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Flanagan Lawrence tops the competition for Szczecin Summer Theatre

2 February, 2016/in Architecture, Design /by Editorial Staff

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The back of the stage is enclosed acoustically by curved glazed screens.

The award-winning practice has designed an acoustically optimised outdoor performance space, located in Kasprowicza Park, Szczecin, Poland. The brief called for design proposals to maximise the flexibility of the 1976-designed theatre for a variety of performances on the stage, and to add a new roof to enclose both the stage and the audience.

The underside of the roof, which covers the stage and front of auditorium, will enhance and project the natural acoustic for orchestral events. This is achieved by a roof, which is structurally independent of the existing arch, and is formed by a curved truss that serves as the edge beam to a single cable net structure. This net supports a series of inflated fabric roof panels and suspended acoustic reflectors. Two additional trusses span the stage to support the load of the lighting grid.

Jason Flanagan, Design Director at Flanagan Lawrence.

Said Jason Flanagan, “The doubly-curved roof form follows the natural slope of the amphitheatre on the existing hillside to retain the views across the park, and then dramatically lifts over the stage to provide the necessary height for the performance area.”

The back of the stage is enclosed acoustically by curved glazed screens, which offer picturesque views out to Rusalka Lake and create a scenic backdrop to performances. Flanagan Lawrence’s proposal will also up grade the 2,500 seat structure with additional facilities including a box office, bathrooms, a café and a refurbished backstage area. The original structure, including the concrete arch, was designed by Zbigniew Abrahamowicz and opened in 1976.

Shanghai Intelligent Building Technology 2016

30 December, 2015/in Exhibition (Trade) /by Editor

Headed by the world’s leading biennial trade fair for lighting and building services technology in Germany, Light + Building, Shanghai Intelligent Building Technology is an exhibition platform dedicated to the intelligent building industry in China. In 2016, SIBT will celebrate 10 years of helping pioneers to bring cutting-edge building technologies to diverse groups of professionals from around the world. This year’s edition will highlight two core themes, “Intelligent Hotels” and “Smart Communities”, to unveil the opportunities in these new areas. The show will run concurrently with Shanghai Smart Home Technology (SSHT) and span across an exhibition area of 15,000 sqm.

In addition to SSHT, SIBT 2016 will also run concurrently with Shanghai International Trade Fair for Heating, Ventilation & Air-conditioning (ISH Shanghai & CIHE) and Shanghai International Lighting Fair (SILF). Collectively known as the “Intelligent Green Building – IGB” exhibition platform, these four fairs form a holistic platform that will provide solutions for industries concerned about building efficiency, sustainable development and intelligent and green building. The strategic integration of various technologies from each fair optimises synergies between a diverse group of professionals in the intelligent building, smart home, HVAC and lighting industries. The IGB platform expects to attract over 700 exhibitors and 51,000 visitors, utilising 40,000 sqm of exhibition space.

Contact building@china.messefrankfurt.com for more information.

Autodesk announces new cloud-based service for early 2016

22 December, 2015/in Technology & Softwares, News /by Editorial Staff

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Autodesk BIM 360 Docs will help to save time, reduce risk and errors in construction projects.

At its flagship annual user event Autodesk University, Autodesk, Inc. announced Autodesk BIM 360 Docs, a comprehensive, cloud-based service for the construction industry that provides a virtual workspace to create, access, maintain, mark-up and share 2D and 3D project documents, plans and models.

Up to 25 percent of construction is rework, and approximately 10 percent of materials are wasted, according to the 2013 industry report by Autodesk, “Making the Grade.” Much of this waste can be attributed to the error-prone process of managing hundreds to thousands of project documents. Today, the construction industry must contend with a tangled web of multiple document management solution providers, contributing to significant inefficiencies and risks on construction project sites.

Formerly known as Project Alexandria, Autodesk BIM 360 Docs will help to save time, reduce risk and errors in construction projects. BIM 360 Docs is designed to ensure that the entire project team is building from the correct version of documents and plans.

“Autodesk is delivering a new world order for construction management,” said Amar Hanspal, senior vice president, Products at Autodesk. “A comprehensive solution is long overdue, and the delay has cost the construction trades too much money and too much time. Autodesk saw the challenge, owns the expertise, and is delivering a powerful step forward for the industry.”

Autodesk BIM 360 Docs connects construction project team members through collaborative, real-time access to construction documents throughout the project lifecycle. Planned capabilities include:

Linked 3D and 2D experience, allowing users to interact with models in 2D views and visualise them in 3D on the same page, and vice-versa
Permission-based access control and approval processes to manage the updating and release of documents, preventing project teams from working from out-of-date information
Blazing-fast viewing experience for large-format PDF design documents, optimized for Apple iOS devices; and
Automated organisation of original and updated construction docs into sets, including highly accurate and customised optical character recognition (OCR) of title blocks.

Industry leaders from designers to general contractors and from engineers to owners/operators tested and provided feedback to the Autodesk BIM 360 team throughout the product’s development.

“Document management has historically posed a significant challenge for much of the construction industry, yet many still rely on a cobbled-together web of one-off solutions, which isn’t really a solution at all,” said Jason Reece, technology and innovation improvement lead at Balfour Beatty Construction. “We’ve collaborated with Autodesk throughout the development process and based on what we’ve seen so far, BIM 360 Docs is on the right track to offering the industry an integrated technology solution for this generations-old problem.”

Autodesk is now accepting reservations for a limited release and free preview version of Autodesk BIM 360 Docs at www.bim360.com/docs. The product is expected to come to market in early 2016. In addition to the free, limited version of BIM 360 Docs, Autodesk will offer the option to subscribe to additional capabilities that scale to meet more advanced needs of construction firms. The product will initially be available in English only.

The end of the line for Category 5e cabling?

14 December, 2015/in Technology & Softwares /by Editor

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The ISO/IEC standards body recently decided to upgrade the minimum cabling infrastructure requirement for ofﬁces, effectively marking the obsolescence of Category 5e by deﬁning a minimum of Category 6, and recommending Category 6A. This is a brief overview of the drivers behind this development, and the implications to your cabling infrastructure decisions.

As the bandwidth requirements for wired and wireless applications continue to grow, a recent decision by the ISO/IEC cabling standards body that deﬁnes cabling infrastructure requirements is expected to have a signiﬁcant impact on the choice of horizontal cabling in ofﬁces. For the ﬁrst time in almost 20 years, the standards body has decided to upgrade the horizontal cabling in ofﬁces from a minimum of Class D (Category 5e) to a minimum of Class E (Category 6), and to recommend Class EA (Category 6A), for new installations.

Drivers behind the decision to upgrade the minimum requirement

A number of factors were taken into account to deﬁne the new minimum requirement, including:

1. Market dynamics A majority of customers are already choosing the higher categories. The standards body reviewed recent market data which indicates that shipments of Category 5e have been steadily declining since 2004. The 2014 installed base was estimated to include Category 5e at 26%, Category 6 at 56%, Category 6A at 17%, and Category 7 at 1%.

2. The emergence of new application drivers Wireless requirements, paradoxically, were identiﬁed as the ﬁrst technology driver for higher bandwidth. IEEE 802.11ac WiFi access points are expected to require backhaul bandwidth in excess of 1 Gbps, prompting the formation of the IEEE P802.3bz™ 2.5/5GBASE-T Task Force. While the intent is to support 2.5 Gbps and 5 Gbps Ethernet over the installed base of Category 5e and Category 6 cabling, the lack of alien crosstalk speciﬁcations limits support to a subset of installed conﬁgurations, and mitigation steps may require component replacements in some cases.

3. The expected life of cabling Cabling installations are expected to have a useful life in excess of ten years, with twenty years being a common expectation. With this in mind, and considering the market dynamics as well as the emergence of technologies with requirements beyond those speciﬁed for Category 5e, the committee decided it was time to upgrade the minimum requirement for ofﬁces. The selection of Category 6 as the minimum reﬂects the fact that it is better suited than Category 5e to support 2.5 and 5 Gbps, while the recommendation for Category 6A takes into account the fact that applications beyond 1 Gbps will require alien crosstalk speciﬁcations.

Category 6A is recommended for all horizontal cabling since it provides the required performance to support these faster speeds up to 10 Gbps.

Does this mean you need to upgrade your existing Category 5e cabling infrastructure?

Fortunately, signiﬁcant industry efforts are being made to enable migration to 802.11ac Wireless Access Points by supporting up to 2.5 Gbps (and even up to 5 Gbps) over the large installed base of Category 5e. Although 2.5 or 5 Gbps may not be guaranteed for all installation conﬁgurations, standards bodies are developing qualiﬁcation and mitigation procedures to maximize the chances to re-use the existing infrastructure.

Should you install Category 6, or Category 6A cabling in office environments?

Once the new standard is published, Category 6 will be the minimum required for compliance. However, the standard will recommend Category 6A to support applications with alien crosstalk requirements (meaning applications beyond 1 Gbps). While initial deployments of 2.5 and 5 Gbps are targeted at WiFi access points, industry analysts predict a gradual phasing out of 1 Gbps technology in favor of the faster speeds, as the technology becomes mainstream and prices decline. Category 6A is recommended for all horizontal cabling since it provides the required performance to support these faster speeds up to 10 Gbps. When do we expect the new standard to be published?

The standards development process can be slow at times, and it can be subject to technical and logistical delays. Based on current timelines, it is expected that the standard will be published in early 2017. This standards upgrade effectively marks the obsolescence of Category 5e and positions Category 6A as the optimal horizontal medium for new ofﬁce installations, and the foundation for connected and efﬁcient buildings.

This post is brought to you by CommScope.

Arup bags top structural engineering award for Singapore Sports Hub

8 December, 2015/in Design, News /by Editorial Staff

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Singapore Sports Hub shines in the night. Image courtesy of Arup.

Arup, a multidisciplinary engineering and consulting firm with a reputation for delivering innovative and sustainable designs, was recognised with the highest accolade at the The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) Structural Awards 2015 on 13 November 2015.

The Singapore Sports Hub, for which Arup was the structural engineer, won the Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence. This is the highest accolade of the ceremony and is given at the judges’ discretion, to the project that has distinguished itself from all submissions in 2015, and for being the finest global example of structural engineering design in the year.

Stunning retracting roof at Singapore Sports Hub in action. Image courtesy of Arup.

The Singapore Sports Hub is home to the world’s largest free-spanning dome of 310 metres, the approximate width of four A380 aeroplanes parked wing to wing. The roof, which covers the 55,000-seat sports stadium, also sets new benchmarks in efficiency of design and material usage, utilising a third of weight of steel normally used in a span of this size.

“It is a rare honour to have worked on and led the design for the Singapore Sports Hub – a fantastic project, with contributions from so many talented people. I am elated with the recognition the project and team have received, and am particularly proud of the work Arup has done on the National Stadium roof. Working under intense pressure, the team delivered exceptional technical work with a brilliant outcome. They pushed the boundaries of technology and thoroughly deserve this recognition,” said Andrew Henry, Project Manager at Arup.

The firm also won in four other categories: the Award for Sports or Leisure Structures, again, for the Singapore Sports Hub; the Award for Arts or Entertainment Structures for the Vegas High Roller in the USA; the Award for Regional Groups for the SSE Hydro in Glasgow; and the Housing for Low-Income Communities project in El Salvador was presented with the Award for Sustainability.

For more information on The Structural Awards 2015, visit www.istructe.org/structuralawards/2015/home.

Research reveals gaps in indoor wireless connectivity

8 December, 2015/in Technology & Softwares /by Editorial Staff

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Planning for mobile connectivity doesn’t match consumer demand.

In a world in which approximately 80 percent of wireless data traffic originates or terminates within a building, new global research focused on the professionals who design and manage buildings is shedding some light on this critical indoor wireless gap. For example, only about 56 percent of building managers, facilities managers, real estate managers and architects always consider mobile connectivity for a building’s tenants as a factor when working on projects.

The study, commissioned by global network infrastructure leader CommScope and carried out by Coleman Parkes, examined the current performance, attitudes and insights of building managers, facilities managers, real estate managers and architects regarding access to indoor wireless connectivity.

The findings revealed that about 48 percent of architects across the globe plan and design buildings with dedicated in-building cellular networks in mind. Providing access to cellular coverage inside buildings appears to be considerably less important to European architects than to their counterparts across the Atlantic, with 31 percent always considering it for their projects compared to nearly 65 percent in the US.

Network operators and their partners should be engaged early on.

Despite an apparent lack of commitment to planning for in-building mobile connectivity, however, 73 percent of respondents globally cited it as an “important” or “very important” factor. However, nearly 47 percent admitted to having no control over cellular coverage in their buildings, but wish they did.

“Mobile users expect uninterrupted voice service and super-fast wireless broadband wherever they are, indoors or out,” Dr. Ispran Kandasamy, global building solutions leader, CommScope said. “As bring-your-own-device policies become increasingly prevalent in the workplace, the earlier you start planning for wireless in building design, the easier it is to deliver high quality, high bandwidth networks that give consumers what they demand. The ‘build it first; fix it later’ model doesn’t work anymore with indoor wireless.”

The research also demonstrated differing opinions across industry sectors when assessing the importance of connecting people inside buildings. For example, 70 percent of respondents in retail, a sector that relies on mobile as part of a multi-channel commerce strategy, always consider indoor wireless as part of their building projects. Less consideration was given in sectors without as much reliance on mobile, such as banking and insurance (58 percent), and energy and utilities (50 percent).

All the parties involved in operating buildings should see these survey results as validating the need for taking a greater leadership role in the provisioning of in-building wireless, in the same way that seamless wired/wireless LAN connectivity is taken for granted within buildings,” Kandasamy said.

Plazit-Polygal launches economic new roofing material

3 December, 2015/in Product, News /by Editorial Staff

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The easy-to-fit system comes in five colours. Image courtesy of Plazit-Polygal

Plazit-Polygal, a producer of polycarbonate building materials, has launched Topgal, a modular range of translucent roofing material, which is attractive, economic, flexible and easy to install.

The Topgal range is suitable for any building that requires natural light, such as sports stadiums, commercial buildings and even pool enclosures. The Topgal sheets come in five different colours: clear, bronze, ice, blue and polyshade silver. It also comes in a variety of sizes and thickness levels, and delivers different levels of light transmission to meet even the most demanding of needs.

Topgal panels are linked together with easy-to-fit connectors, which create a mechanical lock between the sheets, ensuring that the panels are strong and watertight. Fixture points are hidden and the sheets can be flexed to suit any type of structure.

The Topgal system. Image courtesy of Plazit-Polygal.

“The Topgal system is translucent but all damaging UV rays are filtered out while heat transference is limited,” said Tito Asher. “It is modular so units can be added as needed,” he added.

The Topgal standing-seam panels and components integrate the unique properties of multi-wall structures to deliver superior strength, rigidity and thermal insulation. Topgal sheets are manufactured in 600 mm and 1,000 mm widths (centre to centre) and in thicknesses from 8 mm to 20 mm. In addition to the standard colours, Plazit-Polygal can tailor special colours and solar radiation levels. Find out more at www.plazit-polygal.com.

50,000 visitors grace inaugural Intelligent Green Building exhibition

1 December, 2015/in Events /by Editorial Staff

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The Shanghai edition, which comprised five fairs, occupied 40,000 square metres of exhibition space

The Shanghai edition of the the “Intelligent Green Building – IGB” exhibition platform – held from September 23 to 25 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre – featured over 700 exhibitors showcasing an array of products and solutions for smart homes, intelligent building, HVAC, building automation and more.

IGB comprised five different exhibitions, namely Shanghai Smart Home Technology (SSHT), Shanghai Intelligent Building Technology (SIBT), Shanghai International Lighting Fair (SILF), Shanghai International Trade Fair for Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (ISH Shanhgai & CIHE) and Building Solar China (BSC)

Intended as a cross-sector building ecosystem with total solutions for energy-efficient building technologies, IGB was also a successful platform for industry players to forge better business opportunities, especially as smart home technologies steadily gain global prominence. Exhibitors and trade associations found the exhibition to be an effective platform to promote mutual business development.

Mr Sun Rui, Marketing Manager of Jiujiang Derui HVAC Co Ltd, a system integrator, commented: “It is great to showcase HVAC, smart home and building technologies under one roof. The heating industry crosses over with home decoration in many areas. Along with the growing popularity of heating supply in East and Central China, the requirements of customers become more sophisticated. They look for the integration of lighting, heating and air conditioning for homes. These fields are interrelated and complementary.”

IGB also served as an effective platform for networking and mutual development.

An “#IGB_NETWORK” event was organised by the IGB platform in the afternoon of 23 September, where influential industry professionals freely exchanged ideas on building efficiency and sustainability in a casual environment. Participating guests, included the chairmen and chief secretaries of significant international and domestic trade associations and standards organisations, leaders and experts from renowned building enterprises, colleges and universities, design institutes and trade media, appreciated the networking opportunities.

Mr Tom Owens, Director of International Development at the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA), commented that the “#IGB_NETWORK” event was a great way to start off the shows. He said, “There are a lot of professionals that believe in the same things. The networking event is a great way to create partnerships and build new relationships.”

Visit www.intelligentgreenbuilding.cn for more information, and register online at www.intelligentgreenbuilding.cn/vor.

Nine Suppliers Recognized for Commitment to Johnson Controls’ Global Standards for Quality, Cost and Leadership

9 February, 2015/in News /by Editor

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SINGAPORE – Johnson Controls, a global multi-industrial company, presented nine partners with the Supplier Excellence Award at its 15^th annual Asian Supplier Conference held in Guangzhou, China. The suppliers were conferred the award in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the area of quality control, cost, service, supply chain management, sustainable development and social responsibility. The conference was attended by more than 250 representatives from the Asia Pacific region.

“A critical factor to our success is expanding close partnerships with suppliers committed to excellence and world class manufacturing standards. All nine winning suppliers have multiple international certifications in the areas that are most important to us – quality, cost and sustainability,” said Soren Bjerg, vice president and managing director of Johnson Controls Building Efficiency Asia.

Winners of the Johnson Controls Building Efficiency Group Supplier Excellence Award:

Zhejiang Yilida Ventilation Co., Ltd.

Wolong Electric Group Co., Ltd.

Zhejiang Sanhua Trading Co., Ltd.

Allied Machinery (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd.

AQ Electric (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.

Sichuang Chengfa Prima Machinery Co., Ltd.

Jiangsu Cuilong Copper Industry Co., Ltd.

Wincell (Jiangsu) Insulation Co., Ltd.

Suzhou Xintaitong High Efficiency Tube Co., Ltd

The inaugural Johnson Controls Asian Supplier Conference was held in 2000. It is an annual gathering of key suppliers of Johnson Controls to exchange and learn how to optimize procurement processes for uncompromised quality, cost control and timely delivery cycles.

All the suppliers are assessed on quality control, cost, service, supply chain management, sustainable development and social responsibility. The assessment criteria are benchmarked against global standards including Six-sigma Quality, Lean Production, Material Best Business Practices and Johnson Controls Manufacturing System. The last five years saw the score of Johnson Controls suppliers improve by some 14 percent. The continuous improvement will benefit customers not just in China and Asia but also rest of the world.

Asia continues to be one of the major growth markets for Johnson Controls and the company has demonstrated its commitment to the region with the announcement of its new corporate headquarters to be located in Shanghai, China. The campus is expected to open in 2017.

ABB to drive retractable roof on world’s largest free-spanning dome in Singapore

19 September, 2014/in News /by Editor

Reading Time: 3 minutes

ABB solutions for precise control and energy efficiency will enable 312 meter diameter dome on the Singapore National Stadium

Zurich, Switzerland– ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, is set to drive the retractable canopy on the world’s largest free-spanning domed roof at Singapore’s new National Stadium, part of the Singapore Sports Hub. The 55,000-capacity stadium is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia to boast a retractable roof and the only stadium in the world built to accommodate soccer, rugby, cricket, athletics and concerts all in one venue.

The stadium’s dome roof is one of its most distinctive features, and will become a prominent part of the Singapore skyline. Covering approximately 20,000 square meters, weighing 2,200 metric tons and reaching some 80 meters high, the roof is partially retractable to offer spectators ventilation and protection from the elements.

The stadium is ABB’s latest project in ‘moving architecture.’ Other notable professional sports venues with retractable roofs automated by ABB drives include Arizona’s Cardinals Stadium and Dallas’s Cowboys Stadium. ABB power and automation technologies are in place at a number of the world’s premier sport venues, including Cape Town Stadium in South Africa, Olympic stadiums in Beijing, China, and Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium in Brazil – venue for the final match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

“This ambitious project represents a remarkable milestone for ABB in terms of intelligent control and automation, and we are proud to be a part of Singapore’s iconic achievement,” said Pekka Tiitinen, head of ABB’s Discrete Automation and Motion division.

It only takes around 20 minutes to fully open or close the roof, which is divided into two sections each programmed to travel at around 40 millimeters per second. Three ABB Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) are the ‘brains’ behind the motion, providing the control and coordination for 32 regenerative variable speed drives to automate the roof.

Regenerative drives can recover thermal energy from the motor deceleration process, convert it into electrical energy and feed it back into the network – saving energy that would have otherwise been wasted. Thanks to their superior harmonic performance and Direct Torque Control, the ABB drives can maintain power supply quality and run with zero speed torque, which increases the safety and energy efficiency when moving the roof.

In addition to being weather resistant and blocking the sun’s heat, the innovative roof doubles as an enormous projection screen. The steel trusses supporting the dome are lined with some 3,000 LED lights,further adding to Singapore’s already glittering nighttime skyline.

Built on the original site of the National Stadium that was demolished in 2010, the Singapore Sports Hub opened its doors to the public in June 2014. The Singapore Sports Hub also includes the OCBC Aquatic Centre, an indoor space that can host FINA competitions, the OCBC Arena, a multi-purpose sports arena,a Water Sports Centre, sports library and museum, retail mall, together with a host of Community facilities. For more information, please visit the Singapore Sports Hub website: www.sportshub.com.sg

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility, industry, and transport and infrastructure customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people.

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