Page 28 - English for Construction 2
P. 28

Focus     on   a  project:   The    Shard,    London


                       Reading      The  Shard  is  a skyscraper  in he centre  of  London,  just  near the famous  Tower
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                                    Bridge.  It is one  of he tallest  buildings n Europe.  Designed  by  Renzo Piano,  the
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                                    tower  has  88 levels and  is clad  entirely in glass.  It contains  offices,  restaurants,
                                    bars, cafes,  viewing  galleries,  a  hotel and residential  apartments. One  of  the
                                    biggest  challenges  the developers had o  deal  with  was  to  minimise isruption
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                                    in he  local  area: The  Shard  is located  next o  London  Bridge  station, one  of  the
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                                    busiest ransport  hubs in  London, and  Guy's  Hospital, a large  teaching hospital.
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                                    Noise and dust  had o  be  kept o  a  minimum.  On his page  you  will  look at some
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                                    of he  equipment hat  was  used n he  construction of The  Shard.
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                                                                       N o r m a l l y  a ift
                                                                       shaft  has to  be
                                                                       complete  before  a
                                                                       lift  can  be  installed.
                                                                       W i t h  j u m p  lift
                                                                       technology  this
                                                                       is not  necessary.
                                                                       As  the  b u i l d i n g
                                       These cantilever  loading  platforms  rises,  the u m p  lift,
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                                       are  easy to  install  and  move.  Cranes  w h i c h  contains  its
                                       lift  the platforms nto  position.   own  machine  room,
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                                       They  are  flush  w i t h  the  floor  rises  w i t h t .
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                                       allowing  the  movement  of  large
                                       objects  i n and  out  of  the structure.
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                                       High-rise  buildings ike the  Shard  The  Shard
                                                                       construction  site
                                       need  a lot  of concrete.  This  project
                                       used  a  powerful,  high-performance  used  a  number
                                       p u m p  w h i c h can  p u m p  more  than  of  cranes.  The
                                       9 0 m 1  of concrete  per  hour.  lead  crane  i n  the
                                                                       centre  occupied  the
                                                                       highest  spot.  This
                                                                       crane  was  mounted
                                                                       inside  the  core.
                                                                       As  the  b u i l d i n g
                                                                       rose the crane  was
                                                                       jacked  up.
                     Vocabulary  1  Read the text and look at the photos. Find  words  which are close in meaning  to
                                    these  words.
                                    1  simple                  5  tall
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                                    2  on he same level  as    6  middle
                                    3  elevator                7  uppermost
                                    4  finished
                      Speaking   2  Think bout he four pieces  of  equipment  mentioned n he texts. What  are  they
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                                    for?  Make  notes  and discuss  your  ideas  with  a partner.
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                                 3  How  do  you hink the op crane was  removed  at he end  of the construction phase?
                                 4  Find  photos  of The  Shard  construction site  on he internet. Can  you  identify
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                                    any  other  pieces  of  equipment?  Report  back o he  class.  Explain  what  the
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                                    equipment  is  for.
      26       3  Equipment
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