The Ancient Mystery of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

In our series about Architectural Wonders of the Ancient World, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is one of the most fascinating.  It is the only ancient wonder not reliably verified that it actually existed as no definitive archaeological evidence has ever been found.  Nonetheless, there are many accounts from ancient historians who describe the magnificence gardens’ elegant terraces, elaborate water features and floating plants in detail. 

It has generally been believed that if the Gardens existed they were built in Babylon near the present-day Hillah, Babil province, in Iraq by Nebuchadnezzar II who ruled from 605 to 562 BC.  However there is a group of archeologists and historians who think they may have been built somewhere else.  Recently Dr. Stephanie Dalley of Oxford University cited evidence that the Hanging Gardens were built by King Sennacherib in the Assyrian capital of Nineveh 350 miles away from the Babylon site. 

Texts from one of the ancient Greek historians, Diodorus of Sicily, described the Hanging Gardens as a beautiful park-like structure that was 400 ft. wide by 400 ft. long and had walls 80 ft. tall.  He states that the Gardens were built in a Persia design and had sloped, split-level stone tiers that resembled a theater.  The beautiful terraces were constructed beneath galleries that carried the hanging plants.  He explains that the walls were twenty-two ft. thick with ten foot wide passageways.  Diodorus’ descriptions included the roof that had “first a layer of reeds laid in great quantities of bitumen, over this two courses of baked brick bonded by cement, and as a third layer of covering of lead, to the end that the moisture from the soil might not penetrate beneath.” 

The large amount of water needed to care for the plants is thought to have been transported using a similar principle to the Archimedes’ screw, which is a pump that scoops water in a spiral tube and carries it up.  It is estimated that the gardens would have required 8,200 gallons of water daily to survive. 

The Conco Companies’ mission is to be the best supplier of concrete services in the Western United States and to bring expertise and unsurpassed quality to each project. We have built our reputation on superior concrete formwork, reinforcing, place and finish, shotcrete and other ancillary services that benefit from our vast experience. We serve Northern and Southern California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada. 

Sources:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging_Gardens_of_Babylon  

dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2513819/Mystery-missing-Hanging-Gardens-Babylon-solved-Expert-claims-elusive-wonder-world.html

The Colossus of Rhodes - An Ancient Wonder

Today modern architecture is still influenced by the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  These incredible man-made structures represent the marvels of early engineering and are remarkable feats of construction.  Three of the ancient wonders, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus were all destroyed by earthquakes. 

The Colossus of Rhodes, which was almost as tall as our Statue of Liberty, was also erected in celebration of freedom and bears a resemblance to it.  Depicting the Greek titan-god of the sun Helios, the Colossus of Rhodes was the largest statue ever built in the Hellenistic period.  Constructed in 292–280 BC on the island of Rhodes, Greece, the statue toppled over during the Rhodes Earthquake of 226 BC.

We have an account of what the statue looked like from several early Greek historians.  It is believed that the marble base pedestal was approximately 60 feet in diameter and circular or octagonal in shape and 49 ft. high.  The statue itself, which was 98 ft. high, had a skin created out of iron tie bars with brass plates affixed to them and fortified with iron and stone framework.  The Ancient Origins website quotes the book of Pilon of Byzantium that notes, “15 tons of bronze was used, along with 9 tons of iron.”  However modern architects feel the numbers are too low to be accurate.   

The structure’s interior was filled with stone blocks.  As the statue grew higher, it is written that workers piled mounds of dirt to create a ramp in order to reach the upper portions.  The Colossus of Rhodes took a total of 12 years to build.  

At The Conco Companies we have had the opportunity to be a part of several modern day architectural wonders such as when we set the world record for the largest continuous mat pour for the new Wilshire Grand in L.A.  The skyscraper will be the tallest building in the U.S. west of the Mississippi upon completion. 

At Conco, our goal is to be the best provider of concrete services for the Western United States. We have built our reputation on superior concrete formwork, reinforcing, place and finish, shotcrete and other ancillary services that benefit from our vast experience.  Currently we serve Northern and Southern California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada.

Sources: 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_of_Rhodes

ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/colossus-rhodes-ancient-greek-mega-statue-003249

Constructing Earthquake Resistant Skyscrapers

At Conco we have been busy providing concrete services for the Wilshire Grand Center in Los Angeles that is one of the tallest buildings to be constructed in a seismic hot zone.  The building’s design has been put through extensive scrutiny and has the benefit of top experts in the field guiding the process to ensure safety. 

Across the globe we have other examples of skyscrapers built in earthquake prone areas where experts have carefully designed and implemented the best practices of earthquake engineering.  One such building is the Zifeng Tower (formerly the Nanjing Greenland Financial Center) in Nanjing, China that was completed in 2010 and is 1,476 ft. tall.  Built in an area known for seismic activity, the skyscraper was designed to withstand earthquake forces that are “between two and six times stronger than those that are normally required by Chinese building codes.”

 

Another area in China that has had its share of earthquakes is Shanghai.  There the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) is one of three super tall skyscrapers that are grouped together in the Lujiazui Financial District in Pudong, Shanghai, China.  In addition to the SWFC, the Shanghai Tower is under construction and will replace the SWFC as the tallest building in China.  The third skyscraper in the group is the Jin Mao Tower.  At 1,614 ft. tall with 101 floors, the SWFC’s “steel trusses are designed to tighten against typhoon strength winds and earthquakes, which allowed the skyscraper to be built using less steel and helped it to earned points for sustainability.” 

The Taipei 101 in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan opened in 2004 and stands at 1,671 ft. tall.  It was designed to withstand adverse conditions that are known to occur in the area such as typhoon strength winds and earthquakes.  The goal was to construct “a structure that could withstand gale winds of 134 mph and the strongest earthquakes likely to occur in a 2,500 year cycle.”  By using strong reinforced concrete supports and an extremely solid foundation, the Taipei 101 is believed to be one of the most stable buildings ever constructed.  

The Conco Companies are a leading supplier of concrete services for the Western U.S. and got our start in the Bay Area in 1959 by offering clients the best value on a wide range of concrete services and products.  Since that time, we have taken a leading role as one of the top concrete contractors in the region. We currently serve California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Colorado.

Sources:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zifeng_Tower, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_World_Financial_Center, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_101

New Wilshire Grand Will Be Earthquake Resistant

In an article about earthquakes published by Scientific American, they explain that, “Lateral shaking is the force that can cause the most damage to a building during an earthquake.”  Since the force usually occurs in a direction parallel to the ground, skyscrapers in earthquake prone areas need to have lateral resistance to prevent quake damage and to protect against other lateral forces such as wind. 

The Conco Companies are providing concrete services on the new Wilshire Grand Center in downtown Los Angeles, which when finished, will be the tallest structure built in a “seismic hot zone.”  For this reason, the building’s design has been put through some of the most advanced and sophisticated earthquake modeling available.  

The skyscraper’s earthquake resistance is further complicated by the fact that architect, David Martin, designed the building with large windows on every floor that required the construction of a concrete core.  Since the core is 33 feet wide along its narrowest side for a building that will be 1,100 feet tall, the geotechnical firm, AMEC, was hired to ensure the building’s resistant to damage from a quake.  Their job was to create simulated earthquakes to test the tower design and to evaluate “the maximum acceleration — the greatest jolt — that the building could experience.” 

After a series of numerous tests and studying damage from past earthquakes in Southern California, the engineers refined the size and depth of the foundation to resist as much as “13.2 million pounds of force pulling up and 25 million pounds of force pushing down on each of the 20 perimeter columns as the tower swayed during an earthquake.”  However the test still simulated some buckling so rather than increase the amount of concrete, AMEC’s solution was to add devices called buckling-restrained braces.  The devices are long steel bars encased in a steel box filled with grout that allows the bars to compress or stretch when the building moves.  The redesign of the Wilshire Grand will now include 170 of these devices. 

The Conco Companies are a leading supplier of concrete services for the Western United States. We have built our reputation with superior concrete formwork, reinforcing, place and finish, shotcrete and other ancillary services that benefit from our vast experience.  With four regional offices, we serve Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada. 

Sources:

graphics.latimes.com/wilshire-grand-earthquakes/ - Sources: Leonard Joseph, Thornton Tomasetti; Tammy Jow, Joseph Varholick, Carey McLeod and Noel Moreno, A.C. Martin; Steve Carroll, Schuff Steel; Ian Aiken, SIE Inc.; Nippon Steel Engineering USA; G.G. Schierle, USC School of Architecture; Dave Eichten, Pankow.

scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-earthquake-proof-engineering/