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Medics in Wuhan, the city of 11 million people where the virus originated, have described overcrowded hospitals and a shortage of test kits, protective gear, and other medical equipment.
To alleviate this pressure, city authorities last Friday announced plans to build a new hospital from scratch in just six days, to be used beginning February 3.
— Business Insider
Chinese officials are under increasing pressure to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus which has already claimed the lives of at least 130 people and is quickly spreading around the world. The epidemic originated in Wuhan, the most populous city in Central China and home to more than... View full entry
According to a recently published economic report from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the nation's nonresidential construction sector is expected to see growth of "just 1.5 percent through 2020," with a "less than a one percent increase" projected for 2021. The report does little to... View full entry
Autodesk Innovator of the Year Amr Raafat has teamed with a robot software company to develop an autonomous laser scanning and layout planning robot that is being used on Windover Construction work sites.
The robot is able to move around on uneven surfaces to predetermined locations to scan indoor and outdoor spaces, as well as to measure and draw plans for walls and spaces that would need to be meticulously measured by a human...
— Construction Dive
This new development allows workers more time onsite for more essential tasks, absolving them of the tediousness that comes with measuring and documenting site conditions. According to Construction Dive, Raafat explained how laser scanning can take up to 16 minutes per space, which can be... View full entry
U.S. homebuilding surged to a 13-year high in December as activity increased across the board, suggesting the housing market recovery was back on track amid low mortgage rates, and could help support the longest economic expansion on record.
Housing starts jumped 16.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.608 million units last month, the highest level since December 2006.
— CNBC
A report from CNBC highlights the rising fortunes of the American housing market, which saw homebuilding activities increase to record levels in December 2019. According to the report, the number of housing units started in 2019—1.290 million homes in total, including 916,000 single-family... View full entry
China’s largest property developer by sales Country Garden is planning to start mass production of construction robots next year to cut costs and raise efficiency, it said on Friday.
The group, which started investing in robotics research and development in 2018, said it aims to have at least one robot at each of its sites across the nation.
— Reuters
According to Reuters, Country Garden Holdings Co. Ltd. has signaled its intention to invest more than $2 billion in robotics each year for the next five years to boost automation in the company's construction, agriculture, restaurant, and property management businesses. To showcase its... View full entry
Ziva is a two-wheeled, image-capturing robot that Casta describes as a temporary closed-circuit TV for jobsites. The robot, which can travel up to 11 mph and has a 12-hour battery life, utilizes cameras and facial recognition software to identify people and vehicles present and if they’re allowed to be in the area — Construction Dive
Developed by British company Casta Spes Technologies, the robot is designed for security surveillance and documentation of construction sites and can autonomously navigate the jobsite. View full entry
Warner Bros. on Tuesday officially broke ground on a pair of Frank Gehry-designed office towers, which when completed will mark a major expansion of the Burbank-based movie and TV studio’s headquarters. [...]
The construction endeavor is part of a larger expansion of Warner Bros.’ footprint in the area that includes the acquisition of Burbank Studios.
— Los Angeles Times
The groundbreaking ceremony for the high-profile Second Century Project was joined by California Governor Gavin Newsom, Burbank's new Mayor Sharon Springer, Warner Bros. Chair and CEO Ann Sarnoff, and architect Frank Gehry himself. Yesterday, Gov. @GavinNewsom and Burbank Mayor Sharon Springer... View full entry
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).
— Bloomberg
"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... View full entry
Two years after a lack of funds halted construction of a marble-clad Greek Orthodox church at New York's World Trade Center site, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Greek Orthodox officials announced plans Thursday to resume construction with the goal of finishing the rebuilding by the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. — The New York Times
The troubled Santiago Calatrava-designed St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center appears to have received the blessing from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo after the project fell victim to acute cost overruns and had to eventually halt construction in... View full entry
The restoration of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, which was badly damaged by fire on 15 April, has entered a new and delicate phase. This involves removing a vast and heavy scaffolding structure at roof level that became fused by the intense heat. It had been erected before the fire in order to carry out restoration work on the 19th-century roof spire, whose dramatic collapse was seen on screens around the world. — The Art Newspaper
For The Art Newspaper, architect Francesco Bandarin gives a detailed account of the crucial next step in the efforts to restore the fire-damaged cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. "The removal of the scaffolding requires three levels of steel beams to be positioned around its exterior to form... View full entry
While finding the right employee hires is a key concern for any business, less attention has been paid, until recently, to streamlined training and workforce development initiatives. Yet, with the growing sophistication and proliferation of online training services and mobile apps that can assist... View full entry
New wearable technology could help prevent struck-by and caught-between injuries and incidents, found a study from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas released last month by the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR). The study outfitted workers with waist belts with vibrating motors to detect possible nearby hazards. — Construction Dive
The study explored a system that notified workers through vibrations where nearby machinery and vehicles were in operations. The experiment even went so far as to cover the eyes of the participants, resulting in 95% accuracy in completing tasks. The research moves forward attempts to... View full entry
A year after breaking ground at 5790 W. Jefferson Boulevard, the arrival of a tower crane signals that construction is ramping up at the Eric Owen Moss-designed Wrapper development.
The project, located just west of Metro's La Cienega/Jefferson Station, is being developed by Samitaur Constructs - the local real estate investment firm behind a slew of abstract office complexes in Culver City's Hayden Tract.
— Urbanize LA
The exoskeleton wrapping the 17-story tower like giant rubber bands enables the interior spaces to be column-free, some even with double-height ceilings, reports Urbanize LA. Image: Eric Owen Moss/Zimmerman Visual, via wrappertower.com Image: Eric Owen Moss/Zimmerman Visual, via wrappertower.com... View full entry
There’s no question Austin is a boomtown.
A record-breaking 8.1 million square feet of office buildings is under construction in the capital city, according to CoStar Group Inc., as developers and investors try to capitalize on rising prices and continued demand for space. Austin ranks No. 2 in the country for office construction, behind Nashville — although the Texas capital has the momentum to overtake the Tennessee capital in the coming months.
— Austin Business Journal
The list of new Downtown Austin towers — under construction or proposed — contains the Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects-designed Block 185 for Google, the 36-story Indeed Tower, the Quincy by Ziegler Cooper Architects, the 66-story 6 x Guadelupe as well as a new University of Texas... View full entry
A jury has awarded the Washington State Department of Transportation $57.2 million in damages, after a two-month trial over delays in the downtown Seattle Highway 99 tunnel project.
The verdict, reached Friday against the tunnel contractors in Thurston County Superior Court in Olympia, represents the entire amount the state requested at trial.
— Seattle Times
Remember Bertha, once the world's largest tunnel-boring machine which, very inconveniently, broke down in 2013 after hitting a pipe while digging the Seattle Tunnel, delaying the megaproject for more than two years? A jury just sided with the Washington State Department of Transportation that the... View full entry
