C-Power N.V. Cast In Belgium, 2,700-Tonne Concrete Wind-Turbine Bases Are Headed Offshore. As offshore wind turbines grow in power, they need increasingly robust supports. Six of the world’s biggest new-generation concrete gravity bases have recently been placed in depths up to 27 m in the North Sea to carry 5-MW turbines. Installed 30 km off Belgium since late April, the hollow, prestressed 2,700-tonne concrete bases are the first of the $240-million, 60-unit Thornton Bank farm. The 300-MW first phase is due for completion this September. With 126-m-dia. blades, the turbines will sit on 6.5-m-dia. steel pylons rising 77 m from
Guy Lawrence for ENR Now that shortages and high prices are making headlines, it finally has sunk in that the basics of human survival on earth—clean water, clean air, sufficient energy and usable land—are finite commodities. Helping the world meet these needs has long fueled the industry’s environmental services sector. But with “green” and “sustainable” now familiar terms in the global vocabulary, ENR’s Top 200 Environmental Firms are enjoying another strong year for their missions, markets and bottom lines. Despite shrinkage in some sectors, whether due to finished tasks, budget cuts, the housing falloff or changes in listed firms, Top
Barnhart Crane TWC Construction Inc. Power Engineers Inc. Wind energy (top) dominates the growing renewables sector, but solar installations (middle) are multiplying and geothermal plants (bottom) are reaching new territory. In the game of Monopoly, the Electric Co. is a safe, dull play; it is priced low and generates modest income. In the real world, though, the electricity business is rougher than a rodeo bull ride: Governments have joined environmental activists in challenging permit applications for new coal-fired power plants, prices for coal and natural gas are volatile as never before, and states are requiring utilities to meet growing proportions
California Academy Of Sciences California Academy Of Sciences The birds and the bees of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park are doing what comes naturally humming and buzzing with ease around the new hills on the roof of the $488-million replacement museum for the California Academy of Sciences. If they only knew how much strenuous exercise went into creating their 2.5 acre unnatural habitat, with its seven hills and 1.7 million native plants. “We had to tie people off with mountain-climbing gear because the roof was so steep,” says Daniel Payne, construction manager for subcontractor Webcor Concrete, Hayward, Calif. PIANO Related
At times, Jean Rogers felt as if she was herding cats. As sustainability consultant for the 410,000-sq-ft California Academy of Sciences replacement museum in San Francisco, it was her job to not only push the envelope of green building but to get the building team and exhibit designers to think outside the box. “There’s resistance everywhere, and you have to have patience, ask questions about why not and not take no for an answer,” says Rogers, an environmental engineer with the local office of Arup. + click to enlarge Webcor & California Academy of Sciences Roof steel rides over exhibit
In a project chock-full of tricky terrain, the contoured roof profile still stands out as the most convoluted, with the warped skylight over the piazza a close second. Crews erected roof steel in over 20 sequences, in careful coordination with concrete walls and curtain-wall operations, says Matt Rossie, a project director for Webcor Builders, the San Mateo, Calif.-based general contractor for the California Academy of Sciences. For example, wall gang forms needed to be flown out after casting, which meant that only the primary roof steel could be installed prior to the third-floor pours. Arup Steel detailing, rolling, fabrication and
To create the world’s most voluminous, naturally ventilated museum space for the California Academy of Sciences, the San Francisco office of project consulting engineer Arup commissioned wind-tunnel tests to confirm its computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. Then it rebuilt its CFD model. The combined studies took 18 weeks, which is 16 weeks more than it would have taken to study a simple rectilinear space, says Karl Lyndon, Arup’s project mechanical engineer. + click to enlarge Arup Digital model validated with wind tunnel. Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc., Guelph, Ontario, constructed a 1:100 scale model to simulate air flow through
SWA Group Paul Kephart describes himself as an ecologist, designer, artist and horticulturalist. With the 2.5-acre planted roof and its seven hills capping the new California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco under his belt, he can add “inventor” to his list. To install the garden’s 1.7 million plants, Kephart created a biodegradable, soil-based, modular planting tray made from waste coconut fiber and infused the tray with a species of fungi that aids in plant growth and health. “Most trays are plastic,” says Kephart, owner of Rana Creek Habitat Restoration, Carmel Valley, Calif. But museum design architect Renzo Piano wanted
Green building for several years had been a novelty, an extra, sometimes expensive, set of bells and whistles to hang on signature buildings. But over the past two or three years, concerns about the environment and global warming have brought sustainable design to the forefront of the construction industry. And with the proliferation of green products and materials, and sudden surge in energy prices, building green no longer is an expensive luxury, but an often cost-effective alternative to traditional design. In its first ever Top Green Design Firms survey, ENR has attempted to measure the green design market. The resulting
Timothy Taule / ENR Two to three years ago, some contractors began retiring diesel pickup trucks and replacing them with gasoline units in anticipation of the rising cost of cleaner diesel fuel and lower-emission engines. But many never expected diesel to lose its longtime price stability. “It is shocking to us,” says Arne Ruud, corporate equipment manager for Broomfield, Colo.-based Guy F. Atkinson Construction LLC. As the cost of diesel fuel in regions like the West Coast has surpassed gasoline by nearly $1, the lucky fleet owners who switched to gasoline pickups now look like geniuses. Ruud says his employer
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