BVN and UTS develop ‘breathing’ 3D printed ventilation system- & more

1) BVN and UTS develop ‘breathing’ 3D printed ventilation system

Australian architects BVN Architecture and 澳大利亚悉尼科技大学 are rethinking air conditioning with a low-carbon 3D printed system that breathes like frog skin! Named Systems Reef 2, the system is made from recycled plastic, and has 90% less embodied carbon than traditional AC.

2) Skanska to help build record-breaking tunnel in Norway

Skanska has signed a $500.6m contract with Norwegian Road Authority to build the 27km Boknafjord twin tunnel! The tunnel will be world’s longest and deepest subsea road tunnel, reaching a depth of 392m below sea level!

3) Singapore builds pond, 50 Olympic swimming pools big to counter climate change on Jurong Island

JTC Corporation built a pond on Jurong Island that can hold enough rainwater to fill 50 Olympic swimming pools! The pond uses terrain and a porous base to protect against climate-change-related flooding. This is the first pond of its kind in Singapore!

4) Automatic Brick making robot working in India

Galaxy Group’s Building Bricks India (BBI) has set up an automatic brick-making robot in a factory in Karjat, Maharashtra! The company claims to be the first in India to bring robotics to brick-making! The facility will produce about 50,000 bricks a day at full capacity!

5) DAMAC Group celebrates 40-year journey to top of Middle East market

On its 40th anniversary, DAMAC Group led by Emirati businessman Hussain Sajwani talks about its journey of becoming one Middle East’s leaders for construction! The company that had a humble beginning in the 1980s is now one of the most recognizable brands.? DAMAC Properties

6) ?1,100Cr., 963 acres biggest land parcel in Mumbai goes on sale

Charitable trust, the Iranian Zoroastrian Anjuman has posted a 963-acre plot up for sale, making it the largest ever plot of land to go on sale in the Mumbai Metropolitan Area (MMR). Knight Frank India is appointed to invite bids and negotiate sale, with an estimated value of ?1,100Cr.

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7) Construction season starts for UK’s largest Antarctic Research hub

The construction season for UK’s Antarctic research hub lasts for 6 months. This season will see development of next phase of British Antarctic Survey’s Antarctic Infrastructure Modernization Program, part of UK’s plan to modernize facilities at the pole.

8) Construction rates reach all-time high of $1240 per week in UK

Labor rates continued to rise last month despite signs of slowdown in building activity, according to payroll service Hudson Contract . Earnings of self-employed tradespeople grew 1.3% to ￡992 per week this November, a 5.1% rise compared to November 2021.

9) Voltas wins MEP contract for Qiddiya Water theme park

India’s electro-mechanical engineering company Voltas announced that it has been awarded MEP works contract for Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya Water theme park! The contract is a 428 million Saudi riyal ($114 million) supply and installation contract. Voltas Limited - A TATA Enterprise

10) One in three UK construction firms suffering worker shortage

UK’s latest government stats by the Office for National Statistics show that more than 1 in 3 construction businesses faced a worker shortage in November! just over 36% of firms are struggling to find staff.

11) Qatar plans the future of its World Cup stadiums

A million fans visited the 8 iconic stadiums that hosted FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 over 1 month. Now, the stadiums are being redesigned or even dismantled as the event comes to an end. Most interesting is Stadium 974, which will be dismantled and shipped to countries in need of sports infrastructure!

12) Greek Orthodox Church, destroyed in 9/11 attack, finally reopens

St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which was destroyed in the collapse of the Twin Towers during 9/11 attack in New York, USA has been redesigned by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava LLC , and opened to the public! The design takes inspiration from Byzantine architecture and Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia.

13) India plans 2000Km, ?400B highway in Arunachal Pradesh, along china border

The Indian government will soon start construction of a 2000km highway in Northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which shares a 1,126km border with China. Named the Arunachal Frontier Highway, the road will enable military to mobilize troops to the border. The project will cost around ?400Bn.

14) Falling productivity results in rising construction costs in EU, says report

A new report from ING Research claims that rising costs in construction in the EU are largely due to falling productivity in labor. The report claims that 20% increase in labor productivity would reduce need for 2.5 million construction workers in the EU alone!

15) Data Center stock set to double in next 3 years to 20mn sq. Ft, says Colliers

India’s data center stock is likely to double to 20 million sq. ft. by 2025, from the current 10.3 million sq. ft. according to Colliers . In 2022, Mumbai accounts for 49% of all data center stock, with Delhi-NCR coming second at 17%.?

16) UAE-based Lulu group to invest $621M in malls in India

LuLu Group International owns 53.3 hectares of malls, hypermarkets, and food processing centers in India. The group recently announced its $365 million venture of building the biggest mall in India. The company will further open 12 more facilities in India over the next 3 years.?

17) FIFA world cup security guard reportedly dies after falling from Lusail Stadium

A Kenyan security guard who reportedly fell while on duty at Qatar’s Lusail Stadium has passed away in hospital.? The worker- 24-year-old John Njue Kibue fell from the 8th floor of the stadium while on duty.

18) Architects designing NEOM are benefitting from alleged human rights violation- Peter Frankental

Amnesty International ’s Peter Frankental believes that architects working on NEOM should face a moral dilemma and ‘think twice’ about involvement in the project. Saudi Government is responsible for forced evictions, but architecture studios might stand to benefit monetarily from these violations.?

19) ‘World needs Cement’ says claims GCCA chief executive

GCCA – Global Cement and Concrete Association chief executive Thomas Guillot claims that concrete will remain world’s biggest construction material even as world strives for net-zero construction. Focus should be on decarbonizing cement instead of finding alternatives!

20) Gleeds and Mace deploy OpenSpace site capture tools across 75 school construction sites in Peru

A Gleeds and Mace team is collaborating with reality capture software provider OpenSpace to deploy a site capture platform, Visualize. The software will be used on 75 live school construction sites, part of a $900M education building program funded by the Peruvian government.

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