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Architecture

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Architecture is a beautiful and creative art form. Though we might imagine architects spending nights bent over their blueprints to create masterpieces like the London Eye, there is more to the picture. Crafting magnificent and practical buildings takes a team of creatives to make it happen. 

Behind every great architect is a team of contractors ready to put in the hours of physical construction. These professionals go through dedicated programs at places like the contractor training center to become masters in their field. While architects get most of the credit, contractors deserve recognition for the amazing infrastructure we use every day.

Let’s highlight some gorgeous buildings that wouldn’t be around without contractors. 

1. Gardens by the Bay – Singapore

Singapore has a plethora of beautiful buildings throughout the country. Among these, the Gardens by the Bay in the Marina Bay district takes the cake for most breathtaking.

The process of constructing the park began in 2006, with an international master plan design competition. The contractors entered the picture in 2007 after a select vote by jury and public took place in late 2006.

During this time, the team began to work on the Bay East Gardens and Flower Dome. The contracting company finished their work in 2011, leading to the amazing Gardens we enjoy today. 

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

2. The Shard – England

Another city full of gorgeous architectural structures is London. Irvine Sellar, the developer of the Shard, began the process in 1998, but it wasn’t until 2008 with funding from Qatar that construction began. 

The contracting team worked until 2012 when the building was ready to be opened. The unique design and well-built structure helped push the Shard onto the list of London landmarks along with Big Ben and the Tower Bridge. 

Image source: Wikipedia

3. Sendai Mediatheque – Japan

The Sendai Mediatheque is a multipurpose cultural center located in Sendai, Japan. Toyo Ito designed the project after floating seaweed with a completely open 7-story floor plan. The construction began in 1997 with a lot of the creative building freedom going to the contracting team. 

The building utilized steel pipe tubes, glass, and aluminum mesh, and everything has an alternative function. Some pipes doubled as stairs and elevators, for example. The construction ended in 2000, but the Mediatheque opened to the public in 2001. 

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

4. Seattle Central Public Library – United States

The United States houses several intricately designed public spaces, focusing a dedicated effort on making beautiful libraries. The modern Seattle Public Library is no exception. The central public library cleared in 1998 as part of a city-wide effort to double the square footage of neighborhood libraries. 

After OMA and Joshua Prince-Ramus completed drafts for the library in 1999, the contracting team at Hoffman Construction Company began working. The workers dedicated six years to ensure that the eleven-floor library looked stunning and met all building safety codes. In 2004, the public gained full access to the Central Public Library.

Image source: Wikipedia

5. Heydar Aliyeva Center – Azerbaijan 

The Heydar Aliyeva Center, located in Baku, Azerbaijan, is a flowing and curved building that boasts a beautiful aura. The center’s design had both the natural desert topography and the multifunctional purpose of the building in mind. The architect, Zaha Hadid, drafted his plan in 2007 after winning a design competition. 

The contracting company completed the eight-story project in 2012. Included in the construction was a 1000-seat auditorium, exhibition spaces for local artists, and a museum, among other things. 

Image source: Wikipedia

Without Contractor Teams, None of These Would Be Possible

The list here is just the tip of the iceberg. Without dedicated teams to do the groundwork, the magnificent buildings and structures we enjoy every day wouldn’t exist. 

If you’ve ever dreamed of being a contractor, there’s nothing stopping you from going out into the world and contributing to the next masterpiece.

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Dow Building Solutions has isolated the first certified Passive House in England. Underhill House, the pioneering project of eco-sustainability, created by the architect Helen Seymour -Smith , gave birth to an eco-friendly house on a hill that rises on the ruins of a 300 year old barn , situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The Passive House has been carved into the hillside and is invisible to the surrounding landscape so as to ensure even minimal environmental and visual impact. The structure is made of concrete left exposed internally to exploit the advantages of thermal energy and it has a bay window facing south, which helps to build-up of heat, and is highly insulated in the floor, roof and walls thanks to Styrofoam , Floormate 300 – A, Roofmate SL- A and Perimate OF -A .

Underhill House

Underhill House

Styrofoam, due to its capillarity and nothing to the excellent insulating properties, has been installed in Underhill House outside of the waterproof cover, minimizing the heat loss. There is also floormate 300-A, due to the high moisture resistance and for its resistance to compression, which is installed under the floor. The roof was insulated with Roofmate SL –A slabs, providing a minimum U -value of 0.097 W/m2K. The basement walls and foundations, finally, were isolated with Floormate and Perimate OF -A that has vertical grooves to drain the water.

All tests were certified in the Passive House and the evidence of airtight was exceeded. The isolation level is high; the design of Underhill House makes the most of the sun’s power by using AGL Solar Energy and creates a tightly sealed building that maintains a comfortable indoor climate.

This project is a demonstration of how a combination of effective materials and excellent architectural idea can achieve a functional and contemporary family home that addresses and solves problems directly related to environmental issues.

New York City’s newly erected One World Trade Center has been declared the tallest building in the US, at 1,776 ft (541 m).

The Height Committee of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat announced its decision in Chicago.

The previous title holder was that city’s tallest building, the Willis Tower, at 1,451 ft (442 m).

The committee ruled a 408ft needle at the top counted toward its height.

One World Trade Center has been declared the tallest building in the US

One World Trade Center has been declared the tallest building in the US

Antony Wood, executive director of the committee, which is seen as the final official word on building heights around the world, said the needle counted as a permanent structure.

Without that needle, the building measures 1,368 feet, well below the height of the Willis Tower, which was formerly known as the Sears Tower.

Both skyscrapers fall well short of the world’s tallest building, the 2,723 ft (830 m) Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

One World Trade Center was built on the lower Manhattan site of the iconic Twin Towers, which were destroyed in the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 along with other buildings in the World Trade Center complex.

More than 2,000 people were killed there.

One World Trade Center ‘s height of 1,776 ft is a symbolic reference to the year of the signing of the US declaration of independence from Britain.

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