December 2015 – SpecNews

HOIST magazine

For example, in South Australia and Tasmania a number of energy infrastructure construction projects are going ahead.
This solid performance is a consequence of high levels of investment in oil and gas and energy infrastructure projects.
Notwithstanding the aforementioned power station, it’s largely a different story in the energy and utilities construction sector, however.
However, it isn’t stalling altogether and there are still some ongoing construction projects, including in Queensland.
Meanwhile, a project to develop the rail infrastructure in Melbourne is continuing with an upgrade of the Cranbourne-Pakenham rail corridor.

Orange Bowl to be played on a construction site

Two of the best quarterbacks in the nation will lead their teams into the Orange Bowl with the victor advancing to play for the national championship.
I think that loss itself helped us improve as a program and how to prepare for a bowl game.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said this year’s team is one of his best.
With Dalton on the sidelines, the Sooners struggled to an 8-5 record last season – including a 40-6 loss to Clemson, their Orange Bowl opponent this year, in the Russell Athletic Bowl – but Dalton said he knew brighter days were ahead.
OU will counter with running backs , who have combined for more than 2,000 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns.

Famed architect Shigeru Ban builds quake-proof homes from rubble in Nepal

After the quakes hit Nepal, Ban said Nepali students in Tokyo and his friends around the world hastened to raise funds for his project.
Construction workers make the final touches to a prototype house of the Nepal House Project designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban in Kathmandu October 15, 2015.
Renowned Japanese architect Shigeru Ban – who helped bring global attention to humanitarian architecture and continues to influence fellow architects and disaster-relief workers – devised a solution.
The prototype for his latest humanitarian housing project in Nepal consists of standard timber door frames joined together and reinforced with plywood.
His initial goal to build 30 homes in Phatakshila in the Sindhupalchok district in central Nepal in the coming months is moving forward.

2016: A year of grand designs

The branding of 2016 as the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, follows this 2015’s Year of Food and Drink status, and 2014’s Year of Homecoming.
VisitScotland’s involvement signals the belief that there’s a tourism buck to be made out of selling Scotland’s architecture – both historic and new – as an attraction.
WHEN fire tore through Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh building on 23 May, 2014, the shockwaves spread far beyond the confines of the creative community.
Turning the festival – and the entire Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design – into a financial success is the responsibility, ultimately, of the quango.
Contemporary structures add a new layer to our built environment, taking inspiration from and sometimes reacting against past achievements in design.

Japan Picks New Olympic Stadium Design

Japan’s then-education and sports minister, Hakubun Shimomoura, offered to resign over the cancellation of the first stadium design.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced architect Kengo Kuma as the victor of a second design competition for the new Tokyo Olympic Stadium.
The previously finalized design had a lofty price tag of 252 billion yen ($2.1 billion), which came under heavy criticism.
A new plan was needed after the design by London-based Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid was called off due to ballooning costs of 265.1 billion yen.
Earlier this month, the Japan Sports Council released two new bids, initially kept anonymous but widely believed to be the work of Toyo Ito and Kengo Kuma, submitted in concert with leading Japanese construction firms.

India readies plan to clean Delhi’s air, but won’t focus on vehicles

A traffic policeman wears a mask to protect himself from dust and air pollution as he signals to drivers in New Delhi, India, December 23, 2015.
To match INDIA-POLLUTION/
A traffic policeman wears a mask to protect himself from dust and air pollution as he signals to drivers in New Delhi, India, December 23, 2015.
A traffic policeman wears a mask to protect himself from dust and air pollution as he stands on a road-divider in New Delhi, India, December 23, 2015.
The World Health Organisation said last year that 13 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities were in India, with New Delhi the worst.
Instead, the plan will call for enforcing bans on what some environmentalists regard as relatively minor sources of pollution, including burning of garbage and construction dust.

One man pulled alive from landslide in China’s Shenzhen

A half-buried truck is seen at an industrial estate hit by a landslide in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, December 23, 2015.
Damaged vehicles and containers are seen at an industrial estate hit by a landslide in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, December 23, 2015.
Rescuers walk along tyre tracks at the site of a landslide which hit an industrial park on Sunday in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, December 22, 2015.
On Tuesday, police raided offices of the company that was managing the dump site, Shenzhen Yixianglong Investment Development.
Rescue workers work on a damaged building during search and rescue operations at an industrial estate hit by a landslide in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, December 23, 2015.

How to Dimension with Revit > ENGINEERING.com

Unlike CAD programs, Revit will not allow you to override a dimension value with another dimension value without changing the geometry.
He is a member of AUGI, Club Revit, the UK Revit Register, the Los Angeles Revit Users Group and the Southern California Revit Users Group.
A listening dimension is a form of temporary dimension that appears as an element is being sketched inside or outside the sketch mode.
When this is clicked, it turns the temporary dimension into a permanent dimension (see Figure 15).
Diameter: The Diameter dimension tool measures the length of a straight line segment that passes through the center of a circle.

5 ways to prepare your IT network architecture for 2016

Providing secure access to the network with security between both the network and the cloud and the network and the endpoint should be a priority.
For example, creating a distributed architecture using Versatile Interface Processors, which carry their own processors and can switch IP data packets and provide network services allows the system performance to scale up according to requirements.
CBR rounds up the five things that your network will need to be in order to survive in 2016.
What will be the characteristics of a good IT network in 2016?
A mesh network, the most resilient form of network, might provide a solution.

Start up numbers increase in Scotland (From Herald Scotland)

The totals represent the number of new firms opening accounts with
Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, TSB Bank and The Royal Bank of Scotland.
The number of start ups fell by 5.3 per cent, 169, from 3,159 in the second quarter on this year.
The rise in start ups compared with last year was driven by strong growth in the number of new construction firms, to 378 from 287.
This suggests people are being encouraged to start firms by the strength of the recovery in the construction sector and the housing market from the downturn that followed the financial crisis of 2008.
Sole trader start up numbers have increased during periods when people have found it harder to get jobs.