The Zero-Energy House: The Bold Low-Cost Breakthrough that may Revolutionize Housing
The world is in the early stages of a revolution in housing. About 200 houses have already been built in Canada that use under $125/yr for electric-resistance space heating�� even where...
Seepage Cutoff Wall Installed Through Dam is Construction First
A new construction technique has been developed which provides a permanent solution to the foundation problems at Wolf Creek Dam. Muddy flows and sinkholes discovered in 1968 led to a...
Steel Plate Shear Walls Resist Lateral Load, Cut Costs
Two new buildings have a seldom-used stiffening system�� steel plate shear walls. Reasons for using them, rather than reinforced concrete shear walls or steel or concrete rigid frames,...
Top-to-Bottom Construction in High-Rise Buildings
This top-to-bottom construction method, called jackblock is a cousin of lift-slab. The main components are the jack and concrete block, hence the name. The top story of a building is constructed...
Symposium on Earth Reinforcement
Proceedings of the Symposium on Earth Reinforcement, held at the ASCE Annual Convention, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 27, 1978. Sponsored by the Committee on Placement and Improvement...
Retaining Walls: Taking It From The Top
Since 1958, fully anchored curtain walls have been used increasingly to retain slopes in Brazil where topographic, climatic, and geologic conditions are extremely favorable to landsliding...
Los Angeles Reservoir is Safe From Earthquakes
The Los Angeles Reservoir was nominated for the 1978 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award. The reservoir, which replaces the Van Norman Reservoir damaged during the 1971 San...
Modern Concrete Structures Survive Romanian Earthquake
On March 4, 1977, 35 buildings collapsed during a severe earthquake (7.2 on the Richter scale) in Bucharest, Romania. Thirty-two of the 35 were older structures, erected before World War...
Pitfalls of Overconservatism in Geotechnical Engineering
The article cites at least three reasons why geotechnical engineers may be overconservative: (1) They may try to satisfy unreasonable standards established by themselves or others; (2)...
Precast Veneer Replaced By All-Precast Structure
Utilizing engineering solutions to architectural problems greatly enhanced the architectural appearance of this building. Long-span prestressed, light weight concrete beams, post-tensioned...
King Post Truss System Cuts Roof Framing Cost by 30%
The design was based on requirements for minimally obstructed sight lines (Robin Hood Dell Open-Air Theater, Philadelphia, Pa.) for outdoor seating and a tight construction budget of $4,500,000....
502-ft Diameter Laminated-Timber Dome Provides Fast, Low-Cost Cover for Arizona Stadium
Varex Dome, a 502-ft diameter engineering marveel of glue laminated timber, was built in record six months erection time. This dome shell structure forms both walls and roof for the new...
Can Trench Cave-In Deaths Be Cut�
About 100 construction workers die each year in trench cave-ins. That toll can be cut, two engineer-researchers conclude. Approach would be to make more-adequate geotechnical analysis...
Tiebacks Support Excavations Without Bracing
Tiebacks are used to support earth retaining walls in deep excavations without using internal bracing. Although more expensive than bracing to construct, tiebacks can result in overall...
Kansas City Bank Tower Features Water-Filled Columns, Exposed Spandrels
In this first article in a series on recent innovations in structural steel design, the spotlight is on the 20-story Mercantile Bank Tower in Kansas City. This structure features several...
Innovative Design at Florida Bulkhead Reduces Material and Construction Costs
Remedial work to an existing bulkhead at a deep-water berth for Port Everglades, Florida, has been done with substantial savings through the application of innovative design concepts....
Birth of the Skyscraper
Before invention of the elevator, six stories was the practical limit to the height of a commercial building. Following the Chicago fire of 1871, building designers there were quick to...
Empire State: Greatest of All Skyscrapers
The Empire State Building! That major name instantly brings to mind Manhattan's intoxicating skyline, a skyline this greatest of all skyscrapers has dominated for 45 years....
New Foundations in an Old Neighborhood
Sixty State Street is rising 38 stories from its deep foundation in a congested, historical site in urban Boston's business/government area. The foundation elements and the...
Methods of Structural Analysis
Proceedings of the National Structural Engineering Conference, Methods of Structural Analysis, an ASCE Structural Division Specialty Conference held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison,...
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