Innovative and Practicable Designs in Construction

Infrastructure developments are escalating at an unprecedented speed in recent years in Asia. The continuous urbanization results in the ever increasing need for housing and transportation. Land becomes scarce and these infrastructure developments are planned in closer proximity to the existing structures, sometimes even underneath or above another. This has imposed a unique set of constraints in each case, on both the design and construction. The engineers shall not only design it as a ‘wished-in-place’ structure, but also be familiar with construction techniques and able to apply a suitable method, sometimes a unique one, to overcome those constraints.

In doing so, innovative thinking is needed and innovative ideas are explored and developed into a workable solution. In many instances, these innovations in construction are led by the contractors and their designers.

This paper aims to present the specific constraints the contractors have encountered in the form of three case studies – two projects in Hong Kong and one project in Singapore, and how innovative ideas have been developed into practicable solutions that are both time- and cost-effective.

• Case Study 1: Singapore – A Steel Footbridge
• Case Study 2: Hong Kong – A Cut-and-cover Tunnel Crossing Underneath an Existing Tunnel – Alternative Design of Foundation by Re-using Existing Barrettes
• Case Study 3: Hong Kong – Happy Valley Underground Stormwater Storage Scheme – Use of Drainage Blanket