construction

The construction of the highest skyscraper in the world

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China is synonymous with Megaconstructions. In addition, in record time, but there are two countries that have been in a particular battle in which the concrete is the absolute protagonist. In 2010 the imposing Burj Khalifa was inaugurated, dethroning Taipei 101 as the tallest building in the world and giving the departure gun to a war between Arab Emirates and Arabia to see who made the vast skyscraper. And, although we have seen numerous skyscrapers in recent years, there are two that have between eyebrow and eyebrow over Creek Tower and the Jeddah Tower. And perhaps it is that ambition that the two projects are being carried ahead. The Saudi Jeddah Tower. It is one of the most ambitious projects in the world and it is expected that, when it is complete, it will become the highest building in the world. Saudi Arabia is clear that it must dethrone the Burj Khalifa of 828 meters with this tower that will exceed 1,000 meters high. How many exactly? We do not know, since although the works began in 2013, they go quite slowly. It will be a tower that will house a luxury hotel, residential apartments, offices and the highest observatory in the world and will feature a whopping 59 elevators, four of them with a double floor. Your designer? The American Adrian Smith, the same one who designed the Burj Khalifa with which he will have a certain resemblance. Dubai’s Creek Tower. This is much more recent, since the works began in 2016 and the data are much more diffuse. As Burj Khalifa, Creek Tower will be in Dubai and will be a very different construction from the other two towers. It will be more a recreational tower with restaurants, places to spend time and ten observation platforms (with glass floor to see the entire city. You can also house some luxury residences, but a very scarce number to be considered the “highest building in the world”, at least technically. And how much are we talking about? Between 828 meters and 1,400 meters. It is a huge fan, but what were clear is that it should exceed 828 of the city’s iconic megonstruction. The design is also peculiar, and the leading architect of the project is the “Recognized” Santiago Calatrava. Shared difficulties. The two constructions share more elements than it might seem. Both have a peculiar design, both are very high and both … have been drawing problems for years. For different reasons, yes. The construction of the Jeddah Tower It was arrested in 2018 due to the fight of the Royal House against administrative, political and real corruption. In a process known as ‘La Purga’, the heir prince created a committee that arrested 281 people. It was a tremendously controversial process because in parallel, it seems that a group of death operated to kill dissidents silently. The works officially resumed In February this year. In the case of Creek Tower, its inauguration was planned For some time of 2020, but COVID-19 forced to paralyze the work and construction has not yet raised head. In 2024 some project updates were made, confirming that the final height would be far from what was expected and, with a total of 745 meters, will not meet the objective of overcoming Burj Khalifa. The craziest plan. Now, although these two towers are colossal, there is a Saudi Arabia project that wants to leave them up to a normal and current residential block. It has no name, but an objective height: 2,000 meters. We only know which is something that is on the horizon and that will be the responsibility of the architects of Foster +. Partners And yes, it is an idea of ​​the same country that is building The Mukaabhe Riad Airport and The Lineso it is sure they will try. Samsung, the silent winner. And although it is not very clear what the two countries intend with this particular battle of megaconstrucciones, the obvious thing is that there are companies that are filling the pockets with these projects. And beyond local construction companies and foreign architects, we must mention Samsung. Specifically, to the Samsung C&T Engineering and Construction Group division that is charge of the construction of Burj Khalifa and is in command of the Creek Tower. And they are not the only constructions of the South Korean division, since, within Vision 2030, the company advertisement In December of last year that the construction of the first Saudi Arabia subway system under Riyadh, a totally automated system without drivers and was ending 11 years with a total cost of more than 2.4 billion dollars. Images | Jeddah Tower, Emaar In Xataka | The tallest building never designed is a colossal (and theoretical) skyscraper of four kilometers: the X-Seed 4000

Japan has just found a way to drastically accelerate the construction of train stations: print them in 3D

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3D impression continues to make way in the world of architecture. After seeing the first houses and even data centers 3D printednow is the turn of rail infrastructure. The latest novelty It arrives from Japanwhere they have already installed a train station built with this technology. According to those responsible, the main advantages against traditional methods are speed and sustainability. As can be seen in the images, we are not facing a station that impresss its size or monumental design. On the contrary: it is a simple, functional and compact construction. At first glance it may seem plastic, but in reality it is printed in concrete. The structure, of less than 10 square meters, is based on several reinforcement bars and has two openings for the passage of passengers. The first 3D printed station in the world The structure was printed a few kilometers and was subsequently transferred in a truck to Hatsushima Station, in the Wakayama Prefecture, about 96 kilometers south of Osaka. There the final assembly was carried out. Naohiro Ohashi, spokesman for Jr West Japan, explained to NHK that “Normally it takes about two months in building a station of this size ”, and that in this case the priority was the speed to complete the work. The assembly of the structure was completed in about two hours with the help of a crane, and all the work ended before the first train departure to Wakayama. The pieces, of several tons, were manipulated by only six operators, including the crane operator. With this experience, the company already has a more precise estimate of the time necessary to install this type of stations, which are part of future projects. From now on, the company will evaluate the profitability of both construction and maintenance. Depending on the performance of this first station, they consider Extend the use of this technology to other locations. They point out that 3D impression facilitates a planned renewal of the railway facilities, especially before the Crecent labor shortage. The objective, they point out, is to move towards a more sustainable rail infrastructure. According to Nikkeithe current building of the Hatsushima station was built in 1948 and currently functions as a station without staff. The oldest structure, larger, showed a remarkable deterioration and its maintenance had become increasingly expensive. Jr West decided to replace it with a new 3D printed version, more adjusted to the actual level of use and also useful to assess the impact of saline air that blows from the sea. Images | @handakunihio (x) | JR West Japan In Xataka | We have discovered (again) the secret of Roman concrete. Is less impressive than it seems

China intimidates in nuclear fusion. The construction of its own iter advances at full speed

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The way to a destiny as challenging as the nuclear fusion Commercial must necessarily be full of small conquests. Of achievements that may seem modest, but that, in reality, are milestones that place us a little closer to an ambitious goal that does not pursue anything other than help us solve our energy needs without continuing to emit greenhouse gases. In this context Iter monopolizes much of attention. And it is understandable that it is so. After all, it is a project with a huge wingspan, which is also led by the European Union. In fact, this organization is assuming together approximately 50% of the total cost of a plan in which the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India and South Korea also participate. However, the commitment of public origin for nuclear fusion is not condensed only in Iter. And it is not limited only to the European Union. Not much less. Europe is pointing Very important scientific milestonesbut there are other countries that are also being very high, and that, precisely, do not move in the orbit of the West. In fact, two of them, probably the most outstanding, are China and South Korea. The Chinese experimental reactor CFETR is extraordinarily promising China that, as we have seen, actively participates in Iter’s tuning, has been engaged in the development of an experimental nuclear fusion reactor for several years at least as ambitious as the latter. It’s called CFETR (Chinese Fusion Engineering Testing Reactor), A denomination that we can translate as a test reactor for Chinese fusion engineering. The engineers of the country led by Xi Jinping completed their conceptual design in 2015 taking as a starting point the Chinese fusion reactors East, HL-2a (M) and J-Text. The experts of the commission that certifies nuclear facilities have approved the first section of the vacuum chamber CFETR has much in common with Iter. In fact, it aspires to complement the machine that is being built in the French town of Cadarache, and, at the same time, it is nourished by the knowledge generated during the design and development of Iter. Anyway The construction of the CFETR reactor It is already underway. And advances at a very good pace. In fact, just two days ago the experts of the Chinese commission that certifies the nuclear facilities gave the final approval to the first section of the reactor vacuum chamber. This is the gigantic component that we can see in the cover photography of this article. The CFETR reactor vacuum chamber will consist of seven other sections such as this, will have a height of 20 meters and will be made of stainless steel of very low carbon content. Inside, fusion reactions between the deuterium and tritium nuclei will occur that will be magnetically confined in a plasma that will exceed 100 million degrees Celsius. The most interesting thing is that this machine will operate in two phases. During the first of them, he will prove that he is able to generate up to 200 MW of energy, as well as sustain a tritium production ratio greater than 1. This simply means that will produce more tritio than consumeso he will be able to self -abuse from this radioactive hydrogen isotope. During the second phase of operation, the CFETR reactor will pursue more than 1 GW of power, so it will become a demonstration machine that, if everything goes well, will be happened by the first commercial fusion energy plants. Image | Xinhua News More information | China Science In Xataka | Spain’s milestone in nuclear fusion: the first plasma produced by the Smart reactor invites us to optimism

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