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.
Smart Impulse offers large businesses and localities a solution to help them better manage their buildings' power consumption. Discovered by Bouygues Construction in 2012, the start-up has become one of the Group's go-to partners for its business and CSR needs.
Inaugurated on 20 January in the presence of Minister of Housing and Sustainable Homes Emmanuelle Cosse, the eco-village Hameau des Noés in Val-de-Reuil can be considered a laboratory of sorts, where new ways of life will be concocted.
Switzerland is often praised for its quality of life. There are various economic and financial reasons behind this proclaimed well-being. But how does it manifest itself in everyday life? We're going to take a closer look at a crucial factor in determining whether a city "lives" well: mobility. Encompassing a plethora of issues, mobilities present a major area of concern for the well-being of residents, particularly in urban areas. Whether in organising the flow of people, reducing air pollution and noise pollution, developing soft mobility, or finding substitutes for private vehicles, mobility is a key aspect of the ecological transition and is essential to the comfort of users. The city of Zurich understood this a long time ago and made it a priority. As a matter of fact, it often ranks among the top cities in European or global in this area.
Thibaud Jeannotin, VR Project Manager, talks to us about the different applications for VR at Bouygues Construction and the benefits of the technology.
In mediaeval and Renaissance Rome, the people did not hesitate to use ancient buildings as a source of iron, bricks and other construction materials, just as Spanish settlers did in Aztec and Inca cities, stripping stones from ancient temples to build their own cathedrals. Tomorrow, will we be able to recover reusable components and materials from a building, to be reinvested in a new building instead of throwing them away or recycling them at great cost? This is the idea of the building as a materials bank.
With the increase in the circular economy and the arrival of the next Environmental Regulation (RE 2020), many solutions are being considered to reduce the energy consumption of buildings. The heat produced by data centres could, according to some, be a solution. Here is why.
In our town and cities, where vegetation is becoming increasingly scarce, how can we absorb carbon dioxide, claimed by scientists to be the number one cause of climate change? Imagine a material that could grow like trees by absorbing carbon dioxide!
Interview with Françoise Cadiou, project manager at the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission
Bouygues Construction was one of the first construction companies to focus on innovation, and more particularly, open innovation. The group has created a dedicated team which works with our long-standing partner: Impulse Partners. We are now renewing that collaboration to reinforce Bouygues Construction's involvement with startups. Decryption.
