World’s Largest Earthquake-Safe Building
Let’s talk about Turkey. No, not the bird. The country. Let’s talk about Istanbul.
Istanbul has been a prominent city for thousands of years (known first to the ancients as Byzantium, then Constantinople) because it’s centrally located for trade and travel between Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Unfortunately, it’s also centrally located near the confluence of the Arabian, African, and Eurasian tectonic plates – a prime earthquake zone. (The IFRC and Turkish Red Crescent Society have been involved in responding to – and helping prepare for – a number of earthquakes there.)
Which is why engineers designed the new international terminal at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport to be the world’s largest earthquake-safe building. Basically, it’s a reinforced structure built on top of bearings that allow it to roll around while the building itself stays intact.
Think of it as a brick sitting on top of (very safe) skateboard as opposed to a Jell-O mold sitting on top of a washing machine. Significantly reduced wobble. (That’s the way I think of it anyway.)
Read a more detailed explanation on Wired Science.
5 comments
Wait…
Are you SURE it's Istanbul, not Constantinople?
Old New York was once New Amsterdam. Why they changed it, I can't say. Maybe they liked it better that way.
I am a huge fan of your skateboard/Jell-O metaphor. You could totally teach plate tectonics to the kids.
The AMERICAN RED CROSS is also working in this at-risk country, using e-learning to prepare schools for disasters. Read more about it here: http://bit.ly/6m291Y
Thanks for the heads up about that ARC program! It looks really cool, and I had no idea that it existed. I'll make sure to highlight it in another post.
Thanks!
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