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House of Cards: An Engineering Marvel
The connection between the building integrity of a house of cards and the building blocks of nature. See why that house of cards does not fall. The connection between the building integrity of a house of cards and the building blocks of nature. See why that house of cards does ... more
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The solution to big city pollution.
This prototype is called the "Hybrid Air Breeze Tower" I hope you enjoy this idea.
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Construction resumes on phantom hotel after 16 years
"North Korea's phantom hotel is stirring back to life. Once dubbed by Esquire magazine as "the worst building in the history of mankind," the 105-story Ryugyong Hotel is back under construction after a 16-year lull in the capital of one of the world's most reclusive and destitute countries.
According to foreign residents in Pyongyang, Egypt's Orascom group has recently begun refurbishing the top floors of the three-sided pyramid-shaped hotel whose 330-metre (1,083 ft) frame dominates the Pyongyang skyline.
The firm has put glass panels into the concrete shell, installed telecommunications antennas -- even though the North forbids its citizens to own mobile phones -- and put up an artist's impression of what it will look like.
An official with the group said its Orascom Telecom subsidiary was involved in the project but gave no details.
The hotel consists of three wings rising at 75 degree angles capped by several floors arranged in rings supposed to hold five revolving restaurants and an observation deck.
A creaky building crane has for years sat unused at the top of the 3,000-room hotel in a city where tourists are only occasionally allowed to visit.
"It is not a beautiful design. It carries little iconic or monumental significance, but sheer muscular and massive presence," said Lee Sang Jun, a professor of architecture at Yonsei University in Seoul.
The communist North started construction in 1987, in a possible fit of jealousy at South Korea, which was about to host the 1988 Summer Olympics and show off to the world the success of its rapidly developing economy.
A concrete shell built by North Korea's Paektu Mountain Architects & Engineers emerged over the next few years. A proud North Korea put a likeness of the hotel on postage stamps and boasted about the structure in official media.
According to intelligence sources, then North Korean leader Kim Il-sung saw the hotel as a symbol of his big dreams for the state he founded, while his son and current leader Kim Jong-il was a driving force in its construction.
But by 1992, worked was halted. The North's main benefactor the Soviet Union had dissolved a year earlier and funding for the hotel had vanished. For a time, the North airbrushed images of the Ryugyong Hotel from photographs.
As the North's economy took a deeper turn for the worse in the 1990s the empty shell became a symbol of the country's failure, earning nicknames "Hotel of Doom" and "Phantom Hotel."
Yonsei's Lee and other architects said there were questions raised about whether the hotel was structurally sound and a few believed completing the structure could cause it to collapse.
It would cost up to $2 billion to finish the Ryugyong Hotel and make it safe, according to estimates in South Korean media. That is equivalent to about 10 percent of the North's annual economic output.
Bruno Giberti, associate head of California Polytechnic State University's Department of Architecture, said the project was typical of what has been produced recently in many cities trying to show their emerging wealth by constructing gigantic edifices that were not related in scale to anything else around them.
"If this is the worst building in the world, the runners up are in Vegas and Shanghai," said Giberti." "North Korea's phantom hotel is stirring back to life. Once dubbed by Esquire magazine as "the worst building in the history of mankin... more -
Minneapolis Bridges: Construction, Deconstruction & Congestion
Since the I35 bridge collapsed into the Mississippi river last summer, a new bridge has been under construction. But at the same time, several other bridges in the area are being labeled potentially unnsafe and are also being town down, creating a mess for drivers in the Twin Cities area. Since the I35 bridge collapsed into the Mississippi river last summer, a new bridge has been under construction. But at the same time,... more
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Life in A Rail Car
Very rare opportunity to purchase the super stylish 1949 Portland Pullman Railcar with architect designed modern interior to wow your friends and clients! Approximately 85 feet long (1/2 Portland city block! 9 1/2 feet wide with 10 foot doomed ceiling... Very rare opportunity to purchase the super stylish 1949 Portland Pullman Railcar with architect designed modern interior to wow your ... more
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Crane Man
Cameron Rousseau is a 20-year-old tower crane operator, currently working on the Munger project at Stanford University.
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Press Button, Building Goes Down
The computer modeling of building implosion accurately predicts the pattern of the actual building implosion. This modeling program was developed at NC State University. The computer modeling of building implosion accurately predicts the pattern of the actual building implosion. This modeling program w... more
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Invincible feat. Finale- "Locusts" (docu-music-video)
Detroit based Hip-Hop artists Invincible and Finale rhyme about the impacts of gentrification on the Motor City. This piece includes interviews with community activists discussing displacement and predatory planning versus sustainable development in the D.
Both the song and video for "Locusts" by Invincible feat. Finale, (produced by DJ House Shoes) are from Invincible's debut album Shapeshifters available on www.EMERGENCEmusic.net and www.bling47.com). Detroit based Hip-Hop artists Invincible and Finale rhyme about the impacts of gentrification on the Motor City. This piece includes i... more -
University's are focused on building GREENer
Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida just finished a large bridge project that was focused completely on using materials that were safe for the environment and reused plastic/wood.
'The bridge took about a year to plan, but only about four months to construct. “We’re very proud,” said Pete Ikegami, the architect on the project from MRI Architect Group. “It’s solid! It looks so simple; nobody knows the process.”
“It really makes everything accessible,” said Image and Design Vice President Stella Posada.
Posada has a passion for incorporating “green” elements throughout the school and in any new construction projects. The bridge design is no exception.
What look like brick pavers covering the bridge walkway are actually faux bricks from concrete, made locally. “If it were real, it would have to be shipped in, said Posada.” Some of the stone on the side of the bridge is also partially made with concrete.
The lighting on the bridge is designed for safety, energy-efficiency and ambience, said Posada. There is a glass block with an LED light embedded into the center of the walkway, candelabra lighting above and low voltage lighting on the side of and under the bridge. “All the lighting is energy efficient,” pointed out Ikegami.
“It’s very beautiful at night,” said Posada.'
Spread the word! The more people realize that building with reused materials is possible, the better off our world is! Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida just finished a large bridge project that was focused completely on using materials that ... more -
Chinese Are Left to Ask Why Schools Crumbled in Quake
The earthquake’s destruction of Xinjian Primary School was swift and complete. Hundreds of children were crushed as the floors collapsed in a deluge of falling bricks and concrete. Days later, as curiosity seekers came with video cameras and as parents came to grieve, the four-story school was no more than rubble.
In contrast, none of the nearby buildings were badly damaged. A separate kindergarten less than 20 feet away survived with barely a crack. An adjacent 10-story hotel stood largely undisturbed. And another local primary school, Beijie, catering to children of the elite, was in such good condition that local officials were using it as a refugee center.
“This is not a natural disaster,” said Ren Yongchang, whose 9-year-old son died inside the destroyed school. His hands were covered in plaster dust as he stood beside the rubble, shouting and weeping as he grabbed the exposed steel rebar of a broken concrete column. “This is not good steel. It doesn’t meet standards. They stole our children.”
There is no official figure on how many children died at Xinjian Primary School, nor on how many died at scores of other schools that collapsed in the powerful May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province. But the number of student deaths seems likely to exceed 10,000, and possibly go much higher, a staggering figure that has become a simmering controversy in China as grieving parents say their children might have lived had the schools been better built.
The Chinese government has enjoyed broad public support for its handling of the earthquake, and in Sichuan on Saturday, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations praised the government’s response.
But as parents at different schools begin to speak out, the question of whether official negligence, and possibly corruption, contributed to the student deaths could turn public opinion. The government has launched an investigation, but censors, wary of the public mood, are trying to suppress the issue in state-run media and online.
An examination of the collapse of Xinjian Primary School offers a disturbing picture of a calamity that might have been avoided. Many parents say they were told the school was unsafe. Xinjian was poorly built when it opened its doors in 1992, they say, and never got its share of government funds for reconstruction because of its low ranking in the local education bureaucracy and the low social status of its students.
The earthquake’s destruction of Xinjian Primary School was swift and complete. Hundreds of children were crushed as the floors collaps... more -
WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: Green C...
Green City China
Jamais Cascio
September 13, 2005 3:09 PM
dongtan.jpgBritish design consultancy Arup has announced that it has been tapped by the Chinese government to lead the construction of an "eco-city" expansion to Shanghai. Dongtan, the expanded development near Shanghai's airport, will eventually cover about 8,800 hectares -- roughly the size of Manhattan island. Shanghai claims that the Dongtan project will be "the world's first genuinely eco-friendly city," using recycled water, cogeneration and biomass for energy, and striving to be as carbon-neutral as possible.
The first phase, a 630 hectare development including a mix of transport facilities, schools, housing and high-tech industrial spaces, will begin construction late next year, and is expected to be completed by 2010....
More at link above.
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from TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com where we think every place destroyed by natural disasters and war should be rebuilt GREEN.
Green City China Jamais Cascio September 13, 2005 3:09 PM ... more -
City on Steroids
China is building megacities like this at a pace and scale the
world has never seen before. Chongqing has 12 million people and counting.
It's part of the central government's plan to bring some of China's economic
boom to its impoverished interior province where three out of four Chinese
live. Vanguard takes you on a whirlwind tour of the city---from inside a
cramped boarding house where migrant workers to inside a starter apartment
of China's new class of yuppies; from inside ancient, crumbling teahouses to
gleaming new car factories. China is building megacities like this at a pace and scale the ... more -
Dubai will become city of supertowers
Move over Burj Dubai, and make room for a new generation of supertowers! Dubai, formerly known as the modest "city of merchants," has been laying out a new foundation for urban growth with gleaming new high-rises climbing vertically from the desert port. The Burj Dubai which opens in June 2009 will be the world's tallest skyscraper topping with 160 habitable floors. The mixed use residential and commercial tower will also unveil Armani's debut hotel. See the Burj Dubai site for further info here > http://www.burjdubai.com.
Meanwhile, eleven newer projects are planned in Dubai that will make up a new class of supertowers, rising upwards with more than 100 habitable floors each, including EP Site 09 (pictured). Find out more in this Gulf News article contributed by Business Editor Saifur Rahman (04 May 2008). Move over Burj Dubai, and make room for a new generation of supertowers! Dubai, formerly known as the modest "city of merchants," has ... more -
13 construction deaths spur NYC probe
Amid a citywide building boom, 13 people have died in construction accidents this year, one more than the total for all of 2007.
Now Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he is not satisfied with the city’s Department of Buildings and wants to know what went wrong.
The deaths include seven people who were killed last month when a crane toppled over and a window installer who fell nine stories last week when his safety strap failed. Amid a citywide building boom, 13 people have died in construction accidents this year, one more than the total for all of 2007. ... more -
Reportage : Narcotecture in Afghanistan
Monocle magazine shares this program about the building boom in Afghanistan's western city Herat. Wealthy businessmen are transforming the skyline of this medieval city with lavish new residences and emergent gentrification on an unprecedented scale. One architect comments "construction is so shoddy, if there was an earthquake, half of Herat would fall down." Monocle magazine shares this program about the building boom in Afghanistan's western city Herat. Wealthy businessmen are transforming... more
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The Seegers Family Edifice Venture. (The History and Beginning)
The Seegers Family Edifice Venture is a documentary of a family that is turning an old church camp activities center into their future home. One of their goals is to show practical construction methods that will turn this building into an efficient green dwelling.
The History & Beginning is the first webisode of The Seegers Family Edifice Venture. In this episode you will meet the Seegers family, see us close on the building, learn its history and see the new roof go on. You’ll also get a tour of the building with an explanation of how they plan to renovate it. The Seegers Family Edifice Venture is a documentary of a family that is turning an old church camp activities center into their future... more -
Dubai - What the hell is going on over there?
Here is a link to a series of stunning photographs of Dubai that show the incredible changes in the landscape. These pictures are truly spectacular. Here is a link to a series of stunning photographs of Dubai that show the incredible changes in the landscape. These pictures are trul... more
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All tomorrow's cities
Amazing photos of tomorrow's megacities under construction. There's a very ghostly/skeletal vibe here. It's like you could either be looking at a new beginning... or the end of the world. Amazing photos of tomorrow's megacities under construction. There's a very ghostly/skeletal vibe here. It's like you could either be l... more
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Building Burning Man
For most Burners paying for a ticket, driving to Black Rock Desert and pitching a tent is a lot to do. For the engineers and artists of the major theme camps or art installations getting to the Burning Man site is just the beginning. These dedicated souls take it upon themselves to build the amazing art that everyone will enjoy. We meet some of the best Black Rock builders in the business as they begin their build. For most Burners paying for a ticket, driving to Black Rock Desert and pitching a tent is a lot to do. For the engineers and artists o... more
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Northern Spain Waves in Danger
Could be bad news for Northern Spain's surfing community
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