| Underground Spaces 2008 |
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From Monday, 08 September 2008
To Wednesday, 10 September 2008
Every day |
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Underground spaces are
becoming increasingly important for a wide diversity of uses by
society. They range from classical excavations to subway constructions,
underground sport halls, power stations, waste repositories,
underground cities, and many others. Their construction techniques are
also very varied, from open air excavation to newly developed injection
methods.
The response of the underground structures
on the imposed loadings depends on a number of parameters that
sometimes are too complex or not fully understood, resulting to budget
overruns or even failures that lead to loss of life or property. Such
uncertain cases need to be addressed and engineers should accurately
predict the construction’s performance throughout its
construction and
service life.
Plans for underground spaces to be
used as storage facilities have, in many cases, proved highly
controversial. This is particularly the case when proposing to build a
chemical or nuclear depository, but also applies to general waste.
Serious environmental issues can arise in these cases. The issue is
particularly pressing in our society and it is a matter of urgency to
share common experiences in this field.
The
Conference will discuss not only the structural and environmental
material characterization aspects but also the trends regarding the
utilisation of underground spaces. Moreover it will emphasise in its
environmental aspects, the architectural characteristics and concepts
that might be applied to make underground space an integral part of the
city planning and a living environment.
It is a
strong belief that population growth and the demand for better
accommodation and leisure facilities, combined with a desire to improve
the landscape, will result in the need to develop more underground
spaces for leisure facilities and accommodation. This phenomenon, which
started in countries subjected to extreme climates is now becoming more
widespread.
The Conference is convened to discuss
problems and issues that are common to different types of underground
spaces in an effort to share experiences and lessons learnt in a
variety of disciplines ranging from engineering and architecture to
social sciences and economics.
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Location: The New Forest, UK
Contact: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2008/underground08/index.html |
