Ambitious engineers and architects are pushing the limits of technology and scale, but what are the impacts?]]> https://www.enr.com/rss/446 en-us lewisw@enr.com (Scott Lewis) The projects we profile in this special section all stretch the limits of what is possible. At first glance, they may seem impossible to build. some of the projects are technically possible to build but may be economically unfeasible.

]]> 1112-dream-projects-feasbility-rankings-and-meet-the-judges.asp Wed, 12 Nov 2014 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.enr.com/articles/8657-dream-projects-feasibility-rankings-and-meet-the-judges tuchmanj@enr.com (Janice L. Tuchman) The idea of an interoceanic waterway through Nicaragua is far older than the existing, 100-year-old Panama Canal.

]]> 1112-nicaragua-canal-faces-huge-costs.asp Wed, 12 Nov 2014 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.enr.com/articles/5529-dream-projects-nicaragua-canal-faces-huge-costs reina@btinternet.com (Peter Reina) More than 2,000 years of planning for a fixed link between Italy and the island of Sicily came tantalizingly close to fruition in 2006 when a construction contract was signed.

]]> 1112-strait-of-messina-bridge-comes-closest-in-2000-years.asp Wed, 12 Nov 2014 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.enr.com/articles/5530-dream-projects-strait-of-messina-bridge-comes-closest-in-2000-years sawyert@enr.com (Tom Sawyer) Engineers with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration are on track to support surface construction on the moon within a decade, says Robert P. Mueller, senior technologist in the advanced projects development in the surface systems office for engineering and technology at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

]]> 1112-lunarbase-construction-is-next-step-to-exploit-space.asp Wed, 12 Nov 2014 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.enr.com/articles/391-dream-projects-lunar-base-construction-is-next-step-to-exploit-space rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone) 1112-megapyramid-solves-urban-congestion.asp Wed, 12 Nov 2014 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.enr.com/articles/392-dream-projects-mega-pyramid-solves-urban-congestion rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone) The Very Large Structure (VLS) is described as a 600-ft-tall "city on wheels" that would remain in almost constant motion as it rolled over the countryside.

]]> 1111-dream-projects-cityontreads-goes-wherever-it-wants.asp Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.enr.com/articles/8653-dream-projects-city-on-treads-goes-wherever-it-wants reina@btinternet.com (Peter Reina) 1111-dream-projects-giant-cleanair-bubbles-would-create-urban-havens.asp Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.enr.com/articles/8654-dream-projects-giant-clean-air-bubbles-would-create-urban-havens abaffyl@enr.com (Luke Abaffy) Elon Musk, president Tesla Motors and SpaceX, dubs his brainchild, Hyperloop, a “fifth mode of transportation.”

]]> 1111-dream-projects-hyperloops-creator-stands-by-the-physics.asp Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.enr.com/articles/8655-dream-projects-hyperloops-creator-stands-by-the-physics sawyert@enr.com (Tom Sawyer) The first thing to understand about space elevators is that, in principle, they should work.“A space elevator appears feasible, with the realization that risks must be mitigated through technological progress,” concludes the International Academy of Astronautics in a peer reviewed feasibility assessment with 41 contributors published late last year.

]]> 1111-dream-projects-space-elevator-as-alluring-as-a-ball-swung-on-a-string.asp Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.enr.com/articles/8656-dream-projects-space-elevator-as-alluring-as-a-ball-swung-on-a-string rubind@enr.com (Debra K. Rubin) A London designer looking to transform polluted cities into enclosed environmental havens could have used the more proven geodesic dome as its technology.

]]> 1117-dream-projects-test-new-realities.asp Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.enr.com/articles/8658-dream-projects-test-new-realities Dream Projects Test New Realities The original Project Chariot design, for a full scale harbor near Point Hope, Alaska, is shown as the larger outline, and would have been produced with detonations totaling 2.4 megatons. Plans were later scaled down, to call for 460 kilotons, shown here as the inner outline with five explosives. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Dream Projects Test New Realities Two rapid-transit proposals aim to get the attention of the U.S. government: vacuum-tube transport and tubular rail (seen here). Image Courtesy of Tubular Rail Inc. Dream Projects Test New Realities This image depicts the simultaneous detonation of the Project Chariot nuclear explosives. The radioactive dust cloud would have reached 30,000 feet. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Dream Projects Test New Realities Project NOAH is a floating-city concept that would house 30,000 citizens. Image Courtesy of Schopfer Associates LLC Dream Projects Test New Realities This image depicts the sea rushing in to fill the entrance channel and turning basin of the finished harbor created by the Project Chariot explosions. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Dream Projects Test New Realities Many firms are moving beyond planning stages for mining asteroids. Planetary Resources Inc. Dream Projects Test New Realities London's 220-km SkyCycle network would transport 12,000 cyclists an hour. Image Courtesy Exterior Architecture LTD. Dream Projects Test New Realities The electricity produced by TuNur will be transmitted by undersea cable to Italy, and from there supplied to the European system. Nur Energie Ltd. Dream Projects Test New Realities Two rapid-transit proposals aim to get the attention of the U.S. government: vacuum-tube transport (seen here) and tubular rail. Image Courtesy of ET3 Global Alliance Dream Projects Test New Realities The TuNur Solar Farm will consist of towers containing molten salt, surrounded by arrays of heliostats. Nur Energie Ltd. Dream Projects Test New Realities This image, taken from a 1958 film about Project Chariot, produced by the Atomic Energy Commission, shows the planned locations for four 100-kiloton nuclear explosives placed at a depth of 30 meters, and a final shot of 1 megaton buried at 50 meters. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Dream Projects Test New Realities The Seasteading Institute envisions floating communities consisting of multiple linked floating platforms. Seasteading Institute Dream Projects Test New Realities Dream Projects Test New Realities Dream Projects Test New Realities Dream Projects Test New Realities Dream Projects Test New Realities Dream Projects Test New Realities Dream Projects Test New Realities Dream Projects Test New Realities Dream Projects Test New Realities Dream Projects Test New Realities Dream Projects Test New Realities Dream Projects Test New Realities blairs@enr.com (Scott Blair) 1111-dream-projects-bering-strait-tunnel-possible-with-existing-technology.asp Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.enr.com/articles/8652-dream-projects-bering-strait-tunnel-possible-with-existing-technology 1112-dynamic-tidal-power-dam-taps-causeways-hydraulics.asp Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.enr.com/articles/4389-dream-projects-dynamic-tidal-power-dam-taps-causeway-s-hydraulics