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Building in the urban environment is more complicated than in other settings. Consequently, it is important to think about construction considerations from project inception and, in some cases, coordinate the design with the realities of working on an urban site rather than the other way around. Five common construction considerations that should be considered by …

Continue reading “Five Construction Considerations for Urban Projects”

Construction, particularly in the urban environment, often exposes nearby structures and facilities to hazards, some of which are difficult to predict precisely and manifest as the work progresses. Impacts of this nature are associated with excavations, tunneling and foundation construction methods, and often require monitoring of potentially impacted structures and facilities. A monitoring program may …

Continue reading “What’s Wrong with Your Monitoring Plan”

Having projects in the urban environment representing a large proportion of my career experience, I am always a little surprised when I encounter design professionals and contractors who do not fully appreciate the challenges and constraints associated with building on urban sites. While a lot of design professionals, contractors and other stakeholders have urban project …

Continue reading “Site-Structural Engineering for the Urban Environment”

Occasional inconvenience from construction is a fact of life, especially for those of us who live or work in an urban area. Depending on how close the construction is to your home or business, the potential impacts might be more significant than traffic delays or noise. Construction projects can cause damage to nearby buildings and infrastructure, …

Continue reading “If Your New Neighbor is a Construction Site”

A while back, I looked at a small support of excavation project in a major city that illustrated some of the issues that can arise when excavation support and underpinning are not considered during the design process of an urban project, especially a small urban project.The project involved a horizontal addition to an attached single-family dwelling: …

Continue reading “Why the Design Team for Urban Projects Should Consider Support of Excavation”