Web 10 no.6

WEB 10 NO.6Web Structures’ Internal Magazine

Jan/Feb/March/April/May/June-2007

Contents:

WEB10 PAGE 1

WEB 10Director’s Note

Director’s Note

Recent Projects

Possible Projects

Tug of War Analysis

& Trip review

WEB 10 is compiled by Lian Thong from Singapore office. Ideas & article for future issues are welcome. Please forward to [email protected]

Web Activities

WEB10 PAGE 8

Company Trip To Phuket, Thailand

22nd to 25th March 2007

New Heights For Web Structures

Web Structures trend of growth and consolidation continues to make its positive

mark on the construction industry in the region and beyond.

In the past six months we have received confirmed commissions corresponding

to over 300 storeys of high-rise buildings (buildings which are taller than 20-

storeys), some 3.5million ft2 or so of equivalent GFA (for buildings which are

less than 20-storeys high). This is against a competitive background but in an

otherwise vibrant world market for the construction industry.

Our strategy of targeted recruitment is beginning to bear fruit. We are now

looking further afield to source the kind of capabilities that we believe can

complement our current teams in Singapore and in KL, and which can meet our

future growth direction.

In March we had a very successful company trip to Phuket. The trip reinforced

the deep-rooted connections amongst us all, and provided a platform for even

better and more effective communication within the entire Web Structures team.

It was also filled with fun and interesting activities which further demonstrated

the leadership and other qualities of some Websters which would otherwise

remain somewhat hidden in the more formal working environments. We are all

looking forward to the next trip.

We have continued to establish new contacts with like-minded professionals

within the industry as far afield as in New York. We have also continued to

strengthen and consolidate the professional relationship we have developed

over the years with world class professionals, and now feel comfortable within

this elite international group.

Our continued involvement in local and overseas design competitions have

taken us to Sweden, Poland and Vietnam as well as to Malaysia and Singapore,

on exciting and varied projects such as the Museum of Modern Arts in Warsaw,

City Library in Stockholm, and the National Arts Gallery in Singapore. We

continue to allocate the necessary resources and funds to enable us to

contribute to the creative process involved in design competitions, and are now

making our mark in the process by not only being a good and contributing

participant, but also continue to be on the short-listed and the winning entries.

To cap off a very successful 6 months, I

would like to share with you the excitement

that I have in Web Structures’ involvement

with the new World Trade Centre buildings in

New York. We have recently been

commissioned to offer specialist

engineering/facade consultancy services on

parts of the new "freedom tower".

The work takes us to 91st to 105th storeys of the towers at about 445m to

507m above ground level which are literally new heights for us. We are very

proud to be part of this iconic and unique project and are confident that we can

continue to impress our clients and fellow consultants with our unique mix of

creativity, innovation, discipline and dedication which is now so intertwined with

what is web structures brand.

Websters on the move

Arriving party from KL

Arriving party from SingaporeTalk & Seminars

Cheers

Everyone is a winner

Tug of War, Webstyle ?!

Team picture

Visit to one of our sites in Phuket.

Design competitions

hrj

World trade Center, Tower 1 – New York

WEB10 PAGE 7WEB10 PAGE 2

HUMAN RESOURCE: WEBSTERS ON THE MOVE

Liam has been promoted to the position of

"Associate" in the Singapore office. This is

with effect from 1/5/2007. Since joining us

over 20 months ago, Liam has grown in

stature and exposure to become a core

member of staff within Web structures.

Liam's associate portfolio is "Design". He

will be performing overall design reviews

and auditing on the various projects

undertaken out of the Singapore and

Kuala Lumpur offices. Liam is the latest

Webster to be promoted to the Associate

position. He will join the ranks of our

current Associates, Huang Yu, Jessie tan,

and Shein Din, to strengthen and more

diversify this vital link in Web Structures

organisational fabric. Keep it up Liam!

Lian Thong has made another

entrance to the Singapore Office! He

contributed extensively to Web

Structures whilst in the KL Office. He

resumed his current role as “Cad

Manager” on 2/4/2007. Web Structures

Singapore office welcomes him back.

We look forward to his continued and

valuable contributions.

Joining the Singapore office on

9/4/2007 is Lee Hoon. She will be

another addition to our drafting team.

She is also a fresh graduate with

Diploma in Civil & Structural

Engineering from the Singapore

Polytechnic. Lee Hoon will provide

the much needed support to our

drafting team in the Singapore office.

Nurul joined the Singapore office as a Cad Operator

on 9/4/2007. She recently graduated from the

Singapore Polytechnic with Diploma in Civil &

Structural Engineering. We are looking forward to her

developing her full potentials with us.

The return of our prodigal engineer, Tin

to Web KL office is warmly welcomed by

all of us. After a brief foray into other

pastures, Tin is back to resume her

valuable contribution to the growth of our

evergrowing team in KL.

We welcome Dong Shan to the Web family

in Singapore. Dong Shan joined us as a

Structural Engineer on 22/5/07. Dong Shan

graduated from the Wuhan University of

Science & Technology and spent the last

four years at the Design & Research

Institute of Wuhan University of Technology

in China before joining Web Structures.

With the experience he brings, we look

forward to his contributions to the team in

the near future.

ECO-DESIGN: INTRODUCTION

Eco-design is not achieved by the developer

getting a good M & E engineer to choose low

wattage systems or low-emission glass, as an

after thought in the design process. Successful

eco-design requires an all encompassing and

holistic approach, with everyone involved in the

building process, being imbued with a

comprehension of the principles of eco-design and

being acutely conscious and mindful of this target.

The 21st century ushers in the age of eco-design. Clothing, furniture, detergent, lighting, appliances, almost every man-made

item around us today, wants to be termed “environmentally friendly”. The word is repeated so often by branding gurus, it is in

danger of sounding clichéd. But often, clichés are clichés because they are true. Ecological design has become the mantra of

the 21st century based on a very sobering fact. That we are systematically killing the 3 elements known to the ancients; air,

water, land with pollution and depletion of natural resources as our two main weapons of destruction.

Web Structures has already earned a well-deserved track record amongst the practitioners in the construction industry, for

achieving innovative design products via strong collaboration. As such, we too need to understand eco-design concepts and be

familiar with the various options, to provide creative solutions that maximize Web’s contribution to the eco-design intent. At the

heart of our valuable contribution lies our relentless effort to minimize material use in all our structural design.

It is with this purpose, that an article pertaining to eco-design aspects in buildings, will be included in every Web 10 publication

from here on. Happy reading!

The as-built environment covers 8% of the land

surface. Man is tightly packed into extremely

dense cities with greater than 10 million other

men, all producing waste, consuming energy,

oxygen, clean water. We therefore, as the

master weavers of the 21st century urban

fabric, increasingly need to ascertain that our

design threads can be interwoven seamlessly

and harmlessly into nature’s textile pattern.

Act One 2 learned doctors confer on the best way to fabricate shear links.

Hypothesis – wrap wire around body of learned doctor. Conclusion – great links but time

intensive. Corollary – Only one tower is built.

Act Two Structural whiz kids quarrel furiously about the best way to reinforce the tower

oblivious to the rising tide. Shouts of “who stole our wire?” are replaced by “ Hurry up!,

Quickly build a moat to keep the water away” Judges comment – except during flash floods in

KL, a moat is not visible around the Twin Towers

Act Three After a lifetime of drawing shear walls, Lian Thong stays true to his calling – puts

vertical wires in sand to create core walls.

Act Four What do the admin staff do when asked to build the tallest sand structure in the

world?

Act Five“ We must have good workmanship! Pat the sand, pat the sand” Eschewing all

reinforcement, Seew Len’s & Richard’s team opts for a Twin Towers constructed by

traditional methods – well compacted sand.

Finale Traditional good workmanship triumphs.

11.20am A wonderful trip and an informative Web Lecture 07 ends with an awards sessions which saw

Yuzana receiving a “Long Service Award”, with Zhang an Massita receiving “Most Improved

Awards”. Websters then sang the Web Song, interjected with

humourous awards for “Gastronomic”, “Web-kaholic”, “Slipper-at-work”, “Golden scissors”,

“Diminutive Office Occupancy”.

WEB PHUKET TRIP : 22 March 07 - 25 March 07

ANALYSIS OF THE TUG OF WAR DEFEAT IN PHUKET 2007

Before the game started, the referee had checked the marker that is fairly located and a photo as shown below was taken as

evidence. Therefore, Jacqueline the independent investigator is hired to study the causes of the defeat.

The following summary summarized her findings;

Team 1 had the privileged advice

from the Members of The

Intelligenzia – Dr Rezai & Dr

Masoud from WEB Structures

International to train and

demonstrate the engineering

concept to defeat Team 2.

As instructed by the Members of The Intelligenzia, Team 1

has adopted the concept of skin friction via their team

player NPH. By lying on the sand, her body created direct

skin friction on top of additional Live Load for Team 2 to

drag.

Skin friction

Additional live load

The concept of ground anchor which is widely used

in CBP wall to resist lateral force is adopted by their

team player Masoud. This has directly reduced the

lateral force by nearly half from Team 2.

Ground anchor

Size does not matter for strength. From an

interview with one of the Members of The

Intelligenzia, Dr Rezai, he stated, “A Grade 460

steel member has a higher strength compared to

a similar size of Grade 53 member in steel

structures. Therefore, size does not really matter

for strength, but quality does.”

vs

redundancy

The concept for tug of war is quite similar to structure.

The number of member to ensure a structure is stable is

important. From the investigation, it is note that the

number of members to support Team 2 is insufficient,

causing the instability in the war.

Team 1 – 15 members


Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3

Factor 4

Factor 5

In structure, high level of redundancy make a

structure less efficient. The similar applies to tug of

war. Team 2’s defeat is caused partly by a

redundant player.

Factor 6

By Jacqueline, from Singapore office

By Pek Har of KL office


WEB10 PAGE 3 WEB10 PAGE 6

WEB’S DESIGN COMPETITIONS

At WEB Structures, we have a strong interest in participating in Design Competitions in collaboration with up and coming

Architects. This mirrors our philosophy that we should work closely with the Consultants on the team to come up with a

design which meets both the design brief/ intent and is at the same time exciting and cost efficient. Over the past year and

a half, we have participated in many design competitions of which a few have born fruit and have become actual projects.

In September 2005, we participated in a design competition for the Singapore Arts School. We were the structural

engineers to three of the five short listed teams. An interesting concept developed with W Architects at that time was the

use of tree columns to reduce the number of columns at the podium level while simultaneously taking advantage of the

additional stiffness accorded by the configuration of the columns. Although we were not finally selected in this competition,

the idea developed with W Architects would later stand us in good stead in another competition.

Singapore Safety Driving Center,

Singapore (W Architects)

We were later approached by W Architects to participate in a design competition

for the Singapore Safety Driving Center. Using concepts developed in the Arts

School competition, we conceived a multi story car testing facility supported on

tree columns with spans in excess of 20m. Various design concepts were

explored such as integrating floor to floor vierendeel trusses within the story

height and designing the car park ramp as a 70m long scissors. We were

successful in this competition and are in fact almost going to site now as of this

writing.

By Liam of Singapore office

In February 2007, we were approached by GreenHilLi to participate in a design

competition for the Asplund Library in Stockholm. A core design concept that

we explored in conjunction with the Architect was the use of timber flitch beams

as the primary structural members. The eventual submission used tessellated glu

lam flitch beams to envelop the proposed library.

Asplund Library, Stockholm, Sweden (GreenHilLi)

We were invited by MKPL Architects to

participate in a design competition for

the Warsaw MOMA of Modern Art

(MOMA) in Poland. One of the two

teams from Singapore invited to the

competition, the structurally ambitious

scheme consisted of suspending the

museum between two cores over a

private space. This was achieved by

integrating story high trusses within the

façade and internal partition walls to

achieve the requisite spans.

MOMA Warsaw, Poland (MKPL Architects)

An invitation by HB Design led to our involvement in

a design competition for a church in Singapore. A

key concept was suspending the main congregation

area over an open space which would serve as both

landscape and car parks.

RCC Church, Singapore (HB Design)

We are currently taking part in a

design competition for the

National Art Gallery in

National Art Gallery, Singapore (CSYA)


“One of the BEST trips we ever had!” That just about sums it all up. A fine balance of serious lectures, a site visit,

activities both of the organized and spontaneous variety, fun-filled yet instructive games, contests and above all else,

Webster together-time to re-affirm the bonds that make us ONE team. A team play that is stepping up from good to

great.

Thursday 22 March 07 in Phuket

Upon arrival of the KL contingent at the club Andaman, Lian Thong leads the way down Patong Beach Road in search

of dinner. Halfway through dinner, joined merrily by S’pore Websters who arrived an hour later.

Patong night life is throbbing and pulsating; walking down Bang La Road - an eye opener for the more restrained

Websters, but the revelry is infectious and soon everyone was having great good fun. The wonderful thing about

Patong is that there is something for everyone, be it foot massage, shopping, dancing, etc.

Friday 23 March 07 at Patong Beach

9.30am: Thumbs up to Jac who gives a new twist to the game of “getting to know you”.

10.00am: A card game mooted by Mavis helps deepen the above acquaintance.

10.30am: Now everyone is comfortable enough to discard their shoes and let their shoes mingle! Obviously

the winning team is the one that takes the least time to locate their shoes again. A simple game,

but a miraculous experience for hrj because his white sneakers had suddenly transformed into a

pair of CROCS- an experience that confirms that hrj is not too big for his “shoes” (at press time hrj

still refuses to acknowledge that crocs are shoes)

11.00am: No better way to end a now established bonding, than with a game of tug-of-war. Results prove

that spirit, resolve and determination overcomes physical mass/size.

1.00pm: Our tour guide is Mr Bao who had this amazing propensity to continue his boring anecdotes even

though everyone was soon lulled to sleep in the bus by his constant exhortations to “visit the T-

shirt factory, the cashew nut factory, the gem factory, blah, blah”.

3.00pm: High point of the tour was Laem Sing Villa – Web’s project with Ernesto Bedmar next to Surin

Beach. Almost completed, the villas comprise a stunning arrangement of pavilions, opening out to

the sea, perched on the rocky sea shore. Concrete, steel, stone, glass and timber, orchestrate

spaces that pay homage to the fantastic sea vistas.

7.30pm It was raining cats and dogs, so we had a good time eating-in. With some persuasive words from

Mavis, Club Andaman managed to whip up the food at short notice and even sent in a singer to

entertain us.

Saturday 24 March 07

9.10am The Web Lecture session 2007 started with Jessie Tan (who was Webster employee number 1)

presenting the first 10 years of the growth of Web Structures. Of working together with young,

emerging architects on very creative structural solutions in those early years. Of how Web’s

growth and reputation moved in tandem with, and surpassed, the success of these designers

on the international scene. From birth to GOOD.

9.30am Liam then continued this chronological overview, with a presentation of our current projects.

10.00am Hrj then shared with all Websters, the mapping of how Web Structures will go FROM GOOD TO

GREAT. He presented the core values that were deemed important by the management after the

workshop in Bintan; teamwork, creativity, discipline, competence, aesthetics. These values

become the necessary ingredients to achieve the Web Vision formulated;

11.30am These started with Nph and Din giving a talk on crack control in grade 50 concrete and

presenting the different concrete mix designs which resulted in differing performance, one of the

factors that affect crack occurrence.

12.00pm A series of short technical sessions took us to lunch time. This was followed up with the

presentation of the Design & Audit procedure and spread sheets prepared by Goh & Din.

Jacqueline then gave a very comprehensive briefing on proper Site Communication to achieve

good project administration.

She then proceeded with presenting a compilation of various types of retaining walls, the

concepts and suitability of use.

1.00pm After lunch at the hotel, the rest of the day was designated “free and easy”.

Sunday 25 March 07

9.15am Scene – Patong Beach.

Play - “Building Castles In The Air” – a team building event mooted by Nph.

Narrative - 5 teams, each given a coil of steel wires, wire cutter, infinite supply of beach sand,

equally infinite supply of salt water, a photo of the quest and varying amounts of common sense,

innovation and brain power. 5 contenders to build the tallest sand structure that most

resembles the Petronas Twin Towers within the allocated time.

Singapore with CSYA. One of the five short listed teams, we are

currently working closely with CSYA in developing a scheme whereby

the exhibition hall is suspended over the existing City Hall, thus

preserving the historic building in its entirety.

-Singapore Art School

-Singapore Safety Driving Center

-RCC Church, Singapore

-National Art Gallery, Singapore

Asplund Library, Stockholm - Sweden

MOMA Museum,

Warsaw - Poland



We continue to have a healthy list of "possible jobs". This is encouraging, and reflects on the very good

work we continue to do on our current projects. Our track record and our performance on current jobs are

our best marketing tools

POSSIBLE PROJECTS:

Kuala Lumpur, M’sia

Singapore

India

Mixed Development, Pattaya:

Space Station, India:

Office Tower, Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Bank, Dubai:

The Vines, Kuala Lumpur

Pattaya, Thailand

Our recent projects present new challenges and opportunities to us. The projects are fairly high-profile and

sizable. As such we have had to compete with international firms which have traditionally not been in the

region. Examples of these are Messrs Thorten and Tomassetti out of Seattle-USA for the project Jalan

Pinang, and Messrs Arup out of New York for the IMC towers, both in KL. We anticipate this trend to

persist, and look forward to future successes to mirror our current project utilization.

RECENT PROJECTS:

Architects: CSYA

Ardmore 7, Singapore:

Architects: HB Design-SingaporeWoods Baggot-Bangkok

IMC Tower, KL:Architects: TsAO & MCKOWN Architects-New York

Kuala Lumpur, M’sia

Singapore

20 Mccallum St,

Singapore:

MOAantonioeraso/GDP-Kuala Lumpur

Architects: UN Studio-Amsterdam

Architects: CSYA

Pattaya, Thailand

Capella Phasa II, Singapore:Architects: Foster and Partners-London

DP Architects-Singapore

Four Seasons Sayan-Bali:Condition survey

Bali

Architects 61-Singapore

37 Scotts Road, Singapore:Architects: Eco.id

Resort Development, Zanzibar:

Zanzibar

Four Seasons - Seychelles:Architects: AREA

Shanghai, China Northpoint, Pattaya:

Cambridge Forest, Shanghai:


WEB’S DESIGN COMPETITIONS

At WEB Structures, we have a strong interest in participating in Design Competitions in collaboration with up and coming

Architects. This mirrors our philosophy that we should work closely with the Consultants on the team to come up with a

design which meets both the design brief/ intent and is at the same time exciting and cost efficient. Over the past year and

a half, we have participated in many design competitions of which a few have born fruit and have become actual projects.

In September 2005, we participated in a design competition for the Singapore Arts School. We were the structural

engineers to three of the five short listed teams. An interesting concept developed with W Architects at that time was the

use of tree columns to reduce the number of columns at the podium level while simultaneously taking advantage of the

additional stiffness accorded by the configuration of the columns. Although we were not finally selected in this competition,

the idea developed with W Architects would later stand us in good stead in another competition.

Singapore Safety Driving Center,

Singapore (W Architects)

We were later approached by W Architects to participate in a design competition

for the Singapore Safety Driving Center. Using concepts developed in the Arts

School competition, we conceived a multi story car testing facility supported on

tree columns with spans in excess of 20m. Various design concepts were

explored such as integrating floor to floor vierendeel trusses within the story

height and designing the car park ramp as a 70m long scissors. We were

successful in this competition and are in fact almost going to site now as of this

writing.

By Liam of Singapore office

In February 2007, we were approached by GreenHilLi to participate in a design

competition for the Asplund Library in Stockholm. A core design concept that

we explored in conjunction with the Architect was the use of timber flitch beams

as the primary structural members. The eventual submission used tessellated glu

lam flitch beams to envelop the proposed library.

Asplund Library, Stockholm, Sweden (GreenHilLi)

We were invited by MKPL Architects to

participate in a design competition for

the Warsaw MOMA of Modern Art

(MOMA) in Poland. One of the two

teams from Singapore invited to the

competition, the structurally ambitious

scheme consisted of suspending the

museum between two cores over a

private space. This was achieved by

integrating story high trusses within the

façade and internal partition walls to

achieve the requisite spans.

MOMA Warsaw, Poland (MKPL Architects)

An invitation by HB Design led to our involvement in

a design competition for a church in Singapore. A

key concept was suspending the main congregation

area over an open space which would serve as both

landscape and car parks.

RCC Church, Singapore (HB Design)

We are currently taking part in a

design competition for the

National Art Gallery in

National Art Gallery, Singapore (CSYA)


“One of the BEST trips we ever had!” That just about sums it all up. A fine balance of serious lectures, a site visit,

activities both of the organized and spontaneous variety, fun-filled yet instructive games, contests and above all else,

Webster together-time to re-affirm the bonds that make us ONE team. A team play that is stepping up from good to

great.

Thursday 22 March 07 in Phuket

Upon arrival of the KL contingent at the club Andaman, Lian Thong leads the way down Patong Beach Road in search

of dinner. Halfway through dinner, joined merrily by S’pore Websters who arrived an hour later.

Patong night life is throbbing and pulsating; walking down Bang La Road - an eye opener for the more restrained

Websters, but the revelry is infectious and soon everyone was having great good fun. The wonderful thing about

Patong is that there is something for everyone, be it foot massage, shopping, dancing, etc.

Friday 23 March 07 at Patong Beach

9.30am: Thumbs up to Jac who gives a new twist to the game of “getting to know you”.

10.00am: A card game mooted by Mavis helps deepen the above acquaintance.

10.30am: Now everyone is comfortable enough to discard their shoes and let their shoes mingle! Obviously

the winning team is the one that takes the least time to locate their shoes again. A simple game,

but a miraculous experience for hrj because his white sneakers had suddenly transformed into a

pair of CROCS- an experience that confirms that hrj is not too big for his “shoes” (at press time hrj

still refuses to acknowledge that crocs are shoes)

11.00am: No better way to end a now established bonding, than with a game of tug-of-war. Results prove

that spirit, resolve and determination overcomes physical mass/size.

1.00pm: Our tour guide is Mr Bao who had this amazing propensity to continue his boring anecdotes even

though everyone was soon lulled to sleep in the bus by his constant exhortations to “visit the T-

shirt factory, the cashew nut factory, the gem factory, blah, blah”.

3.00pm: High point of the tour was Laem Sing Villa – Web’s project with Ernesto Bedmar next to Surin

Beach. Almost completed, the villas comprise a stunning arrangement of pavilions, opening out to

the sea, perched on the rocky sea shore. Concrete, steel, stone, glass and timber, orchestrate

spaces that pay homage to the fantastic sea vistas.

7.30pm It was raining cats and dogs, so we had a good time eating-in. With some persuasive words from

Mavis, Club Andaman managed to whip up the food at short notice and even sent in a singer to

entertain us.

Saturday 24 March 07

9.10am The Web Lecture session 2007 started with Jessie Tan (who was Webster employee number 1)

presenting the first 10 years of the growth of Web Structures. Of working together with young,

emerging architects on very creative structural solutions in those early years. Of how Web’s

growth and reputation moved in tandem with, and surpassed, the success of these designers

on the international scene. From birth to GOOD.

9.30am Liam then continued this chronological overview, with a presentation of our current projects.

10.00am Hrj then shared with all Websters, the mapping of how Web Structures will go FROM GOOD TO

GREAT. He presented the core values that were deemed important by the management after the

workshop in Bintan; teamwork, creativity, discipline, competence, aesthetics. These values

become the necessary ingredients to achieve the Web Vision formulated;

11.30am These started with Nph and Din giving a talk on crack control in grade 50 concrete and

presenting the different concrete mix designs which resulted in differing performance, one of the

factors that affect crack occurrence.

12.00pm A series of short technical sessions took us to lunch time. This was followed up with the

presentation of the Design & Audit procedure and spread sheets prepared by Goh & Din.

Jacqueline then gave a very comprehensive briefing on proper Site Communication to achieve

good project administration.

She then proceeded with presenting a compilation of various types of retaining walls, the

concepts and suitability of use.

1.00pm After lunch at the hotel, the rest of the day was designated “free and easy”.

Sunday 25 March 07

9.15am Scene – Patong Beach.

Play - “Building Castles In The Air” – a team building event mooted by Nph.

Narrative - 5 teams, each given a coil of steel wires, wire cutter, infinite supply of beach sand,

equally infinite supply of salt water, a photo of the quest and varying amounts of common sense,

innovation and brain power. 5 contenders to build the tallest sand structure that most

resembles the Petronas Twin Towers within the allocated time.

Singapore with CSYA. One of the five short listed teams, we are

currently working closely with CSYA in developing a scheme whereby

the exhibition hall is suspended over the existing City Hall, thus

preserving the historic building in its entirety.

-Singapore Art School

-Singapore Safety Driving Center

-RCC Church, Singapore

-National Art Gallery, Singapore

Asplund Library, Stockholm - Sweden

MOMA Museum,

Warsaw - Poland


WEB10 PAGE 7WEB10 PAGE 2

HUMAN RESOURCE: WEBSTERS ON THE MOVE

Liam has been promoted to the position of

"Associate" in the Singapore office. This is

with effect from 1/5/2007. Since joining us

over 20 months ago, Liam has grown in

stature and exposure to become a core

member of staff within Web structures.

Liam's associate portfolio is "Design". He

will be performing overall design reviews

and auditing on the various projects

undertaken out of the Singapore and

Kuala Lumpur offices. Liam is the latest

Webster to be promoted to the Associate

position. He will join the ranks of our

current Associates, Huang Yu, Jessie tan,

and Shein Din, to strengthen and more

diversify this vital link in Web Structures

organisational fabric. Keep it up Liam!

Lian Thong has made another

entrance to the Singapore Office! He

contributed extensively to Web

Structures whilst in the KL Office. He

resumed his current role as “Cad

Manager” on 2/4/2007. Web Structures

Singapore office welcomes him back.

We look forward to his continued and

valuable contributions.

Joining the Singapore office on

9/4/2007 is Lee Hoon. She will be

another addition to our drafting team.

She is also a fresh graduate with

Diploma in Civil & Structural

Engineering from the Singapore

Polytechnic. Lee Hoon will provide

the much needed support to our

drafting team in the Singapore office.

Nurul joined the Singapore office as a Cad Operator

on 9/4/2007. She recently graduated from the

Singapore Polytechnic with Diploma in Civil &

Structural Engineering. We are looking forward to her

developing her full potentials with us.

The return of our prodigal engineer, Tin

to Web KL office is warmly welcomed by

all of us. After a brief foray into other

pastures, Tin is back to resume her

valuable contribution to the growth of our

evergrowing team in KL.

We welcome Dong Shan to the Web family

in Singapore. Dong Shan joined us as a

Structural Engineer on 22/5/07. Dong Shan

graduated from the Wuhan University of

Science & Technology and spent the last

four years at the Design & Research

Institute of Wuhan University of Technology

in China before joining Web Structures.

With the experience he brings, we look

forward to his contributions to the team in

the near future.

ECO-DESIGN: INTRODUCTION

Eco-design is not achieved by the developer

getting a good M & E engineer to choose low

wattage systems or low-emission glass, as an

after thought in the design process. Successful

eco-design requires an all encompassing and

holistic approach, with everyone involved in the

building process, being imbued with a

comprehension of the principles of eco-design and

being acutely conscious and mindful of this target.

The 21st century ushers in the age of eco-design. Clothing, furniture, detergent, lighting, appliances, almost every man-made

item around us today, wants to be termed “environmentally friendly”. The word is repeated so often by branding gurus, it is in

danger of sounding clichéd. But often, clichés are clichés because they are true. Ecological design has become the mantra of

the 21st century based on a very sobering fact. That we are systematically killing the 3 elements known to the ancients; air,

water, land with pollution and depletion of natural resources as our two main weapons of destruction.

Web Structures has already earned a well-deserved track record amongst the practitioners in the construction industry, for

achieving innovative design products via strong collaboration. As such, we too need to understand eco-design concepts and be

familiar with the various options, to provide creative solutions that maximize Web’s contribution to the eco-design intent. At the

heart of our valuable contribution lies our relentless effort to minimize material use in all our structural design.

It is with this purpose, that an article pertaining to eco-design aspects in buildings, will be included in every Web 10 publication

from here on. Happy reading!

The as-built environment covers 8% of the land

surface. Man is tightly packed into extremely

dense cities with greater than 10 million other

men, all producing waste, consuming energy,

oxygen, clean water. We therefore, as the

master weavers of the 21st century urban

fabric, increasingly need to ascertain that our

design threads can be interwoven seamlessly

and harmlessly into nature’s textile pattern.

Act One 2 learned doctors confer on the best way to fabricate shear links.

Hypothesis – wrap wire around body of learned doctor. Conclusion – great links but time

intensive. Corollary – Only one tower is built.

Act Two Structural whiz kids quarrel furiously about the best way to reinforce the tower

oblivious to the rising tide. Shouts of “who stole our wire?” are replaced by “ Hurry up!,

Quickly build a moat to keep the water away” Judges comment – except during flash floods in

KL, a moat is not visible around the Twin Towers

Act Three After a lifetime of drawing shear walls, Lian Thong stays true to his calling – puts

vertical wires in sand to create core walls.

Act Four What do the admin staff do when asked to build the tallest sand structure in the

world?

Act Five“ We must have good workmanship! Pat the sand, pat the sand” Eschewing all

reinforcement, Seew Len’s & Richard’s team opts for a Twin Towers constructed by

traditional methods – well compacted sand.

Finale Traditional good workmanship triumphs.

11.20am A wonderful trip and an informative Web Lecture 07 ends with an awards sessions which saw

Yuzana receiving a “Long Service Award”, with Zhang an Massita receiving “Most Improved

Awards”. Websters then sang the Web Song, interjected with

humourous awards for “Gastronomic”, “Web-kaholic”, “Slipper-at-work”, “Golden scissors”,

“Diminutive Office Occupancy”.


ANALYSIS OF THE TUG OF WAR DEFEAT IN PHUKET 2007

Before the game started, the referee had checked the marker that is fairly located and a photo as shown below was taken as

evidence. Therefore, Jacqueline the independent investigator is hired to study the causes of the defeat.

The following summary summarized her findings;

Team 1 had the privileged advice

from the Members of The

Intelligenzia – Dr Rezai & Dr

Masoud from WEB Structures

International to train and

demonstrate the engineering

concept to defeat Team 2.

As instructed by the Members of The Intelligenzia, Team 1

has adopted the concept of skin friction via their team

player NPH. By lying on the sand, her body created direct

skin friction on top of additional Live Load for Team 2 to

drag.

Skin friction

Additional live load

The concept of ground anchor which is widely used

in CBP wall to resist lateral force is adopted by their

team player Masoud. This has directly reduced the

lateral force by nearly half from Team 2.

Ground anchor

Size does not matter for strength. From an

interview with one of the Members of The

Intelligenzia, Dr Rezai, he stated, “A Grade 460

steel member has a higher strength compared to

a similar size of Grade 53 member in steel

structures. Therefore, size does not really matter

for strength, but quality does.”

vs

redundancy

The concept for tug of war is quite similar to structure.

The number of member to ensure a structure is stable is

important. From the investigation, it is note that the

number of members to support Team 2 is insufficient,

causing the instability in the war.



Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3

Factor 4

Factor 5

In structure, high level of redundancy make a

structure less efficient. The similar applies to tug of

war. Team 2’s defeat is caused partly by a

redundant player.

Factor 6

By Jacqueline, from Singapore office



WEB 10 NO.6Web Structures’ Internal Magazine

Jan/Feb/March/April/May/June-2007

Contents:

WEB10 PAGE 1

WEB 10Director’s Note

Director’s Note

Recent Projects

Possible Projects

Tug of War Analysis

& Trip review

WEB 10 is compiled by Lian Thong from Singapore office. Ideas & article for future issues are welcome. Please forward to [email protected]

Web Activities

WEB10 PAGE 8

Company Trip To Phuket, Thailand

22nd to 25th March 2007

New Heights For Web Structures

Web Structures trend of growth and consolidation continues to make its positive

mark on the construction industry in the region and beyond.

In the past six months we have received confirmed commissions corresponding

to over 300 storeys of high-rise buildings (buildings which are taller than 20-

storeys), some 3.5million ft2 or so of equivalent GFA (for buildings which are

less than 20-storeys high). This is against a competitive background but in an

otherwise vibrant world market for the construction industry.

Our strategy of targeted recruitment is beginning to bear fruit. We are now

looking further afield to source the kind of capabilities that we believe can

complement our current teams in Singapore and in KL, and which can meet our

future growth direction.

In March we had a very successful company trip to Phuket. The trip reinforced

the deep-rooted connections amongst us all, and provided a platform for even

better and more effective communication within the entire Web Structures team.

It was also filled with fun and interesting activities which further demonstrated

the leadership and other qualities of some Websters which would otherwise

remain somewhat hidden in the more formal working environments. We are all

looking forward to the next trip.

We have continued to establish new contacts with like-minded professionals

within the industry as far afield as in New York. We have also continued to

strengthen and consolidate the professional relationship we have developed

over the years with world class professionals, and now feel comfortable within

this elite international group.

Our continued involvement in local and overseas design competitions have

taken us to Sweden, Poland and Vietnam as well as to Malaysia and Singapore,

on exciting and varied projects such as the Museum of Modern Arts in Warsaw,

City Library in Stockholm, and the National Arts Gallery in Singapore. We

continue to allocate the necessary resources and funds to enable us to

contribute to the creative process involved in design competitions, and are now

making our mark in the process by not only being a good and contributing

participant, but also continue to be on the short-listed and the winning entries.

To cap off a very successful 6 months, I

would like to share with you the excitement

that I have in Web Structures’ involvement

with the new World Trade Centre buildings in

New York. We have recently been

commissioned to offer specialist

engineering/facade consultancy services on

parts of the new "freedom tower".

The work takes us to 91st to 105th storeys of the towers at about 445m to

507m above ground level which are literally new heights for us. We are very

proud to be part of this iconic and unique project and are confident that we can

continue to impress our clients and fellow consultants with our unique mix of

creativity, innovation, discipline and dedication which is now so intertwined with

what is web structures brand.

Websters on the move

Arriving party from KL

Arriving party from SingaporeTalk & Seminars

Cheers

Everyone is a winner

Tug of War, Webstyle ?!

Team picture

Visit to one of our sites in Phuket.

Design competitions

hrj

World trade Center, Tower 1 – New York

Web 10 no.6

Documents

Transcript of Web 10 no.6