The Ryugyong Hotel is a 105-floor skyscraper under construction in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its name comes from one of the historic names for the city of Pyongyang, and means “capital of willows”; the building is also known as the 105 building, a reference to its number of floors. Construction began in 1987, but was halted in 1992 due to the economic disruptions that afflicted the country following the fall of the Soviet Union. The hotel stood topped out but without windows or interior fittings for the next sixteen years. Construction resumed in April 2008, under the supervision of the Orascom Group of Egypt, which has invested heavily in the North Korean mobile telephony and construction industries. The company expects to complete exterior work on the building in 2010, with interior work taking until 2012 or later.

The hotel rises to a height of 330 metres (1,080 ft), and it contains 360,000 square metres (3,900,000 sq ft) of floor space, making it the most prominent feature of Pyongyang’s skyline and by far the largest structure in North Korea. Construction of the Ryugyong was intended to be completed in time for the World Festival of Youth and Students in June 1989; had this been achieved, it would have become the world’s tallest hotel. The unfinished structure was not surpassed in height by another hotel until the completion of construction on the Rose Tower in Dubai, UAE in 2009. The Ryugyong is currently the world’s 30th tallest building, a title it shares with the China World Trade Center Tower III.

Other Information

• Location : Pyongyang, North Korea
• Status : Topped-out, Under construction
• Groundbreaking : 1987
• Estimated completion : 2012
• Height :
  • Roof : 330.02 metres (1,082.7 ft)
  • Floor count : 105
  • Floor area : 360,000 m2 (3,875,000 sq ft)

Builder

• Architect : Baikdoosan Architects & Engineers
• Contractor :
  • Baikdoosan Architects & Engineers (1987-1992)
  • Orascom Construction Industries (2008-)
• Developer : Egypt Orascom Group

Link

• BuilderAsia

Incoming search terms:

• Ryugyong Hotel under construction

Grand Lisboa owned by Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau and designed by Hong Kong architects Dennis Lau and Ng Chun Man, is a 58-floor 261 metres (856 ft) tall hotel in Macau. The casino and restaurants within Grand Lisboa were opened on February 11, 2007, while the hotel was opened in December 2008. The casino offers 268 mass gaming tables and 786 slot machines. The hotel contains 430 hotel rooms and suites. The casino is the first in Macau to offer Texas hold ‘em poker ring games. It was also the first to offer craps, though several other casinos in Macau now offer the game.

The Star of Stanley Ho is on permanent display at the Casino Grand Lisboa. According to the Gemological Institute of America, the 218.08 carats (43.62 g) diamond is the largest cushion shaped internally flawless D-color diamond in the world. In his unveiling speech, Dr. Ho said that the diamond, which is named after him, reflects SJM’s timeless commitment to Macau.

Other Information

• Location : Macau
• Opening date : December 2008
• Floors : 52
• Total height : 261 metres

Builders

• Architect : Dennis Lau and Ng Chun Man Architects and Engineers (HK) Ltd.

Link

• BuilderAsia

Incoming search terms:

• building Grand Lisboa

Many projects of varying sizes reach undesirable end results, such as structural collapse, cost overruns, and/or litigation reason, those with experience in the field make detailed plans and maintain careful oversight during the project to ensure a positive outcome.

Building construction is procured privately or publicly utilizing various delivery methodologies, including hard bid, negotiated price, traditional, management contracting, construction management-at-risk, design & build and design-build bridging.

Source: Wikipedia

   1. Any man-made structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or continuous occupancy, or
   2. An act of construction

Buildings come in a wide amount of shapes and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, to land prices, ground conditions, specific uses and aesthetic reasons.

Buildings serve several needs of society – primarily as shelter from weather and as general living space, to provide privacy, to store belongings and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat into the inside (a place of comfort and safety) and the outside (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful). Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasess of artistic expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practices has also become part of the design process of many new buildings.

Source: Wikipedia

Incoming search terms:

• bUILDING a building
• building claddings

Building materials can be generally categorized into two sources, natural and synthetic. Natural building materials are those that are unprocessed or minimally processed by industry, such as lumber or glass. Synthetic materials are made in industrial settings after much human manipulations, such as plastics and petroleum based paints. Both have their uses.

Mud, stone, and fibrous plants are the most basic building materials, aside from tents made of flexible materials such as cloth or skins. People all over the world have used these three materials together to create homes to suit their local weather conditions. In general stone and/or brush are used as basic structural components in these buildings, while mud is used to fill in the space between, acting as a type of concrete and insulation.

Source: Wikipedia

Green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:

• Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources
• Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity
• Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation

A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally. Other commonly used terms include sustainable design and green architecture.

Source: Wikipedia