Project News Update

Givenchy's first flagship store in Singapore

Givenchy @ Paragon

For the fashion-savvy who religiously read Vogue magazine, the opening of French haute-couture brand Givenchy at Paragon recently is a reason for celebration. Besides housing the women's and men's ready-to-wear collection, the new boutique also carries a wide range of exquisite accessories such as bags and small leather goods.

Unique herringbone design

What excites us at GYMS Pte Ltd, though, is the floor you step on as you enter the spacious 1,500 square feet flagship store. Yes, the beautiful grey herringbone-patterned wood floor was done by us! The floor is made of engineered wood, with a 3mm-thick white oak veneer stained grey.

So, the next time you step into this luxuous boutique, do think of us as well!

Upgrading of Changi Airport T1

The beauty of bamboo at Changi Airport T1

For a tiny small island, we are huge on shopping malls, that even our only international airport will soon turn into a gigantic shopping mall.

Perhaps that is stretching the truth on my part, but the fact remains that with the ongoing upgrading works done at Changi Airport Terminal 1, you will be amazed at the number of new fashion boutiques and restaurants inside the departure hall.

There is also the garden area for you admire the beauty of the surrounding bamboo, should you wish to take a break from your shopping spree.

Bamboo floors are suited for high traffic areas

 Because the strand woven bamboo floors used here is scratch-resistant and hardier than normal oak floors,  almost half a year has passed and there are still no obvious stilleto marks on the strand woven bamboo floor

Now that is seriously something to be proud of.

Construction Technology

New Construction Technology Quake-Proofs Buildings

Picture courtesy of FoxNews

A new method of construction that uses steel tendons and replaceable "fuses" to help a building survive strong earthquakes was successfully tested recently.

On a giant shake table, the system survived simulated earthquakes in excess of magnitude 7, more powerful than both the Northridge earthquake in 1994, which rocked the Los Angeles region, and the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 that devastated parts of the San Francisco Bay Area.

The massive force of earthquakes often leave behind damaged buildings that are either beyond repair or very costly to fix.

"Most buildings that we design today for large earthquakes are designed such that when there is a large earthquake, the building, in a sense, sacrifices itself to save the occupants," said Greg Deierlein, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University who led the research team.

To reduce structural damage, the new system relies on steel braced-frames, built into a building’s exterior walls, which are designed to rock up and down whenever an earthquake strikes. Running down the middle of the frames are steel tendons that are elastic enough to control the rocking. The tendons also help lift the building back to its proper alignment once the shaking stops.

"What is unique about these frames is that, unlike conventional systems, they actually rock off their foundation under large earthquakes," Deierlein said.

Steel "fuses" that sit at the bottom of the frame also keep the rest of the building from sustaining damage. The fuses are built to flex and dissipate the seismic energy, which confine the damage to certain areas. Like electrical fuses, the steel fuses are easily replaced when they "blow out."

"The idea of this structural system is that we concentrate the damage in replaceable fuses," Deierlein said.

While various researchers have been working for 10 or 15 years on some of the ideas and techniques incorporated in the new system, this is the first time anyone has put them all together and demonstrated their performance, Deierlein said.

The system can be installed as part of a building's initial design or retrofitted into an existing building. It is also economically feasible to implement since it can be built from materials commonly used in construction, researchers say.

(Source: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2009/09/08/new-construction-technology-quake-proofs-buildings/)

Building Houses In A Day - No More A Pipe Dream 

Building a house now no longer takes more than 1-3 days (depending on the size). With this new innovative building technology pioneered by the Japanese, the MasterFit Method(TM) enables construction to start in the morning and the owner to move in by nightfall.

The key to this extremely fast method of building lies in the materials used in construction. Lighter and portable materials such as wood and fibreboard are used to construct the frame and walls of the house. By employing a modular design and using pre-fabricated parts, the foundations of the building are quickly constructed within 5 hours. Specially designed hinges enable vertical parts of the framwork to be installed easily by a team of two men. Second floor framing is usually done using beams or open web trusses. Thereafter, the walls - made from plywood or OSB (Oriented Strand Board) are installed. the walls are also pre-fabricated to allow the easy installation of windows and doors. This means that when one section of the wall is in place, the windows or doors can immediately be installed without waiting for the entire structure to be completed. This results in massive time savings during the building process.

What is interesting is that such houses were designed for usage in Japan, a country which is earthquake-prone. It is reported that some parts of Japan experience up to 3 seismic shocks per day. One can only imagine the immense opportunities that lay ahead for such technology for other countries with lesser seismic activity, as it has been tested and approved to withstand even violent ground movement - therefore making it suitable for construction in urban areas with high volumes of traffic.

(Sources: 
http://www.crookedbrains.net/2007/10/how-to-build-house-in-one-day-can-you.html
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/06/masterfit_wood.php)