Brief encounter lays foundation for towering pipe dream

LONDON: A chance 45-second chat in a cloakroom at the World Economic Forum in Davos has spawned Britain's tallest sculpture, which will be built for the London Olympics and soar higher than Big Ben.

Building A Career

"Ever since I was young, I loved to build things. I decided to follow this career path pretty much after high school," Olivia Mirza, 35, says. This love has continued after Olivia started her PhD at the University of Western Sydney in 2006.

Specialist In The 'art' Of Hospital Design

JOHN COLAHAN GRIFFIN ARTIST, ARCHITECT 7-6-1920 - 20-6-2008

Repair In Slow Lane

RESIDENTS say a year is too long to close a busy Newcastle road, and the last straw was watching the temporary fencing that closes off half of a large section of Newcomen Street come crashing down.

It Pays To Be Civil

Civil engineers are entering the labour market in record numbers. A 2007 Australian Bureau of Statistics labour-force survey says employment growth for civil engineers, over the past two years, is 47.7 per cent compared with 4.5 per cent for all occupations.

Save The World

Today's engineers are going green, writes Margot Date.

Road Repair Dead End

SEVEN months after the June long weekend storms, one of Newcastle's busiest streets remains partly closed and no one knows when it will be reopened.

Family's Thoughts Extend To Others

THE Drayton family emerged briefly from their private grief yesterday to express thanks to those who had sent messages of support and sympathy.

Lives Taken In Explosion That Rocked Valley

HUNTER Valley winemaker Trevor Drayton and another man were killed yesterday when a massive explosion ripped through Drayton's Family Wines, at Pokolbin.

Bridge Closed Over Corrosion

AN old steel bridge at Tighes Hill has been closed to traffic after structural engineers found significant corrosion.

Building Experts Take On Challenges Of The Future

MORE than 200 of the nation's top structural engineers will be in Newcastle next week for a conference on future challenges in the building industry.

Top Advice At Quality Price

DEVELOPERS of strata apartment buildings and the more complex community schemes rely on a vast array of professionals for advice: solicitors, architects, surveyors, structural engineers, quantity surveyors, builders, real estate sales teams, and strata managing agents. The strata managing agent i

Rest Of Unsafe Facade To Come Tumbling Down

The remaining portion of the historic Hunter Street building facade which collapsed last week will be demolished following discussions between structural engineers and safety officials. However the Hamilton Street facade of the same building will be retained as planned. Six people we

Hawke Accused Of Delaying Engineers

The NSW Government has complained that the Prime Minister forced five structural engineers to miss their flight to Newcastle yesterday when he commandered a NSW Government helicopter to visit the earthquake zone. Staff of the acting Premier, Mr Murray, spent much of yesterday organising s