Buildings that could not have been built without computer technology

The older our civilization, the higher and more complex we build buildings. The new millennium generally leads in the number of buildings of extraordinary complexity. And in many ways computer technologies contribute to this: engineering software, modeling - all this helps architects to create a truly reliable building.

There are already structures that could not have been built without a computer, and if they could, it would have been much longer than it actually was.

Sydney Opera

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The "shells" of the Sydney Opera House will be recognized even by those people who have never been to the Opera, not only in Sydney’s opera, but in general. This is an interesting architectural solution, which was implemented for a very long time (about eight years), and is now listed in the UNESCO list. It should be noted that only the manufacture of ceramic tiles for the "shells" took three years.

This building was developed quite a long time ago, but it was on it that the effectiveness of CAD applications was checked. British firm engineer Ove Arup (now this company is called ARUP), checked the reliability of the selected design of the building.

As a result, the building turned out to be taller and narrower than planned.

30 St Mary Ax, London - The Gherkin

CAD programs helped to identify possible problems with the building structure. Engineers had foreseen that when building the building in its original form there would be problems with the wind: at the base they had foreseen the appearance of turbulence. To minimize this phenomenon, a computer model was created, on which the influence of the wind was worked out.

As a result, it was decided to change the design somewhat, giving it the shape of an “elongated egg” with a protrusion in the central part. In addition, the facade of the building was covered with glass panels to improve aerodynamic performance, so to speak about the building.

According to the developers, this structure is an excellent example of what the CAD software complex is capable of.

Great Court, British Museum

Updating individual elements of the first public museum in the world is a delicate task. This museum (British Museum) was first opened to the public in 1759. Since then, its appearance has changed, but only slightly.

One of the proposals to update the structure of the Museum included the transformation of its inner courtyard into one of the most amazing structures, with a roof of glass and metal.

The project promised to be very difficult, but the architects coped with the task. Interestingly, the coating was created from 3312 glass panels, each of which was uniquely shaped. There were no two identical panels. And the creation of so many different panels, for a single structure, was made possible through the use of software.

Without a computer, this work would have stretched over many years.

Burj khalifa

It has already used the latest computer technology, in large quantities. The height of the building, as is known, is 828 meters, and it is in Burj Khalifa that there is a swimming pool, at a height of 76 floors.

Using CAD, experts were able to test various duct placement systems, in order to determine the optimal structure, to minimize the effect of strong winds on the building. In addition, CAD helped to develop the microstructure of the building, contributing to the good aerodynamic properties of the building.

The microclimate was also modeled using computer systems. Ultimately, it was decided to deploy the building by 120 degrees, so that the movement of air masses had a minimal impact on this object.

City hall

In this building steps go to the top. Experts wanted to create an optimal acoustic project in order to minimize the spread of sound in the building. Computer technologies, which showed sound wave propagation throughout the building, with different stages of placement of steps, helped in this. Without such testing, specialists would hardly be able to create something similar.