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Millau Viaduct

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Re: Millau Viaduct

#51

Post by ttoinou » 

  expressing a fascination with the relationship between function, technology and aesthetics in a graceful structural form
I really like the viaduct, but one thing I'm always wondering about when I read such take as one : can you show me how ugly it could have been ? Do we have others proposals for the same bridge where the engineers would have produced something without an architect and the result wouldn't have been a gracious mix respecting the landscape forms ?

I want to believe what's written. At the same time, I never got any proof for such sentences, it's always blurry, poetic, without any demonstration trying to minimize varying factors as scientist like to do.

Re: Millau Viaduct

#52

Post by ttoinou »

unwind wrote: post #3

Beautiful! Also I can't help but appreciate that the gently curved bridge makes it possible to drive to Béziers [1]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9zier_curve

Well any polynomial curve can be written as a Bézier curve and vice-versa (:

Re: Millau Viaduct

#53

Post by aidenn0 »

ttoinou wrote: post #51

expressing a fascination with the relationship between function, technology and aesthetics in a graceful structural form I really like the viaduct, but one thing I'm always wondering about when I read such take as one : can you show me how ugly it could have been ? Do we have others proposals for the same bridge where the engineers would have produced something without an architect and the result wouldn't have been a…

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The residents of Alexandria, VA successfully lobbied to change the design of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge as they thought a suspension bridge would be an "eyesore."

Re: Millau Viaduct

#54

Post by Anthony-G »

dirkc wrote: post #20
smikhanov wrote: post #7

I especially like the “Team” section of this page. Great recognition given to everyone who participated in this project, all the way to the humblest architecture school intern!

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or if I'm seeing something different? I only see "Norman Foster" listed in the team section?

Me too so I reckon it’s sarcasm.

Re: Millau Viaduct

#55

Post by ttoinou »

aidenn0 wrote: post #53
ttoinou wrote: post #51

expressing a fascination with the relationship between function, technology and aesthetics in a graceful structural form I really like the viaduct, but one thing I'm always wondering about when I read such take as one : can you show me how ugly it could have been ? Do we have others proposals for the same bridge where the engineers would have produced something without an architect and the result wouldn't have been a…

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The residents of Alexandria, VA successfully lobbied to change the design of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge as they thought a suspension bridge would be an "eyesore."

Yeah but we could still have comparisons. It's only to get a marginally better idea than poetic sentences

Re: Millau Viaduct

#56

Post by ea016 »

2 interesting facts about it:

- it was completed ahead of schedule and with no budget overrun. The construction company (Eiffage) had a strong incentive to do so: the deal was that they supported a most of the cost but in exchange got to collect the tolls

- they have small mirrors all over the viaduct used to measure its movement - a bit like real-life telemetry

Re: Millau Viaduct

#58

Post by perilunar »

smikhanov wrote: post #7

I especially like the “Team” section of this page. Great recognition given to everyone who participated in this project, all the way to the humblest architecture school intern!

The movie industry is the one industry that gets this right IMO. Everyone listed, with their roles clearly noted.

Re: Millau Viaduct

#60

Post by [deleted] »

Beretta_Vexee wrote: post #4
cyprien_g wrote: post #2

I live a 2-hour drive from this, so I have driven on it several times. It's very impressive and always a nice part of the journey. And it's not only beautiful, it's also very useful. Before it was built, you had to go through small roads and villages, which, in addition to taking more time, was not very comfortable for the people living there.

I remember as a child being stuck in the back seat of the car for over three hours in 35°C heat just to get through Millau. The town is at the bottom of a very steep valley and it is very difficult to avoid (this involves extremely steep and narrow farm roads that are difficult to navigate without a small 4x4).

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