More Images - Foster and Partners

Attached are further images that I have incorporated and used in my Warehouse and Office Complex major Project. The Space-truss system is genious!

Major Project

Initial Concept Picture, Floor Layout.

Local Construction News - Article

Origin Energy to take bigger stake in wind farms in NSW
22 Jan 2008

Origin Energy has announced it has entered into a strategic relationship with wind generation developers Epuron acquiring an option to develop up to 590 MW of wind farm projects starting with the construction of the 30 MW Cullerin Range wind farm in NSW, 30km west of Goulburn. Epuron recently announced plans for the development of Australia's largest wind farm near Silverton in western NSW. This is also the first generation plant for Origin in NSW.


AGL to build second Hallett wind farm in South Australia
05 Nov 2007

AGL Energy Limited today announced it would build another wind farm in the Hallett area in South Australia. The 71 MW wind farm will be located at Hallett Hill and will have a total development cost of approximately $166m creating 150 jobs during the construction phase of the project.


Australia's largest wind farm proposed for NSW
09 Oct 2007

Renewable energy company Epuron plans to build Australia's largest wind farm north west of Broken Hill. With a capacity of 1000 MW, it could provide enough electricity for 400,000 homes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by almost 3 million tonnes a year. The project however faces considerable challenges given the uncertainty of state and federal legislation regarding renewable energy generation. Source Sydney Morning Herald: Wind Farm Media Release.


AGL chief calls for 20% renewables by 2020
30 Aug 2007

Paul Anthony, the head of AGL, one of Australia's largest energy retail companies, has called for a national renewable energy target of 20% by 2020. Mr Anthony has also been appointed chair of the Clean Energy Council, which has evolved from the merger of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and Auswind. Source Sydney Morning Herald: Energy giant backs renewables.

Norman Foster - Project Research - The Renault Dist Centre

The Renault Distribution Centre is a design that incorporates steel wire tied/fixed to circular columns, and then the plan view consists of a series of repeated modules using concrete panels and glass connected with steel bolting.
The main feature is the yellow wire cabelling that is used in a cross-bracing way and repeated. This helps to bind the bolting and keep in place, and then position the columns evenly.

Norman Foster - Major Project Research

These are some images of various workes by Foster and Partners. I have looked into the bracing systems employed by Foster in his designs. Particularly in the Sainsbury Centre for the visual arts (directly above), incorporating class connecting with steel bolting and a space-truss system.

The Beijing Airport Terminal above shows a good basic bracing and connection system.

The photos of the Law Faculty at Cambridge gives a fantastic view of glass panelling throughout and steel connections. It is attractive and could be used for a factory construction.

Power-generating windows - New Technology breakthrough

I have put these into this blog - despite that it is not DIRECTLY construction related, I think it is important to research and look into all new building technology. Particularly when these new developments incorporate the 5-star energy rating and more.

Solar company HelioVolt and Architectural Glass & Aluminum have announced a partnership to produce glass windows capable of generating electricity. HelioVolt is one of several new solar manufacturers using different materials to produce thin-film solar cells. The company intends to make solar cells for rooftop panels and later get into building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), where cells are embedded onto roof shingles, blinds, awnings, or other building components.

Tutorial Wk 5 - Typical two-storey office block

Tutorial Wk 4 - Concrete Panel, Load-Bearing

Apologies for the quality of this image, but the understanding of each member is there.

Tutorial Wk 3 - End-Wall Section of a Steel Portal Frame

Tutorial Wk 2 - Portal Frame Detail, Knee Joint & Base

Warehouse - Plans and Drawings

Here are some selected images off the drawings of the Warehouse I previously visited. These images are on the blog below.

I have attached am image of the Mezzanine office level. It shows what is on the office level and the layout of the plan. Also attached are sections showing the two levels, the ground factory floor and the first floor - mezzanine office level.

EUREKA TOWER - Construction Cont..

The Construction of the tower uses many tonnes of concrete reinforced, as stated below.

The tower was built using this reinforced concrete using a slipform method.

Slipform construction is a method for building large towers or bridges from concrete. The name refers to the moving form the concrete is poured into, which moves along the project as the previously poured concrete hardens behind it. The technique has also been applied to road construction.
The technique was in use by the early 20th century for building silos and grain elevators.
Vertical slipform relies on the quick-setting properties of concrete requiring a balance between early strength gain and workability. Concrete needs to be workable enough to be placed to the formwork and strong enough to develop early strength so that the form can slip upwards without any disturbance to the freshly placed concrete.
A notable use of the method was the Skylon Tower in Niagara Falls, Ontario, which was completed in 1965. The technique was soon utilized to build the Inco Superstack in Sudbury, Ontario and the CN Tower in Toronto. It is the most common method for construction of tall buildings in Australia.

Research - Case Study EUREKA TOWER

I have researched for my own interest (and added to this Blog) Eureka Tower, as I think it is fantastic and has amazing construction techniques.

Designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects, and the Grocon Group.

Eureka means 'I've Found It' in Greekand the expression 'Eureka, Eureka' was shoutedby Greek mathematician Archimedes (287-221 BC)after he had just discovered the theory of displacement of liquids. This has relation to the Gold area on the top area of the building. (Golden pinnacle).

Building costs were approximately US$ 415 million!

Eureka Tower is the tallest residential Tower in the world. The observatory deck is the highest observatory in the Southern Hempishere,the tower has 13 elevators; two of which will service the observation deck.

Between ground level and floor 11 there are offices, restaurants, retail,a health and fitness centre, a swimming pool, and a residents' car park (800 cars). Floors 11 tot 80 will contain the 556 apartments. The apartment levels are divided in three sections: floors 11 to 24 will be 'River rise', floors 25 to 52 will be 'Premier rise', while Floors 53 to 80 will be 'Sky rise', The top nine floors of the complex, known as 'Summit complex', will have the observatory,the 84th floor penthouse, restaurants, a function centre, and a nightclub on level 87.Two floors are in use as service and plant floors.

Construction began in August 2001, Building Weight = 200,000 Tonnes, 5,000 Tonnes of Reinforced Steel, and 110,000 Tonnes of Concrete.

Facade of the tower consists of 40,000 square metres of glass and aluminum panels. The glass is specially designed to reflect heat in the Summer, but also to retain heat in the Winter.

Factory Construction