Art and its derivative forms are considered its creators vision, or perception of reality. However, functional structures transcend only being used for aesthetics; -their performance of a unique function adds another dimension to their beauty. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significance of the Panama Canal as an architectural, historical, and artistic wonder of the world; worthy of its place as one of the seven engineering feats of the 20th century. To justify its inclusion as an item worthy of being covered in future courses, it will be justified from a historical, architectural and artistic prospective.
On August 15th, 1914, the Panama Canal opened, connecting the world's two largest oceans, and firmly positioned the U.S. as the next global superpower. American ingenuity and innovation had succeeded where, 15 years earlier, the French had failed disastrously. The U.S. however, paid a cost normally associated with a pyrrhic victory; a decade of ceaseless, grinding toil, an outlay of more than 350 million dollars (the largest single federal expenditure in history to that time), and the loss of more than 5,000 lives. Central America also witnessed the brazen overthrow of a sovereign government, the influx of over 55,000 workers from around the globe, the removal of hundreds of millions of tons of earth, and engineering innovation on an unprecedented scale. The construction of the Canal was the epitome of man's mastery over nature. The result of it completion however meant for the first time there was an international waterway connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, via the Caribbean Ocean. This route simplified the passage of ships between these two bodies of water, by cutting across the Isthmus of Panama. ...
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... Canal should be included to demonstrate that architectural marvels were not limited only to ancient civilizations, but are also present in the 20th century. It also shows the marvel of humans complete mastery over nature which is an element of art and architecture not represented in the course.
Works Cited
Panama Canal Authority. (2013). Panama Canal . Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/murals/
Scientific American by Daniel C. Schlenoff – (November 10, 2012), The Panama
Canal: The World's Greatest Engineering Project http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow.cfm?id=panama-canal-the-worlds-greatest-engineering-project
A Tale of Two Projects: The Panama Canal and the Birth of Project and Risk
Management by Tom Kendrick, PMP, Program Manager – (2012) http://www.failureproofprojects.com/Panama2006.pdf Accessed February 21, 2013
Canal is heavy on the use of values. The piece of art work has heavy contrasts and deep shadows. This can be seen with the building on the right’s corridor. In the middle left he uses high light to show the sun light in the horizon. On the right bottom in the building’s outer corridor Canal uses cast shadow and core shadow. The shadows of the individuals walking are consistent in not only in direction, but in length. Canal used planes to divide the surroundings with the building and lines to divide the building to the sky. He also uses lines to create movement and direction as you can see the citizens heading toward the middle of the art work. The “View of the Molo” also gives the building a sense of texture on the surface. The building does not look flat. The windows protrude a bit. One can see depth on the window sills and the bottom corridors. Canal uses one-line perspective and the vanishing point is the building in the bottom middle. Canal’s use of color is minimal. The colors are not vibrant at the same time not dull. The art work uses colors minimally. The temperature of Canal’s art work is
Next, he built the Panama Canal to protect both seas of America.
...dered the construction of the Panama Canal which connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
Have you ever wondered why both the Panama Canal and the Great Wall of China are such iconic land marks for the countries they are in? It’s because of the magnitude of effort that took to create such massive structures. Hard work, blood, tears, sweat and certainly patience played part in the creation of such marvels. However the purpose behind each structure and the challenges builders faced during their construction is what truly sets them apart.
The Empowerment Project::The Panama Deception. (n.d.). The Empowerment Project::The Panama Deception. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from http://www.empowermentproject.org/pages/panama.html
...more of an imperialistic nation, which was Roosevelt?s goal all along. In 1977, the United States signed a treaty with Panama stating that the U.S. would end its control beginning in the year 2000, and Panama would resume the operation and defense of the Panama Canal. Therefore, presently, the Panama Canal is neutral, but is still very important due to the U.S. We still have a say on what happens to and goes on around the canal, and if something were to happen to stop the flow of the ships through the canal, the United States would be allowed to step in and take care of the problem. Over the last ten years, nearly $100 million have been spent on repairing and widening the canal. Through all the thinking, planning, hard labor, and toiling put into the Panama Canal, the canal became arguably the most important canal ever and one of the greatest engineering feats ever.
...’s book accomplishes a lot in its timid three hundred pages, it lacks more examples of modern architecture and historical landmarks such as the ones discussed above. Also, the lack of chronological order is a new approach, but it might not appeal to all readers.
The History of the Panama Canal The Panama Canal is called the big ditch, the bridge between two continents, and the greatest shortcut in the world. When it was finally finished in 1914, the 51-mile waterway cut off over 7,900 miles of the distance between New York and San Francisco, and changed the face of the industrialized world ("Panama Canal"). This Canal is not the longest, the widest, the deepest, or the oldest canal in the world, but it is the only canal to connect two oceans, and still today is the greatest man-made waterway in the world ("Panama Canal Connects). Ferdinand de Lesseps, who played a large role in building the Suez Canal in 1869 (Jones), was the director of the Compagnie Universelle Du Canal Interoceanique de Panama ("Historical Overview").
People in the northern United States during the early nineteenth century wanted to rapidly industrialize and increase the amount of money they were making. The Erie Canal they believed was a great way to reduce the distance and time of shipping goods to the west. They also realized that the canal would probably increase their markets, which would mean a larger profit. The problem with all of this was how people had to destroy parts of nature in order for this to happen. Nathaniel Hawthorne, a prominent writer during the time, described the canal as “too rapid, unthinking advance of progress.” (57) Hawthorne and his supporters were very upset to see how forests and swamps were being destroyed and ruined in order t...
In the early days of America’s expansion westward, travel from the coast of North America into the heartland of the continent, was certainly a reoccurring problem. DeWitt Clinton, who served as the mayor of New York City and later Governor of New York State, had the vision and drive to build the first 363-mile long Erie Canal. In doing this DeWitt felt that America would control the expansion westward. It was feared that if the United States did not have a good connection to the west, that Canada could connect to the west and further more en...
Panama is considered the Crossroads of Americas. The capital Pnanma City is a modern sophisticated metropolis that resembles Miami and has established commerce, arts, fashion and dining. Its rich history of diverse cultures and traditions is what makes Panama the great country it is today.
The official name of Panama is the Republic of Panama or (República de Panamá). Panama is located on the narrowest and lowest part of the Isthmus of Panama that links North America and South America. This part of the isthmus is situated between 7° and 10° north latitude and 77° and 83° west longitude. Panama is slightly smaller than South Carolina, approximately 77,082 square kilometers.
The Love Canal is located near Niagara Falls in upstate New York. The Canal was constructed as a waterway during the nineteenth century, but was abandoned shortly afterwards.
Have you ever heard of the Panama canal or even the Moai’s at Easter Island? Did you know that the Moai was created over a thousand of years ago? The Panama Canal is basically a canal where ships could easily get across the ocean in less than 8 hours. Believe it or not, but the two man-made structures have some stuff in common. Even though they have way more differences they’re not completely different from each other. Some differences are that the Moai is more of a statue while the Panama canal is really just a canal and that the Moai is a huge mystery when the Panama canal really has no mystery, but no one knows how the Moai’s move from a volcano onto an Ahu. Although what they both have in common is that they were man-made structures.
The assignment had chosen a case study from Antoni Gaudi that called ‘Park Guell’. It was a public park system that had gardens and architectonic elements that was located on top of the ‘Carmel Hill’ in a Barcelona of Spain. The designed of the park was design by Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect and the place was representing a Catalan modernism. This park was built between 1900 and 1914, and opened to let people visited the park in1926. In 1984, UNESCO was showed up the park a World Heritage Site.