In
1995, the
American Society of Civil Engineers (
ASCE) selected their
Seven Wonders of the Modern World. ASCE polled many other national and international
engineering societies for
nominations, then
a panel of experts chose the final list of seven.
- Itaipu Dam - A series of dams on the Parana river on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. These dams have a total width of 7744m (almost 5 miles). This complex supplies 78% of Paraguay's electricity and 25% of Brazil's electricity (1995 stats). The dam was constructed from 1975-1991.
- CN Tower - The world's tallest free-standing structure at 1815 feet. Built in Toronto from 1973 to 1975 by the Canadian National Railways as a demonstration of Canadian engineering skill and as a transmission tower.
- Panama Canal - An interoceanic connection between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Begun in 1880 by the French and completed in 1914 by the Americans, the canal is a 50 mile long system of locks, channelizations, cuts and natural waterways. When completed, it was the most expensive construction project in the United States at $375,000,000.
- Golden Gate Bridge - The tallest suspension bridge in the world at 746 feet. Completed in 1937, it was the longest suspension bridge until 1964.
- Channel Tunnel - The Channel Tunnel (or Chunnel) is the longest underground tunnel in the world. It connects Dover,England and Calais,France and was completed in 1995.
- Netherlands North Sea Protection Works - Lots of dams, dikes, sluices, gates, piers, canals and barriers. Popular Mechanics divides the project into two parts. The enclosure dam was built from 1927 to 1932 at the neck of the Zuiderzee estuary. It is 19 miles long and 100 yards thick at points. It liberated about half a million acres from the harsh rule of the sea. The Delta project is in southwest Holland and was built after a deadly 1953 flood. A major part of this project is the Eastern Schelde Barrier.
- Empire State Building - A skyscraper in New York City designed in the Art Deco style. Built in 14 months from 1930 to 1931, it was and again is the tallest building in NYC at 1250 feet. The height of the antenna is 1472 feet.
This list will undoubtedly change in the future as
new engineering techniques and materials allow designers to be more inventive and ambitious. The future may also see change in the
Eurocentricity of the list (3 NA, 2 Europe, 2 SA) as new works like the
Petronas Towers and the
Three Gorges Dam come into maturity.
Sources:
www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/release/1994/21-94.htm
http://www.socatri1000.com/PopularMechanics.htm
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/Modern/itaipu.html
http://www.solar.coppe.ufrj.br/itaipu.html
perdedor's Golden Gate wu
fox hunte's Chunnel wu
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/index.html
http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/about.html