Ratner Considers Prefab Tower for Atlantic Yards
The Times reports that Forest City Ratner is considering modular construction for its first, 34-story high-rise at Atlantic Yards. The story says that though the move would cut costs, a prefabricated tower “is untested at that height” and the move would likely piss off construction workers, who were among the mega-project’s most vocal supporters. Although…
The Times reports that Forest City Ratner is considering modular construction for its first, 34-story high-rise at Atlantic Yards. The story says that though the move would cut costs, a prefabricated tower “is untested at that height” and the move would likely piss off construction workers, who were among the mega-project’s most vocal supporters. Although the the developer has its architecture firm SHoP working on designs for both a traditional and modular building, another consideration is whether a prefab structure of this height would actually result in much of a cost savings, according to the story: “Whether taller modular buildings can be built to withstand intense wind shear and seismic forces, while retaining cost savings, is another question, because the higher a structure is built, the more bracing it would require.” The article says developer Bruce Ratner has been “captivated” by the video above, which shows a modular hotel rising in China in just a few days.
Prefabricated Tower May Rise at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards [NY Times]
“All that pushing the envelope is great but not with something of this scale. ”
The World Trade Center, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, 40 Wall Street, Woolworth Building, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, Singer Building, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, George Washington Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, and Brooklyn Bridge were all the tallest/longest structure of their type in the world when they opened.
I am sure that NYC has many other examples of structures that were the largest/tallest/longest example of a particular construction technique when then were built.
However, as I said earlier when it comes to pushing limits of building scale NYC now lives in the past more than the future.
Corporations can and do finance all those on-the-ground campaign activities you describe.
“How’s that any different from the Oil and Gas industry and the Republicans? ”
yeah, seriously.
i love people like dibs who like to believe that fat cat union employees are the cause of our problems – and not the unregulated financial industry and the massive amounts of corporate welfare that has been going on over the past several years.
Corporations don’t actually “elect” public officials.
Unions spend an awful lot of the money that belongs to their members prosyletizing on the TV for their “causes.”
I agree with Sparafucile that the elected assholes deserve the blame. Once your ass is elected, you dont have to worry about the unions but then shit, you already thinking about re-election position instead of governing. There’s a reason why fat Christie is getting so much respect – he’s governing and aint worried about re-election. Not to say union clout play no part in the blame game but to say elected officials who agreed to the packages shouldn’t be blamed is ridiculous
“If the elected officials are willing to sell out the taxpayers in return for union support, whose fault is that? ”
Sparafucile;
The taxpayers, of course, for not keeping a closer eye on their politicians.
As for the argument regarding corporations, again I say that your statement is disingenuous. Corporations can only affect elections in one way: campaign contributions. Public-service unions, on the other hand, have multiple means of influencing an election because their members live in the municipalities. Telphone banks, voter registrations drives in targeted districts, handing out flyers, and of course, the raw number of voters in their ranks.
“The conflict of interest with the unions and the Democrats in their pockets couldn’t be more blatant.”
How’s that any different from the Oil and Gas industry and the Republicans?
So does the private sector. David Koch can randomly call the governor of WI and get the call answered.
If the elected officials are willing to sell out the taxpayers in return for union support, whose fault is that? And you don’t think corporate political donations are also effective in determining who those same corporations deal with on regulatory and tax matters?