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Archive for the 'Civil Engineering' Category

Rebirth of the Pyramids | Kazakhstan

Thursday, October 30th, 2008

Deputy-Dog.com reports massive, futuristic pyramids constructed in the Kazakh Capital city of Astana. These futuristic pyramids were designed by a British firm Foster & Partners, at the cost of 8.74 billion Kazakh Tenge.

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Hong Kong (Chek Lap Kok) International Airport, China

Monday, April 28th, 2008

Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is also known as Chek Lap Kok Airport, due to the fact that it was built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation.

The airport opened for commercial operations in 1998, replacing Kai Tak Airport, and is an important regional trans-shipment centre, passenger hub and gateway for destinations in China, East Asia and Southeast Asia.

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Kansai (Kokusai Kūkō) International Airport, Japan

Monday, April 28th, 2008

Kansai International Airport (Kansai Kokusai Kūkō) is an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, off the shore of the cities of Sennan and Izumisano and the town of Tajiri in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. (It should not be confused with Osaka International Airport, which is closer to the city and now handles only domestic flights.) It was ranked 4th overall in the Airport of the Year 2006 awards named by Skytrax, next to Singapore Changi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport and Munich International Airport.

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The Sears Towers Chicago

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

The Sears Tower is a skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. It has been the tallest building in the United States since 1973, surpassing the World Trade Center, which itself had surpassed the Empire State Building only a year earlier. Commissioned by Sears, Roebuck and Company, it was designed by chief architect Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

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The Central Japan International Airport

Monday, April 7th, 2008

Chūbu Centrair International Airport (Chūbu Kokusai Kūkō)

Centrair is classified as a first class airport and is the main international gateway for the Chūbu (”central”) region of Japan. The name “Centrair” is an abbreviation of Central Japan International Airport, an alternate translation used in the English name of the airport’s operating company, Central Japan International Airport Co., Ltd. ( Chūbu Kokusai Kūkō Kabushiki-gaisha)

Centrair International Airport

Chūbu is Japan’s third off-shore airport, after Nagasaki Airport and Kansai International Airport, and second airport on a manmade island. There are currently 5 offshore airports in Japan, including Kobe Airport and New Kitakyushu Airport.

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History of the Science of Civil Engineering

Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Civil engineering is the application of physical and scientific principles, and its history is intricately linked to advances in understanding of physics and mathematics throughout history. Because civil engineering is a wide ranging profession, including several separate specialized sub-disciplines, its history is linked to knowledge of structures, materials science, geology, soils, hydrology, environment, mechanics and other fields.

Throughout ancient and medieval history most architectural design and construction was carried out by artisans, such as stone masons and carpenters, rising to the role of master builder. Knowledge was retained in guilds and seldom supplanted by advances. Structures, roads and infrastructure that existed were repetitive, and increases in scale were incremental.

One of the earliest examples of a scientific approach to physical and mathematical problems applicable to civil engineering is the work of Archimedes in the 3rd century BC, including Archimedes Principle, which underpins our understanding of buoyancy, and practical solutions such as Archimedes Screw.

History of Civil Engineering

Friday, April 4th, 2008

Engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginnings of human existence. Civil engineering might be considered properly commencing between 4000 and 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia when humans started to abandon a nomadic existence, thus causing a need for the construction of shelter. During this time, transportation became increasingly important leading to the development of the wheel and sailing. The construction of Pyramids in Egypt (circa 2700-2500 BC) might be considered the first instances of large structure constructions. Other ancient historic civil engineering constructions include the Parthenon by Iktinos in Ancient Greece (447-438 BC), the Appian Way by Roman engineers (c. 312 BC), and the Great Wall of China by General Meng T’ien under orders from Ch’in Emperor Shih Huang Ti (c. 220 BC).

Until modern times there was no clear distinction between civil engineering and architecture, and the term engineer and architect were mainly geographical variations referring to the same person, often used interchangeably. In the 18th century, the term civil engineering began to be used to and exchange, and in the construction of ports, harbours, moles, breakwaters and lighthouses, and in the art of distinguish it from military engineering.

The first self-proclaimed civil engineer was John Smeaton who constructed the Eddystone Lighthouse. In 1771 Smeaton and some of his colleagues formed the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers, a group of leaders of the profession who met informally over dinner. Though there was evidence of some technical meetings, it was little more than a social society.

In 1818 the Institution of Civil Engineers was founded in London, and in 1820 the eminent engineer Thomas Telford became its first president. The institution received a Royal Charter in 1828, formally recognising civil engineering as a profession. Its charter defined civil engineering as:

“…the art of directing the great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man, as the means of production and of traffic in states, both for external and internal trade, as applied in the construction of roads, bridges, aqueducts, canals, river navigation and docks for internal intercourse navigation by artificial power for the purposes of commerce, and in the construction and application of machinery, and in the drainage of cities and towns.”

The first degree in Civil Engineering in the United States was awarded by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1835.