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Project: 538-540 Railway Parade Hurstville

The phone call went exactly like this…

Hello, George speaking…

“George… I just left Council and we are adding two extra levels on top”

But you’re forming up Level 1?

“I know… Architect will send you plans tomorrow”

Yes, but you’re in the process of forming the deck for Level 1?

“Ok cool… Architect will send you plans tomorrow… I’ll call you later”

The line went silent…

So imagine this:
• Foundations were built
• All the Basement 2 and Basement 1 structures were completed
• The Ground Floor main transfer deck was well and truly done
• And the boys on site were in the process of forming up the Level 1 slab

Suddenly we found ourselves needing to support an additional two levels of a structure that was not designed to carry an additional two levels.

This was going to be interesting, to say the least.

Using Finite Element Modelling (FEM), we were able to highlight weak areas of the existing structure that needed reinforcement as well as confirm areas that had sufficient strength to resist the new loads.

From the foundations to the supporting columns and walls to the suspended slabs, ACSES Engineers developed a total solution that enabled the extra levels to be added, while still maintaining the overall safety of the structure.

Below are some images of the carbon fibre reinforcement that were retrofitted to the soffit of the transfer slab. A terrific technology that gave us the extra strength we needed. Other strengthening works included widening and underpinning specific foundations as well as ‘beefing up’ specific columns and walls.

Shane and his team at First Class Building did an amazing job pulling it all together and the end result is a building that is safe, two storeys taller, and just about to be handed over to the various new owners.

Well done to all involved…

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Project: 43-45 Beane Street Gosford

ACSES Engineers are honoured to have been appointed as the Project Structural Engineer for the project located at 43-45 Beane Street Gosford. We are incredibly excited to be part of the design team that will help deliver this exceptional development on the Central Coast.

Project Specifics

  • 3 Levels of Below Ground Basements
  • 1 Level of Commercial Suites
  • 18 Levels of Residential Units

Scope of Works includes the structural design of the following by our in-house Structural, Civil and Geotechnical Engineers:

  • Shoring and Foundation Solution
  • All retaining structures
  • All concrete slabs, stairs, ramps, columns and walls

For more information please contact us anytime.

Boarding House View 43-45 Beane Street Gosford

43-45 Beane Street Gosford Iamge 2

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The world’s 10 greenest buildings

Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the contractor, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages. The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort.

Here are ten of the world’s greenest buildings.

Apple Campus 2

Apple Park, Silicon Valley USA

The Apple Park campus will house 13,000 Apple employees, the equivalent of 35 fully-filled Boeing 747s. In keeping with Apple’s environmental credentials, it will be an impressively green building, with a focus on sustainability. It also boasts a $75 million gym for employees, and a carefully engineered design intended to create serendipitous interactions between Apple employees.

 

Shanghai Tower

Shanghai Tower, Shanghai China

The mixed-use skyscraper is one of the greenest commercial towers in the world today. The design of the tower’s glass facade, which completes a 120° twist as it rises, is intended to reduce wind loads on the building by 24 percent while one-third of its interior is public green space. The building is also powered by wind turbines and is built with a high percentage of recycled materials.

 

Council House 2

Council House 2, Melbourne Australia

Council House 2 (CH2) was Australia’s first building to be awarded a six-star green star design rating. Since its completion in 2006, CH2 has changed the landscape of its local area and inspired developers and designers across Australia and the world.

 

 One Angel Square, Manchester, UK

One Angel Square, Manchester, UK

An office building located in Manchester, One Angel Square achieved the highest recorded BREEAM score for a large building, making it one of the most sustainable large buildings in the world. The building has a used water recycling system and rainwater harvesting as well as passive solar building design. One Angel Square’s sustainable cogeneration heat and power plant also uses bio-fuel and waste cooking oil.

 

Manitoba Hydro Place

Manitoba Hydro Place, Winnipeg, Canada

Located in Winnipeg, Manitoba Hydro Place makes use of “passive design and natural ventilation” to make it one of North America’s most energy-efficient office buildings. The building has a geothermal system to heat and cool the building, roof gardens and triple-glazed windows. Thanks to these features, over 60 percent of energy savings have been made.

 

Bahrain World Trade Center

Bahrain World Trade Centre, Bahrain

A 240-metre-high, 50-floor, twin tower complex, Bahrain’s World Trade Centre’s most prominent green feature are the three skybridges which each hold a 225kW wind turbine, totalling to 675 kW of wind power capacity. The wind turbines are expected to provide 11 percent to 15 percent of the towers’ total power consumption, the equivalent of providing the lighting for about 300 homes. They are expected to operate 50 percent of the time on an average day.

 

One Bryant Park

One Bryant Park, New York City, USA

Bryant Park was the first high-rise building to be given LEED Platinum certification, with the Bank of America Tower, in Manhattan, being one of the world’s greenest skyscrapers. As well as having CO2 monitors, waterless urinals and LED lighting, the building also has its own generation plant that produces 4.6 megawatts of clean, sustainable energy.

 

Qatar National Convention Centre

Qatar National Convention Centre, Doha, Qatar

The Centre was built according to US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Gold certification standards. This takes a holistic building approach to sustainability and covers design, construction and operations. The design of the building makes the maximum use of natural light through the intelligent design of its skylights. This, together with superior insulation, reduces energy use. QNCC is designed to be approximately 32 percent more efficient compared to a similarly designed building and is fitted with over 3,500m² of solar panels providing 12.5% of the Centre’s energy needs. In 2015, QNCC was honoured to win the Best Conserving Building Award 2015 in the Hospitality sector at the Qatar Tarsheed Awards.

 

The Change Initiative

The Change Initiative Building, Dubai, UAE

The Change Initiative Building is a 4,000-square-metre shop that provides sustainable solutions in Dubai. The building has 26 technologies including solar panels and heat-reflective paint on its roof that provides 40 per cent of the building’s energy requirements. TCI’s outer structure has insulation three times more than that of a normal building while most of the materials used for the building’s interiors are recycled.

 

Masdar Institute of Science and Technology

 Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Located at Masdar City, the institute has been behind the engineering plans of the City and is at the centre of research and development activities. The institute’s building, developed in cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, uses 51 percent less electricity and 54 percent less potable water than traditional buildings in the UAE and is fitted with a metering system that constantly observes power consumption.

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4 innovators changing the future of civil engineering

  1. Fastbricks Robotics is leading the way when it comes to robotic construction. They’re a robotic technology company developing and commercialising digital construction technology solutions, including the revolutionary commercial bricklaying machine, Hadrian X, showcased in the animation.  It’s the first part of a digital construction system which they believe will change the world, making housing affordable for everyone.

 2.  Apis Cor – They are the first company to develop a mobile construction 3D printer which is capable of printing whole buildings completely on site. Early this year, the first house printed using mobile 3D printing technology has been built in Stupino town, Moscow region.

3. MacRebur – Their mission is to turn waste plastic into durable road surfaces. Their patent pending product, MR6 is a conglomeration of carefully selected polymers, specifically designed to improve the strength and durability of asphalt whilst reducing the quantity of bitumen required in the mix. It is made from 100% waste materials and can be used in the making of hot and warm mix asphalts. MR6 is a truly unique way of enhancing asphalt to give a cost effective and longer lasting asphalt solution.

4. Hendrik “Henk” Marius Jonkers inventor of self-healing concrete containing bacteria. As solid and reliable as concrete structures may seem, they share one common enemy: tension. Over time, concrete will crack and deteriorate. An invention by Delft University microbiologist Hendrik Jonkers offers an innovative approach to creating more stable concrete by adding limestone-producing bacteria to the mix. This self-healing bio-concrete aims to provide a cheap and sustainable solution, markedly improving the lifespan of buildings, bridges and roads.

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Leading Solar Suburbs

There are 22 postcodes in Australia where half or more of households have rooftop solar PV with the majority in Queensland and Western Australia. The suburbs of Baldivis (Western Australia; 69% uptake), Elimbah (Queensland; 63% uptake) and Tamborine (Queensland; 57% uptake) are leading the way with installations on houses. Suburbs with high levels of rooftop solar PV have generally low to medium income levels and tend to be located in the outer metropolitan “mortgage belt”, or in regional areas.

leading solar suburbs

Some new suburbs are now being built with 100% solar. For example, Denman Prospect in Canberra will be the first suburb in Australia to require a minimum of 3kW of solar PV on every house (Canberra Times 2015). Breezes Muirhead in Darwin being developed by Defence Housing Australia plans to include a 4.5kW solar system and charging points for electric vehicles on each house – features which are anticipated to save residents over $2,000 a year on their electricity bills (Renew Economy 2015).

Other recent developments include the largest residential “virtual power plant” in the world, which went live in March 2017 in Adelaide (AGL 2017). The virtual power plant is made up of numerous individual solar battery systems installed in homes. The batteries store excess solar energy to use when required and the virtual power plant will sometimes help support the electricity grid by providing stored electricity to power the home or to feed back into the grid. 1,000 batteries are expected to be installed across Adelaide by the end of next year (AGL 2017).

Meanwhile, in Western Australia, Horizon Power has run a successful trial of solar and battery storage in remote locations, providing reliable power, with more systems to be rolled out by the end of the year (ABC 2017a).

Source: climatecouncil.org.au

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World’s largest dams

What is a dam?
Dams are built to control and store water. Dams are made from earth, stacked rock or concrete, and are usually constructed across rivers to store water in the reservoir that is formed behind the dam as a result of the river being blocked.

How do dams work?
Dams store water in the reservoir formed behind the dam. The stored water can be used for various consumptive purposes, including use as water for irrigation, or as sources of drinking water for urban and regional towns and cities. The stored water can also be discharged from the reservoir during the times that natural flows in downstream rivers are inadequate to help meet a variety of environmental objectives.

Depending on the catchment area for the dam, the water stored in dam reservoirs is usually easier to treat to a drinking water standard than other sources of drinking water, such as run of river supplies. This is because the long time spent in storage usually improves the quality of the water stored in the reservoir.

Definition of a large dam
The International Commission on Large Dams defines a large dam as one which is:

  • More than 15 metres in height measured from the lowest point of the general foundations to the crest of the dam,
  • More than 10 metres in height measured as in (a) provided they comply with at least one of the following conditions:
  • The crest is not less than 500 metres in length
  • The capacity of the reservoir formed by the dam is not less than 1 million cubic metres
  • The maximum flood discharge dealt with by the dam is not less than 2000 cubic metres per second
  • The dam is of unusual design

Here are 5 of the world’s largest dams:

Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Sambalpur in the state of Odisha in India. Behind the dam extends a lake, Hirakud Reservoir, 55 km (34 mi) long. It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley projects started after India’s independence. The Hirakud Dam is a composite structure of earth, concrete and masonry. 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Sambalpur, it is the longest major earthen dam in India, measuring 25.8 km (16.0 mi) including dykes, and stands across the river Mahanadi.

Hirakud Dam

Vital Statistics

Country: India
Year completed: 1976
Length: 4.8 km (3 mi) (main section) 25.8 km (16 mi) (entire dam)
Height: 60.96 m (200 ft)
Type: Composite dam and reservoir
Total capacity: 5,896,000,000 m3 (4,779,965 acre·ft)

 

Fort Peck Dam Tis the highest of six major dams along the Missouri River, located in northeast Montana in the United States, near Glasgow, and adjacent to the community of Fort Peck. It is the largest hydraulically filled dam in the United States and creates Fort Peck Lake, the fifth largest man-made lake in the U.S.

Fort Peck Dam

Vital Statistics

Country: United States
Year completed: 1940
Length: 21,026 ft (6,409 m)
Height: 250 ft (76 m)
Type: Hydraulic earthfill
Reservoir Capacity: 18,463,000 acre·ft (22.774 km3)

 

Atatürk Dam originally the Karababa Dam, is a zoned rock-fill dam with a central core[1] on the Euphrates River on the border of Adıyaman Province and Şanlıurfa Province in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Built both to generate electricity and to irrigate the plains in the region, it was renamed in honour of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938), the founder of the Turkish Republic.

Atatürk Dam

Vital Statistics

Country: Turkey
Year completed: 1990
Length: 1,819 m (5,968 ft)
Height: 169 m (554 ft)
Type: Reservoir
Reservoir Capacity: 48,700,000,000 m3 (39,500,000 acre·ft)

 

Houtribdijk is a dike in the Netherlands, built between 1963 and 1975 as part of the Zuiderzee Works, which connects the cities of Lelystad and Enkhuizen. On the west side of the dike is the Markermeer and on the east is the IJsselmeer. Although called a dike, the Houtribdijk is actually a dam.

Houtribdijk

Vital Statistics

Country: Netherlands
Year completed: 1968
Length: 30 km
Height: 68 m

 

Oahe Dam is a large dam along the Missouri River, just north of Pierre, South Dakota in the United States. It creates Lake Oahe, the fourth largest artificial reservoir in the United States, which stretches 231 miles (372 km) up the course of the Missouri to Bismarck, North Dakota. The dam’s powerplant provides electricity for much of the north-central United States. It is named for the Oahe Indian Mission established among the Lakota Sioux in 1874.

oahe dam

Vital Statistics

Country: United States
Year completed: 1963
Length: 9,360 feet (2,850 m)
Height: 245 feet (75 m)
Type: flood control, earthfill
Reservoir Capacity: 23,137,000 acre feet (28.539 km3)

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10 oldest man-made earth structures

Most of these buildings are still standing today. A true testament to brilliant engineering. Check them out!

Colosseum

Located just east of the Roman Forum, the massive stone amphitheatre known as the Colosseum was commissioned around A.D. 70-72 by Emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty as a gift to the Roman people. In A.D. 80, Vespasian’s son Titus opened the Colosseum–officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater–with 100 days of games, including gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights. After four centuries of active use, the magnificent arena fell into neglect, and up until the 18th century, it was used as a source of building materials. Though two-thirds of the original Colosseum has been destroyed over time, the amphitheatre remains a popular tourist destination, as well as an iconic symbol of Rome and its long, tumultuous history.

 

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is perhaps the world’s most famous prehistoric monument. It was built in several stages: the first monument was an early henge monument, built about 5,000 years ago, and the unique stone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period about 2500 BC. In the early Bronze Age, many burial mounds were built nearby. Today, along with Avebury, it forms the heart of a World Heritage Site, with a unique concentration of prehistoric monuments.

 

Tower of Hercules

The Tower of Hercules has served as a lighthouse and landmark at the entrance of La Coruña harbour in north-western Spain since the late 1st century A.D. when the Romans built the Farum Brigantium. The Tower, built on a 57-metre high rock, rises a further 55 metres, of which 34 metres correspond to the Roman masonry and 21 meters to the restoration directed by architect Eustaquio Giannini in the 18th century, who augmented the Roman core with two octagonal forms. Immediately adjacent to the base of the Tower is a small rectangular Roman building. The site also features a sculpture park, the Monte dos Bicos rock carvings from the Iron Age and a Muslim cemetery. The Roman foundations of the building were revealed in excavations conducted in the 1990s. Many legends from the Middle Ages to the 19th century surround the Tower of Hercules, which is unique as it is the only lighthouse of Greco-Roman antiquity to have retained a measure of structural integrity and functional continuity.

 

Mosque of Uqba

The Mosque of Uqba also known as the Great Mosque of Kairouan is located in the historic walled district of the Medina, between the Rue de la Kasbah and the Rue el Farabi in Tunisia. The mosque, as it stands today, was built by the Aghlabid governor of Kairouan, Ziyadat Allah, between 817 and 838. He erected the building on the site of an older mosque, originally constructed by Uqba ibn Nafi at the time of the 670 AD Arab conquest of Byzantine North Africa. Although the current mosque retains virtually no trace of the original seventh-century building, it is still often referred to as “Mosque of Sidi Uqba,” or,”Mosque of Uqba Ibn Nafi.” Historically, it has been accorded great significance as the first mosque in the first town of Islam in the West.

 

Acoma Pueblo

Acoma Pueblo is built atop a sheer-walled, 367-foot sandstone bluff in a valley studded with sacred, towering monoliths. Since 1150 A.D., Acoma Pueblo has earned the reputation as the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America. The mesa-top settlement is known worldwide for its unique art and rich culture.

 

Nanchan Temple

The Nanchan Temple is a Buddhist temple near the town of Doucun on Wutaishan, in Shanxi Province, China. It was built in 782 AD, and its Great Buddha Hall is currently China’s oldest preserved timber building in existence

 

Proserpina Dam

The Proserpina Dam, located approximately ten kilometres north of Merida in Spain, is the world’s second oldest dam currently in use. The earthen dam was constructed by the Romans between the late 1st century AD and early 2nd century AD. It is covered with concrete and measures 427m long and 22m high. It is located on the course of the brook of Las Pardillas, a sub-tributary of the Guadiana on its right bank. It has two bends in the crest and nine buttresses on the inner side. The Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadiana (Water Management Administration) refurbished the dam in 1991.

 

Caravan Bridge

Built in 850 B.C., the Caravan Bridge is 2,861 years old and has reportedly been crossed by the likes of Homer and Saint Paul. The arched stone slab straddling the River Meles, in Izmir, Turkey, extends only 42 and a half feet and is about as simple as they come.

 

Ponte Fabricio

Ponte Fabricio was built in 62 b.C. by L.Fabricius curator viarum (as it is inscribed on both sides of the bridge). This is the oldest Roman bridge to have survived in the city, and still in use for pedestrians.

 

Hagia Sophia

The Santa Sophia (also known as Hagia Sophia) in Istanbul, Turkey has been a church, mosque and museum since it was completed in 537 AD. It is a great architectural beauty and an important monument both for Byzantine and for Ottoman Empires.

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Project: Chiswick, New South Wales

An absolute joy to have been involved in this project. The client knew exactly what he wanted (and what he didn’t want). The builder was a genius. The architect – PL Projects – was focussed, firm, yet fair. And the team at ACSES Engineers just loved working on it.

ACSES Engineers designed both the bulk excavation solution and the various building structures. Utilising our finite element modelling (FEM) capabilities, we were able to eliminate the need for shoring works by taking advantage of the geotechnical parameters of the site. The FEM analysis verified that our vertical cut solution could safely be carried out without adversely impacting the neighbouring structures.

Again using our FEM expertise, ACSES Engineers designed the superstructure as a concrete framed solution made up of off-form reinforced concrete columns, walls and stairs. To achieve various parameters set by the architect, we designed the suspended slabs as post-tensioned solutions.

The level of detailing required for this master piece was ‘unbelievable’. From the concrete pool rising out of the ground with the infinity edges. To ‘the box’ suspended two levels over the Lower Ground Floor and cantilevering out 5m past its supports. To the off-form concrete walls almost 8m tall that needed to be poured in one go. To the ‘zig-zag’ stairs that could only be 100mm thick or the cantilevered stairs that could be no thicker than 110mm – the end results make all that work well worth the effort.

Congratulations to all involved.

ACSES Engineers are incredibly proud to have been part of the Design Team and honoured to have been the Project Structural Engineer for this development.

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Chiswick New South Wales Image 3

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Project: 1 Bede Street Strathfield

The structural frame at 1 Bede Street Strathfield has been completed, and the builder has done an amazing job in an incredibly short time.

General site specs:

  • Five Storey Building
  • Two below ground basements
  • 12 Residential Units

ACSES Engineers designed both the shoring and bulk excavation solutions, as well as the building superstructure.

Given the relative small size of the development, cost was a major driving factor for the client who gave us a very specific project brief – “fast, cheap and safe – make it happen”…

Utilising our finite element modelling capabilities, we were able to minimise the shoring works required to support the two level excavation face. Our modelling took advantage of the geotechnical parameters present at the site and ACSES Engineers were able to design a cantilevered pile wall solution with shotcrete infills.

Again using our FEM expertise, ACSES Engineers designed the superstructures as a concrete framed solutions made up of columns and walls using the Rediwall product wherever possible. This eliminated the need for traditional vertical formwork and resulted in further savings in time and cost. The slabs were all designed as conventionally reinforced slab solutions and the individual units were partitioned using lightweight non-load bearing walls made from fibre cement (Hebel) and framed Gyproc.

The project was architecturally designed by Ghazi Al Ali Architects and ACSES Engineers are proud to be part of the Design Team and honoured to be the Project Structural Engineer for this development.

1 Bede Street Strathfield Image 1

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Project: 1 Villawood Place Villawood

Works are well underway at 1 Villawood Place Villawood and the team from Grandviewco have gotten off to an excellent start.

General site specs:

  • Nine Storey Building
  • Three below ground basements
  • Each basement level is over 2300m2
  • Ground Floor is over 2000m2 of commercial space
  • 119 Residential Units

ACSES Engineers designed both the shoring and bulk excavation solutions, as well as the building superstructure.

Utilising our finite element modelling capabilities, we were able to minimise the shoring works required to support the three level excavation face. All the basement levels were designed as conventionally reinforced slabs, while Ground Floor and Level 1 were designed as post tensioned solutions. All these levels were supported on traditionally formed and reinforced concrete walls and columns. Working with our design partners from Ultrafloor and AFS Systems, ACSES Engineers designed all the upper levels as a load bearing wall – concrete framed solution. From Level 1 upwards, AFS Logic Wall was used to support the Ultrafloor slab system, from Level 2 onwards. This construction process was adopted by Grandviewco to eliminate the need for traditional formwork as much as possible. To partition the units, lightweight non-load bearing walls made from fibre cement (Hebel) and framed Gyproc were used.

The project was architecturally designed by Tony Owen Partners and ACSES Engineers are proud to be part of the Design Team and honoured to be the Project Structural Engineer for this development.

Here is the 3D Perspective.

1 Villawood Place Villawood 3D

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