HEADLINES ARCHIVE
Scraping the Sky: The 1 km-Tall Kingdom Tower
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has long served as a port for Muslims arriving by sea for the Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. With a population of 5.1 million, Jeddah is the second largest city in Saudi Arabia and ranks as the largest city on the Red Sea. If all goes as planned, by 2020 pilgrims flooding the city will be treated to a modern marvel, a skyscraper more than 1 km in height called the Kingdom Tower.
Engineering Buildings That Rock in an Earthquake
Buildings that rock during an earthquake and return to plumb would withstand seismic shaking better than structural designs commonly used in vulnerable zones, according to a researcher at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.
London Could Place Roads Underground, Akin to Boston's "Big Dig"
Mayor's plan to redesign London's busiest roads during a visit at Boston's Big Dig.
Standards for Biomass in Green Buildings to Be Issued
ASHRAE, the U.S. Green Building Council and the Illuminating Engineering Society say they will draft new standards for green buildings.
Project Management Tips for Engineering and Construction: Part 3, Construction Management
Third in a series of articles based on the authors’ 70 years of combined project engineering and project management experience, this article covers construction management to ensure on time projects completion.
Concrete Harvests Solar Energy for Electricity
Researchers at the University of Kassel in Germany have developed a building material based on the principles of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC).
Project Management Tips for Engineering and Construction: Part 2, Contract Negotiation and Execution
Second in a series of articles in project engineering and management by authors with over 70 years of experience. This article will cover contract negotiation, a critical step as contracts define and guide the construction process.
Index Suggests End to Pattern of Rising Construction Prices
The costs of construction fell in January ending 3 years of rising prices.
US and India Sign Smart City Agreement
US President Barack Obama and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi have signed an agreement which will see the construction of three smart cities in the states of Allahabad, Ajmer and Vishakhapatnam.
Commercial Space in India and China to Grow 65% in Decade, IHS Says
China and India's number of commercial buildings are deemed to grow by nearly 65% in the next 10 years. With China's increase of consumer goods and India's driven aim of having foreign manufacturers to set up their plants in India.
Hardening the Infrastructure to Protect Against Storm Surges
In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda, tore through the island country and left devastation in its wake.
JGC Nets $510 million Contract for Petronas’ LNG Complex
JGC bags $510 million engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract for Petronas' LNG Complex in Malaysia.
Longest "Flat-pack" Arch Bridge to Be Built in England
Civil engineers at Queen’s University Belfast and pre-cast concrete company Macrete Ireland have developed one of the world's longest “flat pack” arch bridge spanning 53 feet (16 meters).
Thermal Testing of Concrete Foundations Set in ASTM Standard
To ensure that the correct procedures are being used in temperature assessments, a commonly used assessment method has been developed as a new American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard.
ASTM Standard to Help Keep Sensitive Talks Private
In order to keep sound that travels beyond the walls of a particular area an ASTM subcommittee specializing in speech privacy is at work on a proposed new standard, WK47433, Performance Specification of Electronic Sound Masking When Used in Building Spaces.
Project Management Tips for Engineering and Construction: Part 1, The Bid Process
If you work in the engineering and construction industries, there’s a good chance you’ll be called upon to manage projects requiring significant coordination of ideas, materials and labor.
Can a Rating System Ensure Infrastructure Sustainability?
In the last decade, major events such as the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minn., and hurricanes Katrina and Sandy have highlighted significant problems in the United States’ aging infrastructure.
ASTM Standard for Precast Concrete Segmental Box Culverts
Precast reinforced concrete box sections are proving to be a versatile means for the development of infrastructure.
Bay Bridge Leaks Despite Caulking
Leaks have been detected on the rebuilt eastern section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in California, despite the use of caulking in an effort to solve the problem. News service Sourcable reports that the internal leaks caused by bolt holes for guard rails were first detected last winter.
Prefab Elements Saved Time, Money on Hospital Construction Project
Using prefabricated elements in the construction of the new Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver cut 72 workdays off the construction schedule and resulted in $4.3 million in savings, according to a study by University of Colorado Boulder engineers.