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Handover ceremony for CCTV HQ

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The official handover ceremony for the CCTV Headquarters has taken place in Beijing, China.

As part of the original design team, Arup was commissioned by the architect, OMA, to provide structural, MEP, geotechnical and fire engineering design, as well as security consulting services.

The OMA design for the CCTV headquarters is formed of two towers - 234m tall and 194m tall - that lean towards each other and form a 14-storey 'L-shaped' overhang. This unconventional tower posed extraordinary structural challenges for Arup.

"We are delighted to see the handover of this extraordinary building. Throughout this multi-disciplinary project, we drew upon our global expertise to propose the building's design criteria, and to understand and analyse its seismic performance."

- Arup Director, Michael Kwok

"We carried out an unprecedented level of performance-based analysis which included examining all 10,060 elements in the primary structure under all credible seismic conditions. The highly detailed engineering was explained to, and approved by, a Government-appointed panel of structural experts."

- Arup Director, Rory McGowan

Led by Rem Koolhaas, former partner Ole Scheeren (until 2010), and partner David Gianotten, this is OMA's first major building in China. The Arup team who worked on the OMA design was led by Cecil Balmond (now at Balmond Studies), Rory McGowan, Chris Carroll and Michael Kwok.

Arup's diverse role in the project involved co-ordinating design and engineering teams across the firm from London, Beijing, Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Four Accolades at Structural Excellence Awards 2012

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Arup wins big at the HKIE/IStructE JSD Structural Excellence Awards.

To be honoured in four awards in this prestigious engineering award is a great triumph for Arup.

China World Tower, Beijing

The Grand Award in the Mainland/Overseas Projects Category goes to the China World Tower which won the 10^th Tien Yow Jeme Civil Engineering Prize. At 330m tall, this is the tallest building in Beijing and in a high seismic zone in China. The Arup design team introduced a unique bracing system - an eccentric brace that does not join to its opposite corner - to the structural design, reducing the potential damage to the building in the event of serious earthquake, and setting new benchmarks for seismic design of tall buildings.

Opus Hong Kong

Opus Hong Kong is awarded the Commendation Merit in Hong Kong Projects Category. The twelve-storey residential building overlooking Victoria Harbour is designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry. Arup provided total engineering services from the concept design stage until completion of works. The building's rotating form posed a design challenges to our structural engineers. The unique structural form includes irregular floor plates, reinforced concrete flat slabs supported by core/load bearing walls and external steel columns, allowing maximum flexibility for the column-free internal spaces.

Marina Bay Sands® Integrated Resort, Singapore

Another Arup project the Marina Bay Sands^® Integrated Resort wins the Commendation Merit in the Overseas Projects Category. The judges were impressed by the unique design of the top SkyPark^® observation deck which boasts a 66.5m cantilever and links three 55-storey hotel towers. Arup completed the SkyPark^® design with a combination of innovative engineering approaches, robust dynamic analysis and advanced 3D modelling technologies.

Arup x WZQ Bridge, Mixia Village, Yunnan Province

The hand-built Arup x WZQ Bridge was recognised with the Special Mention Award for Charitable Projects. This bridge has an impressive span of 20m to avoid the floods that used to destroy the makeshift bamboo bridge. Conceived and designed by Arup, and built by a team of Arup volunteers, university students and Wu Zhi Qiao Charitable Foundation members over the Christmas and New Year holidays, this bridge illustrates the social usefulness of engineers by creating a safe and stable lifeline to education and agriculture for over 3,000 villagers in rural China.

Arup sponsors IMechE MX awards

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Arup is pleased to support IMechE's (The Institution of Mechanical Engineers) business improvement programme, Manufacturing Excellence, through sponsorship of the Arup Sustainable Manufacturing Award.

Manufacturing is vital to the future economic prosperity of the UK. IMechE's programme promotes UK manufacturing at all scales.

"This is the sixth year Arup has supported the Manufacturing Excellence (MX) programme through sponsorship of the Arup Sustainable Manufacturing Award. Due to economic, social and environmental influences, it is now more important than ever for manufacturers to embed the concept of sustainability into every day operations and long term strategy for lasting success.
Although the UK already boasts extensive expertise and skills in sustainable design and manufacturing, this drive must be further nurtured and developed until it becomes a standard way of working, not just a 'nice to have.
The MX programme is a means for businesses of any size to benchmark their current capabilities against recognised best practice approaches, as well as seek expert consultancy advice in order to improve their triple bottom line. Through extensive coverage of MX and the awards, this programme also promotes the education and development of people in manufacturing and beyond, with the aim of driving a more sustainable future for manufacturing in the UK."

- Alan Belfield, Arup Group Board Director, Consulting Practice Global Chair

The IMechE Business Improvement Programme

Businesses are called to conduct an in-depth self assessment audit of their processes and strategy. Once completed, they receive a complimentary benchmark report that identifies their strengths and weaknesses and makes recommendations for improvement. A mentoring service is available for those who require guidance through the self assessment process.

Manufacturing Excellence Awards

Celebrating the best of British manufacturing, the Manufacturing Excellence Awards are open to companies that have completed at least one module of IMechE's business improvement programme. The 2012 Awards Ceremony will take place on 27 November at The Dorchester on London's Park Lane.

In addition to the Awards, Manufacturing Excellence also provides industry networking opportunities through the MX Club. MX Club events take place throughout the year, are open to all and are usually free to attend. Visit http://www.mxawards.org for more information.

Arup recognized for work with NYC education group PENCIL

Mon, 14 May 2012 17:15:00 GMT

Arup has been awarded the 2012 Partnership Award from PENCIL, a nonprofit organization that brings together business leaders to strengthen New York City public schools.

The award was presented on May 10 at a benefit at Manhattan's American Museum of Natural History, with CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien serving as mistress of ceremonies.

Our firm has worked with PENCIL for several years. Initially starting with one Brooklyn school, we are now partnering with two to develop innovative learning activities for classrooms, host students as interns in our office, and build relationships between school principals and Arup leaders.

PENCIL is a great opportunity to give students real practical experience about why subjects like math and science and music are really important in real life - and in real-life careers. We get to see students realize, "oh, that's why I'm learning math, now I understand." It shows them that all the stuff they're studying really is applicable and appropriate.

Craig Covil, Arup Principal

Arup staff from a variety of disciplines, from transportation consulting to structural engineering, have worked with students on a number of creative projects. One of our first efforts with the program involved helping students from the International High School at Prospect Heights design improvements to an existing dance studio. The school subsequently received grant money to implement the changes. Since then, we have worked with students from the International High School and a nearby junior high, the School of Integrated Learning, to create proposed designs for music rooms, science labs, and more, in addition to devising a number of other hands-on experiences.

The best part of the program for me has been to see how the students change through their time with us. When they first came to work with us they were very shy and didn't speak much, but during those 12 weeks you could see their confidence level building. When they had their final presentation, it was like night and day from the first time we saw them. We saw the huge difference we were making in their lives.

Lindsay Maguire, civil engineer

Double win at the Tien-yow Jeme Awards

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Tsing Sha Highway (Route 8) in Hong Kong and the China World Tower in Beijing have been honoured with the 10th Tien-yow Jeme Civil Engineering Prize organised by the China Civil Engineering Society.

The Tien-yow Jeme Award is the top engineering award in China covering the engineering fields of buildings, railways, transportation and water resources. The awards are given to projects featuring distinction in innovation and technical advancement.

Tsing Sha Highway (Route 8), Hong Kong

The Tsing Sha Highway (Route 8) is a 13.6m truck road in Hong Kong including the 1,018m span cable-stayed Stonecutters Bridge, high level approach viaducts and Nam Wan tunnel. Arup provided full engineering services from concept to completion, for the section between Tsing Yi and Cheung Sha Wan and traffic control and surveillance system design for the whole route.

The project involved significant technical challenges due to the tall piers, some reaching up to 75m, and long spans of the viaducts. In order to facilitate future inspection and maintenance, we adopted a precast segmental construction and avoided bearings wherever possible. The complexity of the traffic plans and automation equipment are forward thinking by industry standards with an intelligent system allowing greater automation of traffic control and surveillance systems, as well as allowing for future expansion and maintenance.

China World Tower, Beijing

At 330m, the China World Tower is the tallest building in Beijing and also the highest within a high seismic zone in China. We provided a full range of structural and geotechnical engineering services for the project from schematic design to site-coordination.

Arup's engineers introduced the composite structural system of concrete and steel, a combination that tolerates movement without being too flexible, to ensure structural safety and reduce the construction cost with a lower steel tonnage. We also conducted a shaking table test through a 1:30 scale physical model to demonstrate that our structural design is safe in Beijing's high seismicity zone, which provoked a great deal of interest in the Beijing planning community as such comprehensive tests have never been undertaken in Beijing before.

Council of Europe honours Avilés Innovation Island project

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Innovation Island, an ambitious project in the town of Avilés, Spain, has been honoured by the Council of Europe with an award in the category of Best Practices in the European Coastal Cities.

The project will regenerate its marine waterfront with an environmentally focused townplanning process.

Arup masterplanning team in Madrid suggested the design which prioritises mobility aspects and includes a sustainability plan with both cost savings and energy efficiency proposals.

The Council of Europe award recognises local communities that implement innovative practices to reverse the social and economic recession that is a feature of many coastal communities.

The project carried out in Avilés seeks the physical and socio-economic recovery of the 50ha of land that borders its river, after more than five decades of industrial activity. The recovery plan provides a balanced mixture of uses including housing, offices, hotels, retail, restaurants and exhibition centres.

The design suggested by Arup´s master planning team prioritises mobility aspects and includes a sustainability plan with savings and energy efficiency proposals.

Arup tees off with South Beach

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

An unusual hole-in-one golf session at the South Beach construction site on 27 April has marked an important milestone for the planned mixed-use development in downtown Singapore.

Arup, along with other South Beach consultants, teed off to commemorate the excavation of the project site's lowest point, and the start of its foundation work. The entire excavation process was completed after an arduous six months and 16,420 truck loads to reach the lowest point.

The excavation effort proved to be more than just a monotonous stage in South Beach's construction. The site's strong linkage to Singapore history and the fact that it is part of land reclaimed from the sea was reinforced by 'excavated treasures' - including fossil coral and a bed of sand. The entire development sits on filled earth and deep soft marine clay. In its vicinity are several conservation buildings and an underground MRT station.

To overcome challenging ground conditions, Arup designed two large 89m and 85m diameter cofferdams to stabilise the soil and provide pockets of dry enclose for safe excavation. The circular diaphragm wall cofferdams are so wide that they can fit five Olympic size swimming pools. The cofferdams also double up as the foundation for this 153,000m2 gross floor area mixed-use development.

"Our geotechnical specialists worked closely with the project team to overcome the challenge of carrying out excavation works in difficult ground conditions. Similar cofferdams with 1.5m thick walls were also used in the construction of Marina Bay Sands. On South Beach, we've managed to reduce the walls of these cofferdams to only 1m. The highly efficient design basement wall translates into time and cost savings on the project."

- Russell Cole, Buildings group leader, Singapore, Arup

Designed by Foster+Partners in association with Aedas, South Beach is set to exemplify Singapore's ideal of a 'city in a garden'. While the excavation marks only one in several more stages to come, it is the primary stage that begins the daunting feat of what is set to be, an iconic architectural masterpiece in Singapore that will effortlessly amalgamate history with the present and the future.

Arup is providing civil, structural and façade engineering, geotechnics and environmentally sustainable design (ESD) services.

Serpentine Gallery reveals plans for Pavilion

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Serpentine Gallery today released plans for the 2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei.

It will be the twelfth commission in the Gallery's annual series, the world's first and most ambitious architectural programme of its kind.

Arup will collaborate with Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei to realise the 2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion. The Arup team, led by Stuart Smith, will provide all engineering and specialist technical advice for the project.

"This year's Serpentine Pavilion has allowed us as a design team to build on the strong working relationship we originally forged designing the National Stadium for the Beijing Olympics. With London as the centre of the Cultural Olympiad it has been a pleasure and privilege working together on creative design and engineering innovation to literally delve deep into the history of past Pavilions creating an exciting living experience for visitors to enjoy."

- Stuart Smith, Arup Director

This year's Pavilion will take visitors beneath the Serpentine's lawn to explore the hidden history of its previous Pavilions. Eleven columns characterising each past Pavilion and a twelfth column representing the current structure will support a floating platform roof 1.4 metres above ground. The Pavilion's interior will be clad in cork, a sustainable building material chosen for its unique qualities and to echo the excavated earth. Taking an archaeological approach, the architects have created a design that will inspire visitors to look beneath the surface of the park as well as back in time across the ghosts of the earlier structures.

"It is a great honour to be working with Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei, the design team behind Beijing's superb Bird's Nest Stadium. In this exciting year for London we are proud to be creating a connection between the Beijing 2008 and the London 2012 Games. We are enormously grateful for the help of everyone involved, especially Usha and Lakshmi N. Mittal, whose incredible support has made this project possible."

- Julia Peyton-Jones, Director, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director, Serpentine Gallery

The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion will operate as a public space and as a venue for Park Nights, the Gallery's high-profile programme of public talks and events.

Connecting to the archaeological focus of the Pavilion design Park Nights will culminate in October with the Serpentine Gallery Memory Marathon, the latest edition of the annual Serpentine Marathon series conceived by Hans Ulrich Obrist, now in its seventh year. The Marathon series began in 2006 with the 24-hour Serpentine Gallery Interview Marathon; followed by the Experiment Marathon in 2007; the Manifesto Marathon in 2008; the Poetry Marathon in 2009, the Map Marathon in 2010 and the Garden Marathon in 2011.

The 2012 Pavilion has been purchased by Usha and Lakshmi N. Mittal and will enter their private collection after it closes to the public in October 2012.

Best Value Proposal for the Gerald Desmond Bridge

Sat, 05 May 2012 20:00:00 GMT

A joint venture between Shimmick Construction Company, Inc., FCC Construccion S.A., and Impregilo S.p.A. was selected on Friday as the "best value" proposer for the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project by Port of Long Beach and Caltrans officials. Leading the design team for the Shimmick-FCC-Impregilo joint venture is a joint venture team of Arup and Biggs Cardosa.

With a design-and-construction proposal of $649.5m, this is a major win for all firms involved. The Project Selection Team, led by Caltrans, the Port, and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, formally opened the financial proposals on May 4, following a rigourous, months-long evaluation of the technical proposals from three firms that had been pre-qualified to bid on the contract.

Next, the "notice of intent" to award the contract will be given on May 14 to the Port's Board of Harbor Commissioners. A decision by the Board on the actual award of the contract is expected in late June, with final design starting soon after the contract is signed and construction kickoff set in early 2013. The total cost of the overall bridge replacement project is estimated at about $1b, including site preparation, demolition, and other considerations.

As a key member of the design team, Arup will be providing bridge design services, including structural, geotechnical, seismic, and civil engineering services, along with lighting consulting services among others.

The Gerald Desmond Bridge in Long Beach, CA is a vital link in the nation's trade system and a major commuter corridor. But the bridge, built in the 1960s, was not designed to handle today's traffic volumes and is deteriorating. The replacement project will ensure the safety of commuters and protect Southern California's important role as a major trading hub. Construction is expected to last five years and generate, on average, 4,000 jobs per year.

Walking the Talk culture management workshops

Fri, 04 May 2012 09:37:00 GMT

Understanding the culture management process

Visit the workshop website to register your interest

Arup in Australia is pleased to offer this workshop which introduces the Walking the Talk approach and key concepts that will enable participants to address the following questions:

Why is managing culture a critical business imperative?
What is culture and how is it formed?
What impact can culture have on business performance?
What are the key levers in changing organisational culture?
How can a pragmatic culture program be developed and implemented that will achieve critical business objectives?

Is culture the right lever to drive your business forward?

The workshops will be delivered by members of Arup's management consulting and organisational behaviour teams in Australia. All are accredited Walking the Talk practitioners experienced in working with leading global public and private sector clients: Diana Coelho, Stephen Davie, Steve Lennon, Jerome Parisse-Brassens and Shirley Reeder. (Read profiles).

They'll guide you to a clear understanding of the key stages in the culture management process and enable you to articulate a clear business imperative for culture change.

Workshop dates and details

Join senior HR and business leaders at exclusive one-day workshops in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Dates and locations

All workshops start at 8:30AM and finish at 6:00PM.

Sydney, 5 June 2012 | map and directions
Melbourne, 6 June 2012 | map and directions
Brisbane, 7 June 2012 | map and directions

Price

AU$850.00 (ex GST) per person. Includes all workshop materials. Registrations accepted before 11 May 2012 are eligible for a 20% discount.

Register your interest

Visit the workshop website to register your interest

Walking the Talk

Arup is an Authorised Partner of Walking the Talk, the world's only corporate culture management company. Walking the Talk makes culture do-able. This unique methodology enables clients to own and embed culture management as a competency. With a pragmatic methodology and easy-to-use tools we help clients to walk their talk and achieve the sustainable culture shifts needed to deliver the most critical business objectives.

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Handover ceremony for CCTV HQ

The official handover ceremony for the CCTV Headquarters has taken place in Beijing, China.

Four Accolades at Structural Excellence Awards 2012

Arup wins big at the HKIE/IStructE JSD Structural Excellence Awards.

China World Tower, Beijing

Opus Hong Kong

Marina Bay Sands® Integrated Resort, Singapore

Arup x WZQ Bridge, Mixia Village, Yunnan Province

Arup sponsors IMechE MX awards

Arup is pleased to support IMechE's (The Institution of Mechanical Engineers) business improvement programme, Manufacturing Excellence, through sponsorship of the Arup Sustainable Manufacturing Award.

The IMechE Business Improvement Programme

Manufacturing Excellence Awards

Arup recognized for work with NYC education group PENCIL

Arup has been awarded the 2012 Partnership Award from PENCIL, a nonprofit organization that brings together business leaders to strengthen New York City public schools.

Double win at the Tien-yow Jeme Awards

The Tsing Sha Highway (Route 8) in Hong Kong and the China World Tower in Beijing have been honoured with the 10th Tien-yow Jeme Civil Engineering Prize organised by the China Civil Engineering Society.

Tsing Sha Highway (Route 8), Hong Kong

China World Tower, Beijing

Council of Europe honours Avilés Innovation Island project

Innovation Island, an ambitious project in the town of Avilés, Spain, has been honoured by the Council of Europe with an award in the category of Best Practices in the European Coastal Cities.

Arup tees off with South Beach

An unusual hole-in-one golf session at the South Beach construction site on 27 April has marked an important milestone for the planned mixed-use development in downtown Singapore.

Serpentine Gallery reveals plans for Pavilion

The Serpentine Gallery today released plans for the 2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei.

Best Value Proposal for the Gerald Desmond Bridge

Walking the Talk culture management workshops

Understanding the culture management process

Is culture the right lever to drive your business forward?

Workshop dates and details

Dates and locations

Price

Register your interest

Walking the Talk

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