|
|
|
  |
| Sunday, 29 May 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Pride of the Windy City
The building in Chicago, in the State of Illinois, was the world's tallest for nearly 22 years since its completion. It still has one of the tallest occupied floors and one of the tallest skyscraper roofs. The high-rise was constructed between 1970 and 1974 as the corporate headquarters of Sears, Roebuck and Company. The 110-storey building is over 1,450 feet (442 metres) tall and has a 253 feet (77 metres) tall television antenna. It now functions as a commercial office tower, apart from being the Sears headquarters. It offers 4.4 million square feet of office space, said to be second only to the Pentagon in Washington DC. The Sears Tower was designed by the company Skidmore, Owings and Merril, and built at a cost of 150 million US dollars. The building is an example of the revolutionary bundled-steel structural design which can withstand very high and strong winds. The construction is appropriate for Chicago, known as the Windy City, which has an average wind speed of 16 miles per hour. The building is structurally supported by square tubes of welded steel with floors suspended within the tubes according to a novel method designed specifically for this giant of a building, by architectural engineer, Fazlur Khan. The exterior of the building comprises black aluminium and bronze-toned glass. The Sears Tower weighs about 440 million pounds and 114 piles are sunk deep into the ground to support this massive weight. It is said that the building comprises enough concrete to build an eight-lane, five mile long highway, enough steel to build 50,000 automobiles and enough telephone wiring to wrap around the world 1.75 times. The building plan of Sears Tower consists of nine 75 X 75 foot column-free squares at the base of the building. As the tower rises, floor sizes are reduced. A system of double-deck express elevators transport passengers to the two sky-lobbies on top while there are also 2,200 steps to the top. The building has 16,100 windows, which are regularly cleaned by six window cleaning machines mounted from the roof of the tower. The visitors' skydeck on top of the building provides a breathtaking view all around. On a clear day, a visitor should be able to see the four states, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan from the skydeck. ########### A temple holy to Hindus
The holy Indian city known as Dwarka is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the country. The city, situated on the western coast of India, in an area known as Saurashtra, has several names - Dwarka, which means the gateway to eternal happiness; Dwaravati; Swarnapuri, meaning the city of gold; and Swarnadwarika, the golden gateway. The city, the western gateway to India, has always been wealthy and prosperous as it was a centre for trade, which had earned it some of its names. Dwarka is known as a centre of religion, mythology and history. Hindus consider it to be a place of religious importance as they believe that Lord Krishna migrated there from Mathura, to live in peace and safety. He is said to have built his kingdom, spread over 104 kilometres, and legend says the gods assisted him to build this magnificent town. The focal point of all pilgrimages to the city of Dwarka is the Dwarkadhish Temple. This temple, which is 157 feet high, is dedicated to Lord Krishna. Parts of it date to the 12th and 13th centuries; however the innermost and the holiest chamber of the temple, known as the 'Jag Mandir', is said to be over 2,500 years old. Sixty massive pillars, each carved out of a single stone slab, support the hall in the front of the temple, which is also richly carved. Most of the sculptures in the temple date from the Maurya, Gupta and Chalukya periods. Some of the subjects are of Buddhist and Jaina origin. The city of Dwarka was also one of the four seats or matts established by the Adi Shankaracharya in the eighth to ninth centuries. The other three are Jyotirmath, Jagannath Puri and Sringeri. The Dwarka seat, known as Sharda Peeth, has produced extensive research work in Sanskrit and is home to many well-known scholars. Artifacts discovered through archaeological excavations have revealed that the present city is actually the sixth settlement to have been located at this site. It is believed that the earlier cities would have been swallowed by the sea at different times. |
|
|||||||||
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
Still on the topic of skyscrapers, this week we feature the Sears Tower
of Chicago, USA, which held the distinction of being the tallest building
in the world at one time. 
