Boom in Billboard Designing

There is an article about architecture that turned a billboards along the road into homes for homeless people in our blog. (read here). An interesting concept that can solve the problem of homelessness in the world. This time Zaha Hadid, well-known architect, rethought roadside advertising with a new billboard design.

Outdoor advertising company JCDeaux asked Zaha Hadid to create a “curved and flowing” billboard for south side of West Cromwell Road that is the main route from Heathrow airport in London. The billboard is housed within twisting bands of thick sheet metal. It is supposed to reduce vehicle headlights and glare from the sunlight. The idea is make steel structure and facade panels integrate into one shell.

A strip of lightning across the curved back of the structure illuminates the pavement. They chose metals as a material for building this structure because it can be pre-fabricated off site in large sections. The screen of this billboard will be available for safety messages, travel updates, also it will show work of local artists, architects and designers. (via Dezeen)

via dezeen

via dezeen

Metals can be used in various applications, architecture, design, automotive industry and many others. Shanghai Metal Corporation is one of the leading manufacturer. We provide and supply high carbon special steel and steel pipes and tubes. For more information visit our website or send us inquiry. English speaking staff will guide you further. Download our new application by scanning QR code below and follow us on Social Media platforms.

    

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

Read more articles written by this author here.

Credits : dezeen.com, googleimages, wikipedia.org

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Garden Bridge

Heatherwick Studio and actor, campaigner Joanna Lumley came up with an idea for a new pedestrian bridge across the River Thames – Garden Bridge, the scheme that will connect North and South London with a garden. For one of the greenest cities in the world it will be a another precious piece of landscape and support many indigenous river edge plant species.

The proposed 367-meter bridge project got approval from local councils. According to words of Thomas Heatherwick, the bridge will be a very special place either for crossing, relaxing in or looking back at the rest of the city’s sights.

The bridge will cost not small amount of money – £175 million. It raised a lot of questions and criticism and they had to defend why their project deserves it more than the others. Heatherwick said : “This project creates a new and extraordinary views of London framed by nature.” The Garden Bridge is expected to begin construction next year. (via dezeen.com)

Shanghai Metal Corporation supplies many steel bridges projects with high-quality steel and takes part in these projects. For more information visit our main website or send us inquiry. English speaking staff will guide you further. Download a new application by scanning QR code below or follow us on Social Media.

     

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

Read more articles written by this author here.

Credits : dezeen.com, archdaily.com, googleimages.com

Retro style of telling time

Do you love retro style and you are planning to buy new watch now? Then you might be interested in a new design Retro Timer released by American clothing brand Fossil and London fashion studio Eley Kishimoto.

Retro Timer has been influenced by design in 1950’s, it has a large hand to mark the hours, but the traditional hand marking minutes has been replaced by a rotating red aluminium disc.

Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto

They wanted to use the red disc somehow and then just put a point on that disc to have it as the minutes. This way they accidentally developed a new way of telling time. (via Dezeen )

Shanghai Metal Corporation sells aluminium, steel and other metal products. Visit our main website or send us inquiry. English speaking staff will help you to find the most suitable product. Download a new application by scanning QR code below or follow us on Social Media.

    

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

Read more articles written by this author here.

Sources : dezeen.com, googleimages

Can a reflection from glass-steel skyscraper melt things?

The owner of a luxury car Jaguar XJ parked his sweetheart across the street from the curvy 37 story glass-and-steel skyscraper designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly in London  before an afternoon business meeting. Only two hours later, this car was giving off smells of melting and displaying clear signs of damage. The developers of the building who nicknamed it as “Walkie Talkie” for its distinctive shape, agreed to pay for the damages.

So how could skyscraper melt the car? 

“Fundamentally it’s reflection,” Chris Shepherd of the Institute of Physics told the BBC “If a building creates enough of a curve with a series of flat windows, which act like mirrors, the reflections all converge at one point, focusing and concentrating the light.” The curves of “Walkie Talkie” skyscraper acted like a magnifying glass to concentrate the light on only one spot, the exact spot where Jaguar XJ was parked.

“That spot”

A burn mark on the carpet from sunlight reflected off the “Walkie Talkie” Tower

According to Kheir Al-Kodmany, an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Walkie Talkie’s designers forgot about the fact that southern-facing building would generate a lot of heat. If it had been a northern-facing building, it would have been an issues. Luckily London isn’t a very sunny city.

“As we get more shiny, glassy metal buildings, reflected light will become a bigger deal,” John Frederick, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Chicago says. “The high reflection is good if you’re inside trying to keep intense sunlight out, but if you’re outside, you’ll be the recipient of that reflected light.” Well, sometimes it is just better to walk, leave your car safely parked at home and protect the environment.

Shanghai Metal Corporation offers high-quality steel products, stainless steel, galvanized steel, steel and other metal products widely used in architecture, automotive industry etc. For more information don’t hesitate to visit our website or send us inquiry. English speaking staff will guide you further. Download a new application by scanning QR code below or follow us on Social Media.

 

    

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

Read more articles written by this author here.

Sources : theverge.com, popsci.com, nydailynews.com, googleimages

Using pipes for creating a spectacular culinary experience

There are many restaurants in the world which are good, interesting, serving nice food, having brilliant staff or location. If you want to set up your own business, open your restaurant and be successful you’d better be different. Offer something different so people can enjoy a wonderful atmosphere while eating, as did one restaurant in South London and a coffee shop in Cape Town.

 

Bangalore Express Restaurant

This Indian restaurant located in South London with design studio Outline matched pipes and fittings together which is nowadays one of the hottest industrial trends for restaurant design scene. Arrangement of pipes, fitting ladders and focal boxes created each space into a separate area but it still maintains the cohesion throughout the restaurant. The eye of customers naturally follow the pattern from one side to the other. This would never be accomplished with wood. Pipes can easily create ladders and handrails. All the Outline team had to do was insert fitting into each pipe section and then secure those pieces into wall. Pipes and fittings stand up the hustle bustle of hospitality industry without any problem. Although it looks dangerous, waitresses can relax and smile, they are secured by almost indestructible pipe.

Truth Cafe

This coffee shop in Cape Town, South Africa, was designed by Heldane Martin and it is really hard to pass it up. He wanted to make coffee machines and coffee roasters look similar to Victorian futuristic fantasy style, what an interesting idea! Truth coffee wished not only to roast best coffee but also offered a perfectly executed space. Everywhere you look you can see steam pipes, vintage decoration and what’s more restrooms have exposed copper pipes, old mirrors and Victorian tap levers.

 

 

We do care about modern trends in Shanghai Metal Corporation and offer our clients the best steel and metal products, also pipe bending machine, if this article gave you a business idea. Visit our website to learn more or send us inquiry, our professional English speaking staff will gladly help you. You could also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LindkedIn. Download our new application by scanning QR code below.

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

You can read more articles written by this author here.

Original pictures and websites : simplifiedbuilding.com, boredpanda.com, thisiscolossal.com, googleimages,

How Do You Lengthen A Ship? Cut It In Half Of Course

Have you heard of the infinite chocolate theory? See below for details:

Well that’s not quite what these engineers had in mind, but close. It can be expensive to build an entirely new ship – maybe that’s why one cruise line decided to recycle an old one. Italian line MSC Cruises has decided to cut its smallest ship Armonia in half and stick a new part in.

Over several days, the 60,000-ton vessel was cut in two and a new 79ft-long, nine-deck-high section containing 193 extra cabins was slowly slotted into place. The work that took place in the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo, Sicily, increases the ship’s length to 902ft – longer than the main Canary Wharf tower in London is high – and makes space for a total of 2,679 passengers. The upgrade will take nine weeks and cost £40million – and then be repeated on three other MSC ships, Sinfonia, Opera and Lirica. The new Armonia is due to sail from the yard on November 17 – fully watertight, of course.

If they wanted to save some money, they could have called Shanghai Metal who manufactures carbon steel shipbuilding plate at competitive prices. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Our English speaking personnel will be more than pleased to assist you. Follow us on  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Source: Metro

Siobhan R.// SMC Editor

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Do You Know How The UK Coins Are Made And What Are They Made of?

The processes involved in producing a coin can be broken down into three different sections: making the blanks, making the dies and striking the coins.

Making the blanks

Depending on the alloy required, the appropriate metals are melted in the necessary proportions in a furnace. The metal is then extracted from the furnace in the form of a continuous strip, which is cut to produce coils weighing up to 2.8 tonnes. The strip is passed through powerful rolling mills to reduce it to the thickness of a coin. Blank discs of metal are then punched from the strip in a blanking press at a rate of up to 10,000 a minute. Rolling metal under great pressure makes it hard so the blanks have to be softened, something which is achieved by heating them in an annealing furnace at up to 950°C.

Making the dies

Once a design has been approved, a plaster model is prepared at several times the diameter of the intended coin. The plaster model is scanned by a ruby-tipped probe which records the design as a digital file on a computer. Guided by this digital file, an engraving machine cuts the design into a piece of steel at the correct size of the coin. Known as a reduction punch, this piece of steel is then used to make the dies which will actually strike the coins.

Striking the coins

For the final stage of the process, the blanks are fed into a coining press containing a pair of dies. Applying a pressure of around 60 tonnes, the dies strike the blanks and turn them into coins at speeds of up to 850 a minute.

= 1 penny coin =

First Issued February 15, 1971

Diameter 20.3mm

Weight 3.56g

Thickness Bronze: 1.52mm. Copper-plated steel: 1.65mm

Composition Bronze (97pc copper, 2.5pc zinc, 0.5pc tin)

= 2 pence coin =

First Issued February 15, 1971

Diameter 25.9mm

Weight 7.12g

Thickness Bronze: 1.85mm. Copper-plated steel: 2.03mm

Composition Bronze (97pc copper, 2.5pc zinc, 0.5pc tin)

= 5 pence coin =

First Issued Smaller version in June 1990.

Diameter 18.0mm

Weight 3.25g

Thickness 1.7mm

Composition Cupro-nickel (75pc copper, 25pc nickel)

= 10 pence coin =

First Issued Smaller version in September 1992.

Diameter (since 1992) 24.5mm

Weight 6.5g

Thickness 1.85mm

Composition Cupro-nickel (75pc copper, 25pc nickel)

= 20 pence coin =

First Issued June 9, 1982

Diameter 21.4mm

Weight 5g

Thickness 1.7mm

Composition Cupro-nickel (84pc copper, 16c nickel)

= 50 pence coin =

First Issued Smaller version introduced in September 1997. Diameter (since 1997) 27.3mm

Weight 8.0g

Thickness 1.78mm

Composition Cupro-nickel (75pc copper, 25pc nickel)

= 1 pound coin =

Issue Date April 21, 1983

Diameter 22.5mm

Weight 9.5g

Thickness 3.15mm

Composition Nickel-Brass (70pc copper, 5.5pc nickel, 24.5pc zinc)

= 2 pound coin =

First Issued June 15, 1998

Diameter 28.4mm

Weight 12g

Thickness 2.5mm

Composition, Outer Nickel-Brass (76pc copper, 4pc nickel, 20pc zinc). Inner Cupro-nickel (75pc copper, 25pc nickel)

= 5 pound coin =

First Issued August 4, 1990. Previously crowns had a face value of 25p

Diameter 38.61mm

Weight 28.28g

Thickness 2.89mm

Composition Cupro-nickel (75pc copper, 25pc nickel)

Collector versions have been struck in precious metals

As an international manufacturer and supplier for copper sheet and bronze sheet, Shanghai Metal Corporation produces slitting, edging, and oscillates winding to fit your specific copper requirements. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Our English speaking personnel will be more than pleased to help you. Follow us on  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Sources: Royal Mint, The Telegraph, museumvictoria.com.au

William P.//SMC Editor

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New Trend in Modern Retailing Inspired by Japanese ‘Origami’

Inspired by Japanese paper folding ‘origami’ new trend in retailing is portable and aesthetically appealing. The Kiosks created by London-based architecture firm, Make Architects, in collaboration with metal fabricators, Entech Environmental Technology Ltd are a success and use models of origami throughout the design process. Two unique prefabricated retail kiosks opened to the public for the first time at Canary Wharf’s Ice Sculpturing Festival in London in the beginning of this year.

“It was only when we were making [physical] models that we suddenly realized something was jamming, and that was really interesting.” Later, the designers built a full-scale mock-up out of cardboard and foam board. “That way we could really understand how it works,” explains Sean Affleck, Make Architects’ lead project architect.

The outer shell is made of 2-millimeter-thick aluminum plate which is crucial to mimic paper due to its lightweight and easy manipulation. Any other material would be too heavy.

Although lightweight the aluminum shell is not less resistant; the powder-coated aluminum cladding panels are highly durable against weather and graffiti, requiring minimal maintenance. The rest of the body uses stainless steel fabricated in-house.

To create a proper system that allowed opening and shutting the pop-up store with easiness the metal was folded, pressed and rolled. Such a process created an integral hinge into which a stainless steel rod was inserted. Very convenient a remote-control can do the job of opening and closing the kiosk with no stress.

“[The kiosk] had to be solid, but lightweight, so then that led us to origami,” says Affleck. “[You] end up with something very flimsy; add a few folds and creases, and suddenly the strength appears. In the folds, the shape appears.”

The vibrant opening is attractive to the public who also finds a shelter underneath the ‘origami’ roof. When opened the inside of the sculptural rectangular box measures 2m deep and 3m wide, perfect for multitude of purposes; from serving coffee to information points to even a spot for DJs at events. The interiors lined with steel frames and a plywood-stressed skin can be customized by the vendors, depending where and when they are used. It is very comfortable to stand inside the rectangular ‘origami’ box, rain-skin cladding panels protects the changing vendor stories from insulation and reduced solar gain.

“Our solution on the modern street kiosk is a distinctive sculptural rectangular box that transforms when it opens and its function is revealed. The internal fit-out elements can be adapted to suit the needs of individual vendors”, says Affleck.

Aesthetically pleasing, the prefabricated pop-up stores are a great solution as urban furniture. When closed, the booths appear as futuristic sculptures, their matte grey exteriors evoking the steel and stone of the city, enhancing and revitalizing the public space.  The aesthetic form of the kiosks coupled with new activities and landscape would be able to provide a new urban platform for both tourists and locals alike.

Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of metals such as aluminum, widely used in the fabrication of prefabricated ‘origami’ pop-up stores. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Our English speaking personnel will be more than pleased to help you. Follow us on  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Source and Photo credit: sddretail.co.uk, sklim.com, blog.archpaper.com, alucobondusa.com, archiloci.com, bestpaperz.com

Camilla G.//SMC Editor

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Shipping Containers – The World’s Most Sustainable Restaurants

Shipping containers are a perfect solution for setting up a pop-up restaurant. As we already covered in our blog about container stores, container restaurants can be installed almost everywhere and they are very likely to gather a lot of crowd. Some very well know companies have already set up a mobile restaurant.

In 2010, the sandwich company Subway had a shipping container restaurant on top of the five story Freedom Tower in New York. Subway established the restaurant for the construction workers who would otherwise have needed 45 minutes to get down from the construction. The containers had the Subway logo on a yellow background and the flag of the USA that represented the recovering from 9/11 and the resurrection of the American Dream. (source)

Shipping containers are also a form of sustainable building and offer an eco-friendly and a low-cost solution for starting restaurants.  One of the world’s best coffee shops, Starbucks, has also used shipping containers and build such an eco-friendly drive-thru cafe in Seattle. Alongside with shipping containers, the architecture also enables the collecting of rainwater and thereby lowering water consumption. (source)

In 2011, the people of London, Moscow, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Delhi, Dubai and Sydney had a chance to enjoy traditional Singaporean food that was offered form a shipping container restaurant. Thanks for shipping container’s mobility the Singapore Takeout was able to serve people in these cities within 12 months. (source)

As a new business idea, shipping container restaurants are an ideal low-cost choice. During these hard times in the economy, people who have always wanted start an own restaurant, but feel the lack of enough capital seem to have found a solution.

Shanghai Metal Corporation has a wide variety of containers including 20 ft, 40 ft, reefer containers and open top containers to name but a few. For more details, please visit our website or send us an inquiry from here. Please also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Inthrald, Weburbanist, Urban Times, Inhabitat, Inhabitat, Westphoria

What?! Car Flying Over London?

You probably have seen Smart Cars jumping over a bridge every single day in Rotterdam but I bet you haven’t seen the 2015 Jaguar XE flying over central London in the beginning of this month.

Jaguar XE leaving its factory in Solihull

In collaboration with the British Royal Air Force Red Arrows Acrobatic Team the car was air-lifted by helicopter in Solihull, where Jaguar’s manufacturers is located and carried along the Thames to Tower Bridge. The car continued its trip on a boat to later on hit the Earls Court, the home of 14 Jaguar debuts since 1935, where it was escorted by two 1960’s Mark II Jaguar Police Cars and welcomed by the 3,000 excited VIP guests.

Jaguar XE on its way to Earls Court

The show was narrated by English actor, John Hannah and included a star-studded performance lineup including Emeli Sande, The Kaiser Chiefs, Eliza Doolittle, the Royal Ballet, members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Max Milner from The Voice.

David Gandy, Damian Lewis and David Blakeley

What so special about the cutting-edge £30,000 XE sports car is the aluminum-intensive materials used to build the car, making it lightweight, stiff and sleek profile. The aluminum-lighter body makes the car more potential-fuel conscious, which in turn comes in line with efficiency regulations. Other carmakers such as Ford have chosen to use nearly all aluminum metal body in its most profitable vehicle, F150. The fact is aluminum when combined with small amounts of other metals to form and alloy it is actually just as strong as steel.

Highly aerodynamic and powerful due to it six cylinder motor, Jaguar XE generates 450 pounds-feet of torque, allowing it to go from zero to 100 km/h in less than 5 seconds and hit an electronically limited maximum speed of 155 mph. The XE car has a luxurious interior and advanced infotainment system including an eight-inch touchscreen and a clear graphical interface.

Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of aluminum sheet (aluminum plate) and other parts widely used in the manufacturing of automobiles. To find out more about us, please visit our Website, WordPress, LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook  and Instagram. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code. Moreover, we sell directly from Alibaba , EC21, Tradekey or directly at sales@shanghaimetal.com.

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Source and pictures: trendhunter.com, jaguarmena.com, liverpoolecho.co.uk, sgcarmart.com

Camilla G.//SMC Editor