Hutchinson Builders lights up Kangaroo Point, Brisbane with Walan Apartments

Posted on November 5, 2017 by danieldschell

Walan Apartments, lower right (with tower crane), rises just beyond Brisbane’s Story Bridge.

Walan Apartments first catches your eye from the City Reach Boardwalk along the Brisbane River. It’s hard not to notice; Hutchinson Builders has a huge banner celebrating their 105 years in business hanging from the west elevation of the construction site. But it’s after dark when Walan becomes can’t-miss scenery. That’s when Hutchinson lights up the tower crane like a giant blue lightsaber guarding the entrance to Story Bridge.

Walan Apartments is a 14-story apartment tower from GBW Investments. Designed by the Brisbane architecture firm of Bureau^Proberts, the project includes just 14 units at 2 Scott Street. It is expected to open in 2018.

: Bureau^Proberts rendering of Walan Apartments.

: Walan Apartments rendering from the Hutchinson Builders website.

: Looking across the Brisbane River.

: Congrats on 105 years!

: Story Bridge.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

An end-of-October update at Vista Tower

Posted on November 4, 2017 by danieldschell

Vista Theater is fading; the best views of Vista Tower are no on the north side of the Chicago River.

I saw construction on three Wanda Vista Tower projects during October: the one you’re most familiar with, Vista Tower here in Chicago, plus two in Australia: one in the demolition phase in Sydney, New South Wales, and the three-tower Jewel Residences project on the beach in Gold Coast, Queensland. I managed to get to Chicago’s site on the last day of the month to make sure McHugh Construction crews hadn’t finished up while we were gone. Thankfully, they had not.

A zillion construction photos of Jewel Residences Gold Coast you knew were inevitable

Posted on November 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Construction on Jewel Residences Gold Coast, from the beach.

You’ve seen the names of the five tower cranes, and you’ve seen them lit up at night. Now, it’s time to get a good look at Jewel Residences construction in the light of day.

Yes, I went by this construction site three times; it’s that good. So to accompany the nighttime photos and tower-crane close-ups you’ve already seen, here are a metric ton of pictures taken both in morning, and late afternoon, sunlight.

As a reminder, Jewel Residences is a three-tower development along Surfers Paradise Beach in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It will include more than 500 apartments and a 171-room Wanda Vista Hotel. It’s being developed jointly by two firms from China: Wanda Group and RDG. The design is by DBI Design, and Multiplex is the builder.

Follow the tower cranes down Surfers Paradise Beach to Jewel Residences.

There should be a prize if you make it through this entire galley.

: Okay, one night shot.

Wolf Point East digs in for the long haul

Posted on November 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Excavation crews work atop the trestle bridge as digging continues at Wolf Point East.

Wolf Point East was one of my first stops upon returning to Chicago. Mostly to see that trestle bridge in action, but also to see how much progress Walsh Construction has made on one of the city’s newest skyscrapers. No surprise that the bridge is being used to help with the deep excavation going on now. Truckload after truckload of dirt and mud and Chicago River muck is being hauled away, while diggers great and small eat away at the earth between the bracing.

We should be keeping an eye out for a tower crane permit at Wolf Point East. It could be coming any day now.

A site almost missed, Melbourne’s Collins Arch will be a sight to behold

Posted on November 2, 2017 by danieldschell

The four tower cranes of Collins Arch. Think that’s cool? Just wait ’til you see renderings.

I wouldn’t normally post about tower cranes I saw from the back seat of a tour van (it’s a long story), but Collins Arch in Melbourne’s Central Business District isn’t your typical development. It was the four tower cranes that got my attention, but it was the fabulous renderings that made me a fan.

Collins Arch is being developed by Cbus Property. The architecture is the work of SHoP Architects and Woods Bagot. Multiplex is the builder. Completion is expected in 2019.

: Collins Arch rendering from Cbus Property.

: Collins Arch rendering from Cbus Property.

: Collins Arch rendering from Cbus Property.

: Getting what I can, from the van.

Home2 Suites has a stub; expect the tower crane this weekend

Posted on November 2, 2017 by danieldschell

Home2 Suites River North is getting a pretty yellow tower crane this weekend.

The Home2 Suites at 110 West Huron in River North planted a tower crane stub some time during my absence, and we’re being told here at B.U.C. that crews will begin assembling the full tower crane Friday.

You’ll remember that the Home2 Suites River North will be a 17-story, 185-room hotel being developed by Akara Partners and designed by NORR. Stalworth Underground was out there doing caissons work last time we stopped by, but they’ve completed those and moved on. That means M.A. Mortenson Company has come down from Wisconsin to take complete control of the build.

: Stalworth Underground tackling caissons last month.

: Stub.

Unboxing Chicago’s brand-new Apple Store

Gallery

Posted on November 1, 2017 by danieldschell

This gallery contains 16 photos.

Lendlease rolls a Lucky Seven at Darling Square in Sydney’s Darling Harbour

Posted on October 31, 2017 by danieldschell

Spotted from the Sydney Tower Eye: The Seven Tower Cranes of Darling Square, by Lendlease.

Please know for certain that I didn’t see every construction project in Australia. Come on. Two weeks? Just not enough time. But of what I saw, this one easily takes the award for Most Tower Cranes.

Darling Square is a mixed-use project being developed and built by Lendlease. Located along Sydney’s famed Darling Harbour, Darling Square will be comprised of many, many parts. So many parts, in fact, that I don’t know if I’ve got them all straight. The main portion of the development will have three towers of 41, 19, and 7 stories, and a 6-story podium, per design architects Tzannes Associates. There will be 581 apartments located here.

Rendering of The Darling Exchange from Kengo Kuma and Associates.

Darling Square will also include a public square, designed by Aspect Studios; a community hub called The Darling Exchange, designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates; and two retail pavilions designed by Archer Office. No wonder they need 7 tower cranes on the site.

And if all that doesn’t sound like enough of a task, Darling Square necessitated the demolition of a 13,000-seat stadium, Qantas Credit Union Arena (previously known as The Sydney Entertainment Centre) in order to clear space for the project.

Whether you’ve been able to process all of that info or not, here comes the photo gallery:

You can check up on progress at 900 West Washington via construction cam

Posted on October 30, 2017 by danieldschell

Here’s a screenshot from Earthcam at 900 West Washington in the West Loop.

Just because your favorite construction bloggers go away on vacation doesn’t mean you have to miss out on progress around Chicago. Many projects have webcams set up to let us all peek in on the goings-on.

We got an email from Earthcam this morning making sure we knew about the camera watching over 900 West, at 900 West Washington in the West Loop. All you need do is go to the development’s website here and click on the “VIEW CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS” link, and you’re right on top of the action.

Thanks for the heads-up, Earthcam!

Subtraction before addition for Sydney’s Greenland Centre

Posted on October 30, 2017 by danieldschell

This is the end of the beginning of a new 66-story residential tower, Greenland Centre Sydney.

You all know me by now. I brake for tower cranes. Not only do I still get giddy when I see them, but now and then, they leave me staring in disbelief. These are two such cranes.

In Sydney’s Central Business District, Greenland Centre Sydney is starting with demolition, but not total destruction. The 26-story former HQ building for Sydney Water on Bathurst Street was stripped of everything but the iron frame, which now stands alone — along with those two tower cranes — in the sky. Demolition wrapped up in July, and Probuild began the process of turning that steel cage into a 66-story residential tower, making it the tallest residential tower in Sydney at about 770 feet.

A project by China-based developer Greenland Group, and designed by BVN with executive architect Woods Bagot, Greenland Centre will contain nearly 500 one-, two-, and three-bedroom luxury apartments. Construction is expected to take another two+ years, with opening slated for 2020. But admit it; you’d kinda like to see it remain a bare-steel frame.