View allAll Photos Tagged Structure
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image contains a veritable mix of different galaxies, some of which belong to the same larger structure: At the middle of the frame sits the galaxy cluster SDSS J1050+0017. The gigantic mass of this cluster creates the fascinating phenomenon of strong gravitational lensing. The gravity of the cluster bends light coming from behind it in a similar way to how the base of a wine glass bends light. The effects of this lensing can be clearly seen as curved streaks forming a circular shape around the center of the frame. Astronomers can use these distorted galaxies to calculate the mass of the cluster — including the mass of the dark matter within it — and to peer deeper into the universe than otherwise possible. Gravitational lensing not only distorts the views of galaxies, it also enlarges their appearance in the sky and magnifies their light.
Image credit: ESA (European Space Agency)/Hubble & NASA; acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
For many years, the Miami-Dade County Courthouse, at an elevation of 360 feet, was reputed to be the tallest building south of Baltimore.
It was the County's first high-rise and is in the National Register of Historic Places. Efforts to refurbish this magnificent structure and restore it to its original grandeur have been underway since 1981 by Architect James W. Piersol, AIA of M.C Harry Associates Architects of Miami.
The restoration and renovations initially stabilized the terra cotta facade and installed new life safety systems. In 1982, the idea of restoring the lobby to its original distinction was the passion of both Architect James Piersol and engineer Don Youatt, of the Miami-Dade Planning and Development Department. With a little less than half of the funding necessary for the lobby restoration project in hand ($300,000 grant approved by the Legislature in 1996), the Dade County Bar Association acted as the fund-raising umbrella and initiate a drive to raise the remainder needed from lawyers and the general public. A few years later, the same team restored Courtroom 6-1, which had been the site of many infamous trials over the years.
Today, the Miami-Dade County Courthouse provides offices, chambers, and courtrooms for the clerks and judiciary assigned to both the Circuit and County Civil Court and the Family Court.
When county government was established following the Civil War, public records were so sparse they could be carried in a carpetbag and most probably were. Therefore, the "courthouse" was wherever the county's chief office holder decided to do business.
In 1890, Dade County's first courthouse stood in the town of Juno, Florida some ten miles north of West Palm Beach. At that time, Dade County covered more territory than it does today, stretching from Bahia Honda Key, in the middle Keys, up to the St. Lucie River, near present-day Port St. Lucie.
Juno was chosen as the "county seat" because of its strategic location at the southern terminus of the Jupiter-Juno railroad. Juno also held the northern terminus of the boat and connecting the stagecoach line to Miami. The courthouse remained in Juno (now no longer in existence) until 1899 when it was moved to Miami down the inland waterway on a barge and was placed on the banks of the Miami River, east of the old Miami Avenue bridge.
The building was two-story wooden frame construction, housing offices and jail cells on the ground floor and a courtroom on the second floor. It has a Neoclassical design, in 1904 this building was replaced by a new courthouse building situated on Flagler Street (then known as Twelfth Street). It was a magnificent building constructed of limestone, having an elegant red-domed top, at the cost of $47,000. It was anticipated that this courthouse would serve the city for at least fifty years; however, no one was prepared for the rapid growth Miami experienced during this period, and by 1924, only twenty years later, there was serious talk of the need for a larger courthouse.
In the early 1920s, architect A. Ten Eyck Brown entered a design competition for Atlanta City Hall, which was rejected. He then made the plans available to Dade County, and City and County officials readily approved them. It was decided by the officials to build the new courthouse at the same location as the existing one on Flagler Street. Construction began in 1925, with workers erecting the new building around the existing structure, which was then dismantled. Community leaders and citizens alike voiced excitement over the new 28 stories "skyscraper" that would soon dominate the skyline.
Unexpectedly, construction was halted when the building reached ten stories. It was discovered that the "high-rise" was sinking into the spongy ground. Engineers consulted with an architect from Mexico City, who had encountered a similar problem while building the city's opera house. The consultant determined that the foundation pilings were not set deep enough. To correct the problem, cement supports were poured, which take up much of the space in the building's basement file room even to this day.
The courthouse was finally completed in 1928 at the cost of $4 million (USD 2013 $54.5 million). Initially, it served as both the Dade County Courthouse and the Miami City Hall. Jail cells occupied the top nine floors because these heights offered "maximum security" and were considered escape-proof. In 1934, a prisoner housed on the twenty-first floor picked the lock of his jail cell window and used a fire hose to lower himself to freedom. In the years following, more than 70 prisoners escaped from this so-called "secure" prison.
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami-Dade_County_Courthouse
www.emporis.com/buildings/122294/miami-dade-county-courth...
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
Looking out towards Lower Manattan
Website (Holidays, Courses, Workshops) - Facebook - Twitter - 500px - etc : all in my profile
Estructura del viejo Gasómetro de Barcelona. El efecto se ha conseguido reflejando sobre la pantalla de un teléfono móvil en la captura.
Strukturelle Bindungskräfte müssen stark sein bei außergewöhnlicher Architektur.
Wenn Mensch hoch hinaus will - müssen soziale Bindungskräfte auch stark sein - sonst verliert Mensch sich in der Höhe! Zusammenhalt und Bindung ist ein guter Weg.
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
in the woodland structures series. unadullterated, straight from the camera. I was super pleased with th tone of this as it was. In fact, although I expect few people to understand why, I ADORE this photo.
The 25 de Abril Bridge is a suspension bridge connecting the city of Lisbon, capital of Portugal, to the municipality of Almada on the left (south) bank of the Tagus river. It has a total length of 2,277 metres, making it the 46th longest suspension bridge in the world.
From its inauguration in 6 August 1966 up to 1974, the bridge was named Salazar Bridge (Ponte Salazar), after Portuguese Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, who ordered its construction. After the Carnation Revolution, which overthrew the remnants of Salazar's regime, the bridge was renamed for April 25, the date of the revolution. It is also commonly called the Tagus River Bridge.
Later changes had to be made due to the rapid increase in population. In the 1990s, a fifth car lane was added, and in 1999, a lower deck, used as a railway track, which was planned since the beginning, was finally built. Today, the upper deck carries six car lanes while the lower deck carries a double track railway, electrified at 25 kV AC.
From the late 19th century, there had been proposals to build a bridge across the Tagus. In 1929, the idea advanced when the Portuguese engineer and entrepreneur, António Bello, requested a government concession for a railway crossing between Lisbon and Montijo (where the Vasco da Gama Bridge, the second bridge serving Lisbon, was later built in 1998). As a result, the Minister of Public Works, Duarte Pacheco, created a commission in 1933 to analyse the request. The commission reported in 1934, and proposed building a road and rail bridge. Bids were obtained, but the proposal was subsequently put aside in favor of a bridge crossing the river at Vila Franca de Xira, 35 kilometres north of Lisbon.
In 1953, a new government commission started work and, in 1958, recommended building the bridge, choosing the southern anchor point adjacent to the recently built monument to Christ the King (Cristo-Rei). In 1959, the international invitation to tender for the project received four bids. In 1960, the winner was announced as a consortium headed by the United States Steel Export Company, which had also submitted a bid in 1935. The American School of Lisbon was founded largely to educate the children of the American engineers brought to Portugal to work on the construction of the bridge.
Construction began on 5 November 1962. Forty-five months later, six months ahead of schedule, the bridge was inaugurated on 6 August 1966. Presiding at the ceremony was the President of Portugal, Admiral Américo Thomaz. Also present were the Prime-Minister, António de Oliveira Salazar, and the Patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira. The bridge was named Salazar Bridge (Ponte Salazar), after Prime Minister Salazar.
United States Steel International Inc., based in New York, was prime contractor for the bridge. Morrison-Knudsen of Portugal Ltd., an American firm based in Boise, Idaho, was U.S. Steel's principal associate. Morrison-Knudsen had previously worked on the San Francisco Bay Bridge. The bridge was designed by Steinman, Boynton, Gronquist and London of New York, and Tudor Engineering Company of San Francisco. The steel was imported from the US. Four workers lost their lives, out of a total of 3,000 who worked on the site. Construction took a total of 2,185,000 man-hours of work. The total cost of the bridge came to 2.2 billion Portuguese escudos, or US$32 million (US$225 million in 2011 adjusted for inflation).
Soon after the Carnation Revolution in 1974, the bridge was renamed the 25 de Abril Bridge, the day the revolution had occurred. A symbol of those times was captured on film, with citizens removing the large brass letters spelling "Salazar" from one of the main pillars of the bridge and painting a provisional "25 de Abril" in its place.
The upper platform, running 70 m above water, had four car lanes, two in each direction, with a dividing guardrail. On 23 July 1990, the guardrail was removed and a fifth, reversible lane was created. On 6 November 1998, the side walls were extended and reinforced to make space for the present six lanes. Cars crossing the bridge make a peculiar hum because the two inner lanes are made of metallic grating rather than asphalt to minimize aerodynamic forces by means of pressure equalization.
Since 30 June 1999, the lower platform has carried a double track railway. To accommodate that, the bridge underwent extensive structural reinforcements, including a second set of main cables, placed above the original set, and the main towers were increased in height. The railway had been part of the initial design, but was eliminated for economy, so the initial structure was lightened. The original builder American Bridge Company was called again for the job, performing the first aerial spinning of additional main cables on a loaded, fully operational suspension bridge.
Traffic soon increased well beyond predictions, and has remained at maximum capacity despite the enlargement from four to six lanes, the addition of the railway, and the building of a second bridge serving Lisbon, the Vasco da Gama Bridge. A third bridge has been on and off government plans for some time, but the idea has been dropped presently, due to Portugal's budget constraints.
Severe weather destroyed a structure near the SR 87 and Gilbert Road area overnight.
By: Ashley Loose
Posted at 6:54 AM, Jul 18, 2022 and last updated 11 minutes ago
An East Valley mobile home was destroyed when severe monsoon storms swept through the area late Sunday night.
Aerial video from the scene near SR 87 and Gilbert Road shows the home reduced to piles of rubble with debris scattered across the property and roadway.
Overnight, emergency crews were seen at the residence taking a woman from the home by ambulance. Videographers at the scene say the woman was trapped under the debris when the storm hit. Her current condition is not known.
ABC15 is waiting for more information from local officials on the incident.
Nearby, large electrical towers along SR 87 were also toppled during the storm, causing an extended closure of the highway in both directions.
The area received about 1.42" of rain during the storm, according to the Maricopa County Flood Control District, and power was knocked out for tens of thousands of customers in the Valley.
THE HELIX: HOME OF THE KELPIES
The Helix is an exciting new parkland providing activities such as cycling, walking, watersports and much more. The Helix is also home of The Kelpies, two 30-metre-high horse head sculptures which are a true feat of engineering.
The Helix Park is The Home of the Kelpies - the largest equine sculptures in the world. Located between Falkirk and Grangemouth, it was created as a space for the communities in the Falkirk area to come together. The Kelpies go a step further in bringing together not only people from different parts of Scotland and the UK, but from all over the world. Tourists continue to flock to the iconic structures, and take the story of The Kelpies with them to spread the message internationally. The Kelpies have transformed the area into a five-star tourist destination.
Standing at 100ft tall and weighing more than 300 tonnes each, the magical Kelpies are a man-made wonder and a feat of engineering. The works of art, created by artist Andy Scott, have become iconic on the landscape after being modelled on real-life icons of times gone by — Clydesdale horses Duke and Baron. The Kelpies represent the lineageof the heavy horse of Scottish industry and economy, pulling the wagons, ploughs, barges and coalships that shaped the geographical layout of Falkirk.
The Kelpies’ name reflects the mythological transforming beasts that possess the strength and endurance of 100 horses; a quality that’s analogous with the transformational change of the area’s landscapes, endurance of its inland waterways and the strength of its communities. You can visit The Kelpies free of charge any time of the day, 365 days of the year due to their prime location in The Helix community park. The area around the massive sculptures has been designed to give access for all, meaning everyone can come and see them up close. You can even go inside a Kelpie on a tour for an exclusive look at their engineering and ingenuity. Don’t forget to round off your trip at the visitor centre for souvenirs and a tasty lunch.
The park itself features plenty to be explored, including around 500km of connected cycle paths. Discover one of many routes including the 16-mile core route, Helix Around Town Tour (HArTT) starting at The Helix and heading to The Falkirk Wheel, Callendar Park and back to The Helix using cycle ways, towpaths and parkland. The paths are multi-use if you prefer to explore by foot. The Helix is linked by two National Cycle Routes as well as the new John Muir Trail making it incredibly accessible and the ideal base to explore from.
The Helix also boasts a new lagoon, cafe, adventure zone and splash play area.
this structure is standing just like it looks. there is no liquify or other Photoshop manipulation to this other than some color adjustments.
Inspired by Stephen Shore's gorgeous photo; U.S.10 Post Falls, Idaho and it's lyrical beauty and acceptance of the world around us I went this morning searching for just such a scene.
I looked for a location with minimal expression and inherent beauty, yet without drama. Found it 16 miles away.
Some photos are created in a snap or two. this one took me 10 minutes to compose and click.
Full of elements, yet those puddles are the most important ones.
They give your eyes a runway to take off and escape this place.