Jerman Cheung
East Asia Press Office,Hong Kong
Arup scooped three accolades at the HKIE Innovation Award 2020, including a Grand Prize and two Certificates of Merit.
Hybrid outrigger system with a structural fuse for tall buildings – Grand Prize in Category I: An Invention
In the structural design of tall buildings, outrigger systems are commonly used to enhance the overall stiffness of the building. Conventional outrigger systems are designed either with steel trusses or as concrete walls. Concrete is stiff but brittle in nature and is therefore not good for seismic actions; steel is ductile but less stiff than concrete and more costly.
An innovative hybrid outrigger system is developed – it combines strengths of steel and stiffness of concrete resulting in a hybrid form using concrete walls and steel bracings. The system also comes with a structural ‘fuse’ that behaves as rigid under wind action; while in case of severe earthquake, this ‘fuse’ component will yield and dissipate energy to protect the building.
Patented in China, the system has been successfully applied in the design and construction of the two 350m high towers in the Raffles City Chongqing in China. Substantial cost savings were achieved through 10% reduction of total steel consumption and acceleration of the construction schedule by 4 months.
Neuron Smart Building Digital Platform – Certificate of Merit in Category II – An Innovative Application of Engineering Theories
We have developed Neuron – the first-ever AI-enabled smart building solution in Hong Kong, serving as the ‘digital brain’ for buildings to consolidate and connect data from disparate equipment and devices to provide customised insight and machine learning models for energy monitoring and optimisation. It can save up to 30% electricity consumption for a typical existing commercial building and can be easily integrated into any buildings and tailored to meet different needs.
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Link Road – Certificate of Merit in Category II – An Innovative Application of Engineering Theories
The design and construction of the Hong Kong Link Road has achieved many ‘firsts’ and innovations in Hong Kong. The project adopted a 180m long span across the Airport Channel and Sha Lo Wan headland , setting a record in Hong Kong. The Scenic Hill Tunnel adopted four different construction methods, including drill and blast, mining, whole tunnel box jacking and open cut-and-cover methods to overcome the complex geological ground conditions; particularly the whole tunnel box jacking set another record in Hong Kong for this kind of construction method.
