newspaper article- a need for change- New York Times

Major Construction Reforms Expected To Be Unveiled

Wide-Ranging Changes Likely Following Second Deadly Crane Collapse

Reporting
Marcia Kramer

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Construction work resumed at all but five sites around the city today as official begin taking action following Friday's deadly crane collapse.

The investigation into what happened could take months, but city officials hope to unveil a package of construction site reforms as early as this week.

The latest fatal crane collapse lit a fire under city officials, with the Buildings Department planning to announce wide-ranging changes to improve construction site safety by the end of the week.

"The average New York expects to be able to walk down the street and be safe," said Robert Limandri, the acting Buildings Commissioner.

CBS 2 learned that among the reforms will be intense evaluation of the maintenance records of all 45 tower cranes currently inspected just once a year by the city.

"Certainly this is a focus of mine which is to look at maintenance records handled by the crane owner and the people who handle the crane," said Limandri.

The recommendations grew out of a meeting Saturday with some 80 construction experts. Louis Coletti of the Building Trade Employers' Association was at the Saturday meeting and made several suggestions.

"We're taking a look at whether there should be periodic inspections rather than just waiting just one year on an annual inspection," he said.

"We believe you need to increase the level of technical understanding of the people inspecting. You can't expect a buildings inspector getting paid $45,000 a year to go out and have the technical experience on a couple million dollar piece of equipment."

This comes as the district attorney's rackets square, the Department of Investigations and the Buildings Department is mounting a full-course criminal probe to determine what caused the crane to collapse and point blame if there is any.

"Our forensic engineers are collecting the debris to a secure location and we're going to thoroughly analyze all of the crane pieces," said Limandri.

What about the actions of the inspectors, the crane company owner, construction workers, and the paper trail of the specific Kodiak crane that crashed?

"We're looking at all these angles. Certainly protecting the construction industry and making it safe is critical to the city's economic future," said Limandri.

The industry contributed some $2 billion in taxes to the city and state. It employs about 128,000 people and creates thousands of ancillary jobs.

construction major project

these are my final posters of the major project, progressing from the research i have posted earlier... i did a 3d model of a corner where glass and the metal cladding meet as well as tried to show the complex lattice steelwork that serves as the structural frame of the warehouse.

newspaper article-constuction methods

Built to last: construction methods are changing so that our homes won’t cost the earth

Reporting on a domestic eco-revolution

By Gareth Chadwick
Saturday, 31 May 2008

Flower power: an artist's impression of The Orchid, an eco-house in the Cotswolds, recently sold for £7.2m [PA]

article on steel construction

Steel Helps Builders On Queensland's Sloping Sites
06 May 2008

Due to an increasing shortage of flat land, builders and developers in south east Queensland are using steel to encourage construction on sloping sites that were previously overlooked and considered too expensive to build on.
One local building company that is embracing this opportunity, Aurora Construction, is building on sloping sites at two new developments, Coomera Waters in the northern Gold Coast region and Edenbrooke Estate in Brisbane's western suburbs.
Patrick Brodie, owner of Aurora Construction, explains: "Flat land is very hard to find in areas close to the city in south east Queensland, so we are now seeing an exciting new approach to sloping sites that were previously thought too difficult to build upon."
"Steel foundations and framing are ideal to use on a sloping site as they eliminate the need to cut and fill the area, which in turn prevents erosion and enables the home to be designed to run with the natural contour of the land. They also allow for natural ventilation underneath the house which assists with cooling in the warmer south east Queensland climate."
"As a result of this, we have chosen to use steel Mega Anchor footing systems and steel house framing made from TRUECORE® steel on all of our new developments."

Building with steel gives builders and designers greater flexibility of design, allowing houses to be built on previously unpopular steep sites incorporating up to five levels in height and with plenty of space underneath to fit additional rooms and a rainwater tank. Also, steel is easy to use onsite as it is lightweight and prefabricated.Once the house frames have been completed, each home at the two estates will be topped by a roof made from COLORBOND® steel. Patrick adds: "I have been building with COLORBOND® steel for over 20 years now and wouldn't use any other material for a roof. It is strong and durable and incredibly efficient at collecting drinkable rainwater. As an environmentally friendly builder, there really is no other option."

For further information about Aurora Construction, visit www.auroraconstruction.com.au.

The Age Article

Keep construction sector watchdog: MBA
May 23, 2008 -

The proposed abolition of a commission set up to enforce workplace laws in the construction industry would see a "return to the dark ages of militant unionism", the Master Builders Association of NSW (MBA NSW) says.
The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) was set up by the Howard government in 2005 and given powers to enforce workplace laws in the building and construction industry.
Workers can be questioned about union meetings and face a range of fines for breaches identified by the ABCC.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), the Australian Workers' Union (AWU), Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and the Plumbers Union launched a joint national campaign earlier this month to abolish the ABCC.
However, the MBA NSW says it is important not to confuse the ABCC with the unpopular Work Choices legislation, saying the commission's purpose is to try to improve conditions for workers.
"We need to be very clear about this - the laws governing the building and construction industry were not plucked from thin air and are not part of Work Choices," MBA NSW executive director Brian Seidler said in a statement.
"They are the direct product of a royal commission, which found an established culture of violence, intimidation and thuggery on worksites.
"Since its introduction in 2005, the ABCC has been responsible for an enormous boost in productivity and a significant drop in industrial disputes.
"If the ABCC and the laws that it enforces are abolished, we'd almost definitely see a return to the dark ages of militant unionism on building sites.
"This would result in delays on major infrastructure projects and the cost of these jobs would skyrocket."
© 2008 AAPBrought to you by The AGE
http://news.theage.com.au/national/keep-construction-sector-watchdog-mba-20080523-2hg2.html

concrete floor

i was fortunate to pass by a site whre a concrete floor was being poured on!!

newspaper article, timber frame construction

Mother Earth News
www.motherearthnews.com.au

by Rob Roy

Many natural building methods — such as straw bale, cord wood masonry and cob building — benefit from timber-frame construction primarily because these methods can involve infilling between the timbers that make up the building’s structural framework. Unlike conventional 2-by-4 stick framing, the center-to-center spacing of timber-frame posts is somewhere between 6 and 10 feet. This makes infilling much less tedious; imagine trying to fill the narrow spaces in regular stick construction with cord wood masonry or straw bales.

Also, there is a great practical advantage in erecting a timber frame first — getting the roof on as a protective umbrella, and then infilling the structure using one or more of these natural building methods.

Yes, you can accomplish all this with “traditional” wood-on-wood — such as mortise-and-tenon and dovetail — joining methods. But these methods require intricate cuts and exact measurements, and to do it right, a great deal of time and study must be expended, and there are a few specialized tools that need to be purchased. The reality is that most farmers, contractors and owner-builders use methods of timber framing (also called post-and-beam) that they have simply picked up from colleagues, relatives or neighbors. With the advent of relatively inexpensive mechanical fasteners, most builders — contractors and owner-builders alike — rely on other methods of joining, using truss plates, screws and bolts, pole-barn nails and even gravity (see illustration, Page 89).

TIMBER FRAMING ADVANTAGES

Whether you go with traditional timber framing or (modern) “timber framing for the rest of us,” you will discover certain advantages and disadvantages in both systems.

• Strength. Timber framing by either method is strong in real structural terms. Heavy-timber frames, with or without infilling, are more resistant to trauma from earthquakes, wind uplift and heavy snow load than light-frame construction.

• Conducive to infilling. Heavy-timber framing is more appropriate than stick framing for infilling with natural building techniques. With infilling, it is not critical that exact spacing be left between vertical studs or posts; masonry and cob can fit any space, and straw bales can be made to fit almost any width of space.

• Esthetic appeal. With many of the contemporary timber-frame houses, structural insulated panels (SIPS) are fastened to the outside of the frame, and the beautiful heavy timbers are exposed on the interior. On some cordwood homes, the heavy timbers are in evidence on the exterior, but not on the interior. In all cases, the exposed timbers lend character, texture and an esthetic sense of strength. All of this translates into comfort — spiritual and otherwise.