April’s top news stories

UWE Bristol selects BAM for constructing new engineering building

The University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol selected UK-based construction company BAM to build its new engineering building at the new Bristol Business School on the Frenchay Campus.

In addition to the teaching and research facilities such as engine test cells, wind tunnels and dedicated learning spaces, the new engineering complex will include a wide range of engineering disciplines such as composite manufacturing, machining and metrology.

The building will be built to accommodate more than 1,600 undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as 100 academic and technical staff personnel.

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Oceanwide Plaza project in US reaches construction milestone

Oceanwide Holdings announced that its Oceanwide Plaza mixed-use development project in Los Angeles, US, has topped off its three residential and hotel towers.

Reaching a vertical height of more than 640ft, the project will feature various lifestyle offerings, including 504 residences, a five-star Park Hyatt hotel, and a collection of retailers and restaurants.

The topping off represents an important milestone for the tallest residential tower, the construction of which started in 2015.

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Shimizu to deploy robots for high-rise building work in Osaka

Japanese contractor Shimizu is planning to deploy its construction robots to work on a high-rise building site in Osaka.

The company is currently carrying out trials of autonomously controlled construction robots inside the Robot Laboratory at its Institute of Technology in Etchujima Tokyo.

Developed by Shimizu, the robots play various roles such as conveying materials horizontally, welding steel columns or installation of ceiling boards.

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Crystal Palace gets approval for redevelopment plans at Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace Football Club secured approval from Croydon Council in London, UK, regarding redevelopment plans for the Main Stand at Selhurst Park stadium.

Expected to cost between £75 and £100m, the project is set to increase the capacity at Selhurst Park from the existing 26,000 to more than 34,000.

As part of the project, new facilities will be provided for the community and the ground’s Premier League atmosphere would be retained.

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Paris-Sud University signs €283m design contract for BPC Centre

Paris-Sud University in France and the Platon Saclay project company signed a €283m contract for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the future Biology – Pharmacy – Chemistry (BPC) Centre.

To be built on the Plateau de Saclay, the 85,000m² complex is said to be a major scientific project for Paris-Sud University and the future Paris-Saclay University.

The BPC Centre is expected to be delivered in April 2022, following a year of development studies and 36 months of works, and will be installed on the 74,000m² Métro site and the 14,000m² IDEEV site.

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Tishman Speyer to begin construction of The Spiral in US

American real estate company Tishman Speyer is to begin construction of New York-based office tower The Spiral in June.

Designed by architecture company BIG-Bjarke Ingels, the new 1,031ft high-rise structure has 65 storeys and will feature a cascading series of landscaped terraces and hanging gardens as its signature element.

Located at 66 Hudson Boulevard in Manhattan, The Spiral will have one terrace per floor in a spiralling motion in order to create a continuous green pathway that surrounds tower façade and supplies occupants with readily accessible outdoor space.

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RFM Group to refurbish student accomodation unit in Edinburgh

UK-based contractor RFM secured a contract from global student accommodation provider GSA to carry out refurbishment works at Arran House in Edinburgh.

Under the deal, RFM will be responsible for creating six new en-suite bedrooms with a communal kitchen and a brand new social space, which will be used by the full seven-storey apartment building located near the University of Edinburgh.

For the design and refurbishment project, GSA appointed RFM as the main contractor, who will be working on the project with employer’s agent Broadfield Project Management, architects Fletcher Joseph, engineers Etive Consulting, building service engineers Calford Seadon and principle designer Thomson Gray.

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Al Adnan Contracting secures $163m construction contract from Tanmiyat

Saudi Arabia’s real estate development firm Tanmiyat awarded an AED600m ($163m) construction contract in Dubailand to UAE-based construction company Al Adnan Contracting.

According to the deal, Al Adnan Contracting will be responsible for constructing six towers, which will be part of the Tanmiyat’s Living Legends project.

The six towers are slated for completion by next year.