Arena of Books
The new Qatar National Library features a folded design with cantilevered corners on the exterior, while inside, an enormous single space for reading or socializing offers terraces stacked with bookshelves....
Training for Disaster
The structural complexes used to train first responders must accommodate a wide range of theoretical and practical learning. From classroom spaces to built-to-burn assemblies to buildings within buildings,...
Are Prescriptive Specifications in Design/Build Contracts Traps for the Unwary?
This month’s case, Appeal of American West Construction LLC, examines how one government board viewed the issue of prescriptive specifications in design/build contracts....
Reliability-Based Design (RBD) For Everyone: (No Monte Carlo Simulation Required!)
In North America, the design of earth structures for transportation applications is most often carried out using load and resistance factor design (LRFD). In the U.S., the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications...
Dried Lakes Do Tell Tales: Seismic Soil Amplification in Mexico City
Mexico City is a vibrant, urban metropolis — a living and breathing example of an "old layered city," where past civilizations coexisted with one another. Standing more than 2.2 km above sea level, surrounded...
An Unknown-Unknown Does In An Overpass: A Soil Stockpile on Soft Clay Is Too Much for a Bridge in Canada
Like most structures, bridges are designed for an array of loading conditions. Some loads are known or can be reasonably estimated with confidence (i.e., known-knowns, such as structure dead and vehicular...
A Combo Foundation Does the Job: Piled-Raft Foundation Design for a Supertall Skyscraper
Lotte World Tower is a 123-story, 555-m supertall skyscraper with a 6-level basement for retail and car parking located at Jamsil-dong in Seoul, South Korea. (Editor’s Note: For additional information,...
Connecting Continents: Challenges of the Eurasia Tunnel in Istanbul
The Eurasia Tunnel, the first bored tunnel crossing of the Istanbul Strait (Bosphorus) in Istanbul, Turkey, is a site that presents many unique challenges, including very poor ground conditions, unusually...
Advances In Geosynthetic Solutions For Sustainable Landfill Design: Geosynthetics Really Do Last!
Even though geosynthetics are now a well-established discipline within geotechnical engineering, ingenuity continues to play a significant role in projects involving their use. This is because it’s possible...
Member Voices -- Career by Design: Build the Perfect Profile in LinkedIn
Energy Star
The recently opened corporate headquarters of United Therapeutics is one of the largest net-zero energy office buildings in the world. Geo-exchange wells, an earth labyrinth, natural ventilation, and electrochromic...
Design-Build
Design/Build Continues To Gain Favor across U.S. Construction Sectors, Report Reveals
Floating on Air
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has designed a concept for how Venus—which has a surface that is hot enough to melt lead—can be safely explored by astronauts....
Constrained Site Challenges, Benefits College Science Building Design
California’s East Valley Water District Finalizes Design/Build Contract for Sterling Natural Resource Center
One Small Step
A concept design for an inflatable habitat on Mars incorporates indigenous ice as a structural element and a shield to protect occupants from galactic cosmic radiation....
Composite Core-Wall System and Performance-Based Design Transform High-Rise Construction
A Good Cause for a Causeway: How Geotechnology and Project Delivery Restored a Roadway Embankment Crossing a Historically Challenging Soft Ground Site
As part of a Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) design-build project, a causeway was constructed in 2017 to replace an aging bridge in the southwest metropolitan area of Minneapolis. The causeway...
Design of the Future Mexico City Airport: Attaining Resilience in Soft Ground
The Lake Texcoco region to the east of Mexico City is famed for its deep lacustrine deposits of compressible clay, which amplify ground shaking during seismic events. The area is also gradually subsiding...
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