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Ten construction equipment companies form new group to promote sustainability

2024-05-02T11:46:00-04:00

Ten major companies in the construction equipment industry have formed a coalition to promote sustainability in the sector. The France-based organization, named the Community of Sustainable Equipment Players (CAMD), includes Bouygues Construction, Colas, Eiffage, Haulotte, JCB, Kiloutou, Manitou Group, NGE, Salti, and Volvo.

The group has set out five key objectives for member companies. The group will aim to provide practical solutions and support cross-sector projects, build a knowledge base and a common decarbonization strategy, raise the profile of the materials sector and its role in the transition of the construction industry, defend the convictions of a sustainable industry, and foster a shared vision and ambition for decarbonizing the industry.

Related on Archinect: Federal 2007 ban on fossil fuels in government-owned buildings finally kicks in. Image: © Dave Burk/SOM

“The CAMD is based on the pooling of efforts, skills and best practices to accelerate the environmental trans...

Henning Larsen’s ‘forest canopy-like’ World of Volvo opens in Sweden

2024-04-16T11:52:00-04:00

The Henning Larsen-designed World of Volvo has opened in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Housed under an expressive timber canopy, the 237,000-square-foot building will serve as an experience center for the car brand Volvo, designed around “Scandinavian values of freedom of movement, access to nature, and openness and inclusion.”

Image credit: Rasmus Hjortshoj

The main timber structure is formed of glulam and cross-laminated timber, designed as three tree-trunk-like columns that fan out to carry the entire load of the roof while “enveloping visitors in a welcoming forest-like canopy.” The center’s round structure is intended to encourage visitors to create their own journeys through the building’s interior and exterior.

Image credit: Rasmus Hjortshoj

Inside, a series of spaces are contained to host cultural events, talks, and conferences, accommodating up to 1,100 people. Anchoring the structure is a 485,000-square-foot exhibition space...

Henning Larsen details computational design process behind mass timber 'World of Volvo' center

2023-05-02T17:30:00-04:00

Henning Larsen and Volvo are working on the design of a new consumer-facing experience center called The World of Volvo ahead of its debut early next year in the automaker’s hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Henning Larsen computational designer Leonardo Castaman recently explained on LinkedIn some details related to the project team’s seven-step process using the Kangaroo and Galapagos plugins on Grasshopper to create the wooden superstructure of the 236,800-square-foot building.

The design incorporates computer-fabricated glulam beams and columns with locally-sourced CLT floor slabs. The materials were selected to promote a circular economy in line with the philosophical notion of “Allemansrätten,” a Swedish concept that essentially translates to “leave nothing behind.”

Image courtesy Henning Larsen via LinkedIn

Castaman describes his workflow on the project as follows:

First, the plane...

Henning Larsen unveils new mass timber 'World of Volvo' center in Gothenburg

2022-05-03T12:58:00-04:00

Henning Larsen has revealed their design for a new experience center called World of Volvo in the Swedish automaker’s hometown of Gothenburg.

Touting a “deep connection” to the design heritage and rich natural landscape of Scandinavia, the massive 236,800-square-foot new facility offers itself as the combined home of Volvo Group and Volvo Cars and will function as the host for a slate of events, including exhibitions, talks, conferences, and music as well as dining and retail, according to Volvo’s CEO Magnus Wrahme.

Visualization by Kvant-1

Henning Larsen’s design is based on the Swedish concept of “Allemansrätten,” a kind of folkway that endorses individual free movement and a delicate consideration for their place in nature similar to the American environmentalist idum “leave no trace.”

Visualization by Kvant-1

Its circular form expresses an empathy towards these two interconnected tenets and is composed of computer-fabricated glulam timber reinforced by internal metal connectors w...

Google, Uber, Lyft, Ford and Volvo join forces to lobby for autonomous vehicles

2016-04-28T12:51:00-04:00

Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets, a lobbying group with the express purpose of advocating autonomous driving. [...] "Self-driving vehicle technology will make America's roadways safer and less congested," [David Strickland, a former administrator of the NHTSA] said [...] "The best path for this innovation is to have one clear set of federal standards, and the Coalition will work with policymakers to find the right solutions that will facilitate the deployment of self-driving vehicles."

Lyft has also been in talks with General Motors (which is not a part of the Self-Driving Coalition) to put out its own group of autonomous for-hire vehicles. Models for Google's vehicles include both bespoke prototypes and Lexus SUVs, and Uber is developing its own testing grounds for self-driving cars in Pittsburgh.

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