By Joe Hovan Mass timber construction has taken hold in a big way. These structures, made of various types of wood products such as cross laminated timber, glue-laminated beams, laminated veneer lumber, nail-laminated timber or dowel-laminated timber, rival traditional steel and concrete building materials in terms of durability, seismic performance and fire resistance. They are also lighter in weight and result in less costly foundations. In addition, because mass timber components are machined to a high precision (+/- 1mm), the installation onsite is faster, less noisy and utilizes a smaller crew than alternative materials. Not to mention, they are really … Read more
Mall of Oman Awarded LEED Platinum Certification
The joint venture of Consolidated Contractors Company and Shapoorji Pallonji Middle East’s Mall of Oman Project — located in Dubai, U.A.E. — was awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum certification this spring. The Mall of Oman project achieved a Platinum certification under the LEED 2009 Core and Shell Development rating system with a total of 81 points. The Mall of Oman was built using low-environmental impact construction materials; approximately 22.95% of the materials used in the construction were recycled-content products (the product was manufactured with recycled materials either collected from a recycling program or from waste recovered … Read more
New Icon, Entrance for Amsterdam IJburg Delivered
After four years of construction, Sluishuis has been completed. Amsterdam IJburg, located in the Netherlands, now has a new, architecturally iconic landmark. The building forms a bridge between IJburg and the city center. With 442 different types of owner-occupied and rental homes, a public greenroof garden with a rooftop walkway, bird and recreational islands, jetties for boats and catering facilities, Sluishuis is a place for everyone. The building started when the municipality of Amsterdam declared the combination VORM and BESIX RED winner of the quality tender for the development and construction of Sluishuis in 2016. For the design of this … Read more
Excitement Builds as New Frenchay Primary School Nears Completion
As staff and students looked forward to the summer holidays, a group from Frenchay Church of England Primary School visited the site of their brand-new facilities in the UK to take a last peek before building work was completed over the break. And they moved in at the start of the new school year at the beginning of September. The school is a new build and enlargement on part of the site of the former Frenchay Hospital. It will have state-of-the art facilities and, as temperature records have tumbled recently, the visitors were particularly keen to see and learn about … Read more
Christchurch Convention and Exhibition Centre Wins Master Builders Civic Project Award
The Te Pae Christchurch Convention and Exhibition Centre, designed and constructed by CPB Contractors, has won the Civic Project Award at the 2022 New Zealand Commercial Project Awards. Located in Central Christchurch in New Zealand, the CCEC draws on its South Island location with a sweeping curved façade consisting of over 42,000 individual mounted tiles representing the contours of the Southern Alps and braided Canterbury Rivers. The 28,000-square-meter building consists of a 1,400-seat tiered auditorium, operable walls to configure 24 meeting rooms, an exhibition hall and banquet hall and assorted food, beverage and retail amenities. Committed to working with the … Read more