Archinect - News

Tulane launches dual degree creating a new pathway for students, informed by design, science and engineering

2024-04-09T12:01:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Tulane School of Architecture, an Archinect Partner School

As climate change and extreme weather continue to impact communities around the world, the need for professionals skilled in the fields of landscape architecture, architecture, engineering, and planning is growing. In response, the Tulane School of Architecture (TuSA), in partnership with the Tulane School of Science and Engineering (SSE), has launched a new graduate dual degree – the Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Science in River-Coastal Science and Engineering.

The new Landscape Architecture and Engineering program creates a pathway for students interested in pursuing a career in landscape architecture, informed by a strong background in science, and in engineering, with high design abilities focused on environmental and social issues. This unique program is sure to attract students from across the globe due to its singular and clear interdisciplinary education, not offered i...

For World Engineering Day, these six bridges stand as examples of the complexities underneath every design

2024-03-04T20:06:00-05:00

Today is World Engineering Day, and to celebrate it, Archinect has curated a few outstanding bridge projects we’ve included in our recent news coverage to highlight critical pieces of infrastructure at an important time for civil and structural engineering in the Americas and abroad.

The six highlighted bridges provide examples of remarkable design standards and engineering practices while, in some instances, setting records and starting off new precedents for incorporating alternative materials, the conditions of a circular economy, aesthetic variance, building science, low-carbon construction methods, and more.

Strait of Messina Bridge from the Stretto di Messina SpA and Webuild (Sicily, Italy)

Rendering courtesy Webuild

What will become the world’s longest suspension bridge design when completed has been stalled in the project pipeline since 2003. Now, with the constant stop-and-start cycle behind it, the seven-year project will advance toward a likely construction start later th...

World's longest suspension bridge is moving forward in Italy after decades of pushback and delays

2024-02-25T08:00:00-05:00

Construction of what would be the world's longest suspension bridge, connecting Sicily and mainland Italy over the Strait of Messina, could begin this year after the final design recently gained approval. The long-delayed project would stretch more than 10,800 feet if completed.

The controversial bridge is estimated to cost approximately $5 billion and take around seven years to build. It will feature three vehicle lanes and a central lane for rail. The structure is also designed to withstand 180-mile-per-hour winds and up to 7.1-magnitude earthquakes.

The concept has been in the works since the 1960s, and it wasn’t until 2003 that a preliminary design for it was approved. Since then, the project has experienced a cycle of being shelved and revived by various Italian governments in power. Critics of the endeavor have asserted that the bridge has been nothing more than a tool to win votes that would waste billions of dollars.

State-owned sponsor Stretto di Messina SpA (SdM) has long...

Production begins on the world’s tallest 3D printed structure

2024-02-16T11:40:00-05:00

Production has begun on a 3D printed tower in Switzerland, which is expected to be the tallest structure of its kind in the world. Named the ‘Tor Alva’ or ‘White Tower,’ the project is currently being fabricated at ETH Zurich, where the first eight columns of the tower’s lower floor commenced 3D printing in February.

Image credit: Hansmeyer/Dillenburger

The columns’ fabrication sees a robot extrude the concrete in 8mm-high layered print paths. In a departure from traditional concrete construction, the 3D printing process means formwork is no longer required, freeing new avenues for the team to experiment with shapes, surface details, and cavities. The tower will also be the first instance of printed concrete being used in a fully structural manner, with steel reinforcement inserted during the robotic production process.

Image credit: R. Masallam

The tower will be constructed in the remote Swiss Alps village of Mulegns, where it will host music and theater performances. At 98 feet (nea...

Thornton Tomasetti CEO and co-founder of Charlie Thornton passes away at 83

2024-01-05T14:20:00-05:00

Charlie Thornton, the well-admired structural engineer, co-founder and CEO of Thornton Tomasetti, passed away in early December at the age of 83, according to his firm.

The Bronx-born Thornton began his career in the New York offices of Lev Zetlin Associates before pursuing a new venture with Richard Tomasetti after 1977. What followed was a long and decorated career in building, with the world’s first supertall designs — Malaysia’s Petronas Towers and the Taipei 101 in Taiwan — among the signature projects in a globe-spanning portfolio that would later include One Liberty Place in Philadelphia, the forthcoming Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, and the delivery of new Yankee Stadium in his hometown.

“Charlie was a visionary, foreseeing the needs of structural engineering, our clients, the building industry and the public it serves,” Tomasetti said in a firm statement. “He was equally dedicated to mentoring everyone in our firm, our partners, and future generations through his founding...

36% of all U.S. bridges are structurally deficient, study finds

2023-08-29T13:49:00-04:00

A study of every bridge in the U.S. Department of Transportation database has discovered a need for $319 billion worth of major repairs or replacement work on a total of 222,000 spans across the country.

The findings published in the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s 2023 analysis also showed an overall decline of 560 bridges in need of repair versus last year. The news comes a little less than two years removed from the belabored passage of the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a piece of legislation that included no less than $40 billion for bridge projects through the end of 2027.

Construction Dive has more analysis of the new report, which showed an increase in the overall share of bridges that are in "fair" condition simultaneous to a decline of those in both "poor" and "good" categories.

Previously on Archinect: A new infrastructure approach could save millions per year, say researchers

West Virginia leads all states, with 20% of all its br...

Coffee grounds can make concrete a little stronger, too, according to a new RMIT study

2023-08-28T11:58:00-04:00

Engineers in Australia have found a way of making stronger concrete with roasted used-coffee grounds, to give the drink-additive a "double shot" at life and reduce waste going to landfills. [...] Published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, the study by RMIT engineers is the first to prove that waste coffee grounds can be used to improve concrete.

The study found that three different coffee ground samples each increased their concrete pour’s compressive strengths by up to 30% once their organic compounds were broken down through pyrolysis. The discovery could go a long way in combatting issues such as food waste and the carbon impact of concrete’s still rampant use as a construction material worldwide. RMIT will follow up with additional mechanical and durability tests on the same samples.

"Our research is in the early stages, but these exciting findings offer an innovative way to greatly reduce the amount of organic waste that goes to landfill," the paper’s co-lead author, Dr. Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch, explained. Discarded PPE may also have a stirring second life in construction, according to a separate study the same team of researchers published last year.

MIT team tests open-source cooling chamber using 75% less energy than refrigerated cold rooms

2023-07-27T11:18:00-04:00

MIT researchers have published details of a new open-source forced-air evaporative cooling chamber. Described as being less expensive than refrigerated cold rooms, the chamber is intended to offer accessible cold storage for smallholder farmers, as well as significantly reduce post-harvest waste in hot and dry climates.

The chamber, which can be housed in a used shipping container and powered by either grid electricity or solar panels, has a capacity of 168 produce crates. The design uses industrial fans to draw in hot, dry air, which is passed through a porous wet pad. This creates cool, humid air that is directed through crates of produce, allowing rapid cooling. The air is then directed through the raised floor and to a channel between the insulation and the exterior container wall, where it flows to the exhaust holes near the top of the side walls.

The project was led by MIT Professor Leon Glicksman of the Building Technology Program within the Department of Architecture and Res...

This Earth Day, watch PBS’ new highlight of early solar pioneer Mária Telkes

2023-04-21T16:46:00-04:00

For nearly 50 years, chemical engineer and inventor Mária Telkes applied her prodigious intellect to harnessing the power of the sun. She designed and built the world’s first successfully solar-heated modern residence and identified a promising new chemical that, for the first time, could store solar heat like a battery. And yet, along the way, she was undercut and thwarted by her boss and colleagues — all men — at MIT.

The Hungarian-born scientist developed more than 20 patents in her lifetime and aided Eleanor Raymond on the development of the Dover Sun House in 1948.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by American Experience (@americanexperiencepbs)

"[She] knew you can’t just wait for society to be ready. You need to sell them on this idea," historian Sara Shreve-Price says in the documentary. "You need to convince them that this is the time for the idea. If we want the sustainable future, we don't just need the technology, we need to want the technology."

Director Amanda Pollak's recent Q&A about the film with Architect magazine can be found here.

Autodesk breaks ground on new Technology Engagement Center at Cal State Northridge

2023-04-18T17:00:00-04:00

Autodesk has shared a video of an extended reality (XR) walkthrough animation to coincide with their recent groundbreaking ceremony for the new Autodesk Technology Engagement Center at California State University, Northridge.

The 32,000-square-foot facility will support research labs and other endeavors essential to the College of Engineering and Computer Science while serving as the new home of the Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub, which aims to increase underserved communities’ participation in the STEAM fields over time.

Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost was instrumental in organizing a $5 million gift to the institution, which is his alma mater. This gift kicked off the project that is particularly meant to help cement the university’s place in a network of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). As a press release noted, currently, only 8% of all workers in the STEAM fields identify as Hispanic or Latino.

Video courtesy Autdodesk

“In the world of technology, it is common to celebrate...

University of Seville architecture professor develops new mathematical concept that can impact 'engineering and construction of buildings'

2023-03-20T09:10:00-04:00

During the construction of the university’s new engineering building, Cabeza-Lainez found that calculating the area of a roof with straight lines resting on a semicircle was impossible just by using pi. After 30 years of research, [he] published a paper about his discovery in ScienceDirect [...] Both articles present his proposal of a number psi (Ψ), with a value of 3.140923, close to pi but which can be applied to a versatile geometric form that he calls an antisphere.

According to El Pais, mathematician and architect Dr. Cabeza-Lainez had to develop his own proprietary calculation software in order to prove the equation. He has also published a book on solar light transfer and says the application of psi in various forms can lower costs associated with energy consumption by 50%.

Graphical Abstract of research from "New Simulation Tool for Architectural Design in the Realm of Solar Radiative Transfer" paper by Joseph Cabeza-Lainez, Jose-Manuel Almodóvar-Melendo, Paula Revenga-Dominguez, Inmaculada Rodríguez-Cunill, and Yingying Xu. Published research can be found in MDPI Journal's Special Issue "Sustainable Design in Building and Urban Environment."

He shares with Raúl Limón of El Pais that the new equation can be applied to “a downspout, to a network of pipes, to an earthquake-resistant tower, to 150-foot [50-meter] ships without using columns, even to biotechnological devices” that he's tested through models made with 3D printers. Rail network t...

The U.S. is about to begin the largest dam removal project in history

2023-03-16T09:00:00-04:00

Preconstruction work is underway on the largest dam removal and river restoration project in U.S. history. The $450 million project will take out four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River in Oregon and California to restore habitat and passage for migrating fish. Removal work will begin this summer, starting with Copco 2, which should be gone by this fall, according to ABC 12. The other three dams — Copco 1, the Iron Gate Dam and the JC Boyle Dam — will be removed by the end of 2024.

The projects were approved late last fall in the interest of protecting the local salmon population and other wildlife in the region. Local tribes will plant 19 billion seeds in the wake of the removals in order to boost the region's ecosystems, according to local public radio.

The removals are among the $3 billion worth of dam projects being funded under the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, though experts still say it isn’t enough to address the 15,600 dams across the country that are currently classified as “high-hazard potential structures” by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2021.

Atkins joins NEOM as strategic partner for The Line project

2023-02-24T18:17:00-05:00

British engineering concern Atkins has been announced as a strategic Delivery Partner for The Line, Saudi Arabia’s complicated centerpiece for the NEOM megadevelopment that is set to be constructed in just under three years.

As part of their five-year contract, Atkins will provide project and construction consultancy services in unison with the project’s other, now-assumed partners that include Bechtel, Morphosis, and several leading international firms revealed last month via an exhibition in Riyadh.

In a press release, Atkins stated “[t]he project has adopted a highly collaborative delivery model in response to its scale, complexity, supply chain and requirements for innovation.”

Earlier on Archinect: The Line, the largest part of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious NEOM project, looks like a total fantasy

“As a Delivery Partner organization, we will work closely with NEOM and our partners to seamlessly connect people, data and technology to drive innovation, value, efficiency and certainty...

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is still straightening things out (a bit)

2023-01-05T12:16:00-05:00

Results from the Leaning Tower of Pisa’s annual checkup are in, as of November 30. After a stabilization project, begun in 1990, reduced the quirky monument’s dangerous lean by a full 15 inches, the tower has straightened itself out by an additional 1.6 inches since 2001. Some Italian officials are taking that optimism further, claiming the Tower could stand all the way straight on its own some day.

This is the second update to the engineering project since 2018. The tower is expected to last at least another 300 years. In a statement to the press, the Italian heritage group Opera Primaziale Pisana said the nearly 850-year-old monument's overall health was "excellent."

Repeated attempts of tourists to correct the lean themselves still appear not to be having any effects.

Innovation-minded Ingeborg Rocker has been appointed Chair of Georgia Tech's School of Architecture

2022-08-31T06:07:00-04:00

The School of Architecture at Georgia Tech University has announced the appointment of Ingeborg Rocker as its new Chair and William Harrison Professor of Architecture effective September 1st.

Rocker joins Georgia Tech after working in the software industry and holding separate academic positions at the Harvard GSD between 2005 and 2020. She co-founded her own Boston and Hong Kong-based practice, Rocker-Lange, in 2006 and will now look to enhance the school’s highly-technical course offerings by leveraging a reputation for engineering and building science that has long been associated with the 137-year-old Atlanta institution.

“At its core, architecture is trans-disciplinary,” she explained in a university press release, “ranging from vision and design innovation to technical and material realization. It is a unique discipline that can be theo...

The American Society of Civil Engineers gives New York's infrastructure a C grade in new report

2022-07-26T09:00:00-04:00

The New York State Council of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has released its 2022 Report Card for New York Infrastructure, issuing the state's infrastructure an overall grade of C.

The rating is a slight improvement from its 2015 grade of C-. However, as detailed by the ASCE, a C rating indicates infrastructure that is mediocre and requires attention. The overall grade is the average of ratings across 11 infrastructure categories, from wastewater to transit. For New York, only two infrastructure categories are in good condition, six are in mediocre condition, and three are in poor condition. The state’s highest ratings were in the Public Parks and Solid Waste categories, which each received a B-, while Roads, Transit, and Wastewater received the lowest grades with D+’s.

The ASCE has made suggestions for improving New York’s infrastructure grade, including establishing more long-term funding, creating infrastructure goals that fit new lifestyles and commuting pattern...

China is building a massive new hydroelectric dam with AI-controlled robots and 3D printing technology

2022-05-11T15:37:00-04:00

China is using artificial intelligence to effectively turn a dam project on the Tibetan Plateau into the world’s largest 3D printer, according to scientists involved in the project. The 180 metre (590 feet) high Yangqu hydropower plant will be built slice by slice – using unmanned excavators, trucks, bulldozers, pavers and rollers, all controlled by AI – in the same additive manufacturing process used in 3D printing.

The Yangqu dam project is set to finish in two years and is being overseen by Tsinghua University’s Liu Tianyun, who recently argued that developments in 3D printing have made the technology “identical to nature.”

Its purported future annual output of nearly 5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity for Henan Province is a full billion more than that of the Hoover Dam, whose WPA-era construction was similarly the product of two decades worth of advancements in engineering and construction technologies.

The world's longest suspension bridge officially opens in Turkey

2022-03-21T15:11:00-04:00

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge over the Dardanelles Strait on Friday (18 March). It has a central span of 2,023m, which means it usurps the title of world’s longest suspension bridge from the Akashi Kaikyo crossing in Kobe, Japan.

As reported by Global Construction Review, the new bridge cost €2.5 billion ($2.76 billion) to construct and is expected to generate €5.3 billion ($5.84 billion) in economic output, creating 118,000 jobs and €2.4 billion ($2.65 billion) in revenue. Named after an Ottoman naval victory during WWI, it is the first fixed crossing over the Dardanelles Strait and the sixth one across the Turkish Straits. The bridge is the centerpiece of a planned 321-kilometer-long (200-mile-long), $2.8 billion project to connect motorways in Thrace and Anatolia.

The bridge was designed by Denmark-based Cowi and Pyunghwa Engineering Consultants of South Korea. Arup and Aas-Jakobsen worked on the project as Independent Design Verifier (IDV), with Turkey’s Tekfen and T-ingénierie of Switzerland serving as administrative consultants. The construction was carried out via a public-private partnership, formed in 2017, between a group of Turkish and South Korean companies, led by Daelim, SK, Limak, and Yapi Me...

What does it take to become a facade designer? Brooklyn-based specialist MW-Skins provides some answers

2021-12-09T13:28:00-05:00

Behind every facade design is a team of architects, engineers, fabricators, material specialists, and installers working together to produce successful building envelopes. From pre-construction to installation, the world of facade design has become a niche market for firms and individuals with specialized knowledge of building exteriors.

As a result, the Archinect editorial team has featured and highlighted a wide array of unique facade designs and experts. From UNStudio's curved glass display facade in Amsterdam to Faulders Studio's Wynwood Garage facade in Miami, each project executes a level of highly technical design engineering.

Close-up of UNStudio's facade design for P.C. Hoofstraat 138 in Amsterdam. Image © Evabloem/Courtesy of UN Studio

Segment of Faulders Studio's Wynwood Garage project in Miami. Image © Moris Moreno. Courtesy of Goldman Properties/Faulders Studio.

Variations of facade design result from skilled architects and engineers passionate about building envelopes ...

Penn State Architectural Engineering professor recognized by UN for work in sustainable buildings

2021-11-08T14:07:00-05:00

A professor of architectural engineering at Penn State by the name of James Freihaut has been recognized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Committee on Sustainable Energy for his work in improving sustainability and safety in buildings. During the committee’s 30th Jubilee session on September 22, Freihaut was honored for his contributions over the past 30 years.

Freihaut’s research focuses on building mechanical systems, with specific interests in indoor air quality and building science, combined heat and power systems, distributed energy systems, enclosed space air quality issues, and system constraints on air treatment/filtration solutions.

The UNECE Committee on Sustainable Energy’s work is designed to improve access to affordable and clean energy and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon footprint of the energy sector. The focus is on energy efficiency, cleaner electricity production from fossil fuels, renewable energy, natural gas, and ...

Poorly designed, even for the 1970s

2021-08-29T13:14:00-04:00

The Champlain Towers South design violated building codes at the time of original construction. On the northern side, under the portion of the tower that collapsed, the columns were too narrow to accommodate all of the vertical and horizontal rebar called for in the plans while maintaining clearance required by the code. The pool deck had narrow columns and inadequate load bearing capacity, engineers consulted by the Herald found. Only columns beneath the surviving structure were fully compliant

A team consisting of Sarah Blaskey, Aaron Leibowitz and Ben Conarck worked with four engineers and a general contractor to analyze the "Anatomy of Collapse" and explain the failure of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, FL. One key factor in the collapse appears to have been "punching shear" failure in the first-floor slab.

Ohio State researchers discover new method for designing soundproof spaces

2021-08-12T13:07:00-04:00

A new study by researchers out of The Ohio State University investigates a different kind of design for absorbing vibrations that could better soundproof materials.

Ryan Harne, senior author of the paper and former associate professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State, along with former Ohio State doctoral student Sih-Ling Yeh, tested how well built-in resonators handled vibrations under a variety of scenarios. Resonators are devices that use spring-like oscillation to control and change vibrations. Some absorb and neutralize them, and others amplify and direct them to specific places. They’re present in some vehicles, which use them to limit the sound emitted from a car’s muffler. Bridges and buildings also utilize them to limit noise and movement.

Contrary to previous studies relating to resonators, which focused on adding one to an existing structure or vehicle part, Harne and Yeh considered embedding resonators directly into a material, rather than adding it later.

Ryan ...

Harvard researchers develop deployable structures made from a simple rotational motion

2021-06-29T16:57:00-04:00

Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) have developed a system that uses curved supports to transform flat objects into elaborate and customizable 3D structures.

Called Kiriform, the manufacturing method harnesses the mechanical instabilities in curved beams. The research team used a combination of experiments and numerical analyses to understand the geometry of curved, slender beams and what happens when those structural elements rotate and buckle. With just a simple rotational motion, buckling is used to create deployable structures.

Video: Harvard University

The system is created by layering flat sheets of elastic material on top of one another that interact to support each other when the 2D object is rotated into its 3D form. In addition to being lightweight and compact, Kiriform is fast to assemble and requires minimal hardware, making it cheap to manufacture and easy to d...

Recycled concrete performs as well as conventional concrete, new study finds

2020-12-09T13:04:00-05:00

Results of a new five-year study of recycled concrete show that it performs as well, and in several cases even better, than conventional concrete. Researchers conducted side-by-side comparisons of recycled and conventional concrete within two common applications -- a building foundation and a municipal sidewalk. They found that the recycled concrete had comparable strength and durability after five years of being in service.

Find the complete study Recycled aggregate concrete from large-scale production to sustainable field application by University of British Columbia Okanagan researchers here.

Bechtel to lay groundwork for Saudi smart mega-city Neom

2020-08-12T15:51:00-04:00

American engineering firm Bechtel has inked a contract with Neom, a forthcoming $500 billion "smart city-region" that is slated for what is currently mostly open mountain and desert landscape along Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast.

According to a press release issued by Bechtel, the firm was selected to "oversee and create resource-efficient utilities and a highly advanced transport system to connect NEOM's cognitive cities," among other projects. The scope of work for the contract will involve "integrating sustainable land use, intelligent urban design and multi-modal mobility" as well "simultaneous construction in multiple locations requiring extraordinary engineering solutions in challenging terrain."

Bechtel Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Brendan Bechtel said via a statement, "NEOM is one of the most complex projects in living memory and we are proud to be part of it. The vision for a futuristic, innovative and sustainable ecosystem is unique and bold, and we believe NEOM will...

USC Viterbi School of Engineering launches Advanced Design and Construction Technology masters program

2020-08-12T14:39:00-04:00

The Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California has launched a new master’s program in Advanced Design and Construction Technology (ADCT).

The program, according to a school website, will explore an "integrative approach to design, engineering and construction technology, and in developing expertise in core topics including sustainability, data analysis and visualization, computing, modeling, simulation, process engineering and manufacturing, leadership, design and innovation" in order to "next generation of innovators to not only harness the power of technological innovation, but to bridge the industry’s fragmentation in order to foster collaboration, catalyze change, and offer advanced and sustainable solutions to global problems."

Tuition for the 28-unit, four semester master’s program is set at roughly $60,000 plus housing and fees.

A press release announcing the program explains that students will have access to "experts in computer science, construc...

Florida bridge in danger of "imminent collapse"

2020-06-17T20:44:00-04:00

The United States Coast Guard is warning that a concrete bridge in Stuart, Florida is "at risk of imminent collapse."

CNN reports that the Roosevelt Bridge is currently closed for repairs after large structural cracks were discovered along the causeway's southbound span. The bridge, according to the report, was built 24 years ago and connects the town of Stuart with communities located to the north. The bridge spans over the St. Lucie River.

The Florida bridge is the latest span to suffer from troubling structural issues and follows the collapse of a pedestrian bridge at Florida International Unviersity in 2018. Forensic research teams deduced in 2019 that the bridge's collapse was due in part to a flawed design and less than necessary construction oversight.

Engineers praise balanced form of ZHA's One Thousand Museum in Miami

2020-02-24T12:40:00-05:00

Engineering News-Record (ENR), a leader reporting news and projects in the construction industry, has recently announced its 2020 ENR Awards of Excellence. Judges have selected 20 winners for this year's "Best of the Best Projects" competition. Among those 20 honorees, Zaha Hadid Architects' One Thousand Museum was chosen as the winner for the Residential/Hospitality category.

As Archinect reported earlier this month, the tower's structural design consists of a volume and facade engineered to withstand Miami's sometimes devastating environmental conditions.

As stated by ZHA's project director Chris Lepine in an interview hosted on the ZHA website, the tower's formal attributes come out of a balanced blend between structure and form. Lepine states, "What you see is literally structure getting thicker and thinner, as needed. There's a continuity between the disciplines, between the architecture and engineering, to create that impression."

Acco...

AECOM reportedly discussing deal with WSP

2020-01-15T19:09:00-05:00

Canada’s WSP Global Inc. has approached rival engineering services firm Aecom about a possible deal, according to people familiar with the matter. [...] Aecom shares opened up 4% Tuesday, valuing the company at about $7.7 billion. WSP fell 0.4% to C$93.22 apiece in Toronto, giving the company a market value of about C$9.9 billion ($7.6 billion).

"Meanwhile, WSP's acquisitions of U.S.-based construction and engineering firms go back several years," reported Construction Dive, detailing the Canadian company's strategic shopping spree that included notable acquisitions of companies like Berger Group Holdings Inc., Parsons Brinckerhoff, and Ecology and Environment Inc.

A deal with Los Angeles-based industry heavyweight AECOM would grant WSP further access to the U.S. market and result in significant cost savings, according to Bloomberg.

FIU bridge collapse tied to flawed design and minimal project oversight

2019-10-24T12:24:00-04:00

The National Transportation Safety Board members that have been investigating a March 15, 2018 bridge collapse at Florida International University have concluded that the design firm FIGG Bridge Engineers, Inc. responsible for the project underestimated the loads created by the bridge's concrete structural system and overestimated the strength of their designs along a critical section that had shown signs of splintering, NBC News reports.

The bridge was, according to previous reports, designed under the Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) method that utilizes prefabricated components, a key reason the bridge was built out of concrete and not steel as is more often the case for similar spans.

Prior to the bridge's deadly collapse, investigators found that contractors had discovered large cracks 40-times larger than what is normally accepted for this type of application in a concrete section of the bridge. Despite the cracking, no one involved the project made an attempt to close th...