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Molecules 10,000 times narrower than the width of a human hair could hold the key to making possible wooden skyscrapers and more energy-efficient paper production, according to research published today in the journal Nature Communications. The study, led by a father and son team at the Universities of Warwick and Cambridge, solves a long-standing mystery of how key sugars in cells bind to form strong, indigestible materials. — University of Cambridge
"But just as this could improve how easily materials can be broken down, the discovery may also help them create stronger materials, he says. There are already plans to build houses in the UK more sustainably using wood, and Paul Dupree is involved in the Centre for Natural Material Innovation at... View full entry
With all the drone construction videos of the new Apple Campus 2 (AC2) circulating on the interwebs, it's easy to lose track of what the progress has been on this Foster-designed Goliath of a project just in recent months.Luckily this latest 4K video by Matthew Roberts on YouTube provides a handy... View full entry
French website Mac Generation has obtained photos of newly completed portions of the Apple Campus 2 as designed by Foster + Partners. The exterior, which in renderings possessed a certain monolithic frisbee quality, is far more vivid in real life. Here are photos of both the interior and exterior... View full entry
In the three months since our last update, progress has been moving along at the site of the Bjarke Ingels-designed Vancouver House. The soon-to-be iconic 49-storey mixed-use tower by Westbank is beginning to rise above grade [...]. Designed in conjunction with Canadian firms Dialog Architects and James KM Cheng Architects, Vancouver House has been described as a "living sculpture," and the tower's signature twist will soon become a staple of the newly minted Beach District neighbourhood. — skyrisecities.com
Photo of the Vancouver House construction site by Skyrise Cities forum member mcminsen. Click here to see more photos.The tower and other Vancouver-related stories in the Archinect news:BIG’s 490-foot-tall Beach and Howe Tower for VancouverCan Vancouver break out of its 'boring-architecture'... View full entry
The cooling tower was being built in the city of Fengcheng in Jiangxi province when the scaffolding tumbled down [...]
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged local governments to learn from the accident and hold those responsible accountable. [...]
China has suffered several major work-safety accidents in recent years blamed on weak regulatory oversight, systemic corruption and pressure to boost production amid a slowing economy.
— ap.org
According to the Associated Press, the collapse is "the country's worst work-safety accident in over two years." The cause is currently under investigation.Related on Archinect:Five dead after eight metre concrete wall collapses in Birmingham, EnglandBerkeley balcony collapse investigation: no... View full entry
[Dubbed “The Shed”,] The 18,500 square metre venue has six storeys and can “accommodate the broadest range of performance, visual art, music, and multi-disciplinary work”. A cultural centre will be encased in a 34m-high outer shell that can slide on rails to double the ground space. The building includes two large-scale column-free galleries comprising 2,320 square metres of museum-quality space, a 500-seat theater and event and rehearsal spaces. [Completion is due] in 2019. — globalconstructionreview.com
For more about New York's Hudson Yards: BIG-designed "The Spiral" Hudson Yards tower is inching closer to becoming reality Renderings of Thomas Heatherwick's "Vessel" for New York's Hudson Yard revealed Welcome to the Hudson Yards, c. 2019: the world's most ambitious "smart city" experiment View full entry
Faraday Future’s future is looking bleaker.
After the electric car start-up failed to pay millions of dollars in bills, its contractor Monday halted work on Faraday’s $1-billion North Las Vegas, Nev., car factory. [...] The contractor is Aecom, the Los Angeles-based engineering giant. [...]
Faraday failed to pay $21 million due to Aecom in September and owed $25 million in October and $12 million in November, according to Aecom.
— latimes.com
Faraday Future previously in the Archinect news:Faraday Future holds groundbreaking ceremony for $1B Nevada factoryAECOM to build $1B electric vehicle plant in VegasThe "Impossible" Car – Faraday Future's lead designer, Richard Kim, on One-to-One #17 View full entry
After four years of delayed construction, financial missteps, and lawsuits, Forest City Ratner and Greenland U.S.A. are finally welcoming tenants into 461 Dean Street, currently the tallest high-rise in the world constructed with modular units. The 32-story tower on the edge of Prospect Heights and Park Slope offers sweeping views of brownstone Brooklyn, but its lengthy construction saga highlights the issues developers face when they build with modular construction in New York City. — newyorkyimby.com
The groundbreaking (but not trouble-free) development previously in the Archinect news:Work finally resumes at Brooklyn's modular prefab towerContinued Delays For Housing at Atlantic YardsLego High-Rise: World's Tallest Modular Apartment Tower Getting Snapped Together In BrooklynModular... View full entry
Speed, accuracy, and complexity don't have to be mutually exclusive in construction. At least, that's the theory behind augmented reality technologies that offer 3D glimpses of real-time construction sites, animated plans and even wall finishes (imagine holding up your phone In your abode and... View full entry
This post is brought to you by Alucobond® The Harwyn Office Pod is a portable home office born from founder Jason Fremder’s need for a demarcation between home life and profession life.Fremder explains the idea for the pod was born simultaneously with the birth of his first daughter “my home... View full entry
The review highlights the sector’s dysfunctional training model, its lack of innovation and collaboration, and its non-existent research and development culture.
Low productivity continues to hamper the sector, while recent high levels of cost inflation, driven by a shortage of workers, has stalled numerous housing schemes as they have become too expensive to build.
— globalconstructionreview.com
Read more UK industry news here: Mayor of London launches probe into the impact of foreign investment in city's real estateEngineering giant Arup announces imminent layoffs following Brexit voteThe former-football stars tackling England's affordable housing shortage View full entry
After her grandparents passed away, Kelly Wise Valdes found a treasure trove of candid pictures taken by her grandfather, Chester "Chet" Wise, a master craftsman and woodworker who worked on the construction of the Magic Kingdom in Florida. [...]
Thousands of construction workers were there during the Magic Kingdom construction. Disney kept a small handful of these master craftsmen and made them full-time Disney employees, and my grandfather was one of the chosen few.
— CNN
Click here to find more photos. All images via cnn.com, courtesy of Kelly Wise Valdes.Related stories in the Archinect news:Relatively soon, in a galaxy (not so) far far away: announcing Star Wars LandsKeeping the Disneyland magic alive, by limiting neighbors' building heightsAll the Lights of... View full entry
This post is brought to you by Alucobond® A big compliment to architects is hearing that one of their building designs has become a recognizable landmark. That’s the case for architects at the Los Angeles office of Arquitectonica International Corp. who designed the Olume residential building... View full entry
A groundbreaking ceremony has taken place in Copenhagen for Foster + Partners’ headquarters for Ferring Pharmaceuticals.
The 39,000 square metre office is located on the urban fringe of the city in Kastrup, near the international airport, where it is possible to see the Swedish city of Malmö, where Ferring was founded.
The structure is made up of a triangular glass building that appears to float above a stone plinth, which also acts as its first line of defence against floods.
— globalconstructionreview.com
Other recent Foster + Partner stories in the Archinect news:Construction begins on major Foster + Partners project in SwedenApple's spaceship campus, by the numbers (including an estimated $5b price tag)What does a $1 million dollar staircase look like? View full entry
The first spin around the giant New York Wheel has been pushed back by a year.
The 630-foot Ferris wheel coming to the Staten Island waterfront was scheduled to open in late 2017. But its developers announced that has been delayed until April 2018 to give more time to test the structure's safety. [...]
Construction of the $580 million project is still expected to finish next year.
— DNA Info
The New York Wheel previously on Archinect:Tallest observation wheel in the Western Hemisphere expected to break ground in Staten Island soonMayor Bloomberg Unveils Plans To Build World's Tallest Ferris Wheel View full entry
