The New York skyline. Pretty much unmistakable, wouldn´t you agree?
From across the Hudson River, we see the Big Apple spreading out along the horizon with its beautiful, modern architecture. Immense and awesome structures rise almost as if straight out of the water, composing this world-famous man-made topography. Breathtaking, isn´t it?
Now, if you take a closer look, you'll notice that the overall shape of this skyline is something like a "hill", or a "camel hump", if you will, with downtown Manhattan and its formidable edifices ascending high over the rest of the city.
Ever ask yourself why that is?
Let´s see... Well, that´s where the money is, right? I mean, if you're going to build a city with the fame and wealth of New York, some part of it needs to stand out above the rest.
No. Not quite.
Well, then... Maybe those genius architects decided to concentrate their best work in one specific part of town.
Wrong again.
Then, it has to be coincidence!
Nope, that´s not it either!
The answer? Glaciers!
More than 8,000 years ago, the world was going through its last ice age and the North American continent was almost completely under a thick sheet of ice. How thick? Well, what we know today as New York City was, back then, under one mile of it!
Fast-forward a few hundred years. The ice age is coming to an end. The glaciers are receding.
Now, imagine a mile-high layer of ice being slowly and incessantly dragged along the surface of the continent. It's going to cause some damage, right? In fact, it will shred and carve the bedrock like the proverbial hot knife through butter. But due to the characteristics of both the bedrock and the glacial recession above it, this wearing and tearing was less severe in downtown Manhattan. Elsewhere (to the right and to the left of the picture), huge valley-like grooves were created.
Over time and with the help of wind, water and ice, those grooves were slowly filled with the resulting rock sediment, levelling once again the earth in that region.
So far, so good. But what does that have to do with the height of those buildings?
Here's the explanation:
As strong and stable as that new, compacted sediment may be, it is not as solid and not as capable of withstanding the weight that the bedrock can hold. And when it comes to architecture, a firm foundation is key. The strength and resistance of this foundation is what allows for taller, and therefore heavier, buildings.
Cool, huh?!
Now, if you take a closer look, you'll notice that the overall shape of this skyline is something like a "hill", or a "camel hump", if you will, with downtown Manhattan and its formidable edifices ascending high over the rest of the city.
Ever ask yourself why that is?
Let´s see... Well, that´s where the money is, right? I mean, if you're going to build a city with the fame and wealth of New York, some part of it needs to stand out above the rest.
No. Not quite.
Well, then... Maybe those genius architects decided to concentrate their best work in one specific part of town.
Wrong again.
Then, it has to be coincidence!
Nope, that´s not it either!
The answer? Glaciers!
More than 8,000 years ago, the world was going through its last ice age and the North American continent was almost completely under a thick sheet of ice. How thick? Well, what we know today as New York City was, back then, under one mile of it!
Fast-forward a few hundred years. The ice age is coming to an end. The glaciers are receding.
Now, imagine a mile-high layer of ice being slowly and incessantly dragged along the surface of the continent. It's going to cause some damage, right? In fact, it will shred and carve the bedrock like the proverbial hot knife through butter. But due to the characteristics of both the bedrock and the glacial recession above it, this wearing and tearing was less severe in downtown Manhattan. Elsewhere (to the right and to the left of the picture), huge valley-like grooves were created.
Over time and with the help of wind, water and ice, those grooves were slowly filled with the resulting rock sediment, levelling once again the earth in that region.
So far, so good. But what does that have to do with the height of those buildings?
Here's the explanation:
As strong and stable as that new, compacted sediment may be, it is not as solid and not as capable of withstanding the weight that the bedrock can hold. And when it comes to architecture, a firm foundation is key. The strength and resistance of this foundation is what allows for taller, and therefore heavier, buildings.
Cool, huh?!
Um comentário:
are you an architect, bernardo? or a geographer? just asking.
you put the bits and pieces of information into this blogpost as if i am reading the national geographic magazine.
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