For many firms that focus on buildings, much of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s promise still hasn’t turned into contracts. Several federal agencies each have obligated less than half of their stimulus funding for building-related construction. Some projects for which contracts have been awarded haven’t seen a shovel move yet. Facing heavy workloads and looming legislative deadlines, agencies will be scrambling to get work out the door in coming months, including some huge projects. Some GSA projects tapping the stimulus are large, including the $435-million Coast Guard headquarters, rendered above, in Washington, D.C. Funding total includes $162 million from
A bell tower in St. Mark’s Square dating back to 12th-Century Venice is getting a new lease on life through a two-year project to stabilize the ill-fated monument standing on tricky soil. In January, workers began drilling cement-reinforced micro-piles to provide watertight enclosures around seven chambers so a girdle of titanium rods can be threaded through the ground around the tower’s faulty foundation block. Photo: Peter Reina / ENR The most prominent monument in St. Mark’s Square in Venice is a 20th-Century reconstruction Related Links: Stabilizing Venice Monument During most of this year, subcontractor Trevi SpA, Cesena, will drill about
There is at least one superlative associated with the world’s tallest structure that few know about: The 828-meter Burj Dubai, renamed Burj Khalifa on its opening day, Jan. 4, is likely the most monitored skyscraper in the world, from its foundation to the top of its pinnacle. Data collected from the building’s permanent sensors will be used to refine design and construction methods for future supertall towers, say sources. + Image Photo: Emaar Properties Taipei 101, by 320 meters Photo: Emaar Properties Burj Khalifa, formerly called the Burj Dubai, dwarfs the world’s next-tallest building The burj’s lead contractor, Samsung C&T
The developer of the world’s tallest building, which opened on Jan. 4 in Dubai after more than a year’s delay, has announced the height at 828 meters. The announcement ends years of speculation, fueled by developer Emaar Properties. Members of the design and construction team, including architect-engineer Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and lead contractor Samsung Corp., were contractually obligated to keep the height a secret. The 828-m height makes the building 320 m taller than the previous world’s tallest building, the 508-m Taipei 101. The difference is equivalent to an 80-story-plus tower. The Burj Khalifa, which is the Burj Dubai’s
On Dec. 16, MGM Mirage’s $8.5-billion, 18-million-sq-ft. CityCenter project debuted on the Las Vegas Strip. Perini Building Co., a unit of Sylmar, Calif.-based Tutor Perini Corp., was the general contractor, with Gensler, San Francisco, as executive architect. The seven-building, mixed-use development on 67 acres at one time employed one-third of southern Nevada’s building trades. The hotel, home and entertainment complex could resurrect or sink Las Vegas’ flagging tourism industry, possibly giving new life to stalled projects, say some observers. If unsuccessful, it could plunge MGM Mirage into financial trouble and slow southern Nevada’s economic recovery. Photo: MGM Mirage Inc.
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
An article titled the “Fireless Furnace” appeared in the Oct. 25, 1948, issue of LIFE magazine. There, postwar America witnessed the emergence of a futuristic technology that Lord Kelvin, the king of cold, only dreamed about a century earlier. The fireless furnace avoided burning fossil fuels by piping water through coils in the ground and then through a heat pump. But the technology was too expensive—about $3,000 installed—and too new to gain acceptance. “However, as the efficiency of getting heat from the earth improves, it is almost certain that eventually the heat pump will be able to compete successfully with
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has decided to measure a building’s height from the level of the “lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance,” to accommodate multi-use skyscrapers with several main entrances at different levels. The group also has decided to eliminate its height-to-roof category—acknowledging that fewer tall buildings have easily measurable, distinct roof elevations. Under the new criteria, the 800-meter-plus Burj Dubai, currently set to open as the world’s tallest building in January, will now be measured from the lowest of its three main entrances. Also, under the new criteria, the recently completed Trump International Hotel & Towers
As the Army addresses the lifestyle needs and concerns of its soldiers and their families—as defined by a 1983 survey and laid out for resolution in an “Army Family Action Plan”—many residential facilities the Corps of Engineers is designing and building resemble towns and villages rather than military bases. Photo: Marc Barnes, USACE Trend is toward designing bases as communities with more of a hometown feel. Photo: Ronnie Craige, USACE Prefab Purcell Construction Corp., Watertown, N.Y., has two contracts to build six five-story barracks buildings at Fort Lee, Va., using prefabricated structural steel panels. Purcell owns its own fabricating plant
Stakes are high for gaming giant MGM Mirage Inc.’s $8.5-billion CityCenter development on the Las Vegas Strip. The project’s turbulent history includes the death of six construction workers, a lawsuit between development partners over rising costs and funding woes brought on by the global credit crisis. Yet the 18-million-sq-ft complex of hotels, condos, casinos and entertainment space still is scheduled to open in phases, starting on Dec. 1. Photo: MGM MIRAGE CityCenter could be a big gamble for its owners and for Las Vegas city officials. Complex and its CEO, Bobby Brown, at its debut in 2007. The debut of
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