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Kajima U.S.A.Group Builds A New Paradise on Hawaii's Ka'anapali Coast In February 2002, construction began on the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas, adding another luxurious Hawaiian resort to the Kajima U.S.A. Group's record. Consisting of two phases, the project is nearing its anticipated completion date of April 2005. The joint venture of Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. and Kajima Construction Services, Inc. provided the general contracting services for Phase I, while Hawaiian Dredging, which joined the Kajima U.S.A. Group in 2002, is now managing Phase II. Having built the beautiful Four Seasons Hualalai resort together, both firms knew what it took to construct a world-class tropical resort. The resulting exotic villas along the world-famous Ka'anapali coast of Maui are testament to this capability. Situated along a 7-hectare (18-acre) idyllic beachfront setting are 280 hotel and time-share units with stunning vistas and luxurious accommodations. The villas comprise three six-floor guest wings with a total area of 54,000 square meters (584,400 square feet). Built on prestressed, precasted piles, these post-tensioned concrete buildings house guest units with an average floor area of 140 square meters (1,500 square feet) that feature high-end interior finishes. The resort includes a 2,700-square meter (29,000-square-foot) lobby building that contains the reception area and offices. Unlike the guest wings, this facility is composed of a steel and metal decking superstructure, covered in a skin of decorative panels that blend the building with the rest of the environment. The resort also features many leisure amenities surrounded by lush vegetation and distinctive Hawaiian features invoking an atmosphere of traditional native culture. |
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American Splendor, Japanese Quality and European Strength After having been awarded a major project in Siechnice, Poland by U.S.-based Parker Hannifin--the world leader in motion and control technologies manufacturing--the Kajima Europe B.V. Poland Branch took on a new challenge in November 2003. Wintertime in Poland can be severe, and made work on the project difficult for everyone involved. For two weeks, temperatures dropped to the - 20  range. Happily, cooperation between the client and Kajima's team resulted in the successful completion of a 13,380 square-meter (144,000-square-foot) assembly plant and office in only seven and a half months. The grand opening ceremony for the plant was held on October 7, 2004. The Kajima team was very excited to take part in this huge multinational enterprise.The first opportunity for Kajima Europe to work for Parker Hannifin occurred in June 2003, when Kajima Europe's Czech Branch proved Kajima's high quality during a 14,850-square-meter (160,000-square-foot) extension-refurbishment project in Chomutov, the Czech Republic. The client's satisfaction with Kajima's performance and on-time completion of this first task resulted in another project granted by Parker Hannifin, in April 2004 in Klecany, the Czech Republic. This project, involving a 2,315-square-meter (25,000-square-foot) new logistic warehouse, was completed by the end of October. |
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KOA Completes New Large-Scale Educational Facility on Schedule Kajima Overseas Asia Pte. Ltd. (KOA) recently celebrated the completion of new facilities for Singapore's Institute of Technical Education (ITE), a challenging project that took 20 months to complete. The massive new educational complex has a total floor area of 182,481 square meters (1,965,000 square feet), comprising three blocks of seven-story buildings, including auditoriums, conference rooms, laboratories, gymnasiums and a number of classrooms equipped with the latest in IT. The ITE was established in 1992 under the Ministry of Education of Singapore, to facilitate technical education and training for those who finished basic education and are pursuing lifetime education. The project in which KOA took part was the first regional campus project in line with a master plan announced in 2001 to consolidate the current 10 campuses into three large regional campuses to improve the learning environment. The new campus, expected to be operational from January 2005, will have sufficient resources and facilities to assist its 7,200 students pursuing full-time courses and 8,100 adult learners undertaking continuing education and training. During construction, the project team faced a number of major challenges such as a shortage of manpower due to a new government policy to reduce the number of foreign laborers. The outbreak of SARS in 2002 also resulted in a slowdown in construction material deliveries and manpower flow. These conditions were overcome, however, by continuous hard work. The project was well organized to facilitate rapid construction, and there was excellent teamwork and professionalism among the architect (RSP Private Limited), consultants (Squire Mech Private Limited and others) and project team from the client. The project was completed efficiently within the 20 months specified, and the final result was recognized by a Safety Performance Award. Mr. Tan Seng Hua, who was involved in the new campus project from the beginning, and recently appointed the new principal of the regional campus, spoke these encouraging words in his speech to 300 of the new campus staffpersons gathered for the day: "One of the difficult tasks of this new campus was accomplished by the construction team with their outstanding professionalism and deep devotion. It is now time for us to take over and face our own challenge squarely, to establish this as a new place for education." |
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New International Airport Terminal to Boost Vietnam's Economy A consortium of four Japanese general construction companies including Kajima has obtained an order worth19.85 billion yen for the construction of an international terminal at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, represented by the Southern Airport Authority, placed the order for the project, and the consortium including Kajima won the contract in open tendering. The project was financed under the Special Yen Loan Package from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The consortium began construction work in September of this year, and the project is scheduled for completion in September 2006. Tan Son Nhat Airport handles the highest passenger volume of any airport in Vietnam, and the current project was undertaken to construct a new international passenger terminal and convert the existing terminal to serve domestic flights. The total floor area of the construction project is 99,648 square meters (1,093,000 square feet). The aim is to increase the efficiency and convenience of airport service by constructing a passenger terminal building with four aboveground floors, access roads, elevated roads, parking lots and other facilities. The opening of the terminal in 2006 is expected to contribute greatly to the economic vitality of Ho Chi Minh City and all of Vietnam. |
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Twin Towers near JR Tokyo Station to Symbolize the Tokyo of the Future In September, a consortium of five companies including East Japan Railway Company, Mitsui Fudosan and Kajima began construction of the Tokyo Station Yaesu Area Development Project, an undertaking to renovate a high-profile gateway to Japan's capital. This is a large-scale project to construct twin towers with about 360,000 square meters (3,950,000 square feet) of floor area at a total construction cost of about 130 billion yen. Construction will occur in two phases, and the work is scheduled for completion in March 2011. The project involves the construction of two glass-clad high-rise towers on the north and south sides of the station plaza on the Yaesu (eastern) side of Tokyo Station and, to connect the towers, a central wing consisting of a long pedestrian deck covered by a large transparent roof that will provide natural illumination. This project will position the Yaesu Exit of Tokyo Station as a primary rail passenger gateway symbolic of the future and create a new urban space that expresses a spirit of innovation and progress. |
 
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Kajima's New Technology makes possible transparent electromagnetic shielding for MRI rooms Sophisticated diagnostic imaging equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has spread throughout the world in recent years. Now, Kajima's new technology has helped achieve a major breakthrough in shielding technology for magnetic fields. Up to now, an MRI room had to be enclosed by heavy magnetic shielding plates and walls to contain radio frequencies, resulting in a confined room with a minimal number of windows. Kajima's new technology, however, employs special magnetic shielding strips, which permits space between strips, and makes possible an MRI room with a greater number of windows and expanded visibility. As a result, the psychological pressure of being in a closed space is reduced for patients, and the improved visibility enables doctors and technicians to view the entire room and thus enhance safety procedures. Kajima's new technology also enjoys a higher shielding capability than conventional methods. This should facilitate a smoother transition to more advanced MRI equipment with stronger magnetic fields in the future. |
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 Vol. 31 Winter 2004
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   All rights reserved, Copyright (c) 2004 KAJIMA CORPORATION |