Imagine an architect's office being commissioned with the unusual task of creating a design for an extraterrestrial villa on the moon! The editors of Quest, a monthly, popular science magazine in the Netherlands, recently called on the creativity of the architects of Royal Haskoning and two other firms to demonstrate some real out- of- the- box thinking. Living on the moon Rik Kuiper, an editor at Quest, was happily surprised with the totally different concepts that the three firms came up with. " It is nice to work on this type of lighthearted item in our magazine. In the past, we have asked other companies for a design for the ideal city in Markermeer lake, for example. Or to design a unique landmark for Amsterdam, like the Statue of Liberty in New York and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. We always try to encourage prominent firms to get involved and also those with a definite affinity to the concept. These are unpaid assignments, but their designs are beautifully presented in our magazine, which has a print run of 200,000. I imagine that this out- of- the- box thinking might also generate ideas for real designs by the teams in their day- to- day work." Stimulating creativity " These types of fun assignments are right up our street, and it's true that they stimulate our creativity," says architect Dennis Hauer. " Our moon villa was designed to be a spherical isotope. A compact and self- supporting ecosystem on the moon. In itself, a villa like this is, of course, an absurd idea but the challenge was to think outside the established paradigms. We devised a new and sustainable type of dwelling, whose design is completely in line with Royal Haskoning's ideas: innovation, Cradle to Cradle ® and working with a multidisciplinary approach. And who knows, some time, somewhere, Royal Haskoning may even build something similar to our moon villa." Dennis Hauer + 31 ( 0) 20 5697 732 d. hauer@ royalhaskoning. com >> 8rangeinternational

Following the partial failure of the corporation's quay at La Brea, NEC appointed Royal Haskoning to provide engineering expertise and advice so that the quay could be locally strengthened in time for an important loadout of a 2500 ton platform and jacket, destined for delivery to nearby oil and gas fields. Used to ' load out' heavy drilling rigs for the oil and gas industry, La Brea's quay is constructed from straight web piles in an unusual open cellular configuration. A number of piles at several locations on the quay face had begun to separate. As a result the fill between the piles had begun to wash out into the harbour leading to further progressive failure. This meant the quay was not strong enough to carry heavy loads. Failure of the quay could not have come at a worse time for NEC. Scheduled for early in 2010, the platform and jacket would need to be loaded out across the quay onto a barge that would transport them to sea. Any delay would incur major financial consequences, so with no alternative available, repairs to the quay had to begin in earnest in order for quay to facilitate load out of the rig in time. Led from its Edinburgh office, Royal Haskoning combined technical maritime expertise to plan and design a solution that could be delivered within the stringent timeframe. " After consultation with NEC and a locally appointed contractor, we designed a piled deck solution to span the failing quay," explained Project Director Mike Ramsay. " This made best use of locally sourced plant, materials and labour, off- site prefabrication for the deep steel beams and heavy pre- stressed concrete deck slabs. " We adopted an extremely pro-active approach throughout the project, completing detailed design and construction issue drawings in just four weeks to allow a rapid start on site. Adaptations were made to the design where necessary as the project continued. It was a real team effort." Senior Project Engineer Steve Cross added: " Strengthening the quay involved constructing a grid containing 35 tubular bearing piles, each measuring 45m in length. The grid was driven through the existing structure while the deck components were being manufactured off- site. We carried out dynamic pile testing to verify load capacity and as the piling was completed, the deck components were delivered to the quay and erected. " During the critical piling phase we provided full time engineering supervision and made regular site visits throughout the project. The facility was completed successfully and in time for the rig to be loaded out." Engineering Manager for NEC John Jones said: " We want to thank everyone involved in this project for the hard work and effort expended to strengthen the quay in time for the scheduled loadout of the rig and jacket. Special thanks go to the Royal Haskoning team, contractors LMCS and Pres T- Con, and all others who played an important role in this exercise - your hard work is appreciated." NEC is a subsidiary of the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago www. nec. co. tt For further information: Mike Ramsay m. ramsay@ royalhaskoning. com Responsible for developing the country's natural gas- based projects and industrial infrastructure, the National Energy Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago Limited ( NEC) manages the development of industrial estates in Trinidad and Tobago and industrial estates, the port and marine facilities for its energy sector. It also owns and operates marine and other infrastructure that facilitates the import and export requirements of petrochemical and metal plants. This includes the La Brea Industrial Estate, situated on the west coast of Trinidad, which includes an offshore rig fabrication yard, situated on the west coast of Trinidad. Strengthening Quay for Trinidad rig loadout rangeinternational >> 9