Architecture is a visual art and the buildings speak for themselves”-Julia Morgan. A Certified Basic Science webinar was conducted by Mr. Darshan G R of CMR University about Modern Structures, on the 14th of September, which opened our eyes to the world of architecture and its marvels. Mr. Darshan, who is the assistant professor at the SEOT campus explained about civil engineering and the essence of this art. He went on to describe a few of the variety of areas in this field.
Mr. Darshan then elucidated about modern engineering structures that have fascinated the world.
We learnt about:
- Dubai expansion, in the infrastructure sector:
The growth in Dubai was necessitated by tourism, investment in infrastructure, political stability, and trade liberalization. Its main source of income is tourism, as its oil reserves were not as abundant as its neighbouring emirate.
- The outline project to extend the Eiffel tower underground
These plans include the development of five underground levels that will incorporate the tower’s ticket office, shopping facilities, a cinema and museum, and two floors of underground parking.
The principle is that the five floors will be connected by two vertical passenger lifts on either side of the tower. In addition, the floor immediately below the tower, which is planned to house the ticket office, will also consist of a large atrium with a glass ceiling so that visitors can look directly up at the tower itself.
- Features of the Burj Al Arab, the self-proclaimed seven-star hotel
Total steelworks of the Burj Al Arab are phased into Exoskeleton rear leg, Horizontals, Diagonals, Rear brace frame, Helipad, Sky restaurant, Atrium, and Mast.
To avoid the risk of flooding, perforated concrete blocks were mounted on the bedrock in a honeycomb pattern designed to act as a giant artificial ‘sponge’ and reduce the wave impact.
- The making of The World Islands
A process called land reclamation was employed, which involves dredging sand from the Persian and Arabian Gulf’s floors. The sand was then sprayed and “Vibro-compacted” into shape using GPS technology for precision and surrounded by millions of tons of rock for protection.
- The construction principle of the Howrah bridge
Howrah Bridge is a cantilever bridge that spans over the Hooghly River in West Bengal. At the time of its construction, it was the 3rd longest cantilever bridge. Now, it is the sixth-longest bridge of its type in the world. The bridge does not have nuts and bolts and was built by riveting the whole structure.
- The structure of underwater tunnels
The Submerged floating Tunnel is a tube-like structure made of Steel and Concrete utilizing the law of buoyancy and self-weight. And the pressure in the tunnel is to be manipulated as required.
This session enlightened us about a topic, not that widely discussed by many. It was interesting and informative to understand the construction of these buildings, especially the importance of architecture in our day to day life.
I would like to thank CMR for conducting this educative session and Ms. Savitri A Varman for giving me an opportunity to give my view on it.
Last but not the least, I would like to thank Mr. Darshan G R for taking the time to teach us about this marvelous topic.
By
Nikhita Rachael Antonette
(I PUC)
