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College of Engineering and Architecture

Civil Engineering Department
Brgy. Bajumpandan, Dumaguete City

Megastructures of the Modern World

Topic:
1. Beijing Daxing International Airport
2. Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge
3. Jeddah Tower
4. Petronas Twin Towers
5. The Three Gorges Dam
6. Boeing’s Everett Factory
7. The Palace of the Parliament
8. Burj Khalifa

Student Reporters

Windie Marie M. Dicen

Chrislin Joy M. Endrina

Engr. Christopher B. Patrimonio MBA, MEngCE

Instructor

January 2023
 Reporters

Dicen, Windie Marie M. Endrina, Chrislin Joy M.

 Table of Contents

A. Introduction - Dicen, WMM- ………………………………………………...………… 1

B. Discussion

1. Beijing Daxing International Airport - Dicen, WMM- ……………………………... 2

2. Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge …………………………………………………..……... 4
3. Jeddah Tower ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
4. Petronas Twin Towers ………………………………………………………………………..... 6
5. The Three Gorges Dam - Endrina, CJM- …………………………..…….…………..... 8
6. Boeing’s Everett Factory ……………………………………………………………………..... 10
7. The Palace of the Parliament ……..………………………………………………………..... 12
8. Burj Khalifa ………………………………………………………………………………………..... 13

C. Exercise ……………………………………………………………………………………………….......... 15

D. Answers to Exercise Questions ..………………………………………………………………..... 16

E. References ……………………………………………………………………………………………….... 17
 Dicen, WMM

A. Introduction

Since man first thought to reshape the environment to better suit his needs, society has
called on civil engineers and architects to help construct these efforts. In time, the idea –
and in some cases the need – came about to complete these plans on an extremely large
scale which civil engineers refer to as megastructures.

These megastructures often consist of retaining walls, dams, bridges, buildings, or a

variety of other structures that require the planning and skills of civil engineers and
architects. There are no clear guidelines as to what defines a megastructure; however, they
are easily identifiable because of their imposing stature.

As a result of the numerous discoveries and technologies that have been developed in
the modern world, lengthy periods of construction and thought may now be possible in
shorter time. In this lesson, we will discuss eight megastructures that man has created in
the modern world. We will expand our knowledge on how possible these megastructures
can come to life and how the modern materials and knowledge has contributed on the
projects.

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B. Discussion

1. Beijing Daxing International Airport

Design and Features

Beijing Daxing international airport is built on a 6,620 acres site, located south of
Beijing’s Political Centre, Tiananmen Square. The airport has four civilian runways and
one military runway. Beijing Daxing is the first airport in the world with double-deck
departure and arrival platforms.

The passenger terminal building’s design is inspired by traditional Chinese architecture

and features a central building with six arms, resembling a phoenix spreading its wings
from the aerial view.

The roof of the terminal building is a large-span steel structure shaped in the form of a
hyperboloid. It is supported by giant C-shape columns that seamlessly connect with the
roof curvature.

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Sustainable Features

Beijing Daxing Airport incorporates energy-saving green concepts, allowing natural

light into the building. The aerodynamic roof uses skylights to maximize heat gained
from the sun.

The airport features a solar farm with photovoltaic cells mounted on the roof of the car
park building, hangars, and cargo areas to generate 10MW of power. The centralized
heating system of Beijing Daxing is equipped with waste heat recovery systems and is
supported by a composite ground-source heat pump system. A 100% rainwater
collection facility was installed to cater to its energy and resource needs.

Heating and cooling systems of the airport are powered by geothermal heat pumps
located at the Yongding River basin. Energy from the pumps is expected to meet 8% of
the energy required by the airport. Filter glasses are used to block 60% of the heat and
allow 60% of natural sunlight inside the terminal building.

Contractors Involved

1. Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO)

 Designed the new airport’s master plan.
2. ADP Ingeniérie (ADPI) and Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
 Assigned to develop a concept design for the Beijing New Airport terminal building in
October 2014.
3. Lead 8
 Was selected as the lead designer for the new commercial terminal in August 2018.
4. Beijing Urban Construction Group
 Was the main contractor behind the construction of the airport.
5. Arup
 Provided fire engineering services for the Beijing Daxing airport.
6. Burohappold Engineering
 Was part of the consortium that designed the airport.
7. Thales and Civil Aviation Air Traffic Control Technology & Equipment Development
 Supplied the TopSky-ATC air traffic management system.
8. CommScope
 Deployed a network cabling system for the airport.
9. OSRAM
 Provided LED lighting for the airport
10. Tridonic
 Provided LED drivers for the new terminal.

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11. Speirs Major

 Was the lighting architect behind the construction. The landscape andscape architect
was Michel Desvigne.
12. Oasys, Bosch Security Systems, and Schindler
 Also involved in the project behind the construction.
13. FlowCon International, ADB SAFEGATE, and China Lesso Group Holdings.
 Involved in the project are heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
14. Xtralis, Zhejiang Weixing New Building Materials, Atrax Group, and ABB
 Some of the contractors who helped with the project.

2. Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge

Incorporating the largest and one of the deepest immersed tunnels in the world, the
Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge (HZMB) Link in China is set to be an iconic piece of
architecture and engineering. Comprising a 35-kilometer bridge/tunnel combination
with two artificial islands that provide the transition between the bridges and the
tunnel, it will link the important Chinese economic centers of Hong Kong, Macao and the
Chinese mainland, improving trade by reducing travel time between the three centers.

As the lead tunnel consultant, Tunnel Engineering Consultants (TEC), a permanent joint
venture between Royal HaskoningDHV and Witteveen & Bos, is understandably
delighted to be involved in this development.

TEC Managing Director, Hans de Wit explains that the tunnel must accommodate three
lanes of traffic in each direction and will therefore have extremely wide spans of nearly
15 meters.

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The tunnel essentially consists of a set of inter-connected pre-built concrete ‘boxes’

measuring 180 meters in length, 11.5 meters in height and 40 meters in width. Weighing
over 75,000 tonnes, these tunnel elements are the world’s largest and are transported
afloat from the production site to the project location. They are then connected on the
seabed using special rubber seals to make the connection watertight. When the temporary
tunnel ends have being knocked through one continuous structure is created.

Beyond the immediate tunnel design, the connecting islands are also highly innovative in
environmental landscaping design, whilst at the same time carefully addressing the
hydraulic impact on the sensitive Pearl River Delta. They not only serve as a transition
between the bridge and the tunnel but also provide space for the tunnel service buildings
and a spectacular lookout point for travelers.

3. Jeddah Tower

As it slowly rises into the sky, the Kingdom Jeddah Tower under construction is
setting the stone for a new district in the port city of the same name that serves as a
gateway to the holy sites of Saudi Arabia.

Set to be completed by 2020 but work is still frozen, the tower will be the tallest in the
world, reaching one kilometer into the clouds.

With a structure that evokes a bundle of leaves shooting up from the ground, the
Kingdom Jeddah Tower will surpass the Burj Khalifa, which has held the title as the
world’s tallest free-standing structure since it opened in Dubai in 2010.

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The tower was designed by Chicago firm Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture.
Smith, one of its partners, was also responsible for the Burj Khalifa while working for
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, another architectural firm. Its developer, the Jeddah
Economic Company, wants the tower and city to enhance Jeddah’s global status as a
business, commercial, educational, medical and entertainment hub.

The Kingdom Jeddah Tower will have 167 useable floors, seven of which will be for a
five-star hotel, according to facts sheets on official websites. Another 11 floors will be
for 121 luxury apartments, and seven more for offices. Most of the other floors will be
for housing units, a gym, spa, cafes and restaurants, several sky lobbies.

One unique feature will be the world’s highest observation deck located on the top
floors 660 meter high. Nearly 60 elevators will serve the floors, some of them will be
double-deckers, according to KONE, which is fitting the Tower with its elevator system.
The elevators will reach speeds of at least 10 meters per second.

4. Petronas Twin Towers

Design

The interior motifs are designed to resemble Malaysia’s local handicrafts and
weaving patterns, with a stunning combination of stainless steel and glass finishing on
the building to form beautiful Islamic patterns.

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The design of each tower floor plate is based on simple Islamic geometric forms of two
interlocking squares, creating a shape of an eight-pointed star.

The towers were designed by a renowned Argentine architect - César Pelli. The first
design fell just a bit short of the 4th & 7th Prime Minister Mahathir's satisfaction, as he
felt that there was more room to insert something uniquely Malaysian in the design. He
wanted a building that would be identifiably Malaysian, was of world class standard,
and which Malaysians will inevitably be proud of. Through a series of edits, eventually,
the 4th & 7th Prime Minister understood what he wanted the towers to resemble; an
eight-pointed star.

Structure and Construction

The twin towers were originally proposed to be built at a height of only 1400 feet.
Thankfully, Dr. Mahathir saw greater potential in the building as the world's tallest
structures, and pressed architects and engineers to include a few more meters in height,
in every way possible

Both towers are 'intelligent' structures, built with a system that seamlessly and
simultaneously coordinates telecommunications, environment control, power supply,
lighting, fire and smoke control, and building security.

The construction of Petronas Twin Towers took 6 years and costed the country a
fortune of over $1.6 billion to complete. Built with of stainless-steel extrusions, the
building was surprisingly void of heat and UV rays, thanks to the addition of lamination
glass over the surface of the skyscraper which would require 2 whole months just to
clean every single glass panel.

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5. Three Gorges Dam

The next structure we are going to talk about is one of the largest engineering
projects ever built and was considered the most controversial engineering project
before it was built, during its building, and even to this day. It took almost a century to
finally come to life. Located in the province of Hubei China, this is the largest
hydroelectric power station in the world. The dam was built in the Yangtze River, which
is the longest river in Asia.

The dam was first discussed in the 1920s by Chinese nationalist leaders. Its
proponents insisted it would control disastrous flooding along the Yangtze, facilitate
inland trade, and provide much-needed power for central China, but the dam was not
without its detractors. Criticism of the three gorges dam began as soon as the plans
were proposed and continued through its construction. Key problems included the
danger of dam collapse and other “what ifs” by the people living by the river. Because of
these problems, work on the Three Gorges Dam was delayed for nearly 40 years as the
Chinese government struggled to reach a decision to carry through with plans for the
project.

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In 1954, approximately 33,000 people were killed by the flooding of the Yangtze River.
A year later in the early 1950s, they finally decided to start the planning, surveying,
researching, designing, and testing of the said project. And in April of 1992, the 5th
session of the 7th NCP finally approved the Resolution on the Construction in the
Yangtse River. Construction officially commenced in December 1994, and the diversion
closure of the river was carried out in November 1997. In May 2006, the entire dam
reached a height

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of 185 m. In December 2009, the project completed the scheduled preliminary design
tasks.
After 20 years of hard work, the construction task of the Three Gorges Project is
basically complete; the dam is now beginning to produce huge and comprehensive
benefits such as flood control, power generation, waterway transport, and water-
resource utilization.
The Three Gorges Dam is designed to withstand a 1000-year flood and survive a 10
000-year flood plus 10%; the corresponding flood discharges are 98 800 m³·s–1 and
124 300 m³·s –1, respectively.
The concrete in the Three Gorges Dam occupies as much as 28 million m³, that’s the
equivalent of 11,200 Olympic swimming pools.
When completed the dam’s reservoir started filling up, but it flooded 1,500 cities
and towns. More than 1 million people had to be relocated. The dam’s reservoir is
blamed for an increase in the number of landslides and earthquakes in the region. But
China believed that the long-term effects justify the short-term inconvenience. It can
now control the flow of water which eliminates the flooding downstream. The dam now
protects over 15 million people by reducing the flooding downstream.

6. Boeing’s Everett Factory

The Boeing Everett Factory is an airplane assembly facility built by Boeing in

Everett, Washington, United States. In 1966, plans for a factory in the area to be the site
of the construction of the 747 were first announced, after Boeing was awarded a
contract worth US$525 million (equivalent to $4384.69 million in 2021) from Pan
American World

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Airways to build 25 of the aircraft. The company purchased 320 ha north of the then
little-used Paine Field.

It sits at the northeast corner of Paine Field and includes the largest building in the
world by volume at 13,385,378 m3 and covers 39.9 ha. Just how big is the plant? It
covers 39.8 hectares and its interior measures 13.3 million cubic meters. For
perspective, the entire Disneyland theme park could fit inside with room to spare. It's
so massive that when it was initially built, the accumulation of warm air and moisture
inside actually caused clouds to form just below the ceiling until the equipment was set
up to keep the air circulating. There are six doors on the south side of the factory.

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The four to the west are 24.9 meters and 91.44 meters. The two to the east are 2.49
meters and 106.7 meters wide.

Inside, the Everett plant is the equivalent of a small city, with 36,000 workers on site
every day, according to a fact sheet provided by Boeing. It has its own fire department,
banks, day-care facilities, a fully equipped medical clinic, and a water treatment plant.

7. Palace of the Parliament

The Palace of the Parliament, also known as the Republic's House or People's
House/People's Palace, is the seat of the Parliament of Romania, located atop Dealul
Spirii in Bucharest, the national capital. The Palace of the Parliament is the heaviest
building in the world, weighing about 4,098,500,000 kilograms (4.10 million tonnes),
also being the second largest administrative building in the world with a floor area of
365,000 square meters. The Palace of the Parliament sinks 6 millimetres each year due
to its weight. Romanian specialists who have analysed the data have explained that the
palace's massive weight is causing the layers of sediment below the building to settle.

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Construction of the palace began in 1984 and was initially scheduled for completion
in two years. The project was extended to 1990 but remains uncompleted to this day.
Only two large meeting rooms and 400 others have been finished or are even being
used, out of a total of 1,100. The building has eight underground levels, the deepest
housing a nuclear bunker, anis is linked to main state institutions by 2kilometers of
tunnels.

8. Burj Khalifa

At over 828 meters and more

than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa is the
tallest building in the world and the
tallest free-standing structure in the
world. Construction of the Burj
Khalifa began in 2004, with the
exterior completed five years later in
2009. The primary structure is
reinforced concrete and some of the
structural steel for the building.

The tower was constructed by

Samsung C&T from South Korea,
which also did work on the Petronas
Twin Towers and Taipei 101.
Samsung C&T built the tower in a
joint venture with BESIX from
Belgium and Arabtec from the UAE.
Turner was the project manager on
the main construction contract. Hong
Kong-based Far East Aluminum
combined to provide the exterior
cladding for Burj Khalifa.

Burj Khalifa was designed by a team led by Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill,
the firm that designed the Sears Tower in Chicago, a previous record holder for the world's
tallest building. Hyder Consulting was chosen to be the supervising engineer with NORR
Group Consultants International Limited chosen to supervise the architecture of the project.

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The Y-shaped tripartite floor geometry is designed to optimize residential and hotel
space and reduces the wind force. A buttressed central core and wings are used to
support the height of the building. At each storey building height changes, it goes on
decreasing to top. The advantage of the steeping and shaping of the tower is to confuse
wind force. The wind never gets to act upon the structure as it encounters different
shapes in each tier.

.
At a certain point in the architectural and engineering process, the original Emaar
developers experienced financial problems and required more money and economic
funding. Sheikh Khalifa, the then-ruler of the United Arab Emirates, granted monetary
aid and funding, hence the changing of the name to "Burj Khalifa". The project's
completion coincided with the financial crisis of 2007–2008, and with vast overbuilding
in the country, leading to high vacancies and foreclosures. With Dubai mired in debt
from its huge ambitions, the government was forced to seek multibillion-dollar bailouts
from its oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi. Subsequently, in a surprise move at its opening
ceremony, the tower was renamed Burj Khalifa, said to honor the UAE President Khalifa
bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his crucial support. Because of the slumping demand in Dubai's
property market, the rents in the Burj Khalifa plummeted 40% some ten months after
its opening. Out of 900 apartments in the tower, 825 were still empty at that time.
However, over the next two and a half years, overseas investors steadily began to
purchase the available apartments and office space. By October 2012, Emaar reported
that around 80% of the apartments were occupied.

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 C. Exercises

1. What was meant to resemble the interior motifs of the Petronas Twin Towers?

2. This contractor provided fire engineering services for the Beijing Daxing airport.

3. This megastructure is set to be an iconic piece of architecture and engineering with a

35-kilometer bridge and tunnel combination with two artificial islands that provide
the transition between the bridges and the tunnel.

4. What megastructure held the title as the world’s tallest free-standing structure since it
opened in Dubai in 2010?

5. They have no clear guidelines as to what defines them, but they are easily identifiable
because of their imposing stature.

6. The biggest hydroelectric powerplant in the world.

7. The heaviest building in the world, sinking for about 6 millimeters each year.

8. It's so massive that when it was initially built, the accumulation of warm air and
moisture inside actually caused clouds to form just below the ceiling.

9. Who was the constructor of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper?

10. Where was the Three Gorges Dam located?

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D. Answers to the Exercise Questions

1. What was meant to resemble the interior motifs of the Petronas Twin Towers?
- The interior motifs of the Petronas Twin Towers are designed to resemble
Malaysia’s local handicrafts and weaving patterns and form beautiful Islamic patterns.
2. This contractor provided fire engineering services for the Beijing Daxing airport.
- Arup or Arup Group Limited
3. This megastructure is set to be an iconic piece of architecture and engineering with a
35-kilometer bridge and tunnel combination with two artificial islands that provide
the transition between the bridges and the tunnel.
- Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge
4. What megastructure held the title as the world’s tallest free-standing structure since
it opened in Dubai in 2010?
- Burj Khalifa
5. They have no clear guidelines as to what defines them, but they are easily
identifiable because of their imposing stature.
- Megastructures
6. The biggest hydroelectric powerplant in the world.
- The Three Gorges Dam
7. The heaviest building in the world, sinking for about 6 millimeters each year.
- Palace of the Parliament
8. It's so massive that when it was initially built, the accumulation of warm air and
moisture inside actually caused clouds to form just below the ceiling.
- Boeing Everett Factory
9. Who was the constructor of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper?
- Samsung C&T from South Korea
10. Where was the Three Gorges Dam located?
- Yangtze River, Hubei China

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E. References

Bayley, Stephen (2010, January 5). Burj Dubai: The new pinnacle of vanity.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/dubai/6934603/Burj-
Dubai-The-new-pinnacle-of-vanity.html

Bianchi, S., & Critchlow, A. (2010, January 5). Burj Dubai Tower Opens. WSJ.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703580904574638111667658
806.

Czepczynski, M. (2016, November 11). Cultural Landscapes of Post-Socialist Cities:

Representation of Powers and Needs. Routledge & CRC Press.
https://www.routledge.com/Cultural-Landscapes-of-Post-Socialist-Cities-
Representation-of-Powers-and/Czepczynski/p/book/9781138254275

Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao bridge. (2014). Royal HaskoningDHV.

https://www.royalhaskoningdhv.com/en/projects/hong-kong-zhuhai-macao-
bridge

John Malathronas (2014, December 5). Palace of the damned dictator: On the trail of
Ceausescu in Bucharest. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/gallery/ceausescu-trail-
bucharest-romania/index.html

Keegan, E. (2006, October 27). Adrian Smith Leaves SOM. Architect Magazine.
https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/adrian-smith-leaves-som_o

Krishna, K. (2022, September 9). Beijing Daxing International Airport. Airport

Technology. https://www.airport-technology.com/projects/beijing-daxing-
international-airport-china/

Laris, M. (1998, August 17). Untamed Waterways Kill Thousands Yearly. Washington
Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
srv/inatl/longterm/china/stories/death081798.htm

Murphy, D. (2015, November 9). Megastructures: seven wonders of the modern world
near completion | Art and design | The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/nov/09/megastructure
s-seven-wonders-of-the-modern-world-near-completion

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Petronas Twin Towers. (2022, April 30). Design & Structure | The Towers | PETRONAS
Twin Towers. https://www.petronastwintowers.com.my/design-and-structures/

Stack, M. (2005, October 13). In Dubai, the Sky's No Limit. Los Angeles Times.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-oct-13-fg-dubai13-story

The Jeddah Tower: Saudi Arabia aims for the sky. (2021, June 18). We Build Value.
https://www.webuildvalue.com/en/infrastructure/the-jeddah-tower-saudi-arabia-
aims-for-the-sky.html

Wilhelm, S. (2013, July 30). Boeing Everett Dreamlifter center to open in October.
Puget Sound Business Journal.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2013/07/30/boeing-everett-
dreamlifter-center-to.html

Willett, M. (2014, October 17). Dubai's Burj Khalifa Now Has the Highest Observation
Deck in The World At 1,821 Feet, And It Looks Incredible.
https://www.businessinsider.com/dubais-burj-khalifa-now-has-the-highest-
observation-deck-in-the-world-at-1821-feet-and-it-looks-
incredible/articleshow/44860347?IR=T

Yang, X. (2022, December 18). Three Gorges Dam: An Overview. Stanford University.
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2022/ph240/yang2/

Yeo, G. (2014, July 30). Boeing to assemble 787-10 in South Carolina. Flight Global.
https://www.indiainfoline.com/article/news-top-story/boeing-to-assemble-
dreamliner-in-south-carolina-114073116234_1.html

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