Text 3. Special Structures

Power stations, factories, airports – these are some of the special buildings that every modern community needs. And so very special are structures of this type – so specific in their function – that we can generally recognize their purpose from their design. This is true, for example, of television masts or of the huge concrete water-cooling towers that are an essential feature of many modern power stations.

If we examine any building that needs large, uninterrupted areas of floor space – for instance, an aircraft hangar, exhibition hall, traffic terminal, or factory – we can see that its very construction must depend on the intelligent use of steel and concrete. These days, buildings with immense spans are commonplace; concrete and steel have made them so. This is only one instance of the way in which many of today's basic structures have been made possible through new developments in building materials and methods. New technological developments (and, of course, earlier scientific research) have also helped improve the services provided by recently constructed concert halls, stadiums, theatres, shops, and garages. To take just one obvious example: Studies in acoustics have helped architects to design concert halls whose shape, assisted by skillfully positioned sound-absorbing and sound-reflecting materials makes for nearly perfect hearing in all parts of the hall. The view of the theatre stage is far better than it used to be, too, because balconies need no longer be propped up by view-obstructing supports. There are no visible supports at all if the cantilever style of construction is adopted. And air conditioning, good lighting, and better-than-adequate sanitation are amenities (all developed in our own time) that most modern community buildings are sure to incorporate.

Temples and palaces used to be the outward signs of a community’s development. As such they have been replaced by imposing atomic-power stations, concert halls, airports, radio and television towers, multistory car parks, and shopping centres.