Tag Archives: structure

BT Tower

As I look from our office on Tavistock Square, the BT Tower is the conspicuous landmark to the west of us. When I was a kid, this was called the Post Office Tower. Then it became the Telecom Tower and then the BT Tower. In those days, large microwave antennae were mounted on the structure to communicate with other parts of the country. The need for them is now gone and so there is a rather bare part of the structure beneath the floor space at the top. It changes the whole look of the building. I believe it has recently been sold to a hotel group so maybe I will get a chance to finally go up it. I shall probably make the effort to get closer to it in the coming months to try other photo angles than just looking out of the window.

This Bridge is Getting Very Advanced

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A work-related post for today. One of our projects is a light rail expansion and part of it involves the construction of a long span bridge. This was not the original plan, but it is what we ended up having. It is constructed by having forms for pouring a section of the bridge in one place and then, when that section is cured, a traveler moves out with the forms to pour the next section. This is all done from a central column so the weight balances out as the bridge expands in each direction.

It is now very close to the final pours, and they will soon be done. I got to go and see the progress recently and that included looking at the center section of the bridge where the gap between the two sections coming from each direction are close to meeting. The bridge section is hollow, and you can see across and into the other half. The final pours involve joining each end to the rest of the right of way and then, when they have been post-tensioned, this center section will be poured. There will be more to do but this is a major milestone in the project.

Conference Center Cables

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The roof of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh has a terrace area which is only got to see on the last day I was there. The structure has cable bracing built in to it. Some of this is conspicuous when you are on the roof, but it also came down into some tie off points alongside the main conference levels although outside the halls. The convergence of the cables seemed rather interesting and, while I only had the phone with me, I figured I would try and get some images that emphasized the multiple strands and their alignment. Stuff like this is fascinating to me – like the end of a suspension bridge. Very cool.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Art

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Driving home from Steilacoom, I went up the coast rather than cutting straight in to the interstate. My route took me up towards the Tacoma Narrows bridges. The original bridge is well know to any engineering student and many people will be familiar with the footage of it collapsing in moderate winds. That bridge was replaced and, more recently, a second bridge was built alongside it. In the early evening light, both bridges were nicely illuminated so I stopped to get a few shots. Zooming in on the towers at the near end, I really liked the shapes of the towers and the pattern work on their surfaces.

Abstract Dam Views

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There were many odd shapes on the face of the Grand Coulee Dam. With the water running down in parts and some of the structure of the dam breaking up the smooth face, it was possible to see some unusual patterns in the surface. There were many power lines strung across the water in front of the dam so these could distract from the shapes so I tried moving around to be between each of the lines. With the texture of the face of the dam it was possible to look closely at elements and have no obvious clue what they were.

Space Age Visitor Center

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There is a visitor center for the Grand Coulee dam. Sadly, as with a lot of similar things, it was closed while I was there due to the virus. While I couldn’t go in, I was rather taken with the structure itself. I’m not sure when it was built but it has a bit of a 70s space age feel about it. When in the park lower down the hill, it looks a little like a flying saucer has landed above you. I bet it looks interesting when lit up at night.

Trees Growing Out of the Rock

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When starting up at rocky mountainsides, it is easy to spot trees that seem to be doing an amazing job of growing out of somewhere that looks like it shouldn’t be possible. Normally I am a lot further away that is practical to get a good look at how they do this. However, while hiking in the Cascades, we came across a spot right next to the trail where some trees were growing right out of the rocks next to us. It was so cool to see how they develop a root structure in solid rock from which they can grow and flourish. Here are a couple of shots to show how they have successfully embedded themselves in a rocky surface.

Nagoya Bridge

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When I headed south out of the center of Nagoya to go to the museum, my route took me down to the docks area. A highway along the water obviously needed to clear the route for the larger ships so a pretty impressive bridge had been constructed. It is called the Meiko-Chuo Bridge. I could only get a good view of it from the train but it was in the background when you were at the museum. I thought it looked pretty spectacular.

Bridge Perspectives

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Walking under the bridges along the Riverwalk in Chicago provides a very different perspective that that which you get from above. Some of the bridges have solid deck and others have gridded metal decks which allow light through (and anything else someone might drop). The lattice structures under the deck are ornate yet grubby. They are obscured from most views and get covered in the grime that washes down from above. I am not making this sound very appealing but I find them very cool to look at. The noise of the traffic above is there but slightly isolated which adds to the atmosphere for me. They do put a curved stainless-steel cover over the walkway itself so you are not vulnerable to anything from above ending up on your head which is something I am grateful for.

Nozzle Details on Titan IV

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The missile display at Evergreen Aerospace Museum is impressive. They have sourced a lot of different types and they have a Titan IV section lying on its side. You can get up close to the nozzle of the rocket motor and it is a cool thing to see in detail. Looking from a distance, they look very simple but, once you are close up, the complexity of the structure and the cooling structure to stop the plume from burning right through the nozzle are really impressive. The shaping of the nozzle itself, in contrast, is very simple. The expansion ratios are calculated carefully and the profile is a smooth transition to minimize the losses. Quite the contrast.