Manhattan Subway

This post is all about the historical  past of the construction of New York's   subway.

Manhattan 's subway is one of the oldest and the largest .The length of the subway is currently estimated at around  1355km.

Although the oldest subway is located in London, New York's is equally important due to the fact that it was built with no high tech technology but with only labour and horses.

Initially the subway had only 24 stations.Nowadays New York's metro has  460 stations and  it servs over 1.64 billion people annually. 

The following photos are the best way to illustrate how the metro was build and also  to illustrate the pain staking process of builting it.

 The photos were publiced by the Municipal Archives  of New York and show the work that has been done between the period of 1901 and 1931. The first stations were opened at 1904.

more information at:http://www.newsbeast.gr/world/arthro/352419/etsi-kataskeuastike-to-metro-tou-manhatan/

Malaysia Langkawi Bridge-only the brave

Langkawi is one of the many small islands in Malaysia. At around 700 metres from sea level there is a cable-stated foot bridge that only the brave will try to cross it.

 At every corner the bridge makes ,your breath can be taken away. With only one truss metal pylon the bridge is surly something that deserves our attention.

for more information:http://www.newsbeast.gr/weird/arthro/229920/mia-gefura-mono-gia-gennaious/

FABERGÉ BIG EGG HUNT

The Big Egg Hunt presented by Faberge sees 209 giant egg sculptures placed high and low across central London for over 6 weeks. These stunning pieces of unique and extraordinary art will capture the imagination of London; each one finely designed, crafted and decorated by leading artists from around the world. Participating artists are Mr. Brainwash, Zaha Hadid (both pictured here above), Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Quinn, Oliver Clegg, the Chapman Brothers and many others.

Each two and a half foot fiberglass sculpture will take its place in the hunt throughout the 12 egg zones across London, and come together for The Grand Eggstavaganza on the Easter weekend. You can view the entire collection in all its speggtacular glory from Thursday 5th to Monday 9th April.

HILLA SHAMIA

"WOOD CASTING"

The negative factor of burnt wood is transformed into aesthetic and emotional value. Preservation of the natural form of the tree trunk within the explicit boundaries. The general,squared form intensifies the artificial feeling, and in the same time keeps the memory of the material.

Marina Bay Sands Singapore

Boasting the world’s longest public cantilever, the SkyPark® is an engineering marvel. The rooftop superstructure is sited 200m high straddling three 55-storey luxury hotel towers. The structure is 38m wide and 340m long – equivalent to four and a half A380 aircraft.

Arup is responsible for multidisciplinary engineering including advanced works, infrastructure, structural,civil, fire and geotechnical engineering, building physics,maritime engineering, traffic, lighting design, façadeand acoustic consulting and risk management.

"Every element of the project is technically challenging to design and build" explains Cheong Va-Chan, Arup’s Project Director.

The basements were constructed in deep marine clays, the SkyPark® features the world’s longest public cantilever and the lotus-inspired museum is a geometrically-challenging structure. Site works were densely packed, creating complex staging and interface issues.

Arup adopted innovative 3D modelling technologies, pushing the boundaries of current software and systems.

These modelling techniques provided a significant reduction in modelling time, better coordinated documents, rapid concept evaluation, optimised designs, visualisation of complex technical issues and improved communication with the client.

Finally some usefull facts about Marina Bay  :

Waterfront resort complex with hotels, shops, parks, theatres, convention centre, casino and museum.

Three cascading hotel towers topped with 1ha SkyPark®

World’s longest public cantilever.

World’s first ArtScience museum shaped like a lotus flower.

for more information:http://www.arup.com/Projects/Marina_Bay%20Sands_Integrated_Resort.aspx

Newport station redevelopment

As part of the regeneration of Newport, the station has undergone a £22m development funded by Network Rail and the Welsh Assembly Government with support from Arriva Trains Wales. 

The station is designed by Grimshaw, in association with Atkins and delivered by Galliford Try. Engineers worked around the clock to deliver this exciting, state of the art station. 

There are new benefits from the redevelopment in various sectors. Such as:

Access for passengers

The station now benefits from a footbridge linking all platforms, lifts, modernised customer information systems and new CCTV and waiting shelters.

Iconic design

The station has changed Newport’s skyline. Built with a material that is also used by the Eden Project, Newport station is the most eco-friendly in south Wales.

Car parking

Passengers now benefit from a new and bigger car park, with more than 250 spaces, and a longer Platform 4 to accommodate more people and longer trains in the future.

for more information:www.networkrail.co.uk/newport

London Gateway rail terminal

Balfour Beatty has won the contract to build a new rail terminal capable of handling the longest trains in the UK at DP World’s London Gateway.

Balfour will build the first of three rail terminals and double track the branch line to the new deep-sea container port being built on the north bank of the River Thames, situated east of central London.

The rail terminal will be able to accommodate trains up to 34 wagons long

Gina Acosta, London Gateway Port/Park Interface and Rail Terminal Manager said: “We recognise that customers are looking for a reliable service that will reduce transportation costs.

“With 33% of London Gateway port’s throughput expected to go by rail, we are committed to having the right infrastructure and operational processes in place from day one.  We are also future proofing rail capacity by double tracking the branch line.”

Marshall Scott, Managing Director at Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering said: “We are delighted to be working with London Gateway to build this important rail infrastructure which will help make the UK more competitive and create new options for distribution of freight.”

Andrew Bowen, London Gateway Engineering Director said: “I am pleased to have Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering working with us to develop London Gateway’s infrastructure in time for our opening next year.”

London Gateway will open in Q4 2013 and become the UK’s premier logistics centre.

for more information:http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2012/04/25/balfour-wins-london-gateway-rail-terminal/