Artists Gilbert & George take inspiration from construction
Renowned artists Gilbert & George have referenced the Considerate Constructors Scheme in a new artwork created for the Folkestone Triennial art festival. The billboard, entitled Respect Road 2020, has been placed on the side of a building overlooking Folkestone’s biggest construction site, where contractor Jenner is building seafront flats in the first phase of a redevelopment of the
Kent coastal town’s harbour area.
Recycled plastic sleepers first
Composite railway sleepers made from recycled plastics have been installed on Network Rail mainline tracks for the first time. The new technology has been installed across the weight-restricted Sherrington Viaduct, between Salisbury and Warminster. The track was previously fitted with wooden sleepers, as concrete would have been too heavy for the structure.
£100m Holocaust Memorial wins planning permission
A £100m national Holocaust Memorial and learning centre is set to be built in London’s Victoria Tower Gardens near Parliament after the project was granted planning permission. Construction work is planned to start in late 2021 ahead of completion in autumn 2024.
Plastic noise-cancelling panels face motorway test
A new plastic noise-cancelling panel with the same noise reduction as plywood but four to six times lighter is to be trialled in UK hospitals and beside motorways. The company behind the Sonoblind panels, Metasonixx, is a spin-out from the Universities of Sussex and Bristol.
Bespoke propping helps Balfour repair Durham bridge
Monitoring technology and an unusual propping system from Mabey were vital to the renovation of Durham’s New Elvet Bridge. Mabey used a bespoke truss system, made from Mabey Universal Bridging Panels to conduct the lift of a 490-tonne centre span bridge deck and enable the repair work to get underway.
‘Very different’ modular builder
Mark Farmer has welcomed the launch of a new and “very different” modular builder. Farmer, a government-appointed champion of modern methods of construction (MMC) in housebuilding, appeared at the official launch of the CoreHaus factory in County Durham on 30 July. (Left to right: Scotty Bibby of CoreHaus; Gaynor Tennant of Offsite Alliance; and Mark Farmer).
World’s oldest Egyptian solar boat lifted to new museum
The Belgian Besix Orascom Joint Venture (BOJV) tasked crane firm Sarens with transporting a 4,600-year-old Egyptian solar boat 10km from the Giza Plateau to the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Sarens installed a steel cage around the 43m-long boat and lifted it with an 800-tonne crane onto several self-propelled modular transporters.
