deployment. The awards have been made in conjunction with $28.5 million in private industry cost share. The funds going to research in energy efficient lighting will serve to reduce our energy consumption and environmental impact, save money and support an industry that will create new jobs.

Funds were awarded to Cambrios in Sunnyvale, California, University of Rochester, and WhiteOptics, LLC in Newark, Delaware for core technology research. Funds for product development will go to Cree General Electric, Lightscape Materials, Osram Sylvania Products, Inc., Philips Lumileds Lighting Company, and PPG Industries. Support for the manufacturing side has been slated for Applied Materials, GE Global Research, GE Lumination, KLA Tencor Corp Philips Lumileds Lighting, Ultratech, Universal Display Corp and Veeco Instruments.

This is the sixth allocation of funds by DOE for solid-state lighting core technology research and product development, and the first time that DOE has funded solid-state lighting manufacturing projects. The inclusion of funding to manufacturing research is part of a new DOE initiative to achieve manufacturing improvements that reduce costs and improve quality.

USGBC challenges to go 'green'

It's time to apply your learning experience in the principles of integrated design, sustainability, and innovation. Wondering what and how? The US Green Building Council (USGBC) is hosting Natural Talent Design Competition, registration for which is now open!

]]>

Applying learning experience in the components of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, the design challenge requires participants to compete in local competitions, and the top winner of each moves on to compete for a national award at USGBC's annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo. Awards include green building scholarships, as well as travel and registration to Greenbuild, where finalists' entries are displayed and final judging occurs.

Organized in partnership with Salvation Army's EnviRenew Initiative, the 2010 Natural Design Competition will focus its sights on the rebuilding effort in New Orleans, Louisiana. Competitors will be divided into students and young professionals groups and will design a LEED for Homes project that is priced affordably and is functional for elderly occupants.

Up to four designs will be selected from the local competition finalists to be showcased at Greenbuild 2010 and, for the first time, the designers will see their projects built in New Orleans' Broadmoor neighborhood. Once the homes are built, they will enter a measurement and verification phase in which they will be graded on energy efficiency, water reuse, and indoor air quality among other categories. The design team whose home performs best during measurement and verification will be awarded the final grand prize.

Recycled guns and knives: Olympic sustainable architecture

Knives, bullets, body armor, guns and items of jewelry - think of anything that can be confiscated by the police department. And you have it right there, melted down to aid the construction of London's 2012 Olympic site in Stratford.

]]>

Yes, you heard it right! London is ramping up their construction plans for the 2012 Olympics. And they are building a sustainable Olympic Stadium out of recycled guns and knives, the confiscated weapons from the Metropolitan Police Department. That's surely an anti-weapons and recycling program all rolled into one!

Designed by Populous, formerly HOK Sport, the eco-stadium will utilize a minimum number of materials and resources in order to have a lower environmental impact, and the recycled scrap metal is just one of those eco-elements.

The London Metropolitan Police have collected more than 52 tons of scrap metal from old keys, knives and guns in 2009. And they are contributing on being environmental friendly by giving some of it as part of the construction of the Olympic site to reduce to the carbon footprint of the 2012 development.

Interestingly, they have also collected 3.3 million spent bullets, weighing about 28 tons and recycled them into photo frames and jewelry. On top of that, they also recycled old uniforms, including body armor, to be used in car production, as well as cooking oil and horse manure.

International Builders' Show 2010

The 2010 International Builders' Show, being held from January 19-22, 2009 is the biggest annual trade show in the world for the residential and commercial building industry, showcasing the industry's most important manufacturers.
]]>

The show features largest display of residential and commercial building industry products and materials in more than 200 construction product categories and attracts more than 60,000 professionals from nearly 100 countries.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) event, held in one of the largest convention centers in the country, will feature the most cutting-edge designs, technologies, and products for all segments of the industry.

IBS 2010 will offer more than 175 educational programs, workshops and seminars focusing on the business of residential and light commercial construction and current building industry trends. A wide range of tours will be offered at IBS 2010, showcasing the latest product technologies, design ideas and building techniques.

Visitors can also go through demonstration areas located on the show floor, which will include the newest installation techniques and tools for steel and wood framing as well as concrete buildings, structures and foundations.

For more details, visit http://www.buildersshow.com/

Does the EU need to get tougher on illegal timber?

By Mike Jeffree editor of Timber Trade Journal

Proposed EU legislation will not make the trade of illegal timber a criminal offence. Late last year, EU agriculture ministers at the Council of Europe (CoE) backed new rules to curb entry of illegal timber on the European market. But the proposed legislation, which focuses on traders exercising due diligence to minimise the risk of illegal wood entering their supply chain, stops short of making it a punishable legal offence to trade in the material. This contrasts with the US, where, under the Lacey Act, companies that are found to be handling illegal material and proven not to have undertaken adequate risk assessment of their supply chain, can face fines or even gaol.

]]> The UK was one of the countries that wanted an outright ban on trading in illegal timber and wood products in the EU and would not support the rules proposed at the CoE. The UK Timber Trade Federation also supports some form of legal prohibition, as does Greenpeace and other NGOs.

So what is your view? Would you like to see the EU impose a legal ban on trade in illegal wood, backed with heavy punitive sanctions, or do you think the measures supported by the CoE, which have been described as effectively amounting to a supply chain risk assessment code of practice for traders, are sufficient?