Bridge_project

Tower Bridge, architecture that connects places and societies!

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 * Throughout history we have used the bridge as a construction that responds to geographic barriers such as rivers, valleys and cliffs, which prevent the movement of vehicles or people, and are built to connect the ends separated by these barriers. **


 * The bridge can vary by the material they are made and the type of construction. The later aspect, we can classify six types of bridges: **


 * · Beam bridges are horizontal beams supported at each end by abutments, hence their structural name of simply supported. The world's longest beam bridge is Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in southern Louisiana in the United States, at 23.83 miles, with individual spans of 56 feet. **


 * · Cantilever bridges are built using cantilevers—horizontal beams that are supported on only one end. The largest cantilever bridge is the 549-metre Quebec Bridge in Quebec, Canada. **


 * · Arch bridges have abutments at each end. The earliest known arch bridges were built by the Greeks and include the Arkadiko Bridge. Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is currently building the largest arch bridge in the world. **


 * · Suspension bridges are suspended from cables. In modern bridges, the cables hang from towers that are attached to caissons or cofferdams. The longest suspension bridge in the world is the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan. **


 * · Cable-stayed bridges, like suspension bridges, are held up by cables. However, in a cable-stayed bridge, less cable is required and the towers holding the cables are proportionately shorter. The longest cable-stayed bridge is the Sutong Bridge over the Yangtze River in China. **


 * · Movable bridges are designed to move out of the way of boats or other kinds of traffic, which would otherwise be too tall to fit. These are generally electrically powered. **


 * These bridges, regardless of their type of construction, are designed for trains, road traffic, and pedestrian promenade. Others have decorative function to create a beautiful image or represent an important historical fact. **


 * An example of this type of construction is the Tower Bridge, located in London, England, at the junction of the River Thames and built in 1894 under the design by architect Horace Jones. **


 * In the nineteenth century, the east end of London became so densely populated that it was necessary to build a new bridge, as the pedestrian and vehicle traffic was delayed for hours. But this was a big challenge because the bridge should be built without disrupting river traffic. To find solutions to this, the City of London Corporation launched a competition; the winner design was made by the architect of the city Horace Jones. **


 * Jones's design was a bascule bridge 244 meters long, with two towers of 65 meters. The central distance of 61 m between the two towers, is divided into two cams, which can be raised to an angle of 83 degrees to allow river traffic to pass. The building material was steel and masonry. **


 * The construction of Tower Bridge lasted 8 years and had the cooperation of 432 workers. To secure the building, they got down two huge pillars in the river bed and used over 11,000 tons of steel to build the frame of the towers and gateways. This frame was covered with Cornish granite and Portland stone to protect the underlying steel construction and provide the bridge of a more beautiful image. **


 * At the time of its construction, the Tower Bridge was the longest and sophisticated drawbridge in the world. The arms of the drawbridge were hydraulically operated by huge steam engines. Despite the complexity of the system, the arms of the drawbridge only took about a minute to rise. **


 * At this day, the drawbridges arms continue to operate by hydropower, but since 1976 are driven by oil and electricity instead of steam. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is an example of man's ingenuity and ability to make a wonderful architecture, which becomes a society's identity and leaves a mark, not only in the place where it is built, but globally, this is what architecture is about. And as the phrase of one of the fathers of modern architecture says: "Architecture is the starting point from which you want to lead humanity towards a better future", Le Corbusier. **