It's the world's longest sea-crossing bridge: 55 kilometres of motorway spans the Pearl River Estuary in the South China Sea before dipping into an undersea tunnel. The Chinese President Xi Jinping has today officially opened the gigantic infrastructure linking Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China. A colossal engineering structure, involving the Bouygues Construction subsidiaries Bouygues Travaux Publics, Dragages Hong Kong and VSL for the construction of a 9.4-kilometre section.
A bridge of strategic importance 5714 prefabricated segments of 250 different types, laid down at the rate of 18 per day, shaft grouted friction piling method to cope with difficult ground conditions – a technical first in Hong Kong –, sea-based installations and specific logistical arrangements to maintain the waterways throughout the duration of the works... Some notable innovations for the construction of this extraordinary bridge structure. It is now possible to reach Hong Kong from the main cities of the Pearl River delta in 30 minutes, compared with four hours by land and one hour by boat. A real basis for stimulating commercial ties between the two sides of the crossing.
According to the UN News Centre, over two thirds of the global population will live in towns and cities by 2050. What with the increase in population and evolving ways of life and of consumption, urban centres are undergoing an in-depth transformation, accompanied by changing requirements in terms of mobility.
A massive project undertaken almost 10 years ago, the Manufacture des Allumettes was converted and refurbished into rented social housing for the residents of the agglomeration. This innovative approach has two objectives: to preserve one of the town's historic monuments; and to respond to the territorial issues faced by the whole region.
Focus on planting initiatives to regreen cities including urban canopies to provide plant life without digging, planters with automatic watering or rainwater harvesting systems, “oasis” schoolyards, and urban mini-forests.
(Français) Face à l’augmentation du nombre de seniors dans nos sociétés et à l’évolution de leur style de vie, il est nécessaire de repenser notre vision de l’habitat pour concevoir des logements qui répondent à leurs nouvelles attentes. Retrouvez les propositions de notre think tank, parrainé par le sociologue Serge Guérin, pour contribuer au bien vieillir à domicile.
Bouygues Construction and Centrale Lille formed Chaire Construction 4.0 in 2017. Its aim was to support the digitisation and industrialisation of the sector. Thomas Danel, a PhD student in this field, has been working on a prototype for a remote-controlled crane. He talked to us about his project.
Damien Delbende, Bouygues Construction's Data Lab Manager, introduces the new leveraging service for in-house data.
Hydrogen has been put forth as a critical "green" energy solution in the next decades. Between public and personal transport, power production and storage, the innovations are proliferating around the world to make hydrogen a central part of our daily lives.
Following our series on FabLabs, those novel laboratories promoting creation and collaboration in support of an innovation ecosystem.
Improving thermal insulation, reducing the carbon footprint, optimising energy performance… The solution to all these linked objectives lies in the design phase with the choice of materials. A dilemma or a boon?
