One of the most stunning bridges in the world is the George Washington Bridge, spanning the Hudson between Fort Lee NJ and the upper section of Manhattan, with it's unique exposed tower superstructure, peeking over the trees as you drive south at the end of the Palisades Parkway, or welcoming you home with it's spectacular lighting as an old friend after a long day driving on I-80.
But, what is not well known is that the distinctive design of the GWB was, in fact, an accident: While the massive double-decked bridge was being built, they ran out of money for the exterior stone cladding. So, the question arose, "can we do without it?" and the structural Engineers went back to work, recalculating the loads, and the answer was a resounding YES!
And that is how one of America's most iconic bridges came to be, as fate would have it~
One of the most stunning bridges in the world is the George Washington Bridge, spanning the Hudson between Fort Lee NJ and the upper section of Manhattan, with it's unique exposed tower superstructure, peeking over the trees as you drive south at the end of the Palisades Parkway, or welcoming you home with it's spectacular lighting as an old friend after a long day driving on I-80.
But, what is not well known is that the distinctive design of the GWB was, in fact, an accident: While the massive double-decked bridge was being built, they ran out of money for the exterior stone cladding. So, the question arose, "can we do without it?" and the structural Engineers went back to work, recalculating the loads, and the answer was a resounding YES!
And that is how one of America's most iconic bridges came to be, as fate would have it~
Mydesign, thanks for that info. I'm glad to know that India has such a strong program of historical monument preservation, since there are so many periods of its history with beautiful architecture. I learned about those buildings, as well as the amazing civic planning of those ancient cities, many years ago and was impressed by the intelligence and beauty of the designs and of the engineering in such a distant past.
Ann, you are right. Whatever the things possible are preserved and keeping as monuments by the archeological department. Apart from Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, all the buildings with more than 100 years old are preserving by government and archeological departments, irrespective of it's a private or public building.
I learned early on that looks are important! Packaging can make the difference between success and failure. Look at the auto industry. Ugly only sells if it's REALLY ugly, otherwise, it's an Edsel.
I looked at the disassembly of the iPad and marvelled at how it was so carefully and artistically put together. It is a work of art and Apple has overflowed its bank accounts.
I am not artistic, but I know how to hire the artistic types and work with them to put things together right. It is worth the money!
Mydesign, if I remember correctly, you're in India, right? That country has some incredibly well-built, very ancient public structures and multi-story houses in Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa I've read about (and seen reconstructions of), from the Indus Valley civilization of a few thousand years ago. I don't know if they are still standing, fully or partially, but from the archaeological reconstructions I've seen they were both beautiful and well-engineered.
Ann, our ancient civil engineers and draftsman had done excellent works in designing and building bridges and roads without any analytical and design software/tools. They had used their brain and skills to complete the task, without depending any man made tools. In my country we had a more than a dozen of bridges built by the great British engineers in 19th century. Still most of them are in good condition and public is widely using it and some other are protecting as heritage monuments.
Bob, those aqueducts that have lasted 2000-plus years are pretty amazing, aren't they? I've seen lots of good illustrations that show how they work, but none about the exact building methods used. Does anyone else know any?
I have add in my two cent to this architectural love-fest on bridges. There is something magical about the way they "work" without actually "doing" anything. Sort of like the human equivalent of a spider's web - constantly balancing forces through a series of aesthetic arcs and supports. All in plain view. Thanks for highlighting these marvels of engineering.
Ann, I agree completely. In 2009 my wife and I traveled to Madrid to celebrate our 40th anniversary. While there, we took a side trip to visit Toledo, an ancient city with many extrodanary structures, one being an aqueduct running close to three miles in length. The workmanship was stunning and how the engineers accomplished the uniform downward slope with the tools they had at their disposal amazes me. The stones were all laid by hand, each one carefully placed. Thousands upon thousands of carefully cut and placed stones. I would love to climb into Mr. Peabody's way-back machine just to see how some of these ancient monuments were constructed. It would certainly be a real treat.
We looked at a number of sources to determine this year's greenest cars, from KBB to automotive trade magazines to environmental organizations. These 14 cars emerged as being great at either stretching fuel or reducing carbon footprint.
Researchers at MIT and Sandia National Labs have observed a reaction in lithium-air batteries that could help improve the design of these cells for electric vehicles and other applications.
Healthcare might seem to be an unlikely target application for the Internet of Things technology, but recent developments show small ways that big-data is going to make an impact on patient care moving into the future.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
4 
