Courtesy of O Empreiteiro Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, dead at 104, created the modern city of Brasilia and other iconic buildings around the world. Courtesy of government of Brazil As in this 1950s-era cathedral in Brasilia, Niemeyer's emphasis on curves pushed Brazilian engineers to new levels of innovation to accommodate the untested designs. Related Links: Architectural Record slideshow of Oscar Niemeyer's well known buildings Homepage (in English) of Brazil Construction Publication O Empreiteiro The idea of moving Brazil's capital to the undeveloped interior dated to 1789, but it took until 1957 for work to begin. Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, along
Related Links: 100 Years of Coal Age WilkinsonJoseph F. Wilkinson, a former managing editor of ENR in the 1960s and 1970s and an award-winning journalist, died on Nov. 28 in Brooklyn, N.Y., of cardiac arrest at age 87.Wilkinson joined ENR in the 1950s and was managing editor from 1969 to 1976."Joe was the first ENR staffer to be a Vietnam war correspondent," says ENR Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Arthur J. Fox. "At his own initiative, he also was the first and only ENR editor to visit Antarctica and report on activities there."Adds Fox, "Joe's writing was 'splendid,' a favorite word of
Related Links: Contractors Association of Greater New York "Walking Steel": 2004 Video Tribute to John Cavanagh UPDATE: A public memorial for John A. Cavanagh will be held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan on Jan. 24 at 3 p.m. CavanaghJohn A. Cavanagh admitted he was "scared to death" scaling high-rises as a young field engineer for a New York City contractor, but he ended up climbing to the heights of the city's tough construction business some 50 years later as a top company executive, the founder of a leading contractor bargaining group and an industry activist for union construction.Cavanagh died
Related Links: Tappan Zee Bridge Bidder's Cold Feet Costs Team $2.5 Million The internationally expansive contractor ACS Group, Madrid, has tightened its control of German contractor Hochtief A.G. with the Nov. 20 appointment of Marcelino Fernández Verdes, a former executive of the Spanish firm, as the German company's new CEO.His predecessor, Frank Stieler, held the post for only 19 months since replacing former Hochtief boss Herbert Lütkestratkötter, who quit after unsuccessfully resisting ACS's acquisition of a controlling interest in the German firm.Fernández Verdes, whose appointment was unanimously supported by Hochtief's executive board, led the German firm's Americas division since joining
Related Links: "Raising the Bar in Contractor Selection"- Fall 2012 issue of CURT magazine The Voice, see page 37. CURT Event Talks up Risk-Taking, Value Creation Aiming to head off projected craft and management shortages and push contractors to boost workforce quality to compete for work, owners are launching a long-gestating rating tool that they want to become a key differentiator in contractor selection. The Contractor Workforce Development Assessment, which would grade firms based on 23 training components, will be deployed widely next year by the Construction Users Round Table.At the group's convention in Orlando, Fla., last month, CURT officials
Related Links: FMI Website PricewaterhouseCoopers/engineering&construction practice website Acquisition has been a key component of construction-firm growth strategy in recent years. Recent surveys indicate that economic and political uncertainties have slowed the buying and selling trend in 2012, which makes attention to risk factors in an M&A deal all the more critical.PricewaterhouseCoopers reported 30 global engineering- and construction-sector deals (those worth $50 million or more), for a total of $11.8 billion, in this year's third quarter ending Sept. 30, compared to 52 deals worth nearly $22.7 billion for the same quarter last year.H. Kent Goetjen, PwC's E&C sector leader, says the
Illustration by Edel Rodriguez As part of a tabulation, analysis and review of lawsuits filed in the last decade, ENR found that most claims for sexual harassment, including those lodged over same-sex harassment by men, were defeated without a full trial or reversed on appeal. Research by Barbara Mende Ten years of data on construction-related sexual harassment lawsuits. Related Links: Judges Overturn Same-Sex Harassment Verdict Editorial: Justice Denied in Boh Bros. Same-Sex Harass Verdict Viewpoint: Tell Bullies to Step Off What Companies Do to Fend Off Abuse SPECIAL INVESTIGATION In the first few months of 2007, John Cherry worked on
Infrastructure projects could get a cash boost from Nov. 6 voting, with about $3.2 billion in state measures and some $36 billion in local initiatives passed, according to analyses and media reports.The American Road & Transportation Builders Association says 68% of its tracked measures passed, totaling $2.4 billion for road upgrades, including a tax hike in Arkansas set to raise $1.3 billion over 10 years. Among local measures approved was a sales-tax hike in Orange County, N.C., set to raise $661 million over 30 years. New Jersey voters said yes to $750 million for higher education, and those in Connecticut
Nearly three weeks after Superstorm Sandy hit the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut coastline with an unprecedented combination of wind and storm surge, public-private teams have largely dealt with power outages and flood emergencies and now are turning their attention to damage in infrastructure and to longer-term restoration, debris cleanup, structural assessments and housing for the thousands who were displaced.
Related Links: Insurance Risk Management Institute (IRMI) Risk and Insurance conferenes website August 2012 Appellate Court ruling in PORT OF HOUSTON AUTHORITY OF HARRIS COUNTY v. ZACHRY CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION Insurance reps, contractor risk managers and attorneys highlighted looming new risks at the Insurance Risk Management Institute's construction conference, held in Orlando, Fla., from Nov. 12 to Nov. 15, that could spell new bottom-line impacts and a need for more vigilance.William B. Noonan, risk-management vice president for contractor StructureTone, noted the importance of having builders' risk policies "during construction" as well as blanket wrap-up coverages offered by owners or contractors. But