"Amsterdam was built on a swamp, and just keeping the canalside houses from sinking into it is an unending task". This really reminded me of my trips I had to Venice. It is no surprise to anybody that the region of Venice is sinking because of it being topographically situated in water. In order to maintain the buildings in the city, cement must be constantly pumped below the structures so that the ground level will rise a little bit from the water. Also my experience to the Leaning Tower of Piza also struck a chord. The tower leans because it was built on half sturdy soil, and half unsturdy soil. In order to keep the tower from completely falling, a little bit of maintenence is required by reinforcing the unsturdy soil every once in a while. This same concept applies to that of the buildings in Amsterdam. Since it was built in a swamp, the foundation of the buildings is unsturdy. "The house was sinking into the underlying ooze at a rate that would make most of it basement within a short while". As with Venice and the Leaning Tower, constant maintenence is required in order to keep these buildings functioning.
No comments:
Post a Comment