Archinect - News

AECOM picked as project management consultancy for NEOM International Aiport

2023-03-28T15:40:00-04:00

AECOM has announced that it has been awarded a multi-year contract to provide project management consultancy services for the NEOM International Airport in Saudi Arabia.

The firm will offer support towards master planning, design, and construction services as well as testing, commissioning, operational readiness, activation, and transition. AECOM has been present throughout NEOM’s development so far. In 2019, the firm won a project management contract for the development of NEOM Bay.

Previously on Archinect: Aecom wins project management contract for Saudi Arabia's Neom Bay

Additionally, in more recent news, it was announced that British engineering consultancy Atkins had been enlisted as a strategic Delivery Partner for The Line, the complicated linear city concept that aims to be the centerpiece of the NEOM megaproject.

Previously on Archinect: Atkins joins NEOM as strategic partner for The Line project

“We are very pleased to be part of this innovative NEOM project, which is set ...

California’s High Speed Rail costs balloon again to $128 billion

2023-03-20T19:41:00-04:00

The price tag for the rail system has risen to $128 billion, according to a California High Speed Rail Authority project update report — a nearly 22% uptick from the previous figure of $105 billion from last year and a far cry from the $33 billion cost voters approved in 2008. The latest increases are due to “inflation/escalation, enhanced scope definition and greater contingency for risk,” per the report.

The cost imbalance has reportedly pushed back the Merced-to-Bakersefield segment’s targeted start of service from 2030 by up to three years, according to the CEO of the Rail Authority Brian P. Kelly.

Plans now are for at least the 119-mile segment that’s currently under construction in the Central Valley to be completed while the project waits on the tens of billions worth of outstanding federal grant funding that are still pending approval by the government.

The headache mirrors the troubles the HS2 line is having in England. In his report to the state, Kelly lamented the hamstrung funding, saying: “Megaprojects that last for decades need long-term, stable funding. Every country around the world that has built high-speed rail has dedicated billions of dollars over several decades to see it through. We don’t have one penny of state support for this project identified after 2030.”

What will Transportation Secretary Buttigieg do with all that infrastructure money? Hint: megaprojects

2021-11-08T13:30:00-05:00

Modern-day equivalents of megaprojects like the Hoover Dam can benefit broad swaths of the United States, but infrastructure experts say they have often stagnated. President Biden campaigned to address the issue. Now his transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, is tasked with speeding up such projects, which can straddle state lines and take years to complete.

Megaprojects like the finally-approved Gateway Program that would add a tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan’s west side have been thrown around without much tangible backing until now.

Buttigieg has been vocal about the need for infrastructure spending, calling for a “generational investment” to address racial and environmental inequalities in a testimony before Congress this April.

“No matter where they live or who they voted for, all Americans deserve to have a transportation system that works for them,” the transportation secretary said. Proponents of further spending will have to wait for the Build Back Better Act, which has more provisions for environmental spending and affordable housing but is considered less likely to pass owing to Republican opposition.

Safdie Architects' design for the ORCA mega-development in downtown Toronto finally clears a major hurdle

2021-06-18T21:17:00-04:00

A new multibillion-dollar development has been approved in Toronto, clearing the way for what could potentially be the latest in a string of high-profile projects, including 55 Yonge and Gehry's King Street West, altering the city’s skyline over the next decade.

Situated above a 10.5-acre park that straddles the King West district between the city’s downtown and waterfront, the proposed Over Rail Corridor Area (or ORCA) aims to create a mega-district west of the CN Tower by decking eight residential towers along a 16.5-acre railyard site that will add 3,000 new units of housing connected to the park via series of ramps and elevators.

A view of the interlinking towers, courtesy of Safdie Architects.

Safdie Architects is responsible for the multi-use development that will incorporate shopping and office space into the residential design in what the architect hopes is going to unite the continent’s, reportedly, most diverse city.

"Our design aspires to forge a reconnection in the commun...

Roppongi Hills: The Tokyo neighborhood that provided inspiration for Hudson Yards

2019-04-08T12:20:00-04:00

Hudson Yards may appear to be a made-in-NYC development, but in actual fact, it took its blueprint from a similar neighborhood in Tokyo known as Roppongi Hills, which broke ground in the 1990s and opened in 2003. While there are a few notable differences—you won’t find any rice paddies on the roofs of Hudson Yards’ buildings, for one—the similarities are striking. But in many respects, this is no surprise—architectural firm KPF played a hand in the design of both developments.

History of the Present: Mexico City

2017-02-17T15:51:00-05:00

An unpopular president, a myth-making architect, and a multibillionaire tycoon are building an oversize airport in a nature preserve. Can they make Mexico great again?

The progressive capital of Mexico has a long history of massive infrastructure projects — megaproyectos — with egalitarian aims. Daniel Brook looks at the social, political, and environmental issues surrounding the latest — a $13bn new airport rising on a sinking lakebed. This article is part of Places' ongoing series, History of the Present, on global cities in transition.

Examining the politics of starchitect megaprojects in Abu Dhabi

2016-12-16T15:18:00-05:00

Even if Abu Dhabi has almost unique economic and institutional conditions and rests for now as a borderline case of development profiles, it still highlights several common problems in contemporary large-scale development projects and in the use of star architecture in other parts of the world: little care for the context of branded projects, de-politicization of urban development, weak and inconsistent public planning...[and] spectacular architecture [for] global competition and media exposure

An excerpt from the upcoming book “Starchitecture. Scenes, Actors, and Spectacles in Contemporary Cities” by Davide Ponzini and Michele Nastasi examines Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island megaproject, and argues how such projects show the little influence that famous architects can have on city-building initiatives today.

After Brexit, “the priority for the government at this time will not be big sexy projects”

2016-07-01T18:26:00-04:00

Post-Brexit, the British government has turned into a real hot mess. The pound dropped to its lowest value against the dollar in 30 years ($1.31), and after Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation, Parliament is in turmoil and has yet to name a reliably likely successor. All this uncertainty has pulled some of the UK’s biggest projects into jeopardy.

As Global Construction Review puts it: “All the same, most Britons ended the week unsure 1) who will be in government in three months, 2) when a general election might happen, 3) when Article 50 will be invoked, triggering the formal two-year Brexit negotiation process, or even if 4) Article 50 would ever be invoked at all, given the chorus of voices, both in Parliament and among the general public, calling for a second referendum.”

In this atmosphere, Électricité de France is reconsidering its proposal to build a new nuclear power station in Hinkley Point, and the drop in the pound’s value has led to concerns that the UK c...

This drone video takes you on a fascinating flight through the guts of Seattle's Bertha tunneling machine

2016-05-06T15:15:00-04:00

As Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct sat free of cars overhead and drivers attempted to move around the city during the roadway’s planned 2-week closure, a new drone video Tuesday showcased again what all the fuss is about. A view inside the SR 99 tunnel won’t get much better than this until you’re actually able to drive through it. [...] The 4-minute video captures what has been built behind nearly 1,600 feet of mining along Seattle’s waterfront.

Bertha previously in the Archinect news: Seattle's massive Bertha tunnel drill is up for repair, but still faces a shaky outlook

Seattle's massive Bertha tunnel drill is up for repair, but still faces a shaky outlook

2015-04-07T16:25:00-04:00

Megaprojects almost always fall short of their promises—costing too much, delivering underwhelming benefits, or both. Yet...cities still fall for them, seduced by new technologies and the lure of the perfect fix. A mix of factors has given Seattle a particularly acute sense of angst. The project depends on a singular piece of engineering. And Bertha’s building a highway for cars in a city where workers overcrowd buses and commuters wrap themselves in waterproof everything to bike in the rain.

Bedecked with amusingly cutesy illustrations, Bloomberg tells the exasperating tale of the giant tunnel drill dubbed Bertha, which began digging the new State Route 99 tunnel underneath downtown Seattle in summer 2013 to replace the current street-level Alaskan Way Viaduct and ideally clear up the city's waterfront for a park. Named after Seattle's only female mayor Bertha Knight Landes, Bertha is reportedly the world's biggest tunnel drill at five stories tall, built with a 25,000-horsepower motor, 260 steel teeth, and has an $80 million price tag.

Bertha near completion back in 2012 before its shipment to Seattle.

But in December 2013 after digging through about 1,000 feet, Bertha's seals busted from increasing temperatures and grit clogged up its teeth, so, it broke. Debate amongst Seattleites ensued. What the hell will happen to Big Bertha now? The project was originally scheduled to be done this November.

Last week, Washington State's contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners safely haul...