Since the beginning of time, mankind has always been driven to design and build bigger, better, and faster. Examples of this can be traced back to ancient times with the construction of the Egyptian Pyramids. In today’s world, engineering has been taken to the extreme with all of the new technology and knowledge that we have gained over the years. Some of the buildings, dams, canals, and even roller coasters have pushed the engineering envelope to the limit by becoming bigger, stronger, wider, and faster than many people ever thought possible. Here’s a look at some of the most amazing structures in the world, and they show how we have continually taken engineering to another level year after year.
Rungrado May Day Stadium, Pyongyang
Rungrado May Day Stadium: The world’s largest stadium is the Rungrado May Day Stadium, a gigantic venue that can seat 150,000 people. They’ve squeezed up to 190,000 people into this stadium during a record-breaking professional wresting match in 1995. This 2.2 million square foot architectural gem consists of 16 arches that make up the roof and each reach over 197ft into the air. The Rungrado May Day Stadium hosts a variety of sporting events, but it’s mainly a venue for various celebrations and parades. Amazingly, 11,000 tonnes of steel was used to construct the roof alone.
The Panama Canal, Central America
The Panama Canal: Construction of the Panama Canal began in 1880 as way to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean through Central America. This $375 million project consisted of the excavation of 268 million cubic yards of earth to form the canal. This excavated material was then relocated to various areas throughout Panama with some of it used to create a 500 acre town along the Pacific Ocean called Balboa. Thousands of workers fought through the humid weather, 105 inches of annual rain, mountains, and malaria/yellow fever epidemics in order to finish the canal in 1914, when the first ship sailed through the canal. In total, 5,609 people died during the construction of the Panama Canal. The canal is 50 miles long and features 17 artificial lakes, several channels, and 3 sets of locks. The 3 locks raise the water level a total of 139 feet, with each one takes about 8 minutes to fill-up with the proper amount of water. Ships must pay a toll to use the Panama Canal, which varies depending upon the size and type of ship and also the type of cargo on-board. The most expensive toll ever paid at the Panama Canal was $249,165 while the least expensive was $0.36 to a man who swam the canal!
Kingda Ka Rollercoaster, New Jersey
Kingda Ka Rollercoaster: If you’re looking for the greatest thrill on earth, then you have to check out Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. Thrill-junkies will love the tallest coaster in the world which towers above the theme park at 456 feet and features a drop of 418 feet. Although the ride is only 28 seconds long, it will give you the ultimate high as it shoots you 0 - 128 mph in only 3.5 seconds! This drag strip-like coaster shoots up to 18 people straight into the air at a 90° angle and return you to the ground before you even realise what just happened. This 3,118ft coaster was opened in May, 2005.
The Big Dig, Boston
The Big Dig: The Big Dig was a massive mega-project in the city of Boston whose purpose was to relieve traffic congestion along I-93. The plan was to build an enormous 3.5 mile tunnel underneath the city of Boston to help relieve some of this traffic which had gotten worse year after year. The project broke ground in 1991, and it became the most expensive highway project ever in the United States. As of 2006, the Big Dig project cost $14.6 billion. Workers encountered many obstacles while digging the enormous tunnel including glacial debris, buried homes, and even sunken ships. The tunnel had many problems with leaks as it neared completion, but they were eventually fixed. There is one death that is solely contributed to the Big Dig project, which occurred when a 3 tonne piece of concrete ceiling collapsed onto a car, killing the passenger of the car and injuring the driver. Work on the Big Dig project concluded on December 31, 2007. It was one of the biggest projects of its kind in the world.
Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Kobe and Awaji-shima
Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge: As the longest suspension bridge in the world at 12,831 feet, engineers had no easy task erecting this massive bridge. Linking Kobe to Awaji Island in Japan, this bridge needed to be able to withstand high winds and even earthquakes. Because of this, engineers designed the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge with a two-hinged stiffening girder system. This technology allowed the bridge to withstand winds of 178 mph and earthquakes measuring up to 8.5 on the Richter scale. The flexibility of this bridge allows it to expand and contract up to 6 feet in one day. The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge was completed in 1998 at a cost of about $5 billion. Sounds like a lot of money, but when you factor in the $20 toll that you pay to cross the bridge and the approximately 23,000 cars that use it each day, that adds up to about $460,000 per day in revenue.
Hoover Dam, Arizona/Nevada
Hoover Dam: When the Hoover Dam was constructed back in 1935, it was the the world’s largest concrete structure and the largest electric producing facility although it doesn’t hold either of these titles anymore. The construction of this huge dam wasn’t easy. Engineers estimated that the concrete used to build the dam would take 125 years to fully cure if it were all poured at once, so they had to find a more efficient way to pour the concrete for the dam. They decided to pour 6 inches of concrete at a time, and they further sped-up the hardening of the concrete by cooling it with 1-inch pipes of cold water that ran through the concrete. The Hoover Dam used enough concrete to make a 2-lane road from San Francisco to New York (more than 2,500 miles). Construction of the Hoover Dam was hard work, and there were officially 112 deaths associated with the project from drownings to sickness. The hard work of these brave workers paid-off with a 726ft high, 1,244ft long, and 660 ft thick (at the base) dam that provides electricity to multiple cities (including Las Vegas) and produced Lake Mead which is enjoyed by many tourists each year. It’s the fifth most visited national park in the United States.
The Great Wall of China, China
The Great Wall of China: The Great Wall of China is the longest man-made structure in the world at about 4,160 miles long. The wall was constructed between the 5th Century BC and the 16th Century BC, and it’s purpose was to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire. During the long construction period of the wall, it’s estimated that between 2 and 3 million Chinese died while constructing the immense wall. The fact that these people were able to construct such a large structure without using the modern machinery we have today is just amazing. Initially, the wall was constructed of mostly wood, stones, and earth but later, bricks were used. The wall itself varied in height, but is typically about 25 feet high and 15 - 20 feet wide. Some people believe that you can see the Great Wall of China from the moon, but that’s a myth. You can however, barely see the wall from low-orbit space 100 miles up.
The Colosseum, Rome
The Colosseum: The Colosseum was the pinnacle of the Roman Empire’s engineering when it was completed in 80 AD. The 10 year project was constructed so well that some of it still stands today. Originally, this amphitheater seated 50,000 people and it hosted gladiator contests and other public events. This massive stadium is approximately 1,800 feet in diameter, and it sits on a 6 acre lot. The height of the outer walls measure about 160 feet high, and it was made out of travertine stone which was bonded together using mortar and 300 tonnes of iron clamps. Today, most of the outer wall of the Colosseum is gone due to earthquakes over the years, but much of the inner walls still remain.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, Cairo
The Great Pyramid of Giza: The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the 3 great pyramids in Cairo, Egypt. It took an estimated 10 - 20 years to build the 450ft pyramid, which was completed way back in 2570 BC. No one knows for sure what the purpose of these pyramids were, but most experts believe that they are tombs for important figures at the time. The Great Pyramid of Giza is suspected to be Pharaoh Khufu’s tomb. You think your job sucks, imagine having to carry around 2 - 4 tonne stone blocks for 10 - 20 years! Some stones weighed as much as 80 tonnes and carried distances of up to 500 miles! Estimates of how many workers that it took to construct this pyramid varies greatly from approximately 14,000 to 300,000 workers. Most experts do agree, though, that the number of stone blocks used to construct the pyramid is more than 2.3 million. Engineers today are still baffled about how the Egyptian builders were so precise with their measurements when constructing the pyramid. Measurements show that the Egyptians were 58 mm in length and 1 minute of an angle away from making the Great Pyramid of Giza a perfect square at the base.
Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur
Petronas Towers: The Petronas Towers are the largest twin towers in the world at the time of writing, as each tower measures in at a height of 1,482ft (to the top of the antenna). The 88-floor towers are constructed mainly of concrete, with steel and glass also rounding-out the materials list. These skyscrapers are supported by 69 x 69 feet concrete cores, with outer columns providing more support. The Petronas Towers were built on 360ft deep foundations, the world’s deepest, because of the depth of the bedrock below the construction site. The two towers are linked by a 174ft skybridge at the 41st and 42nd floors. The towers were completed in 1998, and at the time were the tallest buildings in the world.
The Taj Mahal, Agra
The Taj Mahal: The Taj Mahal was completed back in 1648 and is one of the most beautiful architectural sites on the planet. The Taj Mahal is actually a mausoleum that was built after the death of Mumtaz Mahal, who was the wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. The most spectacular aspect of the Taj Mahal is probably the 105ft high marble dome sitting on a cylindrical base that is about 21ft high and decorated with lotus designs. The Taj Mahal was constructed on a parcel of land about 3 acres in size. A 15 km ramp was constructed to make hauling heavy marble and other materials to the construction site. To haul this heavy material, workers used teams of oxen and elephants to haul the heaviest materials. In all, the Taj Mahal used 28 different types of precious stones that were inlaid into the marble including sapphire, crystal, turquoise, and more. The Taj Mahal was unanimously voted as one of the seven wonders of the world in a recent poll, attracting 2 - 3 million visitors per year.
Taipei 101, Taipei
Taipei 101: The Emporis Skyscraper Award winner in 2004, the Taipei 101 tower is currently the tallest skyscraper in the world (until the Burj Dubai is completed) at over 1,670ft to the antenna. Newsweek Magazine has even hailed Taipei 101 as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World while the Discovery Channel calls it one of the Seven Wonders of Engineering. Taipei 101 is designed to withstand typhoon winds and small earthquakes. 36 columns support the immense weight of the tower, including 8 larger columns filled with 10,000 psi concrete that makes this tower one of the most stable skyscrapers ever constructed. In order to minimise the swaying-effect in highest points of the building, caused by wind, engineers created a 662 metric tonne steel pendulum that hangs from the 92nd floor. This pendulum sways to offset the effects of the wind, and thus, keeps the tower stable. Each of the $2 million elevators can reach speeds of almost 38 mph, the current world record. The total cost of this 5 year construction project, completed in 2004, was about $1.758 billion.
Grand Coulee Dam, Washington
Grand Coulee Dam: The largest concrete structure and power producing facility in the United States is the Grand Coulee Dam in the State of Washington. The dam actually consists of 11,975,521 cubic yards of concrete, and 4 power plants. The Grand Coulee Dam provides 6809 MW of electricity to 11 states, and also provides irrigation for over 500,000 acres of farmland. Work began in 1933, during the Great Depression, with the first water spill over the Grand Coulee Dam occurring on the 1st June, 1942. This enormous structure spans 5,223ft and towers 550ft above the bedrock. This dam is so big, that all of the pyramids of Giza would fit inside the base of this behemoth!
Burj Dubai, Dubai
Burj Dubai: The Burj Dubai is a skyscraper that is scheduled to be finished at the end of 2008. This $4.1 billion tower will be the tallest man-made structure in the world when completed. The Burj Dubai will consist of 158 floors, and it will reach a height of 1,964 feet, or almost 900 feet taller than the Sears Tower in Chicago. To anchor the huge building, engineers had to use more than 110,000 metric tonness of concrete and 192 piles buried 164 feet into the ground. The Burj Dubai will feature 56 double-decker elevators that are estimated to be the fastest elevators in the world at 40 mph. This immense skyscraper is scheduled for occupancy in 2009.
The Chicago Spire, Chicago
The Chicago Spire: The Chicago Spire is one of the coolest looking buildings in the world, and it’s also one of the tallest. This swirling skyscraper will stand approximately 2,000ft tall, more than 500ft higher than the Sears Tower, when construction is completed in 2011. It will be North America’s tallest building, and the world’s tallest all-residential building. The Chicago Spire will sit on the shore of Lake Michigan near the famous Navy Pier in Chicago. This tower will house 1,193 condominiums within the building’s 150 stories. The 10,293 square foot penthouse condo at the top of the Chicago Spire is reportedly for sale right now for a cool $40 million while other less-expensive condos are on sale for $750,000. Each story of the Chicago Spire will rotate exactly 2.44 degrees from the one beneath it, which will total 360 degrees. The corkscrew design of this building does more than just look cool, it also helps minimise wind forces on the structure, which is important, considering that Chicago is the windy city.
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