regular canal locks are for wimps.

the beasts below are needed when a simple solution just won’t do and are relatively unknown examples of engineering brilliance that are still being used on our waterways on a daily basis.

in no particular order…

1. saint-louis-arzviller inclined plane, moselle, france






the saint-louis-arzviller inclined plane is used to bridge a height change of 138ft on the marne-rhine canal. pre-1969, before this machine was introduced, that same change in height was tackled using 17 seperate locks, each journey taking anywhere from 8 to 13 hours. thanks to the inclined plane it now takes a whopping 4 minutes. boats enter the compartment at the bottom and are then dragged up the lifting ramp sideways thanks to the 900 tonne counter-balance weights.

google maps link here.

2. the falkirk wheel, falkirk, scotland





the falkirk wheel is the world’s only rotating boat-lift and was opened in 2002 by a woman called ‘the queen’. the phrase ‘engineering marvel’ definitely applies to this £17.5m monster.

it’s used to connect the union canal with the forth & clyde canal and consists of 2 water-filled compartments which rotate around a central axle that is perched 25 metres above the lower body of water. the wheel can transport 8 boats at a time (4 up & 4 down) and each compartment contains 300 tonnes of water.

by far the best way to understand how the lift works is to watch the timelapse video below.



3. big chute marine railway, ontario, canada




located at lock 44 of the trent-severn waterway in ontario is the big chute marine railway, the only inclined plane of its kind in north america. the difference between this one and most others is that the cradled used to transport the boats is free of water. the height bridged by the ramp is 17.4 metres.



4. ronquieres inclined plane, wallonia, belgium






the ronquieres inclined plane is absolutely huge, the total length of the ramp coming in at 1432 metres. it’s even got a huge control tower at the top and each of the 2 caissons can carry a vessel weighing anything up to 1350 tonnes through a height difference of 67.7 metres. the total time taken to get through the short journey is 50 minutes.

check out the size of one of the caissons in this clip…



google maps link here.

5. strepy-thieu boat lift, hainaut, belgium





until the three gorges dam is completed (see below) this is the tallest boat lift in the world. it lifts boats 73 metres to the next water level using 2 counterweighted caissons and was only opened in 2002, replacing the old system of locks and boat-lifts used to connect the meuse and scheldt basins. the bulding as a whole weighs 200′000 tonnes.

google maps link here.



6. montech water slope, montech, france






this strange looking beast is called a water slope and like an inclined plane uses a slope to traverse the change in height. the difference is, with a water slope there’s a channel of water in the middle of the slope and on either side of this a track. locomotives on each track push a huge gate behind the boat through the water channel, in turn forcing the boat up the slope on a cushion of water.

to see a non-confusing animation explaining the process, click here and then click on ‘comment ca march’.

7. niederfinow boat lift, brandenburg, germany





this is the oldest working boat-lift in germany and lifts approximately 11′000 boats each year a height of 60 metres. it opened in 1934 and will soon be replaced by a new, bigger boat-lift which is planned for completion in 2012. the current lift is such a huge tourist attraction that around 500′000 people visit each year.
google maps link here.



8. three gorges dam ship lift, china





when completed, the three gorges dam on the yangtze river will be the largest river dam in the world, more than 5 times the size of the hoover dam. it will also be home to the tallest ship-lift on earth - more than double the height of any existing lift in the world - capable of lifting vessels weighing up to 3000 tonnes.
google maps link here.

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

designed by architects emilio ambasz & associates, the acros fukuoka building in fukuoka city, japan houses a number of offices, retail space, a 2′000 seat theatre and a museum. it was built on the last available green space in the city so the design needed to keep as much of that greenery as possible whilst still delivering a building big enough to hold the necessary facilities.

the result is an amazing building which from the back end appears to be a normal glass fronted construction. it’s only when you approach the other side that you see the huge sloping front, home to around 35′000 plants and 76 different species. the roof also enables the building’s energy consumption to be lower than other buildings of a similar size as the greenery keeps the inside temperature at a comfortable level.









google maps link here.

there’s a seemingly unreadable vegitation map here.

the top-notch photo above was taken by robert b haas and shows a shrimp farm in ecuador covered in coloured flags - apparently one of the more effective methods available to ward off birds. click on the little bugger for a larger version. i also demand that you check out his other photos on the national geographic site here.

when you’re done, use your eyes to look at these ‘creative’ scarecrows…



above: a retired astronaut stands firm in aberdeenshire, scotland.



above: any clever bird would realise that the bastard’s legs are tied together. he’s not running anywhere.



above: it’s good to see disabled scarecrows in work.



above: the least threatening scarecrow on earth in japan.



above: a scarycrow in hull.



above: is scarecrowporn.com taken?



above: an extremely non-scary robot scarecrow in the peak district.



above: creepy isn’t the word. the ronald macdonald midget outfit seals it.



above: a britney spears lookalike in north yorkshire.



above: a scarecrow in kentucky. if you didn’t fill your pants after looking at this you’re doing well.



above: bodyless scarecrows guard a field in japan.

from a distance you could be fooled into thinking this is a thin skyscraper, until you get close enough to realise there are handles on one side and only enough interior space to accomodate ‘little people’.

officially the largest filing cabinet in the world, this 65 ft tall office monster actually serves a purpose, of sorts. inside it is a dismantled mg sports car, the parts organised, labelled and filed in the drawers, heaviest to lightest.

it stood in napa valley, california and was created by ‘artist’ sam yates in 2000. i’ve no idea whether it still stands.

remember, the following jaw-dropping pictures are of paintings or sculptures.

even if you think photorealistic art is pointless (which i’m sure some people do) there’s no denying the skill and patience involved in these creations.

(click on pics for fatter versions)

1. duane hanson [sculptor, 1925 - 1996]

(hanson on artfacts.net)

 
traveller - fibreglass & mixed media, 1988

 
queenie II - polychromed bronze, 1988


2. robert bechtle [painter, 1932 - present]

(bechtle on artfacts.net)

 
‘61 pontiac - oils on canvas, 1968

 
alameda gran torino - oils on canvas, 1974


3. ron mueck [sculptor, 1958 - present]

(mueck on artfacts.net)

 
untitled (big man) - pigmented polyester on resin, 2000

 
mask II - sculpture, 2001

4. raphaella spence [painter, 1978 - present]

(homepage)

 
the poet - oils on canvas, 2004

 
mirror of hope - oils on canvas, 2004

5. gottfried helnwein [painter, 1948 - present]

(homepage)

 
untitled (modern sleep) - oils & acrylics on canvas, 2005

 
epiphany - mixed media on canvas, 1996

6. denis peterson [painter, 1944 - present]

(homepage)

 
don’t shed no tears - acrylics on canvas, 2006

 
dust to dust - acrylics & oils on canvas, 2006

7. dru blair [airbrush expert, 1959 - present]

(homepage)

 
painting of tica - airbrush on unknown surface, 2007

 
power - airbrush on unknown surface

8. ralph goings [painter, 1928 - present]

(homepage)


cream pie - oils on canvas, 1979


safeway interior - oils on canvas, 1974

9. peter maier [painter, d.o.b. unknown - present]

(homepage)


sand beach - waterborne automotive paint on unknown surface


really red - waterborne automotive paint on unknown surface

if you know of any others let me know.

opened in 2005 after years of disagreements, the ‘monument to the murdered jews of europe’ is a stunning sea of concrete blocks situated in the heart of berlin.



the memorial was designed by american architect peter eisenman and each of the 2711 stones, all without plaques or inscriptions, is unique in size, the design intended to ‘represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason’.



in order to deter graffiti artists at the site, each of the stones is treated with an anti-graffiti agent, manufactured by a company called degussa. unfortunately in 2003 it was revealed that one of the company’s subsidiaries had been responsible for producing the poison gas used in nazi death camps. this didn’t exactly go down well with the public.




controversy aside, the memorial looks incredible and certainly educates a huge number of people on a daily basis: underneath the visible area is an information centre dedicated to the holocaust, in the first year alone nearly 500′000 people entered.



here’s the direct link to the memorial on google maps
a short video about the memorial…



an old bbc news article about the monument is here.

the memorial’s home on the intertubes can be found electronically through this link.

some of these are deliberate, others aren’t. however each illusion relies on some form of architecture and all create an effect which deserves to be mentioned.

1.

this incredible picture was captured by a flickr user in california whilst at work. a fog descended just as the sun set behind the building in shot. the result - one of the spookiest photographs of a building you’ll ever witness.



2.

the lichtenstein house is an extremely deceiving illusion created by roy lichtenstein. as the angle upon which it’s viewed changes, the house shifts in an unusual way by playing with perspective. the best way to try and understand it is by watching the video clip below the photos.






3.

the following selection of buildings have the uncanny ability to look 2d simply due to the angle of one of the building’s corners. the effect is some extremely fragile looking constructions, seemingly impossible to enter for a human being.

unknown building, paris… 



bossone research centre, philadelphia…



unknown building… 



john hancock tower, boston… 



unknown building, hamburg 



4.

the stairway to nowhere.

an art exhibit in munich, this stairway reminds me of m.c.escher and looks just as mental from the side.




5.

not strictly an illusion but a great photo of the olympic stadium in montreal.

so who copied who?



6. 

the next illusions were created by swiss artist felice varini and are really fucking clever. the required result can only be viewed from one place in the room and the illusion is created using a projected image which is then painted onto the relevant surfaces.









here’s an example on film…




7. 

one of the classic optical illusions has bizarrely been applied to the building shown below.
in case you’re unaware of the trick, all of the orange lines are parallel.



8. 

this is the painted floor of sunshine city in tokyo.

it just illustrates the power of shading. one of the simplest illusions to create but also one of the most effective.



9. 

a car park in seattle.

are the levels of the car park horizontal or sloping?

i’m no statistician but according to my rough calculations there are over 70 elevators in the world.
here are some that may actually be enjoyable to ride.

bailong elevator

talk about daunting.

this controversial 326 metre high elevator takes you up the side of one of the many enormous cliffs in zhangjiajie, china - the lower 1/3 running from a cavern through the rock, the top 2/3 rising outside to the summit - and is the highest and heaviest outdoor elevator in the world. the elevator has an uncertain future due to the potential harm caused to the surrounding landscape.





the elevator in action…



elevador de santa justa


situated on santa justa street in lisbon is this incredible looking urban lift by the name of ‘elevador de santa justa’. built in 1900, the 45 metre elevator connects the downtown area of the city to the upper level whilst also giving a great view of the city from the top.




here’s the view from inside…



skytower elevator

if you even come close to filling your pants whilst travelling in an elevator i suggest that you never travel up or down the skytower in auckland, new zealand due to a glass section in the floor of the lift.



watch the lift in action…



elevador lacerda

like the elevator in lisbon, this striking construction in salvador transports the public from one level of the town to the next, at the same time providing a perfect view of the bay coastline below.
apparently the elevator manages to carry approximately 28,000 people per day at a cost of r$0.05 per 38 second ride.




louvre elevator

the hydraulic elevator at the louvre in paris is one of only a few in the world. looking like something from a sci-fi film, the open-topped lift quietly and smoothly rises from the floor at the press of a button.
when it reaches the top, a walkway slides out and the doors open.

it probably cost an absolute fortune but who cares? it looks the business.




regardez…



hammetschwand elevator

the hammetschwand elevator in switzerland has been the highest exterior elevator in europe since it’s construction 101 yrs ago and can climb the full 152 metres in less than a minute. at the top is an unobstructed view of lake lucerne and the alps. it may not be as high as the zhangjiajie elevator but as this doesn’t look half as sturdy i’d much rather make the ascent in china.




eiffel tower

due to the shape of the eiffel tower’s curved legs the addition of elevators was at first seen as too difficult a job by many engineers. nothing like it had been attempted. these days there are duo-lift elevators running up and down each of the four legs, one of those legs selfishly reserved for customers of the restaurant at the top of the tower.





the journey up, recorded on camera by a human…



taipei 101 elevator

travelling 89 floors to the top of the world’s tallest skyscraper at a speed of 60.6 kmh is pretty fucking impressive but what’s even more interesting is the fact that the ‘fastest elevator on earth’ is also the first ever to have an athmospheric pressure control system. without it the 37 second ride would be uncomfortable to say the least due to the quick changes in air pressure.

interesting fact - the taipei 101 is home to 61 elevators. the world trade center towers contained 208.
watch the speed below…



paternoster

the paternoster lift was first developed in 1884 and there are a few still being used today. the system consists of a continuous chain of cabins moving at a slow speed without stopping - when you reach your floor you ’simply’ step off the lift while it’s still moving. even if you miss your floor and get to the top of the chain the cabin will stay vertical and lift you over the top where you will start to descend on the other side.



an early paternoster design…



below is a clip of a surviving paternoster in action at the university of essex here in the uk. check out the textbook exit…



extras:
 

- “which floor sir?”…”um, the bog please.” 




- the future of elevator control panels at the apple store, tokyo



- here’s arcade fire, one of the best bands in the world, playing ‘neon bible’ in an elevator




- part of a documentary about the elevator-based tower of terror ride




- for some reason this guy decided to film an elevator shaft mid-journey



sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

(thanks to dave)