From the big, fast, tall and expensive, the new year brings with it a large list of projects that are going to begin, or are set for completion.
There are lots of exciting projects in the making or set to begin in 2018, including stadiums, refurbishments, towers, oil and gas projects and much more – which are all challenging and different. We look at some projects from around the world you might like to keep your eyes peeled for:
Battersea Power Station – phase two, London
Last year there were several problems with phase two, including spiralling costs, causing Mace to step in as construction manager. Work will continue in 2018 on the full refurbishment of the power station itself.
Mace will now fully focus on the construction of the iconic grade 2 listed landmark building. The iconic chimneys have already been constructed, and hundreds of piles installed beneath the building to establish it.
The Power Station building will provide 500,000 sq feet of new office space, and will be home to Apple’s new London Campus, 254 new residential homes and a new garden square.
Simon Jenner, Chief Operating Officer of Battersea Power Station Development Company, said: “The whole of the Battersea team is very proud that the successful regeneration of the Battersea Power Station project overall, when complete, will inject £20billion into the UK economy and will create 20,000 new jobs.”
Grand Egyptian Museum, Cairo
First proposed in 2003, the Grand Egyptian Museum will house the “largest archaeological exhibition in the world”, and has had a long road to completion due to political unrest.
Construction is underway for this first-class antiques conservation centre and 5.2m sq foot museum, which will be largely submerged underground for fantastic views of the ancient monuments.
Some of the world’s oldest relics, including dozens belonging to King Tut, who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, are being carefully shuttled from the old Egyptian Museum in central Cairo to the vast halls of the new one 14 miles away.
2018 was last predicted for the opening of the GEM but this date has been pushed back several times, so watch this space.
Salesforce Tower, San Francisco
The $1.1 billion project will stand at 1,070 feet tall and be one of the top 10 tallest buildings in the U.S. The 61 story building is set to open in 2018, and the crews are currently putting in the finishing touches.
The plan contains a mix of office, transportation, retail, and residential uses. The crown of the feature will feature the tallest public art piece in the world, which will consist of abstract videos of San Francisco that will be filmed each day, reaching nine stories high.
V & A, Dundee
Scheduled to open September 2018, the V&A Dundee is a museum dedicated to design and a cultural facility aimed at reinvigorating the city’s waterfront.
The £80m building has a unique form which has presented some construction challenges and wouldn’t have been possible to engineer decades ago.
The three storey building will have curving concrete walls, which create the appearance of a Scottish cliff face. It will stand at an impressive 8,000m² building with 1,650m² of gallery space.
South Pars Gas Field, Iran
Iran has launched new phases of the giant South Pars offshore gas field, which the country shares with Qatar. Located in the Persian Gulf, it is one of the largest gas fields in the world.
Phase 19 is included among the Western phases of South Pars Gas Field and is expected to start in 2018. It will consist of drilling 15 wells on three wellhead platforms around 120km away from the Persian Gulf Coast.
The gas extracted will be transferred to onshore facilities via 2 submarine gas pipelines. Phase 19 is predicted to produce 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas, 75 million cubic feet of ethane, 80,000 barrels of natural gas condensate, 3,000 tons of LPG and 400 tons of sulfur per day.
Los Angeles Stadium and Entertainment District, California
The open air stadium and entertainment district at Hollywood Park is currently under construction, and the former racetrack is set to become a 70,000 seat football stadium for two NFL teams – the LA Rams and Chargers.
It will also be turned into an entertainment destination, and is located four miles from LAX. It will host a 6,000 seat performing arts venue, office and retail space, a hotel, residencies, and 25 acres of public parks, open space and walkways.
It is scheduled to host the Super Bowl in February 2022, and the opening ceremonies and soccer during the 2028 Summer Olympics. The expandable $1-billion+ stadium is being built privately, but the developer is seeking tax breaks from Inglewood.
LNG Terminal, Bahrain
The LNG Terminal in Bahrain is going to be the Middle East’s first LNG receiving and regasification terminal. The project will have a capacity of 800 million standard cubic feet per day, and is expected to be ready to receive first LNG cargoes in early 2019.
GS Engineering & Construction are the projects main contractor, and such is the importance of this facility that it has attracted backing from a wealth of investors such as Samsung, C&T, Gulf Investment Corporation, and Teekay LNG partners.
The facility will consist of a floating storage unit, an offshore LNG receiving jetty, a regasification platform, subsea gas pipelines, an onshore gas receiving centre, and an onshore nitrogen production facility.
White Hart Lane Stadium, London
The new, multi-purpose stadium at White Hart Lane in north London will be the new home of Tottenham Hotspurs, who are currently ensconced at Wembley but hoping the job is finished in time for the 2018/2019 season.
The race is on for Mace to finish, and the projects most crucial period is in January 2018 when the technically challenging roof is set to be installed.
The revamped venue will become the largest club football stadium in London with a capacity of 61,559, doubling the capacity of the existing stadium from 36,000 and overtaking the 60,000 Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium holds.
The single-tier South stand will accommodate 17,500 home spectators alone when the club returns to their old home next season. Not only will it feature a new, retractable pitch, the overall scheme will add 579 new homes, a hotel, additional sports and health facilities and new public spaces.
Central Subway, San Francisco
A new $1.58 billion Central Subway project will extend the Muni Metro T Third Line, which runs through SoMa, Union Square and China Town. Bypassing heavy traffic on surface streets, the 1.7mile portion of mass transit in San Francisco comes mostly underground.
Four new stations will come with the fresh rail, which is in the heart of construction and scheduled to start service in 2019, projected to become the most heavily ridden line in the Muni Metro system by 2030.
The extension will also serve major employment and population centres in San Francisco that are currently underserved by rapid transit.
These buildings and projects are unique and interesting, often pushing innovation in construction, and we hope they will be worth watching in 2018.
