deputydog | construction

gephyrophobiacs: look away now

By deputydog ⋅ 05 / 05 / 2008 ⋅ 62 comments

this is the sky bridge in langkawi, malaysia, a stunning cable-stayed bridge which actually curves around the single support column from which it’s suspended, 687 metres above sea level. whilst the upside is incredible views, the downside for gephyrophobiacs is that you’re seemingly placing all your trust in a single, relatively thin lattice tower which also happens to be standing at an angle.

the world’s most astounding agricultural engineering project

By deputydog ⋅ 20 / 03 / 2008 ⋅ 17 comments

the rice terraces of the philippine cordilleras, if laid out end to end, would stretch halfway round the globe. if this ingenious feat had been accomplished in recent times the clearly enormous task would have seemed more than impressive, however the fact that it was completed thousands of years ago without the use of modern apparatus and machinery takes the terraces and integrated irrigation systems to a whole new level.

an unlikely hollywood export

By deputydog ⋅ 16 / 03 / 2008 ⋅ 15 comments

the hollywood sign is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the world.
unsurprisingly, this kind of exposure was always going to lead to imitations of the 50ft high structure all over the world…

the most dramatic chapel on earth

By deputydog ⋅ 10 / 03 / 2008 ⋅ 18 comments

if god was real and happened to be a sci-fi fan i reckon the cadet chapel at the air force academy in colorado would be his chapel of choice. it looks like no place of worship you’ve ever seen and from the outside resembles a row of 17 angular spacecraft sitting on their back-ends, ready to shoot off at any minute. the chapel and its surrounding complex was designed by walter netsch of architectural firm skidmore, owings & merrill and construction was completed in 1963. no sooner had the spire-fest been announced than the public outcry began…

extremely impressive shiny balls

By deputydog ⋅ 08 / 03 / 2008 ⋅ 23 comments

the enormous 34ft diameter shiny ball pictured above goes by the name of ‘la géode’. this stunning metallic structure houses a 1000m² hemispheric imax screen at the ‘cité des sciences et de l’industrie’ in paris. it was designed in 1983 by french architect adrien fainsilber and then realised by engineer gérard chamaillou. it’s apparently one of the largest geodesic domes on earth.

2 stunning and surreal gasometer conversions

By deputydog ⋅ 07 / 03 / 2008 ⋅ 8 comments

the reason for this post is to show you 2 incredible converted gasometers and illustrate that demolition shouldn’t always be the answer when industrial structures come to the end of their career. with a bit of imagination even an enormous disused gas container can look incredibly inviting whilst also serving a new purpose.

man vs mountain: avalanche control structures

By deputydog ⋅ 02 / 03 / 2008 ⋅ 12 comments

one of the places i’d refuse to set up home would have to be at the bottom of a mountain with a history of avalanche activity. unfortunately for some that choice doesn’t seem to exist and after reading a post over at the highly recommended blog pruned yesterday the frightening world of avalanche survival systems nearly became an obsession, for a couple of reasons.

how to disguise a water tower and confuse the public

By deputydog ⋅ 28 / 02 / 2008 ⋅ 26 comments

walking towards the ‘house in the clouds’ in suffolk for the first time can be a confusing experience if you approach from the right angle as the otherwise normal-looking home appears to either float above the trees or perch on a non-existent hill behind the surrounding greenery…

hands down, the coolest skyscraper ever made

By deputydog ⋅ 16 / 02 / 2008 ⋅ 26 comments

there are so many reasons to love this beauty that it’s hard to know where to start. it’s got 13 floors which, to me at least, makes it a skyscraper. it’s entirely made of wood, thus making it a wooden skyscraper. it was made by the fair hands of a single crazy russian man, thus making it a homemade wooden skyscraper. brilliant.

standing in the leg of a giant

By deputydog ⋅ 11 / 02 / 2008 ⋅ 28 comments

with a total weight of 1.2million tonnes, the troll offshore gas platform was built using 245,000m3 of concrete and 100′000 tonnes of steel (apparently the equivalent of 15 eiffel towers), the walls of its legs measuring over a metre thick. following construction, over a period of 7 days, ‘troll a’ was towed from rogaland in norway to the troll gas field in the north sea - a total of more than 200km.

construction

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