New Zealand officials publish detailed list of buildings set to fall in post-quake clean-up.

While demolition contractors from within and without quake-torn Christchurch manoeuvre behind closed doors to secure a slice of the growing post-quake demolition pie, a new list of buildings to be fully or partially demolished in the city brings into sharp focus the true extent of the damage wrought by the February earthquake.

Even the toughest of hard-nosed demolition men will realise that their labours are set to change irrevocably the city skyline and landscape.

The necessity of these demolitions will be of scant consolation to residents and property owners in the area.

The full list (to date) can be found here.

Demolition to begin at housing estate featured in Michael Caine movie.

If you’re a property owner and someone approaches you saying they’d like to use your premises for a new Michael Caine movie, it might be best to decline unless you want to be the proud owner of a pile of rubble.

With the dust barely settled on the demolition of the Gateshead car park made famous in the Caine movie Get Carter, the actor’s Grim Reaper-like touch is about to befall a housing estate in south London that formed the backdrop of the recent Harry Brown movie.

Demolition teams were set to move in on one of Britain’s best known housing estates. The dismantling of the sprawling Heygate estate in Walworth, south-east London was due to start on Friday.

The Heygate estate is close to the Aylesbury estate, which Tony Blair visited hours after his 1997 election victory. In his first leadership speech he described the residents as the “forgotten people” and pledged to tackle social exclusion in the area.

The destruction of the Heygate estate is part of a £1.5bn regeneration project in Elephant and Castle, an area widely considered as one of London’s eyesores. It aims to transform it into “a brand-new town centre” over the next 15 years.

Read more here or view a full set of photos (courtesy of Planning Resource) here.

Terminal A at Alabama’s Shuttlesworth Airport to be demolished

Birmingham’s old airport terminal is being torn down to make way for a more than $200 million renovation.

Officials say workers will soon begin demolishing the old Terminal A at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. The building served as the city’s main air gateway from 1962 until 1973.

Officials say demolition of the terminal and an air cargo facility will make way for the addition of a new concourse. The renovation project will roughly double the size of the terminal at the airport, which is the state’s busiest.

Work is scheduled for completion in 2014.

High reach excavator comes a cropper despite coppers.

Guiding a high reach excavator through busy city streets is no mean feat, so it is always nice to know that you can count on the boys in blue for assistance whenever you need it….well, usually.

As this photo (courtesy of Twitter user @Harkathon) shows, even the presence of six police officers is no guarantee of total safety.

We have no further details on the incident and we’re sure that the presence of the Pizza Hut restaurant was not the cause of any momentary loss of constabulary concentration.

Protestors claim Moscow railway station demolition is illegal.

Russian activists have protested plans to demolish one of Moscow’s oldest railway depots, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reports.

Activists from the Arkhnadzor (Architecture Control) movement staged individual pickets in front of the Russian Railways headquarters in Moscow today in protest at plans to demolish the depot at the capital’s Leningrad railway station,

The protesters say the decision to demolish the depot is illegal.

Read more here.

Time-lapse video of Popes Road car park demolition.

The Car Park in Popes Road was situated in the heart of one of London’s cultural Hotspots- Brixton Market. Built in the early 1970’s, the building had served the area for over 40 years and had become an iconic symbol for the local residents.

However, the steel packer plates between the spandrel panels and the main frame had rusted and blown, which had compromised the structural integrity of the structure. Following a number of structural reports the Car park was deemed unfit for public use and a possible source for falling debris. This in mind, the Car Park was commissioned for demolition to uphold the safety and wellbeing of the local population.

The close proximity to the busy Brixton market, a railway line, a public house, council depot and live highways meant thorough vetting of all contractors was necessary. Following a vigorous tendering period, in which DDS’ submission was closely scrutinised, DDS were successful in their bid to demolish the Structure and commenced works on site November 2010.

Read a more detailed case study here or view the video below:

Council votes to demolish former home of one of football’s oldest clubs.

The former home of Scarborough Football Club is to be demolished – marking a step towards the development of a new leisure village for the town.

The council voted to demolish the stadium, which has been derelict since the club was wound up in 2007.

Featherstone Rovers Rugby League Club have agreed to buy two of the stands from the Seamer Road site and carry out demolition as part of this. A new sports complex is planned for part of the site.

The ground was bought by the council in a dilapidated stated from the liquidator following the club’s demise.
Since then there have been arson attacks and vandalism at the site.

Eric Pickles refuses to intervene in Liverpool’s Welsh Streets demolition row

Campaigners hoping to save Liverpool’s Welsh Streets and Ringo Starr’s childhood home have been dealt a massive blow by the Government.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has refused to force Liverpool Council to sell the derelict homes.

Save Britain’s Heritage asked Pickles to use a little-known piece of existing legislation known as a Public Request to Order Disposal (PROD) to force the sale. Pickles has said he will keep the situation under review and ask the council for an update in three months.

The setback for campaigners came ahead of a crunch planning committee meeting on Tuesday to decide the future of the 271 homes, in Toxteth.

Read more here.

Great Lakes announces departure of demolition president

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation, the largest provider of dredging services in the United States and a major provider of commercial and industrial demolition services, announced that Mr. Christopher Berardi resigned his employment with Great Lakes’ demolition segment, effective April 29, 2011.

Berardi owns a 35% Class B membership interest in NASDI, LLC, Great Lakes’ primary demolition segment subsidiary. Upon receipt of Berardi’s resignation, Great Lakes exercised its option to call Mr. Berardi’s NASDI membership interest for a nominal exercise price. As a result, Great Lakes will own 100% of NASDI, LLC.

“NASDI has a strong operating team, now led by Steve Pegg. We look forward to working more closely with NASDI leadership to continue to expand NASDI’s footprint.”

Stephen E. Pegg, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Great Lakes, is currently responsible for operations at NASDI and is leading the effort to better integrate NASDI and Great Lakes.

Jonathan W. Berger, CEO of Great Lakes stated: “NASDI has a strong operating team, now led by Steve Pegg. We look forward to working more closely with NASDI leadership to continue to expand NASDI’s footprint.”

Read more here.

Maylarch managing director named among 20 fittest directors.

A few weeks ago, I was in a demolition site canteen, awaiting arrival of my traditional “I’ll have a large portion of everything that is fried” breakfast when a guy beside me ordered a salad. I had barely recovered from the shock of a healthy demolition man when it was compounded when another enquired if they served green tea.

Now, to be honest, I had put this down to some single-site anomaly but we have just received news that this worrying trend may be spreading and, in fact, getting worse.

Nick Williamson, managing director of UK demolition contractor Maylarch (and pictured here on a leisurely London to Paris cycle ride in aid of Sobell House Hospice), has been named among the final 20 contenders in the Daily Telegraph’s search for the UK’s fittest director.

We’re currently awaiting more information and Nick’s reaction to this shock announcement but he is uncontactable at present; he’s probably out for a run or wrestling an alligator.