Shotgunner51
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Megastructures: seven wonders of the modern world near completion | Art and design | The Guardian
From Britain to the Middle East and China, engineers and architects are pushing the boundaries of possibility as they strive to create the biggest and the best
Monday 9 November 2015 07.15 GMT
Beijing airport
Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge
Chernobyl reactor, Ukraine
The engineers of the USSR who fought to bring the Chernobyl disaster under control built a hastily constructed concrete sarcophagus, designed to cover the hole that had opened up above the destroyed reactor. A new steel arched structure is being built, to be rolled on rails over the reactor, from which point demolition work can begin using cranes suspended from the new roof. It’s the most insanely difficult project, right down to the shift practices of the workers – if your personal radioactivity meter hits a certain level it’s tools down and you’re off site.
Hotel Abraj Kudai, Mecca
Crossrail, London
Many underground railways have been built before, but the logistical manoeuvring that has been necessary to keep a city of millions running above while this new east-west link is threaded through the sewers, cables, and foundations of London – not to mention existing underground tunnels – is truly staggering. Crossrail is strange for the UK, in that much of the infrastructure of the country is old, and there’s not a great deal of opportunity for expansion. But elsewhere in the world, there are projects on site that set new records for size.
FFR Grand Stade, Paris
For real mass sporting experience, there’s nothing like a stadium. A building that sits empty 90% of the time, then hosts huge crowds, is an extremely difficult task, one that the architects of Populous are wrestling with as they deliver a stadium for the French Rugby Federation that will accommodate 82,000 fans and boast a retractable pitch. It’s one of a generation of stadiums that are moving towards a more stately, civic appearance. Underneath the skin, there is still a mammoth retractable roof apparatus, capable of turning the stadium into one giant interior.
From Britain to the Middle East and China, engineers and architects are pushing the boundaries of possibility as they strive to create the biggest and the best
Monday 9 November 2015 07.15 GMT
Beijing airport
Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge
Chernobyl reactor, Ukraine
The engineers of the USSR who fought to bring the Chernobyl disaster under control built a hastily constructed concrete sarcophagus, designed to cover the hole that had opened up above the destroyed reactor. A new steel arched structure is being built, to be rolled on rails over the reactor, from which point demolition work can begin using cranes suspended from the new roof. It’s the most insanely difficult project, right down to the shift practices of the workers – if your personal radioactivity meter hits a certain level it’s tools down and you’re off site.
Hotel Abraj Kudai, Mecca
Crossrail, London
Many underground railways have been built before, but the logistical manoeuvring that has been necessary to keep a city of millions running above while this new east-west link is threaded through the sewers, cables, and foundations of London – not to mention existing underground tunnels – is truly staggering. Crossrail is strange for the UK, in that much of the infrastructure of the country is old, and there’s not a great deal of opportunity for expansion. But elsewhere in the world, there are projects on site that set new records for size.
FFR Grand Stade, Paris
For real mass sporting experience, there’s nothing like a stadium. A building that sits empty 90% of the time, then hosts huge crowds, is an extremely difficult task, one that the architects of Populous are wrestling with as they deliver a stadium for the French Rugby Federation that will accommodate 82,000 fans and boast a retractable pitch. It’s one of a generation of stadiums that are moving towards a more stately, civic appearance. Underneath the skin, there is still a mammoth retractable roof apparatus, capable of turning the stadium into one giant interior.
