Category Archives: Civil Engineering

Database Trial – DETAIL Inspiration

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Our second database trial for June is also likely to interest architects and building designers.

DETAIL Inspiration is an image and reference database that uses precise, relevant visual inspirations to support architects in their search for construction solutions. With more than 3,300 projects from the last 32 years, DETAIL inspiration is a highly valuable source of research and inspiration for architects, giving access to reference photographs, sketches, technical product information, within a clearly structured search and filter system.

All project descriptions are available for download. The database design is optimized for smart phone, tablet and desktop.

To begin searching go to www.detail-online.com/inspiration – access is via IP address and the trial runs to 24th June 2017.

We welcome feedback – good or bad – on this trial, please contact Steve Corn s.c.corn@lboro.ac.uk with your comments.

Database Trial – Birkhäuser Building Types Online

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Architects, artists and building engineers may find our latest database trial of great interest to them.

The database Building Types Online draws on the expertise and the high international standing of Birkhäuser and comprises the knowledge and content of selected Birkhäuser manuals in typological order. The approx. 850 case studies are documented with texts by authors who are experts in their fields and with approx. 5000 architectural drawings of high quality as well as 2000 photographs of the buildings.

Using a systematic and analytical search and browse structure that allows all kinds of combinations, the database provides solutions for numerous design tasks in study and practice. This tool will facilitate research on building typology and architectural design assignments.

Thematic articles provide background information on individual building types or explain specific aspects such as lighting, acoustics, urban considerations, access types or planning processes. The users, be they in academia, architectural practice or students, will be offered a comprehensive online resource on building types based on seminal buildings of the past 30 years. Housing as one of the most frequent design tasks forms a large focus of the database.

To begin searching go to www.degruyter.com/db/bdt – access is via IP address and the trial runs to 31st July 2017.

A user guide is available at: https://www.degruyter.com/staticfiles/pdfs/User_Guide_Building_Types_Online_EN.pdf

We welcome feedback – good or bad – on this trial, please contact Steve Corn s.c.corn@lboro.ac.uk with your comments.

Database Trial – Polymer Library

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19985223,192x192,r-2We’re re-trialling a database this month that may be of considerable interest to chemists and engineers alike.

The Polymer Library is the world’s largest abstracts database dedicated to plastics, rubber, polymer composites and adhesives. Compiled and written by an expert team, this database sources information from journals, conference proceedings, books and reports to give you a comprehensive look at the information in your field. Find out more about the database and what it can do for you.

To obtain the trial details please login with your University username and password at https://internal.lboro.ac.uk/diss/lb/uniwide/webpages/Trials.html

Access is valid to 6th October 2016.

We welcome feedback – good or bad – on this trial, please contact Steve Corn.

Calling All Geographers and Civil Engineers!

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digimapIf you’re studying in the fields of Geography and Civil Engineering, you’ll be certain of finding Geology Digimap extremely useful!

Geology Digimap – http://digimap.edina.ac.uk/ – can provide UK geology maps showing areas with indications of flooding, maps of soil texture, rock units, maximum and minimum permeability, soil strengths – from the very strong to the very weak – vital for physical geography, building and civil engineering.

Geology Digimap can also show what is below superficial and artificial deposits, underneath landscaped ground, the location of faults, fossil horizons, mineral veins and landforms.

Geological photos are available and you can draw on maps and annotate them, use software such as GIS or CAD, as well as save and export maps.

How to register for free –  login to Digimap using your Athens username and Password.   Complete the online registration and click on submit.  An email will be sent to the email address you entered in the Enter Details screen containing a link to activate your account. The link will remain valid for 24 hours.

Why not take a look at the databases stablemates while you’re at it? Marine Digimap and Historical Digimap are also available at http://digimap.edina.ac.uk/

You also can find Digimap from the link in the Geography subject guide http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/library/subjectguides/geography/  and from the Select Databases tab in Library Catalogue Plus http://lcp.lboro.ac.uk/

Or just ask your Academic Librarian – http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/library/contact/academiclibrarians – for more information.

ResFest 2015

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resfestThe School of Civil & Building Engineering will be holding their first ever research festival next week, Tuesday January 20th (9.30am-4pm). 

The activities of ResFest will support you in thinking about your research skills, looking for research funding, creating research impact and engaging with the public. A range of academics will share their knowledge and best practice with you, and you will have great opportunities for networking and learning about other research in a fun and informal manner.

  • Showing-case your research and learn about what we do: exhibitions and tours
  • Best practice workshops: public engagement and research impact
  • Research funding: workshops and interactive sessions
  • How to do research: hands-on sessions
  • Social media help desk
  • Games, competitions and networking.

All events are free to attend, but the School is expecting high demand and an advanced online registration is required.

Please register here for the main event:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cbe-research-festival-2014-tickets-14504049001

Please register here for specific sessions:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cbe-research-festival-session-bookings-tickets-14524106995

All sessions are free, subject to availability.

National Women in Engineering Day

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Today is National Women in Engineering Day, which has been set up by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) to celebrate its 95th anniversary. Its overall aim is to celebrate the work that women do in engineering, and to showcase the great engineering careers that are available for girls.

One of the means they use as part of their Magnificent Women outreach activity is a series of resource sheets profiling a notable female engineer. Among these notables is Loughborough’s own Claudia Parsons (1900-1998) who in 1919 became one of the first girls to enrol in Loughborough Technical College’s Engineering Diploma courses, graduating in 1922 to become a beacon for other girls seeking to break into engineering.

To find out more about the Society, visit their website here.

Eden Flix Presents 'How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?'

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118_posterThis Wednesday afternoon at 3pm in the Cope Auditorium Eden Flix presents a free showing of the documentary film How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?, introduced by Professor Jacqui Glass, Professor of Architecture & Sustainable Construction in the School of Civil and Building Engineering.

The film traces the rise of one of the world’s premier architects, Norman Foster, and his unending quest to improve the quality of life through design.

Tickets are free, but booking is necessary – follow this link to do that.

Eden Flix are a series of highly acclaimed, thought-provoking and inspirational documentaries on issues related to engineering, design and social consciousness. All staff and students at Loughborough are welcome to attend.

World Water Day 2013

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“Water, water everywhere, only if we share!”

No, that’s not a general statement on weather conditions at the moment, but the winning slogan in a competition organised for this year’s World Water Day, which is celebrated today.

Every year since its establishment in 2003, UN Water helps countries attempt to achieve water preservation goals and promotes key messages to the world in general. This years’ theme seeks to highlight the importance of cooperation in striking a balance between different water needs and priorities, in order to share water equitably across the globe.

The University plays a significant role in preserving global water resources through the invaluable work of WEDC (Water, Engineering and Development Centre), based in the School of Civil & Building Engineering. WEDC is one of the world’s leading education and research institutes for developing knowledge and capacity in water and sanitation for low- and middle-income countries.

For our part, we have access to a range of online resources on the subject, including Aqualine, Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management, and Water Resources Abstracts, as well as a large number of books and journals among our civil engineering collection on Level 1.

For more information about World Water Day and the work of UN Water, visit their website here:

http://www.unwater.org/water-cooperation-2013/events/world-water-day/en/

A Second Prize That's Not to be Sniffed At

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Loughborough’s athletes weren’t the only ones to carry home a major prize this month – our very own Water Engineering & Development Centre (WEDC) claimed second prize in a prestigious competition to produce the next generation in… toilets.

The Reinvent the Toilet Challenge was set last year by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and asked engineers to come up with a more ecological sustainable design to surpass the present flush toilet model created by a Scottish watchmaker, Alexander Cummings, over two centuries ago.

The California Institute of Technology wiped out the opposition with a solar-powered design that breaks down water and human waste into hydrogen gas for use in fuel cells, claiming the first prize of $100,000. WEDC’s design for a toilet that produces biological charcoal, minerals and clean water surfaced for the second prize of $50,000, while the University of Toronto bubbled under for third place with a design that sanitises faeces and urine, and recovers resources and clean water.

Joking aside, it’s estimated that only 63% of the world’s population have access to improved sanitation facilities – that’s a staggering 2.6 billion people without the facilities we tend to take for granted. The billionaire Microsoft chief set universities around the world the challenge to come up with a method of improving this dire situation.

To found out more about the competition, visit the Foundation’s site here. Or to find out more about WEDC’c work, visit their site here.

Image by Robert Ganzer, reproduced under CC License from Flickr.

The 2011 EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture

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The Neues Museum in Berlin is the winner of the 2011 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Award, the European Commission announced this week.

The building is a reconstruction, blending old and new, by the British architect Sir David Chipperfield. The original Neues Museum, designed by Friedrich August Stüler, was built in the mid-19th century. The building was severely damaged in the Second World War and reconstruction began in 2003, with the aim of restoring the site to its former glory.

Launched in 1987, the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Award is presented every other year. The Prize is supported by the European Commission in the framework of its Culture Programme and by the Mies van der Rohe Foundation.

The winners were chosen from 343 submitted works in 33 European countries. Six works were shortlisted for the main award. The other finalists were: Bronks Youth Theatre (Brussels, Belgium); MAXXI: Museum of XXI Century Arts (Rome, Italy); Concert House Danish Radio (Copenhagen, Denmark); Acropolis Museum (Athens, Greece) and Rehabilitation Centre Groot Klimmendaal (Arnhem, The Netherlands).

The award ceremony will take place on 20 June at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona.

To find out more about the award and the ceremony why not visit the Europa website here. The library has access to a wide variety of databases concerning the subject of architecture and civil engineering on Metalib. Why not have a browse?