Thursday, 10 May 2012

New design makes our life better

Nowadays natural disaster affect our life, its common effect is earthquake. Tara Hutchinson, an engineering professor showing the high-intensity artificial earthquake on the 5-floor building with medical equipment. He designs the new technology that can make our life better, we can live in the building securely.

According to “Engineers launch artificial earthquakes at ‘hospital’”, “Shake table” is the object that engineers building it to make the similar movement of earthquake. The engineers also build a fake hospital on the shake table, which they can test how strong it is and how does it work. “The tests are designed to determine if hospitals built on rubber bearings could function after a quake.”(¶3) They use rubber bearing, because it’s common in earthquake-prone japan. During an earthquake the bearing take a part a building from motion of the ground, “like putting the building on roller skates.”(¶7) The rubber bearing was successful to protect the building from the most of damage.

I am the one who used to interested in the building technology. Because I studied in architecture, so when I was in university, I have to do some research and I have to design a new bearing system. Sometimes work and sometimes didn’t work (because my teacher told me which one is work). When I design architecture, I also think about the building system such as column, beam, and floor system to finish my project. If I only think how my architecture’s beautiful but it can’t construction, it isn’t to become real. Many time that I design what I like but I can’t get my grade from my teacher because I didn’t concern about building system, so I failed.

Architect and engineer are difference, many people confuse between them. Architect is the person who designs architecture but an engineer is a practitioner of engineering. First, architect designs a building and designs building system. Then an engineer calculates weight in every square metre, every column and every beam, it has to strong enough and it has to be safe. They have to work together to build an architecture.

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References

BBC News -Technology (2012, May 7). Engineers launch artificial earthquakes at ‘hospital’. BBC News Retrieved May 10, 2012 from http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17954352

4 comments:

  1. I have heard about this new innovation but I didn't use so much time to think about it.After I read your article, It should be something that we concerned about. This is the big step of architecture.I mean ,maybe , in the future, we don't have to concern about the earthquake anymore.

    I also agree that we shouldn't care only about how beautiful of the building because ,finally, when the earthquake comes and destroys the building,All we left is a huge garbage of that building wreckage.

    About the article,I really like your ending.It made me know what's different between Architect and Engineer.These 2 words used to made me confused ;-) However,In my opinion,If you could find some pictures and put it in your article, It will makes this article more clear and interesting:-D

    Thank you for this knowledge.lovely that you wrote it!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cherry,
      I like your comment. I had some similar thoughts as I read Ploys interesting and informative post, especially about her correction of a possible misunderstanding among her readers.

      I had previously heard of rubber bearings, but to be honest, I don't know what they are. In my mind, I imagine buildings on lumps of rubber, but I don't know how accurate this is. And I always worry: "Don't the lumps of rubber deteriorate over time? How are they replaced?"

      But I might be completely wrong. I'm hoping that Ploy can give us a bit more information about what these rubber bearings are, and how they function, as well as how long they last.

      Delete
  2. Thank you Cherry for your comment. Next blog I'll put the picture to interest the reader.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Althogh I am thai people who live in the country that haven't had any severe earthquake, I always hear the news about the earth quake quite regulary. Unfortunately because of this reason most of thai buildings were built without earthquake security.I cannot image that if we face the vast earthquake what we are going to do.

    In contrast, the medium island country locate at east of asia like Japan face this problem a thousand of times a year. This lead japan to the most well-prepared country to face earthquke. Most of skyscrapers in Japan are set to endure it.
    Altogh Thailand locate in safe-zone,I think "Prvention is better than cure".

    ReplyDelete

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