Blogs

Some structures are instantly recognizable. You can see a massive cooling tower from miles away. Wide at the bottom. Narrow through the middle. Then wider again near the top. It looks a little like an enormous concrete hourglass. And if you've ever driven past a power plant and seen one releasing a giant white cloud into the sky, you may have wondered two things: Why is it shaped like that? And what exactly is coming out of it? The answers are connected. That strange shape isn't just architectur …

How Construction Differs in Australia At first glance, construction in Australia might not seem all that different from construction in the United States. Modern cities. Commercial buildings. Roads. Industrial projects. Residential construction. Familiar equipment and familiar trades. But travel outside Australia's major cities and the construction environment can change dramatically. Extreme heat, enormous distances, remote mining operations, difficult logistics, and strict workplace safety req …

Construction on Offshore Oil Platforms So far in our Scaffolding Around the World series, we've looked at construction in crowded cities, deserts, historic European landmarks, the Arctic, and tropical rainforests. This time, we're leaving land altogether. Offshore oil and gas platforms present one of the most unusual construction and maintenance environments in the world. Workers may be miles from shore, surrounded by water, exposed to wind and salt, and working on structures packed with equipme …