CIVL 1160

Civil Engineering and Modern Society

Chapter 1

Introduction
Prof. Thomas HU
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
 About this Course
• Won “Best Common Core” 2018

• Practical knowledge + projects

catering to different backgrounds
• Contribute at various levels
(academic/ community/ society)
• S & T CC - Science & Technology
 doesn’t mean “no numbers at all”; for example
 no calculus/any math beyond (unless you like it
for project—but automated by technology)
 About Class Projects
• Groups to be formed by (similar)
major
• Summer 2019: had 3 types
1. Monitoring of potential
settlement in To Kwa Wan
2. Use of handheld technology to
make (academic) life easier
3. Building an information
database on (old) HK
What is Civil Engineering?
• Design, construction,
and maintenance of the
built environment
• “Civil” - distinguishes
non-military from
military purposes
Civil Engineering: Main Disciplines
• Structures and materials
• Geotechnical
• Environmental
• Water resources
• Transportation
• Construction management
• Smart cities
 The Built
Environment
What is a Built Environment?
• Man-made
• Using natural materials & resources
• Benefiting mankind
• With prudent urban planning &
environmental protection
Example: The Skyline of Hong Kong
 Example: Reservoirs

• Plover Cove Reservoir (with

array of survey pillars)

• List of reservoirs in
Hong Kong
 Plover Cove Reservoir

• Electronic Distance Meter (EDM)

Calibration Baseline built on dam
• Total Station (EDM + theodolite)
• Used by land surveyors • Use in building measurements
Example: Transportation Infrastructure

Traffic analysis: a mathematical field (probability, statistics, etc.)

Probabilistic simulation in transportation engineering

Some Famous
Structures in
the World
Taipei 101 (once the tallest in Asia, 509.2 m)

TMD: mitigates earthquake

(dynamic) loads

Ch. 2: Types of Loads on

Structures
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

Ch. 3: Types of Forces

Cables in tension

Tower in
compression

Deck under shear, bending & torsion

 Sydney Opera House

Curved structure made possible by

precast concrete shells

Ch. 4: Materials
 Leaning Tower of Pisa

Ch. 5: Foundations

Ch. 8:
Building Defects
(foundation problems)
 Petronas Twin Tower, Kuala Lumpur

Ch. 6: Tall Buildings

skybridge
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Kobe

Ch. 7: Bridges

• Longest central
span (1,991 m) of
all suspension
bridges
 Marina Sands, Singapore

“cantilever”
(~63 m)
tension

compression

Ch. 8: Building Defects (cantilever structures)

CN Tower, Toronto

• 533 m
• once the world’s
tallest structure
• radio and TV
communication
platform
Burj Khalifa, Dubai
• 829.8 m
• Currently the
world’s tallest
building
Monumental
Structures in
Hong Kong
 International
Commerce Centre
(484 m)
The Cullinan
(270 m)
Peak Tram

Service
The Big Buddha (天壇大佛)
Tsing Ma Bridge (青馬大橋)

• Suspension bridge

• 1377 m main span: longest in

the world carrying rail traffic
Stonecutters Bridge (昂船洲大橋)

• Cable-stayed bridge
(world’s 3rd longest)
“Symphony of Lights” Laser Show
(8 pm daily, involving 40+ buildings)
Monumental
Structures in
Macau
Grand Lisboa
(2007)
• 261 m
• 47-storey
• 420 rooms
• Tallest building
in Macau
 Macau Tower (2001)
338 m
Tallest structure in Macau
The Venetian (2007)
• Largest casino in the world
• 3000 rooms
Lotus Bridge (2000)
1.78 km
Cotai Strip 金光大道 (2010)
Cotai Strip 金光大道 (2014)
Las Vegas Strip (2014)
 But…
Hong Kong: usable floor area per person

(sq. m)
 and…
• An example (island side,
near MTR, 3-yr old building)
• “Nanoflats” (area in sq. ft.)
• 2019 asking price: 6.8M
HKD for 178’
 and…
• Concrete deterioration
• Water seepage
• etc.

Ch. 9: Building Deterioration

and Redevelopment
Detection of Ground Settlement
• Project (summer 2019)
• Background: Ch. 5
Reported settlement amount
in mm (by newspaper’s
“engineering consultants”)

“%tage exceeding
warning level” (??)
Source

level and staff

 “Four Necessities in Life”
• Clothing 衣
• Food 食
• Housing 住
• Transportation 行
 Which ones are directly related to civil
engineering?
 Has the situation improved in Hong
Kong?
 A website built by CIVL 1160 students
Hong Kong: Then and Now
• 13% down payment for a flat in Mei
Foo Sun Chuen (1974), i.e.
• Purchase price ~ 135,500HKD
• Today’s prices: ~ 5.68M to 6.59M 
~ went up 40 to 50 times
• What can we can do?

Ch. 10: Affordable Housing

Hong Kong: Then and Now

1979

2019

Ch. 11: Transportation Systems and

Environmental Issues
 Hong Kong: Then and Now

• “Non-stop water supply”--a selling point?

• Ch. 12 (Water Supply)
End of Ch. 1