Seeking Structural Solutions
A photo essay on the unique work of Santiago Calatrava, a Spanish-born engineer and architect whose bridges and buildings have attracted international attention for their unusual esthetics....
Pyramid Power
The pyramids of Giza in Egypt were built with limestone from nearby quarries, not concrete as some have theorized. The three main pyramids of Giza mark a highpoint of pyramid building...
The Taller the Deeper (Available only in the Geo/Environmental Special Issue)
While debate rages on about which structure holds the title of the world's tallest building, there is no dispute over which building has the deepest foundation. At 130 m below...
Action Plan
An Enhanced Building Technology Evaluation Process
Prepared by the Partnership for Building Innovation of CERF. Sponsored by CERF; National Institute of Standards and Technology; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; U.S. Department...
High Over Shanghai
In response to difficult design conditions, Shanghai's Jin Mao Tower's structural system harmoniously mixes building materials and strategically places them to...
Guidelines for Evaluating the Performance of Highway Sound Barriers
Prepared by the Highway Innovative Technology Evaluation Center, a CERF Service Center. This report presents the HITEC evaluation plan for U.S. Gypsum's...
Developing and Implementation of a Structured Sales Program
A structured sales program applies both to your existing clients and to your new business prospects. It consists of three parts: (1) the setting up of an existing client and prospect list;...
Project Planning
Good project management is based on good project planning. A project work plan, structured from a good process, is a statement of what is to be done, who is responsible for each task,...
Starting a Project
Project start-up marks the end of the planning activities and the beginning of the project. The PM must take the steps necessary to set up job numbers, job data sheets, assemble data needed...
Management
Project team is a broad term. In general, it encompasses all the people and organizations working on the project�architect, engineer, consultants, client, client's consultants,...
Engineers and ADA
When it comes to the Americans with Disabilities Act, design professionals have special liability concerns. Engineers not only have to ensure that clients meet the act's stringent...
Hospital Over a Highway
New York Hospital is undergoing a $1 billion expansion that includes construction of a new building over the FDR Drive in Manhattan using air rights. The starting point for this building...
Down-to-Earth Terminal Design
From New England to the Pacific Northwest, airport terminals in the 1990s are being designed and built to meet foreseeable demand--with very little uncommitted space. The speculative nature...
Selecting Tower Cranes
Looming over the skyline like steel dinosaurs, tower cranes can look deceptively similar. But these beasts of burden are not a homogenous species, and selecting and positioning the right...
Grouting Through a River
A regional sewer district in Ohio is implementing a master plan to separate storm and sanitary flows, decommission some old treatment plants and upgrade others. Part of the plan, the West...
The Great Texas Prison Caper
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, under court order to relieve prison overcrowding, worked with a team of six construction management firms and a building fabrication/erection...
Prelude to a Demolition
Building demolition conjures up images of explosives detonating or a wrecking ball haphazardly slamming into the side of a structure until it's reduced to a pile of rubble....
Out of Control?
Once heroes in a popular battle against villainous despoilers of Mother Earth, to a growing chorus of observers environmental groups, EPA and other regulatory agencies have begun to look...
Raising the Roof
For years, the Mobile County government contemplated placing both county and city governmental services under one roof. Although there were many obstacles -- political, financial and land...
Northridge Postscript: Lesson on Steel Connections
Immediately after the Northridge earthquake in January 1994, the general concensus was that steel-framed buildings performed extremely well. Later, inspectors were surprised to find weld...
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