Engineering Breakthroughs..

[Euphoriet]

What are some things you consider really awesome.. and why....

I am looking more stuff on buildings and such things... types of buildings... maybe improvements to old ones.. thanks

[rdt2]

Most breakthroughs are due to new materials. Wrought iron, then steel, then tough, high yield steels allowed increasingly long bridges.

One of the limiting factors to the height of buildings at the moment is lift (elevator) design. Lift companies are looking at getting more than one cage into the same shaft. Possibly with passing places built into the shaft.

RDT2

[Artman]

I saw an interesting idea, based on old technology, but handled in a creative manner: steel passive solar panels applied to the sides of warehouses that conduct air from the outside to the inside, heating it along the way, then it is discharged by fans through cloth ductwork into the building.

They are heating large warehouses using nothing but this solar heat during cold sunny days.

Here is a link to the site:

Solarwall (http://www.solarwall.com/sw/swHow.html)