Antarctica New Zealand runs a critical research hub on the volcanic Ross Island. Originally built in 1957, it consists of 12 buildings connected by walkways – none of which have been upgraded since the 1980s. To keep the important science going for the next 50 years a redevelopment was launched in 2017. However, building in...

The post #178 A Vision for a Modular Antarctica first appeared on Engineering Matters.

An era of tunnelling megaprojects has dawned as governments have invested in the underground the world over. Skills shortages are nothing new to the engineering world, but in some sectors, it is beginning to bite. One such area is surveying. In these situations, technology and collaborative ways of working can take the strain off an...

The post SHORT: Tunnelling on Target first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Founded in the late 1800s to supply coal to the Union Pacific Railroad, the town of Hanna, Wyoming has a proud place in the industrial story of the United States. It also has another legacy to contend with – Abandoned Mine Lands. Historical mining activities have left the region with voided geology and subsidence issues....

The post #177 The Abandoned Mine Lands of Wyoming first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In Bangalore, the high-tech heart of India, sits a centre of technology. A state-of-the-art engineering facility working on projects across the globe. In its time, the centre has transitioned from an offshore project design centre to the forefront of technological innovation in the company. Becoming a centre of excellence and pioneering digital innovation, this hub,...

The post #176 Bangalore and the Digital Transformation first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The UK’s roads are in increasing need of repair and local councils are facing a nine year long backlog of overdue road maintenance. However, with new technologies entering the road construction industry, future road maintenance and construction projects could be safer, greener and result in longer lasting roads. Tarmac is bringing together all the industry’s...

The post #175 Tarmac on the Future of Road Technology first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Buildings can use around three times as much energy as design models anticipate. This is an incredible figure and becomes a real problem when considered in context: real estate accounts for 39% of the UK’s total carbon. Around ¾ of that also comes from the operation phase. Part of the problem lies in the way...

The post #174 Closing the Building Performance Gap first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Denmark is embarking on the largest construction project in its history with the assembly of the first energy island in the North Sea. The 120,000sq.m site could serve as a hub for as many as 200 wind turbines, storing and supplying electricity to Denmark and its neighbours. The impact of greenhouse gases on our planet...

The post #173 Europe’s First Energy Island first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Norah Magero, the co-founder of Drop Access talks about her invention the Vaccibox. In Kenya a large majority of the population live in remote rural areas with often limited energy access. The Vaccibox is a solar powered vaccine fridge that allows for the safe transportation and storage of vaccines to remote areas. In this episode...

The post #172 Vaccibox: Revolutionising Kenya’s Vaccine Storage first appeared on Engineering Matters.

For most environments, disinfection has barely changed since the 1918 influenza outbreak; many of the same companies offer similar chemical products with which to douse surfaces. At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic a startup decided to explore the use of ultraviolet light to disinfect surfaces, not just in high-end laboratories, but classrooms, bars, shops...

The post #171 Ultraviolet light: Preventing the Next Pandemic first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Although ‘pet food’ and ‘engineering’ may not immediately align in the mind, one supplier wanted to ensure its products were both sustainable and ethical; from certification to packaging, and from farm to bowl. To do this required a keen understanding of its supply chain and the impact its decisions would have on its carbon footprint....

The post #170 Pet Food vs Climate Change first appeared on Engineering Matters.