Construction Panorama Innovative construction practices, noteworthy design, current dilemmas and trends: articles of interest highlighting the construction industry. Enjoy!
Construction Worker Helps Police Catch NYC Shooter
The Construction Citizen team often pauses to pay tribute to the heroes of this industry, but a construction worker from New York took things to a whole new level this past week. Police say that when gunshots rang out near the Empire State Building, leaving one man dead, a construction worker named Brian Dillon sprang into action to help catch the shooter.
After the last shot was fired, the accused shooter, Jeffrey Johnson, started to casually walk away. That’s when Dillon bolted from the loading dock where he had been working to follow Johnson.
Dillon was afraid Johnson would blend into the crowd, so he followed closely and flagged down a couple of police officers. Johnson then pulled out his gun again, Read more » about Blue Collar Hero
I have recently come across a couple of interesting viewpoints on the world of work.
First, there is a new book authored by Susan Cain entitled Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. In it she talks about being an introvert and how she has learned to cope with the extroverted world we live in. She states that somewhere between 30% and 50% of the workforce are introverts who make enormous contributions to the world as we know it. But, she explains how the current emphasis on extroverts has created education and working environments that do not provide for privacy or time to think for the introverts of the world.
Over the weekend, San Francisco residents and visitors celebrated the 75th anniversary of the completion of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. The longest suspension bridge in the world at the time, the mile-long bridge was constructed from 1933 to 1937 – a sign of optimism during the Great Depression when many Americans were unemployed.
According to David Muir in the ABC World News video below, many believed that due to the dangerous wind conditions and ocean currents through the Golden Gate Strait, the bridge could not be built. The brave construction workers who often worked without harnesses with only a “safety net” stretched between them and the ocean proved the naysayers wrong. Read more » about Golden Gate Spans 75 Years of History
While driving from San Antonio to Houston this week, I came up on two cars that seemed to be traveling slower than the rest of us, and they were swerving from their lane over into mine. Usually when I run up on someone who acts like they might be drunk I speed up and go around them so that they don’t cause a problem. This was unusual since there were two cars traveling almost in a caravan down I-10.
As I sped up and started by them, I noted a couple of things. The driver of the first car was texting at 75 miles per hour and not exactly looking at the road. That was scary enough but as I passed the second car, I saw something that looked like a video on a smartphone in the hands of the driver. Read more » about Bring on the Cars That Drive Themselves
An article in the Washington Post by Lonnae O'Neal Parker reported that yesterday a revised design for the National Eisenhower Memorial was presented to the Eisenhower Memorial Commission for consideration. If approved, the proposal will be sent on to the National Capital Planning Commission as the next step toward building the $110 million memorial to Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower near The National Mall in Washington, DC. The original design by architect Frank Gehry received criticism from Eisenhower’s family members and design traditionalists. Gehry has modified his design, and planners now hope to break ground on the project later this year. Read more » about National Eisenhower Memorial Closer to Breaking Ground
One World Trade Center became the tallest building in New York this afternoon, surpassing the Empire State Building, when ironworkers installed one of the steel columns of the tower, which will rise 104 stories high after the last 4 floors are completed. Several news journalists were invited up to the 100th floor of the tower yesterday and today to talk to some of the construction workers, many of whom witnessed the fall of the Twin Towers at the site on 9/11, and all of whom consider working on this project an honor and a privilege.
ABC News journalists George Stephanopoulos and Bob Woodruff visited the 100th floor of the One World Trade Center today, which they explained must be achieved first with elevators and then with ladders for the last ten floors. Read more » about World Trade Center Tower Climbs Above Empire State
Satterfield & Pontikes Construction is currently renovating the historic Building 427 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas with a new method of strengthening the load-bearing brick walls without changing the appearance of the building which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in the 1920s to house military families, the building will now provide office space for the Army post.
Each year about this time over 400 species of birds that migrated south for the winter begin their Spring journey northward across the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Coast flyways. Those of us in the Houston Region get the pleasure of watching them arrive just in time for the blooming of our trees and azaleas.
Early bird watchers have reported that this year they have seen one of the rarest bird species to visit the region since the last business cycle, the German Climbing Crane. They are magnificent and are easily recognizable to anyone who is lucky enough to see them on their migration northward. They are tall and move with incredible grace as they peer over the landscape.
“In the US, the average driver spends the equivalent of two months of every year in car; it’s impractical for us to give up connectivity inside of the vehicle. The car is the mobile device of the future.”
Just last weekend I caught a glimpse of the future when a 2½ year old was able to turn on the Mac, two TV sets, and the dvds at his parent’s house without any help from the adults around. Read more » about Cars: The Next Electronic Device
The winners of the 2012 Global Skyscraper Competition held annually by eVolo Magazine have been announced and they are quite amazing in both form and content. The contest was started in 2006 and seeks to recognize young design talent from around the globe for their designs and the concepts that they propose.
We have seen a tremendous shift in proposals as the creative clients, engineering, and super materials have made previous proposals possible to build. These designs will stretch not only your imagination , but they will really stretch the contractors and subs who might build them in the future. Read more » about 2012 Skyscraper Competition Winners Announced by eVolo
Construction Worker Helps Police Catch NYC Shooter
I have recently come across a couple of interesting viewpoints on the world of work.
Over the weekend, San Francisco residents and visitors celebrated the 75th anniversary of the completion of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. The longest suspension bridge in the world at the time, the mile-long bridge was constructed from 1933 to 1937 – a sign of optimism during the Great Depression when many Americans were unemployed.
While driving from San Antonio to Houston this week, I came up on two cars that seemed to be traveling slower than the rest of us, and they were swerving from their lane over into mine. Usually when I run up on someone who acts like they might be drunk I speed up and go around them so that they don’t cause a problem. This was unusual since there were two cars traveling almost in a caravan down I-10.
One World Trade Center became the tallest building in New York this afternoon, surpassing the Empire State Building, when ironworkers installed one of the steel columns of the tower, which will rise 104 stories high after the last 4 floors are completed. Several news journalists were invited up to the 100th floor of the tower yesterday and today to talk to some of the construction workers, many of whom witnessed the fall of the Twin Towers at the site on 9/11, and all of whom consider working on this project an honor and a privilege.
Each year about this time over 400 species of birds that migrated south for the winter begin their Spring journey northward across the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Coast flyways. Those of us in the Houston Region get the pleasure of watching them arrive just in time for the blooming of our trees and azaleas.
An 
The winners of the 2012 Global Skyscraper Competition held annually by eVolo Magazine have been announced and they are quite amazing in both form and content. The contest was started in 2006 and seeks to recognize young design talent from around the globe for their designs and the concepts that they propose.
