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Scaffolding: The Latest Architecture and News

The Power of Concrete: Twisted Tree-Shaped Supports and Beams

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The new headquarters of the building materials manufacturer HeidelbergCement consists of three interconnected building sections of different heights. The atrium of each building section provides plenty of light and luminance. The building was opened in June 2020 and provides up to 1,000 employees with a state-of-the-art work environment. The architectural firm AS+P Albert Speer + Partner based in Frankfurt was responsible for the project as a general planner, and carried out the design in collaboration with W+Architektur, with the latter providing the consulting office for the client’s project manager.

PERI, one of the leading formwork and scaffolding manufacturers worldwide - and the building materials manufacturer HeidelbergCement - combined their architectural and concrete expertise for the execution of this project. In doing so, the existing limits of PERI’s concrete construction offerings were pushed. The architectural highlights of the project were successfully realized using special PERI formwork elements.

Public Spaces with Scaffolding: an Alternative in Emergency Situations

When facing emergencies such as natural disasters, warfare or pandemics, architecture must offer immediate and effective solutions. In these unfortunate circumstances, the priority is usually to solve problems around housing, however, once the emergency is under control, the focus starts to slowly move towards meeting places such as community centers, neighborhood councils and public spaces.

To create new meeting places in emergency situations, scaffolding is a good alternative regarding construction speed and tight budgets. Although they are usually used as temporary structures, they also allow creating a quickly composed space playing with horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines, and the combination with other materials such as textile, wood, polycarbonate and metal.

Public Spaces with Scaffolding: an Alternative in Emergency Situations - Image 1 of 4Public Spaces with Scaffolding: an Alternative in Emergency Situations - Image 2 of 4Public Spaces with Scaffolding: an Alternative in Emergency Situations - Image 3 of 4Public Spaces with Scaffolding: an Alternative in Emergency Situations - Image 4 of 4Public Spaces with Scaffolding: an Alternative in Emergency Situations - More Images+ 17

Exhibition: Scaffolding at Center for Architecture

Scaffolding curated by Greg Barton, examines the extraordinary applications of scaffolding as a kit-of-parts technology to provide novel forms of inhabitation and access. Through an installation designed by Shohei Shigematsu and OMA New York with graphic design by MTWTF, Scaffolding will disrupt the architectural space of the Center for Architecture, instilling a new appreciation of scaffolding and its transformative potential.

Of particular interest to our local New York City audience, scaffolding is a flexible and accessible system hiding in plain sight. Despite its indispensable link to architecture, scaffolding is too often maligned as a necessary nuisance. The exhibition demonstrates how this

Watch How Bamboo Scaffolding Was Used to Build Hong Kong's Skyscrapers

Watch How Bamboo Scaffolding Was Used to Build Hong Kong's Skyscrapers - Image 3 of 4
© flickr user ahmcdowall. Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

In the late 20th century, restricted by an a small landmass and extreme terrain, the Hong Kong urban area grew to become one of the densest and most vertical places on the planet, with more buildings taller than 500 feet than any other city in the world. But instead of the steel or aluminum structures used as scaffolding in Europe and the Western Hemisphere, the majority of skyscrapers built in Hong Kong and much of Asia used scaffolding systems constructed out of bamboo.

To create the structures, the high strength, lightweight material is strapped together with plastic ties by construction crews, who also use the structure as a ladder for scaling the building. Despite using few safety restraints, crews are able to construct up to 1,000 square feet of bamboo scaffolding in just one day. To protect the structure, nylon gauze is sometimes draped along the outside.

Check out a series of GIFs and images showing how it works after the break. And if you're interested in learning more about bamboo construction materials, check out our Materials catalog.