Collapse of Charles De Gaulle
Introduction
Charles de Gaulle International Airport terminal 2E was built in 2003 with capacity to handle up to 34.7 million passengers. The $950 million airport was one of the world’s largest international airports. However it started facing problems after one year and on the morning of May 23, 2004 it collapsed. A section of 110ft of Terminal 2E collapsed, causing the loss of four lives and injuring three others. Due to the critical nature of this engineering failure, the remaining section of the terminal was later torn down. After the terminal collapsed and the architecture company hired for designing, executing and operating the terminal was sentenced with involuntary homicide charges (John Conway), a new terminal was rebuilt following similar design plans but replacing the faulty concrete blocks with steel and metal structures so to prevent any future similar disaster. The new extension was completed and reopened in March 2008.
I. Structure of the terminal
The terminal was acclaimed for its innovative design and optimized use of space based on a vault design concept. Vault design is a roof structure design in which the roof is supported by an interconnected system of arches where no internal support, such as pillars, is needed. Consequently, this design provides greater open space within the structure, which is one of the priority concerns in an airport terminal. This construction design was first employed by Ancient Egyptians, later being also used in Roman architecture and improved by the Byzantines (Encyclopedia Britannica). However, questions were raised as to the extent in which the wide and elliptical vault design of Terminal 2E caused an unnecessary overstress to the system – “T...
... middle of paper ...
...phy
1) "Archive Analysis of De Report." N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
2) "Asp Torres Paris Report." N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014
3) Conway, John. "Terminal 2E at Charles De Gaulle Airport." N.p., Mar. 2005. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
4) The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Vault (architecture)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
5) Loughran, Patrick. Failed Stone: Problems and Solutions with Concrete and Masonry. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2007. Print.
6) Torres, Pablo. "Final Report-CDG Terminal 2E." N.p., Dec. 2004. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
7) Bolton, Andrew. "The Official Explanation of Last Year's Charles De Gaulle Airport Collapse Still Has Some Significant Gaps." Civil Engineering and Construction News, Engineering Jobs and News on Major Infrastructure Projects from New Civil Engineer (NCE). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
James F. O'Gorman, Dennis E. McGrath. ABC of Architecture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998. Document. October 2013.
With the Pantheon being built over 1700 years ago, it’s amazing that architects are still using features and techniques from this work of architecture in modern creations. The use of this type of classical architecture will continue to be used in works for public space due to its remarkable exterior appearance and it’s long lasting structural durability. When both Jesse hall and the Pantheon are compared it is possible to see their similarities from the types of domes that top each, their external facades, and their interior plan. While they share many similarities, the differences that Bell and Binder used in their creation make this work of architecture unique to many other public spaces.
...afety should have inspected the building prior to issuing permits for further renovation, especially knowing this structure was going to be housing 124 residents. It seems that lack of knowledge from prior owners and lack of responsibility of city officials are responsible for this collapse and sadly, the loss of 9 brave men in the line of duty. The Boston Fire Department could have worked closer with the owner/ construction crew at the Hotel Vendome, and the deficiencies would have been found, and they would have known the instability they were walking into on June 17. At that point, firefighting operations would have more than likely been defensive. The firefighters did not conduct pre-incident planning which would have let them know they were going to face the construction barriers while attempting to lay hose, maneuver hose, and get the hose to a water source.
In 1982, Winnipeg Condominium discovered issues with the Tyndal stone on the outside of the building. After consultation, they did some remedial work in an attempt to correct the problem. However, in 1989 a large section of the stone fell off the building from the ninth storey. Winnipeg Condominium then replaced the entire exterior at a cost of over $1.5 million (Herschorn, 1996, p. 110). In 1990, Winnipeg Condominium proceeded to take legal action against Bird Construction, the general contractor; Smith Carter Partners, the architects; and the masonry firm of Kornov...
“All told, there is over 6 million square feet of public space at DIA. The airport brags that they have room to build another terminal and two more concourses and could serve 100 million passengers a year. The airport flew 50.5 million in 2008” (Anomalies Unlimited 3). There is no need for that much room in any one airport especially when they are only flying half as many as th...
After long and heated arguments between experts, it was decided that the Superintendent of Construction was extremely inexperienced, and that there was "recklessness in the handling of public money," on the part of the Treasury Department and the Immigration Bureau of Officials. The entire building, excluding the hospitals, had been built shoddily. After news of the problems with the building had been in the media, a lot of people involved with the construction of the building resigned their positions.
On September11, 2001 at 8:46 am an American Airline Plane carrying 96 passengers crashed into the side of the north Twin Tower in New York City. Several minutes later another plane crashed into the second Twin Tower. It didn’t take long after the second plane struck for the second tower to fully collapse. At 10:28 am the first tower followed suite and collapsed leaving many people including fire fighters and police officers trapped in the debris from the falling towers. The debris from the falling towers also caused the surrounding building to catch a fire, including World Trade 7 which at 5:20 pm collapsed luckily they were able to evacuate the building. Over 3,000 people were killed that day in New York City and in Washington, D.C. The days after 9/11 brought a significant amount of change to our country.
If the ancient Roman innovation of concrete, were to not have been significant, it would not have continued to be used across the globe. In fact, ancient Roman hydraulic cement-based concrete was so notable that modern day scientists are trying to, “replicate the exact formula for which ancient Roman concrete was made.” This is due to ancient Roman concrete being so sturdy and strong that aspects of it have lasted over 2000 years without deterioration. Without the innovation of Roman concrete, many of the modern world’s infrastructure would not be stable, causing havoc across the globe. Also, advancements in construction, health, and even safety areas would not be possible, as almost every piece of infrastructure, from sewerage and water pipes, to building and security walls, would not be able to remain as safe to use. This is because the modern world relies so heavily on concrete, with around five billion tonnes of concrete being used around the world each year,becoming the single most widely used material in the construction industry. In fact, around 76% of all first-world infrastructure is reinforced with concrete. Without this substance, much of the modern-world's infrastructure would not be as tall or sturdy as what it currently is, as it would simply deteriorate or break. Hydraulic cement-based concrete is certainly the most significant Roman
The strength of a gothic building is made to reside in a finely organized framework rather than in its walls. This framework, which consists of perfectly placed piers, arches and buttresses, frees up any unessential impediment of walls and presents a light feeling. The stability of the building depends only on inert massiveness in its outermost parts, whose opposing forces counteract each other in a perfect stability of thrust and counterthrust. Gothic architecture is an artistic, strategic system of engineering, schemes for building were followed for elevations, termed quadratum (four sided) and triangulorum (three sided). 2 This system allowed them to raise their ideal structures according to symbolic measure and numbers reflecting the geometry of the New Jerusalem and its prototype, the Temple of Solomon. (Figure 1.1)
Firstly I will provided a brief timeline of events beginning with the first WTC collapsing all the way to the built output of the new WTC. I will examine the political effects on the building followed by social and the economic. In conclusion I will state how and how much all these issues have affected the built output.
Fanella, D. (2011). Reinforced concrete structures: analysis and design / David A. Fanella. New York: McGraw-Hill, c2011.
Without the use of concrete the Romans could not have successfully built the barrel vault which holds up the ramping system that are present in the structure. The sanctuary is built into the hillside so that the structure is built into the hill. The building contains seven terraces, 400 feet tall from where the fortune tellers would help pilgrims to colonnaded rotunda on top which contains the 17th century palace of the Barberini. The structure is meant to look out on the plains and mountains, and has a axial
This class has examined the various accomplishments of ancient Rome, many that have been carried on throughout time and influenced numerous cultures around the world. Amongst those accomplishments were the development of concrete and the utilization of arches. This paper will examine the Roman development of both concrete and the infamous concrete arch that is utilized in many modern day structures today.
Dubai International Airport represents the largest piece of construction in the world which was inaugurated on 14th October 2008 for public usage. Presently, it has large space area as 18, 440, 000 square feet as it boasts as the largest airport terminal in the world. The half subversive terminal have a propounded capacity of 43 million travellers and it coasted around $4.5 million to execute the procedure of its construction. It exclusively operates for the Qantas as only one of the two aircrafts can be operated under Terminal 3. The terminal occupies various Airbus A380 gates where 18 gates exist at Concourse A and 5 gates exist at Concourse B.
The day thousands of people lost their lives, the day terrorists came into our country and destroyed the Twin Towers, the day of September 11th, 2001 will never be forgotten in history all across the world. This devastating day led to many controversies and unanswered questions. The airplanes flying into the towers were one of the main causes of destruction. However, many speculate that the towers were in fact blown down with explosives placed in selected areas with the intention to make the towers crumble. With the help of the many first hand survivors, local witnesses, scientific studies, and known facts about the towers, many can determine the real cause of the collapse. Explosive devices, along with the airplanes are the main reason for the deaths, destruction and sorrow on the day of 9/11.