ВУЗ:
Составители:
Рубрика:
shutting down the brand new building for almost a year. It seems that when it was built, all of
the critical electrical, telephone, and other equipment was put in the basement.
Not a wise move when you consider that the building is just steps away from the notori-
ously eager waters of Buffalo Bayou. But that wasn't the only design flaw. People unfamiliar
with the building tend to be late for court because there aren't enough public elevators. It can
take up to 20 minutes to travel just a few flights. That's not to say that there aren't enough eleva-
tors. There are plenty. But each judge has his own private elevator for "security" reasons.
That's little consolation to those being fined or held in contempt because they were waiting
in line for an elevator. To make things easier, the stairwells were opened so people could move
between floors that way. But that was a violation of the fire code, so the doors were shut once
again.
• June 2001 – Tropical Storm Allison hits Houston, flooding the brand new building and
closing it. 37 courts of law had to squeeze into the eight-storey courthouse down the street.
• July 2001 – $19,000,000.00 worth of repairs begin on the washed out courthouse.
• April 25 – May 3, 2002 – Employees move back into the now repaired building.
RELIANT STADIUM
One of the most important architectural pieces since the downtown baseball park, Reliant
Stadium is another key piece of the rebirth of Houston. But while Minute Maid Park concen-
trated on turning a sports venue into an intimate experience, Reliant Stadium went the other
way. It had no choice. This thing is big. 1,900,000 square feet. The playing field alone covers
97,000 square feet. The seating can be arranged to accommodate 72,000 fans, plus those watch-
ing from the 221 luxury boxes.
But perhaps the most dramatic demonstration of its scale is from the air. Flying above
Reliant Stadium you can see how it easily dwarfs the Astrodome, and could very easily
swallow what was once one of the world's architectural wonders.
Another way Reliant Stadium differs from Minute Maid Park is that it is a multi-purpose
facility. It will be used for professional football, Rodeo Houston, concerts, track-and-field
events, and conventions. At the time of its opening, it was estimated that Reliant Stadium and
Reliant Park would host more than 400 events each year. The thing the creators were most ex-
cited about is the roof.
It is the first retractable roof in the National Football League. Some say it's the world's first
football stadium with a retractable roof, but that is more marketing hype than fact. The roof
moves on a steel "super truss" 960 feet long, and up to 75 feet wide. It is made of fabric, which
lets light in so the grass doesn't die – a lesson its small neighbor learned the hard way.
In Reliant Stadium, it's not just the playing field that is green. What used to be a uniformly
concrete parking lot is being peppered with 2,200 trees. The trees will provide shade for walk-
ways and other areas. There will also be grass, and water features that double as flood control
measures. The playing field is natural grass growing in 8 × 8 foot metal trays. The roof is 500 ×
385 feet. It takes 10 to 12 minutes to open or close the roof. The roof is made of translucent fi-
berglass fabric coated with Teflon. It allows light through, even when it is closed. There are 11
elevators, 20 escalators,
4 stairwells, and 4 pedestrian ramps. It took 17,274 tons of steel to build Reliant Stadium. It
Страницы
- « первая
- ‹ предыдущая
- …
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- …
- следующая ›
- последняя »
