“Hallelujah to the Lord” is now the unofficial anthem of crowds protesting against the controversial proposed law that would allow people accused of crimes in Hong Kong to be extradited to the mainland. The hymn was picked up by other protesters – soon even non-Christians were singing it.
Fears and uncertainty
If enacted, this controversial bill will permit authorities to detain and extradite people who are wanted in territories where Hong Kong does not have extradition agreements. Many fear that the bill will restrict citizens’ rights.
“The Church has taken a particular interest in fighting the bill. “
On June 9th, Patrick pastor of Yan Fook Church, which is home to about 10,000 members that normally sides with the government made a comment on its Facebook page calling for the extradition bill to the shelved. Edwin Chow, 19, acting president of the Hong Kong Federation of Catholic Students, told the BBC. “There’s only one line: ‘Sing Hallelujah to the Lord’.” And Yan Fook Church isn’t the only Christian group that has publicly announced its opposition to the extradition bill.
Religion on the forefront of Hong Kong’s protests
On June 11th, the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong issued an appeal to the government requesting the government not pass the Extradition Bill “hurriedly before adequately addressing the queries and worries of the legal sector and of the general public.”
Not only is this a show of devotion to Jesus in the midst of tumult and political tyranny, but the singing of this worship song also offers the community a level of immunity, thanks to a Hong Kong law of public assembly that makes exceptions for religious gatherings.
In these volatile days of Chinese agents, facial recognition and mass arrests, this protection is a welcome comfort for the Christian community, who not only stand in unity with their fellow protesters but also solidarity with the much-persecuted Christian community back in mainland China.
On Sunday, Melissa Strzala posted another awe-inspiring video on Facebook revealing the ‘Great Awakening’ happening in China.
“The below video is very special to me,” added Strzala. “It gives me chills every time I watch it. Thousands of Hong Kong citizens are singing their Hallelujah anthem in defiance of Communist China. It’s truly a Great Awakening happening in China. It’s exciting!”
Watch the video in full below, and be sure to SHARE it with your friends to rally them around this cause in prayerful support:
Christians make up some 11 per cent of the population but they remain influential, especially among the elite — pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam is herself a devout Catholic.
A group of Christians and youngsters have gathered on a footbridge outside #HK gov HQ, facing dozens of police behind barricades. Some of them singing "Sing hallelujah to the lord". Placards read "Stop shooting HK student. Stop treating HK citizens violently."#ExtraditionBillpic.twitter.com/2MWcrQIhbu
Hong Kong has about 480,000 Protestants and 380,000 Catholics — including Chief Executive Carrie Lam. Non-Christians have also come to be familiar with Christian culture due to Christian-run schools, hospitals and charitable groups.
I remember around this time last year scurrying about the library in Trinity College Dublin attempting to finish an essay. Hours of reading, drafting, editing and perfecting left me worn out. What was all my energy put into? An essay on the adaptation of Marxist-Leninist thinking in the domestic policy of Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution (I know it sounds riveting!). Although history and geopolitics is not everyone’s cup of tea, it is part of the grand tapestry of history in which we are apart of. Further, it is overseen by the Creator of all things.
Thinking back on that essay has made me concerned for my brothers and sisters in the country of China. In researching the 1960s and 1970s for the essay, I discovered the horrors that Christians encountered. Further, it seems if history is repeating itself again in China. Whatever the circumstances and trials our brothers and sisters in China face, to the world they are a window through which others can witness the reality of Christ.
That Was Then
Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976 made it his aim to roll Communism into all areas of Chinese life. Michael Lynch in his book Origins and development of authoritarian and single-party states notes how Mao saw religion as utter poison, even making the comparison of Christian missionaries in China to Nazis in Europe. In his leadership, Mao wanted to dominate the political sphere and weed out Christianity along with all other religions. Fenggang Yang, a prominent scholar on religion in China, noted that Mao set out in the Cultural Revolution to eradicate religion from China through a form of militant atheism. Religion was the stumbling block to Mao achieving total dictatorial power.
During these years, outward expressions of religion were banned, religious rituals were prohibited, churches were torn down and ransacked. Followers of Christ were tortured, persecuted and killed for their faith. Mao’s indoctrinated Red Guards aimed to permanently delete Christianity from Chinese daily life. Ironically, Mao ended up creating a religion around himself — Maoism. Mao, through propaganda, presented himself to the Chinese peasantry as a god. His little Red Book replaced the Bibles that were burned. His pictures were to take the place of the symbol of the cross. All aspects of life were infiltrated by Maoism. In all his endeavours, Mao sought to transform every aspect of the individual’s life in China. Frank Dikotter, a Dutch historian, notes that Mao only really managed to exact outward compliance. Faith moved into the shadows at this time, but within those shadows it grew exponentially. The Protestant denomination from estimates grew from 0.8 million in 1956 to 3 million in 1982. Climbing to 16 million in 2009.
Although Mao sought the riddance of Christianity in China by bringing worship to himself, he was unsuccessful as the Christian witness within China persevered and experienced huge growth. This can only be seen as the gracious and merciful act of God, bringing people to a knowledge of him as the gospel went across China during those years of persecution. Consequently, we might be prone to think everything is fine and dandy in China today. Even with the Reform and Open Door Policy of premier Deng Xiaoping in the 70s and 80s persecution of Christians in China continues. Moreover, things are intensifying under the presidency of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping.
This is Now
China is the world’s second largest economy and in years to come is predicted to overtake the US. With globalisation, China’s single-party police state is attempting to find means of dealing with the outside world politically and geographically. Historically, China has not dealt well with its surrounding nations, maintaining a tendency to look inward and grapple at self-sufficiency. Maybe greater openness has helped transform China though?
Modern day China appears to have greater accountability structures than those that existed under Mao — society is a project aiming for harmonious and prosperous living under party rule. Although we have seen greater openness from China since the tyrant Mao died, officials in China continue to crackdown on whomever they will. The CCP is permitted to go beyond the law without any accountability. This has created an environment of fear, uncertainty and frustration from the political to the economic to the societal spheres. While this abuse of power is punctuated by human rights violations.
Diana Chandler addresses how 2018 has been a difficult year for Christians in China — has there been a return to Mao era persecution? Most definitely. For example, most of us have heard of the hunting down and arresting of members of the Early Rain Covenant Church in Sichuan Province. The pastors and elders of this church wrote ‘we will not bend, even it means jail, even it means death. We will continue to preserve our faith’. Police raids have escalated, crosses have been removed, people have been blocked from entering churches, worship has been shut down and Christians have been harassed. Those arrested from Early Rain reported being beaten, tortured and denied food. These Christians were dragged, stepped on, bound with chains for their faith.
President Xi Jinping will deny all these corrupt human rights violations. Unlike Mao, Xi does not want to ‘eradicate religion’ rather he desires to Sinicise it. He wants to bring the Christian religion in line with the CCP’s ideology. This is not feasible though as Christianity is diametrically opposed to a worldview system that bases itself in atheistic philosophy.
Xi knows that Christianity is a threat to CCP power, as it opposes everything the tyrannical and dictatorial CCP stands for. We, as the international community, need to stand for the religious freedom that Chinese Christians should be guaranteed. Any abuse of people made in the image of God in any shape or form is unacceptable and loathsome. However, even in the midst of their persecution they are witnesses.
Those Who Witness
Secular author Ian Johnston noted how the Cultural Revolution showed how oppression encouraged real faith; the prayer for the church in China is that God would continue to grow his kingdom amidst persecution from the Chinese Communist Party and their cult like leader Xi Jinping. May the God of all comfort use the trials and difficulties of our brothers and sisters in China to bear witness to all around the world. Ultimately that they may believe in Jesus and his redemption of a sinful humanity.
The gospel of John begins by communicating how John the Baptist “came as a witness”¦ that all might believe through him” (v.7). John the Baptist was the first among a great “cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1) to testify to the truth of Jesus’s life. This cloud has swelled to millions of Christians in recent decades in China. Each witness having seen Christ through the witness of one another. Many in this cloud have lost their lives in China, but through this we hope that thousands more will join the cloud of witnesses who testify to the Son. The glorious Son who came, full of grace and truth.
Millions of Chinese identify themselves with Christianity a reality that President Xi’s administration is fighting hard against. The number has increased gradually and this is seen as a threat to the government which is officially atheist and its power is being put to test.
Under the presidency of Xi Jinping, the government launched a number of initiatives to control and at times limit Christian followers. Chinese Communist Party (C.C.P.) is up in arms to control and fight Christianity. The government constraints and controls religious freedom. Why is the government determined to rob people of their free will to worship?
We are blessed that we have the freedom of worship to our Lord anywhere, anytime and anyhow with no one monitoring of our doings unlike In China where Christians have been pushed to worship underground. China ranked 10th as a country where it is most hard and risky to practice Christianity according to Open Doors, a U.S. based Christian non-profit that traces the persecution of Christians worldwide.
The Lie
Psalms 103:2-3 says, Praise be to the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.
The Chinese government has been persuading Christians to pull down the pictures of our Lord Jesus Christ and replace them with the photographs of president Xi Jinping.They have also gone ahead to tell them about how Jesus won’t drag them out of hardships or cure their ailments which we all know it’s a lie from the devil!
Our God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we have asked for or imagined.
The Christianity crackdown
Over the past 4 decades, there has been a tremendous increase in Christian believers and this has not gone down so well with the government. The Chinese Communist Party is on guard lest Christians invade the country and that’s why they have opted to restrict and put a barrier to free worship. With the crackdown this is what they’ve opted to do against the Christians;
1. The Communist party was very daring in visiting Christians households in Jiangxi Province, removing by force dozens of Christian symbols and images of Jesus from their living rooms and substituting them with the communist president.
2. Bible online sellers like Amazon has been banned so as to suppress Christianity.
3.The government has destroyed churches under president Xi Jinping.The blowing up of the Christian megachurch with dynamite shows how the government has no respect for religious freedom or human rights.
4. Churches across the Zhejiang province were forced to remove their crosses and the government set new limitations that believers must have government approval.
5. Detention of believers, hindering entry to places of worship and interfering with gatherings has forced many Christians to go underground.
6. The Chinese government has actively and openly been popularizing Buddhism and Taoism, as well folk religions while restricting the spread of Christianity.
7. Preachers have also been coerced to show their loyalty to the communist party and have taken to applauding president Xi Jinping and combining party propaganda into their teachings.
8.The new law that took effect on February 2, 2018, says will charge penalties on organizers or unofficial religious happenings and stop them from basic duties like receiving handouts, providing spiritual information online, or teaching children.
9. The Chinese government has lifted up the presidential term limits-you guessed it right on what this means for the church. Lifting up the term limit is a way of allowing the Communist party to suppress the spread of Christianity.
This has forced many Christians to go underground and some members are reluctant to confess their faith. Forcing the removal of crosses from the churches where the preachers could not agree to it, they opted to go underground for the fear of further punishment.
Acts 1:8 says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
“By 2030, China will almost certainly have more Christians than any other country and the Communist party is very alarmed.” Says Fenggang Yang.
With this power given unto us, we can change anything and even make things happen. Let us unite as Christians and pray for our brothers and sisters in China and every corner of the world where Christians are being attacked for practicing their faith.
As Christians, we are blessed to have the Holy Spirit to empower and give us power and authority. In countries where we have the freedom of worship, let’s spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ even to the unchurched.Share the word of God to everyone who cares to listen and save their souls from death.
Jesus Christ won’t drag you out of poverty or cure your illnesses, but the Chinese Communist Party will
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that Communist Party of China (CPC) officials visited Christian’ homes in Yugan county of Jiangxi province—where about 10 percent of the population is Christian. They told residents to replace personal religious displays with posters of President Xi Jinping; more than 600 replaced Christian artefacts with portraits of the Communist leader, according to SCMP.
Located on the Edge of Poyang, China’s Largest Freshwater Lake, the Impoverished County in the Jiangxi Province Is Known Equally for Its Poverty and Its Large Christian Community
The visits were part of a government campaign to alleviate poverty in the region, as some CPC members believe Christianity is to blame for their financial woes, according to SCMP.
Want to Escape Poverty? Replace Pictures of Jesus with Xi Jinping, Christian Villagers Urged
This move represents the party’s desire for residents look to their leaders, rather than their a Savior, for assistance. The head of the government campaign told SCMP that “many poor households have plunged into poverty because of illness in the family. Some resorted to believing in Jesus to cure their illnesses,”
Thousands of Christians in Yugan County in Rural South East China Have Been Told by Local Officials That Jesus Christ Wouldn’t Drag Them out of Poverty or Cure Their Illnesses, but the Chinese Communist Party Will. Hence, They Should Take down Those Pictures of Christ and Put up a Nice Photograph of President Xi Jinping.
According to reports, some Christians in Yugan county say they were told they would not be eligible for government assistance unless their posters were removed, though the party denies the claim,
Xi continues a longstanding tradition by Chinese leaders to assert state power to reign in social movements that threaten it, according to Brent Fulton, president of ChinaSource.
The Yugan Church Removed Its Cross to Comply With Government Regulations
In September2017 , China passed legislation to further restrict religious gatherings, teachings, and buildings to go into effect until February 2018. Christians in some areas have already noticed a crackdown on their activity.
China Tells Christians to Replace Images of Jesus with Communist President
Chinese House Church Leaders and Toddler Arrested After Singing in Public Park
A Chinese church pastor, her daughter, and her young grandson have been arrested, for overstepping the country’s newly tightened religious restrictions. Chinese officials warned Xu Shizhen in August 2017 that publicly sharing her faith is now a violation of the government policy.
In an August 2017 op-ed for The New York Times, Chinese student Derek Lam called out“perverse” efforts to co-opt Christianity to endorse Xi’s political agenda.
China is officially an atheist country but the Communist Party-run government recognises five religions – Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, Protestantism and Catholicism. Under the Chinese constitution, citizens have the liberty to follow a religion of choice but in reality, freedom of religion is severely curtailed.
“Judging by recent events, the party is very close to completing its mission of bringing Christianity under its thumb,” he wrote. “Although there is nothing I would love more than to become a pastor and preach the gospel in Hong Kong, I will never do so if it means making Jesus subservient to Xi Jinping.”
Small projects often embody more innovation than larger more costly or high profile ones.
Innovation is a wide concept that includes improvements in processes, products and services. It involves incorporating new ideas which generate changes that help solve the needs of a company and so increase its competitiveness. That’s hardly big news. But what may be surprising to some is that innovation has itself, well, innovated and it isn’t what it used to be.
New materials and energy, design approaches, as well as advances in digital technology and big data, are creating a wave of innovation within the construction industry. These new ideas are increasingly often tested and proven on smaller and agiler projects. Investing time and money is well spent on these ideas and technical improvements can then be used on large-scale developments.
Here are three exciting small projects:
Vanke Pavilion – Milan Expo 2015 / Daniel Libeskind
Vanke Pavilion – Milan Expo 2015 / Daniel Libeskind
VANKE PAVILION Milan, Italy
1. Vanke Pavilion – Milan Expo 2015
The corporate pavilion for Vanke China explores key issues related to the theme of the Expo Milano 2015, “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”.
Situated on the southeast edge of the Lake Arena, the 800-square meter pavilion appears to rise from the east, forming a dynamic, vertical landscape.
The original tiling pattern would have resulted in thousands of ceramic tiles of different sizes and shapes. The resulting complexity and lack of repetition could have led to high costs and a longer erection time.
Working with Architects Studio Libeskind, Format Engineers (Engineering Designers with backgrounds in structural engineering, coding, mathematics, and architecture) changed the pattern from thousands of different tiles to less than a dozen and simplified the backing structure generating huge cost savings. Format Engineers also proposed ‘slicing’ of the building and then fabrication of the primary structure of steel ribs using low tech flat steel plate elements. These were then used in a series of long span portalised frames reminiscent of the ribs and spars in traditional boat building resulting in a column-free area for the display of Chinese Cultural Heritage.
The frame was built to a budget and without difficulty ahead of the neighboring Expo buildings.
Building Size
12 meters high
740 mq gross floor area (exhibition, service & VIP levels)
130 mq roof terrace
Architect: Studio Libeskind
Engineer: Format Engineers
Oxford Brookes Rain Pavilion
Oxford Brookes Rain Pavilion
Oxford Brookes Rain Pavilion
2. Oxford Brookes Rain Pavilion
The Rain Pavilion is an urban forest sculpture forming the front entrance to Oxford Brookes University’s Architecture Faculty.
“Rain Pavilion artwork is a sensory experience for the community.”
The complex form required extensive wind modeling and comprehensive structural analysis within a generative 3d model. This was allied with Format Engineers in-house code for the self-organization of voids and their subsequent redistribution.
.At each stage of the design process different modeling and analysis techniques were used to exploit the form and to optimise the structure. The considerable challenges posed by the slenderness of the structure and its dynamic behavior under wind were resolved by combining Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) (a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows) with a generative design environment. Conceptual design introduced the ideas of tubular stems and folded steel canopies, both of which were perforated by circular holes arranged to allow the interplay of light and water through the structure. The voids were generated using a self-organizing process.
Grasshopper (a graphical algorithm computer 3-D modeling tool) was used to produce a mesh that could include the voids in both the stems and the petals.
The Rain Pavilion is designed to celebrate the sound of rain, and the noise of water interacting with different sections of the installation is part of the experience of passing through it. The structure has a design life of five years and can be transported to other locations.
Architect: Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
Engineer: Format Engineers
KREOD Pavilion
KREOD Pavilion
KREOD Pavilion
3. KREOD Pavilion
The KREOD pavilions were first erected on the London Greenwich Olympic site in 2012. Easily rearranged, three pod-like pavilions were formed with a wooden structural framework comprised of an open hexagonal composition.
Standing three meters tall, each double-curved wooden shell enclosed a footprint of 20 square meters, totaling 60 square meters. A waterproof tensile membrane sealed the interior from the elements fully portable with demountable joints, the individual components can be stacked for efficient transportation.
Chun Qing Li the architect required a temporary exhibition or function space that could be erected and demounted mostly by hand and by untrained staff. The quality of finish needed to echo that of handmade furniture and had to be low cost and quick to erect. The continuously changing double curved form of the enclosure meant that in theory, every nodal connection was different. A conventional bolted solution would have cost hundreds of pounds per fixing. Format Engineers suggestion of a ‘reciprocal’ jointed timber grid shell required standard bolts which equated to a fraction of the normal cost. It also allowed the structure to be built from simple and light flat timber elements.
The structure used Kebony timber throughout, a sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood. As this material had not previously been used in a structural context Format Engineers undertook load testing of the material and the connections at the University of Cambridge. The timber was fabricated using CNC routing (a computer controlled cutting machine) allowing a highly accurate fit between members and basic erection on site.
Since the beginning of recorded time, construction projects have always been a major part of history. In fact, grandiose construction projects to erect the architectural visions of Pharaohs, Kings, Rulers, and Monarchs was used as a way to put the wealth and power of leaders on display for all of the people their lands to see.
Not surprisingly, all of these projects came at a great cost to the leaders that initiated them.
The Great Pyramid at Giza is one example of a grand architectural vision. This massive structure was built under the leadership of Egyptian pharaoh Khufu in the 26th century B.C.E. By the time work on the structure was completed, Knufu spent a great deal of his kingly fortunes on the project. According to sources, it is estimated that this project would cost more than $5 billion dollars to duplicate today.
Since then, there have been many other building projects that have cost significant amounts of money to build, some that were so grand in their scope they effectively broke the bank.
We will examine more of these projects here.
The Three Gorges Dam
1. The Three Gorges Dam
This massive Chinese construction project took place over the Yangtze River in the Hubei province of Central China. This scope of this project was enormous and came with quite a bit of controversy due to the changes to the environment that were needed to make the project become a reality. When this project was approved in 1992, the Vice Premier at the time, Zoa Jiahua quoted the project cost at $8.35 billion to complete. In 2006, when the project was officially ended, the total cost ended up being closer to $37 billion dollars, or roughly four times more than the original estimate.
The Ryungyong Hotel
2. The Ryungyong Hotel
The ground broke for this 105 story luxury tourist hotel in 1987 in North Korea, despite the country being closed off to foreign visitors. After investing approximately $750 million dollars in the structure, the project came to an abrupt end when the Soviet Union, North Korea’s major economic supporter, collapsed. Today, the building remains unfinished and is recognised as being the tallest unoccupied structure in the entire world.
The MOSE Project
The MOSE Project
The MOSE Project
3. The MOSE Project
This building project was originally intended to help control flooding in Venice. However, it primarily served as a project to sink money into. The original budget for the project was $1.7 billion dollars but jumped to $8.1 billion over time. None of the work that was completed did anything to prevent flooding. Many people involved in the initial construction were arrested on bribery and corruption charges in connection with the project. Venice continues to have problems with flooding and sinking.
The Mirabel Airport
4. The Mirabel Airport
This airport was originally opened to serve Montreal, Canada inmid-1970. The Government seized 100,000 acres of land and displaced thousands of residents from their homes for the land that was needed to construct the airport. The cost of the land was $140 million dollars. This amount was eight times more than the costs that were originally projected. Once construction on the airport began, the price skyrocketed to a total cost of around $276 million dollars. Adding further pressure to the Mirabel Airport project was the fact that the Montreal-Dorval International Airport was located within a short driving distance away. While this airport did operate for a number of years, it ceased operations in 2004. In late 2014, demolition of the site began which added another $15 million dollars of cost to the failed project.
The Sagrada Familia
The Sagrada Familia
The Sagrada Familia
5. The Sagrada Familia
There is no doubt that building a Cathedral is no small undertaking. For the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, it is a project that has advanced at a snail’s pace and with a hefty price tag that can not even be calculated due to how slow the project has been to finish. Construction on the house of worship began in 1883. In 2015, it still needs to be completed. In 2011, the President of the Building Committee said that it might be completed in 2026 – 143 years after construction originally began.
The Millennium Dome
The Millennium Dome
6. The Millennium Dome
This is a London based project that has a happy ending, despite a shaky, and very expensive start. When construction of the Millennium Dome began in the 1990’s, the original budget of 758 million pounds was exceeded when it ended up costing 789 million pounds, so it lost money from day one, even without including maintenance costs. However, in 2007 the structure was sold to AEG and renamed the 02 Arena, so some of the initial investment money was recouped. This site is now a top venue for sporting events and concerts in the London, UK area.
The Channel Tunnel
7. The Channel Tunnel
Sometimes referred to as the “Chunnel” is a tunnel in the English Channel that links the United Kingdom with France. It’s not surprising that a project of this scope would cost a lot of money and time to complete successfully. In total, it took six years of work and $21 billion dollars to finish. In financial costs, it ended up being 80% more expensive than originally forecast. This privately funded project caused many of the initial investors to lose most of their investment due to over run costs. Today, their diligence to the project has made it widely successful. Hundreds of millions of people use the Chunnel trains to commute between France and the UK, with a travel time of around 35 minutes.
The Central Artery Tunnel Project
The Central Artery Tunnel Project
8. The Central Artery Tunnel Project
In 1991, Boston began construction of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, also known as the Big D, to provide commuters with an alternative to using the main highway through the City. This project is one of the most expensive construction projects in the history of the United States with a ‘real’ cost of $22 billion dollars once interest on the funding for the project is paid off in 2038. The Central Artery/Tunnel Project included the construction of roads, bridges, and even a tunnel that was built under the Boston Harbor. While this project did have the original effect it was supposed to have by alleviating traffic congestion in parts of Boston, overall traffic in the areas where the Big D serves has also increased.
Panama Canal, Centennial Bridge
9. The Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is another example of a building project that came with many personal and financial losses during its construction in the early 1900’s. The project was hexed with obstacles including outbreaks of deadly malaria and mudslides that, according to hospital records, resulted in over 5,600 labourers deaths. Today, the Panama Canal remains a key part of the shipping industry between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. In 2014, work at the Canal ground to a halt after a dispute between the Panama Canal Authority and a conglomerate of European construction companies disagreed who would pay for a $1.16 billion overrun in costs. All parties involved in the dispute agreed on stop-gap funding that put the project back in action. In 2015, expansion work on the Panama Canal continues and the overall costs of the project continue to rise.
We seem to be entering a new age of megaprojects as countries around the world mobilise the private sector to invest heavily in multi-billion or sometimes multi-trillion dollar infrastructure initiatives.
Megaprojects (sometimes also spelled “mega projects”) are very large investment projects and require care in the project development process to reduce any possible optimism bias and strategic misrepresentation.
The most expensive large-scale megaprojects in the world range from bridges, tunnels, highways, railways, airports, seaports, power plants, dams and wastewater projects to entire city districts.
Megaprojects seem to be practically recession-proof and have continued despite the 2008 global economic slowdown likely spurred megaproject construction, since the governments of some countries among them China, India, and the United States saw investment in infrastructure as a way to stimulate growth. Moreover, many large corporations are locked into megaprojects, because only enormous undertakings seem capable of nudging their bottom lines.
Here, we take a look at 5 of the biggest, most important and spectacular megaprojects around the world.
Waterworld Hotel Concept, Songjiang, China By Atkin’s Architecture Group
Waterworld Hotel, Songjiang, China
Waterworld Hotel, Songjiang, China
Waterworld Hotel Concept, Songjiang, China By Atkin’s Architecture Group
Songjiang Hotel, China
“We Drew Our Inspiration from the Quarry Setting” Says Atkins Design Studio
The five-star hotel is designed by UK architecture office Atkins for Shimao Group and will offer around 400 rooms, with underwater restaurants, clubs, shopping facilities, a 10-meter deep aquarium and various sport activities such as rock climbing and bungee jumping.
The waterfall is a key feature of this hotel built into a 328-foot-tall quarry outside of Shanghai. The 19-story hotel will have the waterfall cascading down the middle and two hotel floors that are entirely underwater.
The building will get its energy from geothermal sources and will feature a green roof.
With its 650 architects spread around the world in 60 offices, Atkins Design Studio is an enormous organisation, with some pretty amazing Megaprojects under its belt.
The Three Gorges Dam Project
The Three Gorges Dam Project
The Three Gorges Dam Project
The Three Gorges Dam Project
Three Gorges Dam
Man has long used technology to harness nature and dam building has always been one of the most controversial methods.
Building a dam causes dramatic effects on the environment, yet can benefit man in innumerable ways.
Three Gorges Dam located in Sandouping, Yiling, Hubeiis is the largest power station in the world and took 14 years to complete at a cost of USD $37 billion ( ¥180 billion). The original estimated cost was USD $6 billion ( ¥20 billion). It can produce as much as 15 nuclear power plants and is expected to create 10% of China’s entire energy supply.
The Three Gorges Dam has moved 39 trillion kilograms of water 175 metres above sea level which scientists believe has altered the planet enough to change the speed at which the earth rotates.
The dam was first suggested by Sun Yat-sen, the first president of the Republic of China in 1919 and people have been working on it, researching how it would work and where exactly it would go for nearly 100 years.
London Crossrail
London Crossrail
Crossrail is Europe’s largest infrastructure project and is set to boost London’s rail capacity by 10%. The project will deliver approximately 11.9km of twin bore tunnels.
The $23 billion development 73-mile rail project will connect London from East to West, improving access to Heathrow Airport, central London as well as city’s surrounding towns and suburbs.
Eight boring machines have been cutting their way through earth to create 26 miles (42km) of tunnels.
Construction of Crossrail began at Canary Wharf in London Docklands on 15 May 2009, with tunnelling work starting in May 2012.
The Crossrail project is about 65% complete and engineers will now continue upgrading existing stations and building new stations in central London and London Docklands.
Working in partnership with China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute and the China Railway Design Institute, ADPI also won the competition to design and develop Terminal 3 at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in 2011. Phase 1 of the project will increase the airport’s capacity to 45 million passengers per year by 2020.
Beijing’s new international airport
Beijing’s new international airport
Beijing International Airport Terminal 1 to be World’s Biggest
Beijing’s new international airport
January 2013 saw work approved for a new airport in Beijing. With large sweeping, non-conforming arches that span inwards with curves to the interior, there is a definite stamp of Zaha Hadid Architects with their design language.
Playing host to eight runways and with the capabilities to cater for 130 million passengers every year, Beijing’s new international airport will be among the world’s largest and busiest once complete in 2017.
International Space Station (ISS)
One Giant Leap for Mankind
International Space station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest artificial body in orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth.
It may be one of the most ambitious scientific ventures ever and also the largest masterpiece of the human engineering in orbit around Earth at present. The station consists mainly of habitable and science modules, external trusses and solar panels to provide power.
The ISS provides a platform to conduct scientific research including astrobiology, astronomy, human research including space medicine and life sciences, physical sciences, materials science, space weather and weather on Earth.
What exciting projects did we miss on our list? Let us know in the comments section below.
Construction of the SIP Sports Centre has started in the Chinese city of Suzhou. The sports centre in Suzhou Industrial Park was designed by Ham burg’s star architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partner, and has been scheduled for completion in 2017.
The sports venue will be surrounded by residential quarters, a hotel and a leisure district offering community sports facilities and public spaces.
The development is being funded jointly by Sizhou City and Jiangsu Regional authorities and when complete, the complex will form part of the larger Suzhou Industrial Park.
Image: von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (GMP)
Image: von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (GMP)
Hamburg Architects Designs for China’s Garden City
A spokesperson for architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners said: “Suzhou is famous in China for its landscape design, and the masterplan for this new sports park is based on this tradition and reputation. In a modern interpretation of the city’s traditional gardens, an informally designed park landscape flows around the podiums that rise in straight lines from the surrounding streets and support the stadiums.”
The beautiful conspicuous undulating roofs that on all three stadiums make the ensemble into a landmark visible from afar. As visitors walk along the curved pathways, various viewpoints open up to pavilion architecture, stunning water features, and a breathtaking landscape. Its curved silhouette stands out from the urban environment, blending harmoniously with the landscape and the park at the Xietang River. In addition, the succinct character of the stadiums is reinforced by a uniform façade design. The façades of both stadiums and the podiums are structured by horizontal lines, which follow the shape of the buildings in elegant curves.
The roof of the covered 15,000 capacity multi-purpose hall located to the north-east of the site is supported by v-shaped columns which provide a rhythm to the transparent glass façade of the hall.
The Heart of the Community
The multi-functional sports centre will include three national-standard venues includes a 45,000-seat stadium, an indoor pool with 3,000 seats and a 15,000-seat indoor arena. With its wide range of functions, the park has been designed to ensure a permanent and sustainable flow of visitors.
The facility is well connected to the Metro and offers the Suzhou residents not only a park, but also various shops for day-to-day needs, thus creating an attractive centre for the new part of the city.
The advent of the ‘megaproject’ is truly upon us as such projects become a key feature of city landscapes.
The Empire State Building, the Panama Canal, the Regatta Hotel in Indonesia – these are just a few of the architectural and infrastructure wonders of the world that you probably take for granted. With the National Geographic putting images on the map and now the Internet fuelling easy access to pics, it’s easy to forget how difficult these projects are for engineers to build. Behind the scenes, much goes on to tackle the making of a magnificent bridge, building or highway and byway. Here are a few such projects that should cause you to sit up and have your breath taken away because of their grandiosity, complexity and stunning beauty.
New York Residential Building
DBOX for CIM Group & Macklowe Properties
DBOX for CIM Group & Macklowe Properties
Still in the building stages, a residential towel at 432 Park Avenue is set to be one of the most expensive addresses in the U.S. Taller than the Empire State Building by 50 meters, the 426 meter building is considerably large, but plans to host just 104 apartments. Living in the building will cost you, though. If you’ve got $17 million you can start the process of bargaining for an apartment; however, the best apartments are the penthouses that will span an entire floor and go for $82 million or more.
The Panama Canal
Now that the Panama Canal has been in place nearly 100 years, we take for granted how it revolutionised trade and travel. The recent billion dollar improvement projects increased the length and width of the canal, adding more locks at both ends of the passageway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Now that even bigger container vessels can travail the Canal, neighboring Nicaragua is in the planning stages of building its own canal – to the tune of $40 billion. The best and brightest engineers harnessed real ingenuity to figure out how to tame Mother Nature to advance the cause of expanding travel.
Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge, China
Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge, China
Hong Kong’s bridge project is one of the largest most complex in the world and uses a series of tunnels and bridges to connect three major cities: Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau. Costing more than $10 billion to build, it will drive the freight land transport needs of the region as well as facilitate the movement of passengers between the cities. The three-lane bridge and tunnel roadway includes the construction of two artificial islands to accommodate the building of the various roads involved with the project.
These and other architectural projects that defy gravity, plunge the depths of the ground and cover the sea are a wonder to behold. They put the best of human genius to work to solve complex problems such as how to build a bridge over a considerable expanse of water and accommodate tunnels under the water. The creativity of the world’s engineers and architects are put to the test, and they come up as winners every time with projects like the Park Avenue residential building, the Panama Canal and The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. However, the human mind still can’t come close to understanding the vastness of the whole universe. But as we get better at it, we clearly see two things: how tiny and insignificant man is by himself—and just how huge and wonderful is the plan that God most have for us!
