Week of 23 May
1. What a wonderful link (The Netherlands)
On 19 May, on the POST Rotterdam construction site, a ceremony was organized to celebrate the launching of the foundation piles for the project. The event was punctuated by speeches, including that of Nic De Roeck, Director of BESIX Nederland. The piling work follows, among other things, the demolitions that had to be carried out on the site. Located in a particularly lively area of the city, the project consists of the construction of a 155-metre-high residential tower that rises from a historic building to be renovated, one of the few that predates the Second World War. The POST Rotterdam project is therefore a link between the history and the future of the port city. A wonderful link, which BESIX Nederland is building with Rizzani de Eccher.
2. A room with a Mediterranean view (France)
The Sheraton Hotel, located in one of the buildings of the magnificent Nice Airport Promenade project, opens its doors! And the least we can say is that this 4 star hotel is impressive. And this is thanks to the remarkable work of our colleagues from BESIX France. In addition to the hotel, the project includes ground floor shops, residential units, an office building and an underground car park. The first two buildings, dedicated to offices and housing, were delivered in 2021 and early 2022 respectively. The hotel is the third and final building. The project is ideally located near the Nice Côte d'Azur international airport, with a view of the Mediterranean Sea. If you are visiting Nice, you now know where to stay!
3. All hands on deck (Georgia)
We recently told you about the first excavator on the Poti breakwater. Today we could celebrate the installation of the first x-block, like the ones used in Poland for the breakwaters of the Vistula Spit shipping channel. But above all, we are pleased to introduce our colleagues from BESIX Georgia, who posed for a team picture. We wish them all the best and look forward to following their work in the coming months and years.
4. Double hit for Franki Foundations (United Kingdom)
Last week, Maurice Bottiau, Managing Director of Franki Foundations, was one of the keynote speakers at the International Conference on Deep Foundations and Ground Improvement, an event organised by the Deep Foundations Institute at the Technical University of Berlin and dedicated to sustainable solutions and digitalisation in this field. Our colleague Maurice Bottiau's presentation focused on the future of geotechnical engineering, with an emphasis on the development of big data, the changing contractual environment and the environmental challenges of the sector.
At almost the same time, Franki Foundations UK was shortlisted in the Ground Engineering Awards 2022 in its Technical Excellence category, along with ten other entrants. The company's piling solution for the 35-storey "1 Leadenhall" skyscraper in London earned the nomination. The winner of the Ground Engineering Awards 2022 will be announced on 6 September. Until then, we'll keep our fingers crossed.
And then this… Build me a bridge (Belgium)
Supported by BESIX and Jacques Delens, the Structure Challenge is a competition between universities and engineering schools in southern Belgium. This year, the challenge was to create a wooden footbridge weighing no more than 85 kg, with a span of more than 7 metres, and capable of supporting the weight of 12 people. The structures were presented on the esplanade of the Guillemins station, in Liège, next to the Paradis Express project currently being built by BESIX and Wust. Take a good look at the pictures below, you might well find the faces of future colleagues.
