ruminations about architecture and design

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

what lies beneath


Compared to underground construction, architecture is easy. People are doing work on the Callahan tunnel in Boston right now, and according to statements recorded in the Globe, things are going smoothly. Some public officials made the smart decision of closing the roadway to traffic to shorten the construction schedule.
In twenty or thirty years we will have to do major renovation work to the Big Dig tunnels. That will present quite a challenge of construction sequencing. Hopefully, our robot cars will adapt to such a situation without too much inconvenience.

It is difficult, maybe impossible, to make an underground transit tunnel into a compelling and inviting architectural space. Maybe someday in the future, if we much wealthier, we will devote more resources to making undergound infrastructure look pretty. For now, let us walk in the sunlight.

After some research on the internet yesterday, I have come to the tentative conclusion that sub-slab ductwork is not the best idea. Gravity causes trouble.

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