Week of 11 April
1. Under the plane’s wheels (Qatar)
Since 2018, our colleagues in Qatar have been carrying out pavement remediation works at Hamad International Airport. For the first contract, awarded in June 2018, our teams had presented the client with an integrated solution to remove the existing asphalt pavement and replace it with concrete, all with minimal impact on airport operations. The project was initially scheduled to last 14 months, where additional temporary aircraft stands were constructed prior to the execution of 250,000m³ of pavement remediation works. The client was obviously satisfied with this, as he has since awarded us additional areas. A total of 704,500 m³ of concrete pavement will be finished by 30 July 2022! We are familiar with Hamad International Airport: in the 2010s, we have notably built its new north node and the passenger terminal, as well as the piers D and E.
2. An airport worth visiting (Australia)
In Adelaide, our colleagues recently renovated and expanded the airport terminal. A superb job, which took three years to complete, and for which BESIX Watpac has now been named one of the finalists in the Infrastructure Partnerships Australia for contractor excellence. This complex project, within an operational airport, consisted of a 21,400 m² expansion and a further 14,600 m² refurbishment, which included the concourse and retail areas, baggage claim, international arrivals and emigration areas, lounges, general offices and plant areas. Congratulations to our colleagues for this high quality work and for the outstanding collaboration with Adelaide Airport.
3. The lift goes up as the tower goes up (The Netherlands)
This is a first in the Netherlands. In the Grotius Towers, the decision was made to use the Schindler CLIMB LiftTM system. Unlike traditional lifts, which are usually installed when the highest floor is reached, Schindler CLIMB LiftTM can be installed at an early stage, during construction, and rise as the towers grow higher. Each time five new floors are added, the lifts are raised by the same amount. This has a number of advantages, not least that they can be used by construction teams and thus replace the generally slower external construction lifts. Once the construction site is completed, the lifts receive interior finishing touches, making them the lifts of the building's end users. Want to know more? This interesting video from Schindler explains how it works!
4. A brilliant example of circularity (Belgium)
The BESIX Group entity Jacques Delens, which is mainly active in the Brussels and Brabant construction market, has on several occasions carried out projects that are remarkable for their circular approach – we remember, for example, the Tour à Plomb project a few years ago, for which the company won a nice prize for circularity. The Vandeuren project that the company is currently carrying out in Brussels is another example. In this renovation project for social housing, a number of concrete ecological solutions have been implemented to reduce waste and reuse existing materials as much as possible. This approach to the project led to the conservation of the front and rear facades of the buildings and a preference for selective deconstruction, with the reuse of bricks, cement tiles, tiles, marble, wooden floors, doors, etc. As a result of these initiatives, the project has hosted a number of site visits, particularly from specialists in circular construction but also from architecture students. This is how we prepare for the future! This new remarkable example is an inspiration for all of us. Kudos to our fellow colleagues at Jacques Delens for excelling once again in this field.
And then this... Wild encounters (Poland)
We previously reported on a bear wandering near our construction site in British Columbia on the Canadian west coast. Other unexpected visitors sometimes venture near our construction sites. This is the case in Poland, on the Vistula Spit. After the visit of a moose a few months ago, this time it was a seal that came to pay our team a visit. We assume that it came to admire the infrastructure that we are putting in place on the shipping channel to facilitate the passage of wild animals…
