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ZCB wins Innovation Award

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:01:00 GMT

Zero Carbon Building (ZCB), the first of its kind in Hong Kong engineered by Arup, has been awarded Champion of the Innovation Award for the Engineering Industry 2012/2013.

The award is organised for the first time by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) to pay tribute to the engineering professionals who have contributed innovative ideas to improving our quality of life.

ZCB tops the Construction category for its integrated innovative concepts tailored for Hong Kong's sub-tropical climate. Arup's groundbreaking ideas, ranging from structural engineering to sustainability consulting, enable the realisation of this sustainable showcase which has achieved BEAM Plus Platinum.

ZCB boasts over 80 sustainability features; each of them is innovative in its own right and all of them are seamlessly integrated. To achieve carbon neutrality throughout its life cycle, passive design measures are combined with green active systems and on-site generation of renewable energy. It is the first building in Hong Kong with grid feed-in and features Hong Kong's first biodiesel tri-generation system that uses waste cooking oil to generate power.

As a key contributor to this pioneering project, Arup's engineers have experimented with a wide range of innovative technologies which can be up-scaled in the high-rise, high-density and high-humidity context of Hong Kong. It will serve as a forum for continuous dialogue of sustainability for the industry and the community.

The project will be showcased with other outstanding innovations in an exhibition this month as part of the Engineering Week 2013 which aims to recognise the contributions of engineers and arouse the public interests in the engineering profession.

Hong Kong's Engineering Wonders

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Six Arup engineered projects have been named 'Hong Kong People Engineering Wonders' in a voting campaign organised by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE).

The campaign invited the general public to vote for what they considered as the top ten engineering masterpieces in Hong Kong in the past ten years. Twenty projects were shortlisted for public voting, based on five main criteria: recognition, pride, contribution, advancement and appearance.

The top three most-voted projects are all Arup projects — Stonecutters Bridge, Harbour Area Treatment Scheme and Hong Kong West Drainage Tunnel. The other elected projects engineered by Arup include Hong Kong - Shenzhen Western Corridor, International Commerce Centre (ICC) and MTR West Rail Line. Also on the list are Caverning salt water service reservoirs to make way for sustainable development of the HKU Centennial Campus, e-Channels, The Hong Kong Wetland Park, and Town Island Renewable Energy Supply Project - Hong Kong's first commercial-scale standalone renewable energy supply system.

Arup's contribution to these outstanding projects has received much support and recognition from the general public. They epitomise our full spectrum of portfolio and the role engineers play in people's everyday life. From urban landmarks to transport links and resilient infrastructure, they drive the long-term development of Hong Kong and illustrate engineers' innovation and contribution to the society.

The results will be showcased in an exhibition in April as part of the Engineering Week 2013 which aims to recognise the distinctive innovative ideas and contributions of engineers and arouse the public interests to the engineering profession.

The voting campaign was organised for the first time in 2000, and Arup was involved in four of the ten final projects, namely HSBC Main Building, Passenger Terminal at the Hong Kong International Airport, MTR system and Route 3.

Success for Arup at ICE London Awards

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Arup has been presented with two accolades at the annual Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) London Awards.

The Chinese Central Television (CCTV) headquarters triumphed in the Engineered in London category and the Bankside Substation Modernisation has been presented with the Re-engineering London Award.

Organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers, the annual ICE London Awards celebrate outstanding engineering achievement in the capital. Forty-five entries were received for this year's awards of which only 15 projects were shortlisted. A panel of expert judges spent two days travelling around London to assess each entry.

In addition, two other Arup projects made the ICE Awards shortlist: The Crystal was shortlisted for the Greatest Contribution to London category, and New Court, the new headquarters for NM Rothschild & Sons, was shortlisted for the Building Award.

The full list of winners and shortlisted projects can be viewed at www.ice.org.uk/londonawards.

Experiencing edible designs
at Arup's Penguin Pool night

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 09:19:00 GMT

The second Penguin Pool event in Hong Kong was held on 4 December to explore a sensory journey for the taste buds and the soul, experiencing the creative fusion of food, design and culture.

Over 120 guests from Hong Kong's creative community joined the star chefs from diverse backgrounds on an inspirational conversation on edible designs.

The night began with the Michelin-star chef Alvin Leung's demonstration of the molecular desert 'Nitro' ginger tea (a frozen mixture of Mau Tai - a chinese liquor, ginseng and honey) and shared how his training as an engineer has inspired him to pursue the perfection of 'X-treme Chinese cuisine'.

Designer-turn-chef Margaret Xu of the priviate dining Yin Yang related her appreciation of the Chinese traditional cooking techniques and how she gave it a British touch to create unique dishes with a taste of the Hong Kong culture.

An interesting comparison was reflected when IHM group co-founder and executive chef Todd Darling and Vincent Lauria, born and raised in the New York area, explained their design philosophy of bringing a slide of authentic New York style pizza to Hong Kong, using only organic ingredients and locally sourced produce.

Vegetarian chef Peggy Chan of Grassroots Pantry told how she walked the talk of organic veggie eating in Hong Kong by designing creative dishes as a way to encourage healthy eating.

The evening of inspiration was fueled with creative sparks as the chef speakers explored their unique philosophy and design process towards food and culture.

The Penguin Pool is a global series of parties presented by Arup to inform, inspire and entertain. This is Hong Kong's second Penguin Pool event following Sydney, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Milan, San Francisco, London, New York and Melbourne.

Arup appointed for Shenzhen Qianhai infrastructure consultancy

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 01:29:00 GMT

Arup, in a consortium with China International Engineering Consulting Corporation (CIECC), has been appointed to undertake the infrastructure planning consultancy of Qianhai.

Qianhai is one of the Chinese government's designated strategic areas to drive the nation's economic and social development and support the long term prosperity of Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Selected out of 15 local and international companies after a competitive bidding process, the consortium will provide multidisciplinary services including planning, economics, traffic, geotechnics, railway, maritime, geographical information systems and landscapes to deliver a total engineering solution. The consultancy marks a key milestone for the high profile project - infrastructure works are now in full swing.

Located in the west of Nanshan peninsula of Shenzhen, the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone (Qianhai) is a 15km² development area dedicated to developing modern service industries. This development plan was endorsed by the State Council and was included in China's 12th Five-Year Plan. With an emphasis on innovation, Qianhai will be developed into a pioneering zone adopting the world's leading management concepts in modern service industries, creating closer cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland, and leading the industrial upgrading of the Pearl River Delta region.

Successful infrastructure planning is a key factor to realising the 'Dream of Qianhai'. The infrastructure engineering consultancy is to formulate a comprehensive and technically feasible programme for short to long term infrastructure development to meet the goals and ultimately achieve the national strategy for Qianhai. Financial factors shall also be considered to ensure practicality of our proposal.

"The construction of Qianhai shall become a pilot area of Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation in modern service industries, the required standards of developments are expected to be international and comparable with that in Hong Kong."

- Man Kang, Project Director and Arup's Shenzhen office leader

Bridge awarded Edmund Hambly Medal

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 08:23:00 GMT

The Arup x WZQ Bridge has been awarded the Edmund Hambly Medal at the Institution of Civil Engineers Annual Awards 2012.

The award recognises its creative design, which makes a substantial contribution to sustainable development.

The bridge, located in Mixia Village near the Chinese-Vietnamese border, was conceived and designed by Arup, and built in a period of 12 days by a team of volunteers made up from Arup staff, university students from both Hong Kong and the mainland, and members of Wu Zhi Qiao Charitable Foundation. The bridge illustrates the social usefulness of engineers by creating a safe and stable lifeline to education and agriculture for over 3,000 villagers in remote China.

"This is a great achievement for the Arup x WZQ Bridge volunteering team. The project is a vivid demonstration of how the volunteers walked the talk of 'shaping a better world'."

— Andrew Chan, Arup Group Deputy Chairman

The project also won the Special Mention Award for Charitable Projects in the HKIE/IStructE JSD Structural Excellence Awards 2012.

Pioneering model for low carbon debate

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 05:34:00 GMT

Arup held a roundtable discussion today with top government officials and decision makers to have a fresh look at Taiwan's low carbon transition plans with a pioneering model.

The high-level meeting was joined by government officials and experts from various departments and research institutions, including Council for Economic Planning Development, Environment Protection Administration, Bureau of Energy, Industrial Development Bureau, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, Taiwan Research Institute, Institute for Information Industry, Taichung City Government, Industrial Technology Research Institute and New Taipei City Government.

Dr Simon Roberts, Associate Director of Arup, introduced the innovative 4see model, a combined economic and physical approach that looks at systematic interactions of an entire economy. The data-driven model brings together various factors of a national account including economic activity, capital stocks, employment, energy and balance of payments to project future scenarios and explore the impact of different investment choices.

To illustrate how the model works in the policy-making process, Dr Roberts took the UK economy as an example, and presented his latest research findings as well as what possible actions the model suggests for the UK government to reduce carbon emissions.

Dr Roberts also shared the initial results from a 4see model for Taiwan - a joint work with the Advanced Research Institute at Institute for Information Industry. By comparing the results of Taiwan with other economies, he explained how the model can provide development guidance for different national accounts.

"Many governments around the world are setting out low carbon transition policies and plans with different departments working on their own measures to meet the targets. However, the consequences of one policy may ripple through to others and affect the whole economy. Sometimes the policies overlap or even contradict with each other, resulting in little effect. 4see is a unique, innovative model that brings all the components of an entire economy together to provide evidence-based projection and point out the way forward."

- Andrew Chan, Arup Group Deputy Chairman

The 4see e model has been applied to the UK economy and is currently being used to analyse the economies of Taiwan and Australia. Many more governments are showing interest in this novel approach.

Penguin Pool debuts in Shanghai

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 07:26:00 GMT

On 25 October Shanghai hosted its first Penguin Pool event on rethinking the interactive experience of art and design.

More than 200 guests across industries joined leading artists at the convergence of art and new media to explore how technologies are shaping the way we communicate, share information and experience reality.

The highly interactive journey of reflection and rediscovery was kicked off by Ng Tze-Kwan, Executive Creative Director of yU+co.[lab], who shared his insights on new technological research and innovation in interactive user experience.

The creative spark was further fuelled by Dutch artist and architect Daan Roosegaarde, who brought his latest interactive piece 'Lotus Foil' and gave an in-depth look at new technology, art and human experience.

Jin Ge, Research Designer of IDEO, relayed the exploration by sharing his deep and extensive experience in researching human behaviour, and turning observations into revealing and useful insights.

The intellectual journey was wrapped up by Hui-Hsui Lin, CEO and Co-Founder of Techart Group, with an inspiring overview of interactive art projects.

True to the essence of this evening of inspiration, all guests were invited to play with a handful of interactive art installations on site, becoming part of the artworks and experiencing the aesthetic impact of interactivity first hand.

These installations included Kwan's experimental interactive interface specifically developed for the Penguin Pool, Liu Dao artist collective at island6's 'Pay Phone' where guests used their mobile phones to call the number listed and influenced the characters in the animation; "Shall we Dance Shanghai?" by Techart, in which the audience were engaged and danced with a large projection of Shanghai landmarks; and "The Eye" by Northern Light, in which a large animation of a human eye reacted to the guests following them as they walked by.

The Penguin Pool is a global series of parties presented by Arup to inform, inspire and entertain. Shanghai is the 10^th city to host a Penguin Pool event following Sydney, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Milan, San Francisco, London, New York and Melbourne.

Hong Kong West Drainage Tunnel starts operation

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

After more than six years of design and construction, Hong Kong West Drainage Tunnel (HKWDT), the city's longest facility of its kind, goes into operation.

The commissioning ceremony was held yesterday with representatives from the government, consultant and contractor taking part.

As the lead consultant to the Drainage Services Department (DSD), Arup carried out the design, pre-qualification, tender and construction supervision for the HKWDT which will greatly alleviate flooding risks in Central and Western District and Wanchai District thus minimising traffic disruption and disturbance to the public caused by flooding.

HKWDT sets numerous records and firsts for the city. It is the first one to use raise boring method extensively for dropshaft excavation in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the two tunnel boring machines (TBM) used for excavation of the main tunnel, at 7.2m and 8.3m diameter, are the largest in Hong Kong. To shorten the construction period, TBM excavation and adit blasting were carried out concurrently - yet another first for Hong Kong. These innovative techniques not only helped keep the project on schedule, but also minimised the impact on residents, traffic and the environment during construction and created a safer working environment.

"Arup has been contributing to the development of Hong Kong's infrastructure for more than 30 years. We are proud of the successful delivery of this challenging project, which pioneered a lot of technical innovations for Hong Kong's construction industry."

- LM Lui, Arup's East Asia Chairman

The biggest flood prevention project ever implemented by the DSD, HKWDT comprises 11km long main tunnel from Tai Hang to Cyberport, with an internal diameter ranging from 6.25m to 7.25m. It has 8km of adits and 34 intakes to intercept upland flows from existing streams and drainage system at Mid-Levels. The collected runoff will be discharged directly into the sea.

Andrew Chan among 59 new fellows
of the Royal Academy of Engineering

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 04:10:00 GMT

Andrew Chan was made a Fellow of The Royal Academy of Engineering at its Annual General Meeting on 16 July.

The top-level national academy honours the UK's most distinguished engineers by electing up to 60 Fellows each year, distinguished by the title Fellow of The Royal Academy of Engineering and designatory letters 'FREng'.

An expert in civil and geotechnical engineering, Dr Chan is honoured and recognised for his contribution to the engineering industry and built environment over the past 30 years. He has designed, led and delivered some of East Asia's most impressive urban developments, incorporating underground metro systems as well as some of the tallest and iconic buildings.

He is now contributing to the community on the wider aspects of economic, sustainable and green policy development following his integral role in some of Hong Kong and mainland China's most celebrated major infrastructure projects.

Andrew is a Past President of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the Founding Chairman of the Hong Kong Green Building Council, an Honorary Fellow and Adjunct Professor of the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, and is a Vice President of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences.

"I am hugely honoured and delighted to receive this recognition from my peers and the Academy, to be amongst such a distinguished group of engineers. It is a great privilege to be given the project opportunities and to have been supported by the countless talented colleagues in Arup through the years."

- Andrew Chan, Deputy Chairman of the Arup Group

In total, 59 fellows were elected this year, with four new International Fellows and three Honorary Fellows, by the Royal Academy of Engineering.