ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

Carbon dioxide emissions from buildings and construction reached a new high in 2021, according to the UN’s 2022 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction. The sector accounts for more than 34% of energy demand and around 37% of energy- and process-related CO2 emissions globally. Building sustainably and reducing the environmental footprint of structures is one of the great challenges of the century. We take a look at the operation of three buildings that generate more energy than they consume.

Powerhouse Brattørkaia

The Powerhouse Brattørkaia office building in Trondheim, Norway, produces more than twice as much electricity as it consumes daily. It generates about 500,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity over a year and, according to its creators, "functions as a small power plant in the middle of the city." It not only supplies renewable energy to itself, but also shares it with neighbouring buildings, electric buses, cars and boats through a local microgrid.

Snøhetta, the Norwegian architecture firm that designed the building, boasts that it "produces more energy than it consumes over its lifespan, including construction, demolition, and the embodied energy in the materials used to construct it." The goal of Powerhouse Brattørkaia is threefold: "to maximise the amount of clean energy produced by the building, to minimise the energy required to run it, and to serve as a pleasant space for its tenants and the public."

It was built between 2012 and 2019 and its location was chosen to ensure maximum sun exposure throughout the day and seasons, minimising the use of artificial light. This is important given that it is equipped with almost 3,000 square metres of solar panels and has a container nearby to store energy to supply the microgrid. It also uses a sophisticated ventilation system, energy-efficient electrical appliances and seawater for heating and cooling.

Powerhouse Brattørkaia shares the energy it generates with other buildings and vehicles. Credit: Snøhetta

Freiburg Town Hall

The Town Hall of Freiburg, a university town in south-west Germany, is the world’s first public building to generate more energy than it consumes and feed it back into the local grid. In addition to integrating 880 photovoltaic modules into the façade, which is designed for good thermal insulation, the structure has a system that monitors and optimises the building's energy performance.

"The primary energy demand of the town hall for heating, cooling, ventilation, and hot water supply is as low as 55 kilowatt hours per square meter per year—which is only 40 percent of the primary energy demand of comparable modern office buildings," says ingenhoven architects, who designed the building.

The 24,215 square metre building houses offices, conference rooms and restaurants for 840 local government employees. The town hall draws its heating and cooling from an underground water well. To heat the building, this well is connected to two heat pumps. According to a report on the building, "pleasant temperatures in summer are ensured by groundwater cooling, without the aid of heat pumps."

Freiburg Town Hall generates more energy than it consumes thanks to 880 photovoltaic modules. Credit: ingenhoven architects

The Edge

The Edge, a 40,000 square metre building in Amsterdam designed for its main tenant, Deloitte, uses 70% less electricity than comparable office buildings, according to the Building Research Establishment (BRE). It is one of the greenest buildings in the world, as recognised by the international sustainable building certification BREEAM, and can generate more energy than it produces.

The roof and one of its facades "incorporate the largest array of photovoltaic panels of any European office building"—some 6,038 square metres. The Edge's heating and cooling is sustainably regulated, according to the BRE. The building has two underground water sources that are located 130 metres below ground: one for cold water and one for warm water. "These so-called aquifer thermal energy storage pumps, depending on the inner and outer climate, pump warm or cold water into or out of the building," explains the BRE.

This building is also one of the smartest on the planet. It knows where each employee lives, which car they drive and who they will meet each day. Employees have an app that keeps them connected from the moment they wake up and has all the information about their schedule. With its 28,000 sensors, the building recognises when cars arrive and directs them to a specific parking space.

The Edge is one of the world’s smartest and greenest buildings. Credit: PLP Architecture

In the context of climate change, all these buildings share the goal of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. "Involving the entire value chain from day one is probably the only way to achieve such an ambitious goal. In addition to the contractor, building owner and architect, you also need to have consultants in electrical, water and plumbing systems on board from the start," says Rune Grasdal, Senior Architect at Snøhetta. By making a building highly energy efficient throughout its lifecycle and generating more energy than it consumes, another important challenge is met: providing renewable energy to the surrounding community.

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ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

Notre Dame is one of the oldest and largest cathedrals in the Gothic style in the world. The fire it suffered in April 2019 damaged some parts of its structure and allowed us to discover one of its secrets: the use of iron in its construction. We analyse this and other curiosities hidden in one of the most emblematic churches in Paris.

The cathedral that hid a forest in its interior

Notre Dame is one of the oldest Gothic cathedrals in France. Its construction began in the mid-12th century and took about 200 years to complete. The structure is notable for its tall towers, stained glass windows and ornate detailing. Between the high stone arches and the cathedral roof, there was a space nicknamed "The Forest" because of the large number of wooden beams it contained. Each one came from an individual tree and an estimated 1,300 oak trees were supposedly felled to create the roof structure.

Above all, it is an emblematic monument in the history of France. As well as inspiring many artists and writers, such as Victor Hugo, it has been the site of many important events: from the coronation of Napoleon in 1804 to the Te Deum mass on 26 August 1944 to celebrate the liberation of Paris from German forces, and the Requiem Masses of the Presidents of the Republic, Charles de Gaulle, Georges Pompidou and François Mitterrand.

Notre-Dame de Paris is one of France's most iconic monuments. Credit: French Ministry of Culture.

The fire that shook the world

"Notre Dame has traversed the centuries, surviving both wars and revolutions alike, and presenting an immutable face to the changes in our societies," says the French Ministry of Culture. The cathedral, which has undergone numerous restorations, suffered one of the most tragic events in its history on 15 April 2019. A fire broke out on the roof and quickly spread, destroying the cathedral’s iconic spire and roof and causing extensive damage inside.

Notre Dame cathedral suffered a major fire on April 15, 2019. Credit: France 24 English.

"The fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is a tragedy for all French people," said Franck Riester, Minister of Culture, a day after the incident that shocked the world. The Ministry of Culture described the emotions aroused by the fire as follows: "Shock, astonishment, international upheaval, drama, disaster, tragedy, catastrophe, trauma, sadness, mourning... there was no shortage of words to describe how we all felt during this shockwave, the consequences of which we are still assessing."

The high vaults were severely damaged by the fire, threatening their stability. An expert’s report on 23 April 2019 indicated that the gaps in the vaults, the damp atmosphere after the heat of the fire and, above all, the lead-laden dust that penetrated the great organ were all detrimental to its preservation. Emergency measures to secure the cathedral were decided upon the morning after the fire, and since then various architects and engineers have been working on the conservation and restoration of the ancient structure.

The evening after the fire, French President Emmanuel Macron promised that reconstruction would take five years. Credit: French Ministry of Culture.

The fire revealed thousands of iron staples

The fire and restoration work led to a surprising discovery: Notre Dame is the first Gothic cathedral known to have used iron in its construction. A group of scientists analysed iron staples up to a half a metre long used to reinforce the stones and other features of the tallest building of its time. "The fact that the framework burned made some staples that could not be visible before appear to us," Maxime L'Héritier, one of the researchers, told the New Scientist website.

It was very innovative at the time. "You realise that they were doing things that were like the Empire State Building around 1930, or like the Burj Khalifa in Dubai—really extraordinary stuff for the time," Robert Bork, a professor of art history at the University of Iowa, told New Scientist. He says it is comparable to "the moonshot in the 1960s and some of the big high-tech initiatives now."

Proposals for the restoration were many and varied. One suggested replacing the cathedral’s roof with a large swimming pool while another wanted to recover the experience of walking through "The Forest". Since the fire, the structure has been closed to the public. The evening after the fire, French President Emmanuel Macron promised that reconstruction would take five years. If all goes according to plan, it will be ready to welcome new visitors in 2024. Before the tragedy, it was the most visited monument in France and Europe, with nearly 14 million visitors a year, according to the Ministry of Culture.

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Portable homes that fold and unfold, allowing their owners to travel the world with them. This is the creation of a Latvian startup convinced that "nowadays people are flexible and not attached to only one place." The houses are stored in a box and can theoretically be unfolded and assembled by two people in less than three hours.

From housing to office space to refugee shelter

"Imagine your cosy home anywhere!", the creators suggest. In 2019, they launched their first foldable cabin. They now have four different designs, with a usable area ranging from 16.5 to 27 square metres, which they suggest installing in different locations—hidden within woodlands, for example or "shining" in your garden—and used for different purposes. As well as housing, they can also be used as an office, tourist accommodation, leisure or commercial space, or even as a disaster shelter for refugees.

These small, prefabricated houses are equipped with all the necessary technology: from plumbing to electrical wiring and sewerage. In addition, the company offers different solutions depending on the location, such as pre-wiring the house with a solar energy kit and adding a pumping station with a water filter and sewage module. While the creators offer IKEA interior design collages, the customisation options are likely to be limited compared to a traditional house.

The houses can be assembled in just three hours, according to the manufacturer. Credit: Brette Haus

The houses are built using natural materials and panels made by gluing together several layers of Austrian cross-laminated timber under special pressing conditions. This eliminates the risk of house shrinkage, improves insulation and durability, and allows the owner to dispense with thermal insulation even in cold climates. According to the creators, their cabins "generate about 80% less waste and use 99% less water than standard site-built houses."

A special hinge system to move the house over 100 times

Once the house is purchased, it takes between eight and 10 weeks to build. The manufacturer takes care of the initial installation. While some houses do not have to be connected to the grid, others need to be hooked up to electricity and water, and connected to a sewer. If the homeowner wants to move the house later, they can hire a crane truck to fold, move and unfold it. The houses have a patented hinge system that allows them to be relocated 100 times, according to their creators: "Such transformable architecture as folding homes could be compared to a mobile estate."

The dwellings have a usable floor space of 16.5 to 27 square metres. Credit: Brette Haus.

While portable and tiny houses can be a good option for those looking for affordable, portable and sustainable housing, they do tend to have some limitations. In addition to being less durable than traditional houses—because they are made of lighter, more easily transportable materials—they may face regulatory restrictions and laws in some areas that make it difficult to install or use them as permanent housing.

The manufacturer says that in many countries, the fact that the house is designed to be folded up and relocated multiple times removes the need for planning permission. Still, the company advises that it is best to check with local authorities. "Considering the fact that you are getting a tiny home or a pop-up unit for the price of a car, this might not be so relevant," say its creators. The price depends on the model: it starts at 32,000 euros and there is one that exceeds 60,000 euros.

Austrian cross-laminated timber and other natural materials are used for its construction. Credit: Brette Haus

Brette Haus is not the only company working on portable housing. Others such as Ten Fold and Nestron are trying to make portable homes a success. Even IKEA has got into the act with its Tiny House project, which aims to "better educate and inspire consumers to bring sustainability into their own lives." It remains to be seen whether the demand for affordable, portable and sustainable housing will grow in the coming years, and whether these companies will succeed in their goal of making portable homes a market success.

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In the north of Cambodia, an architectural wonder emerges majestically from the forest: Angkor Wat. With more than 1,000 buildings and covering some 160 hectares, it is the largest religious structure in the world. Commissioned in the 12th century by the Khmer king Suryavarman II as a tribute to the Hindu gods Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu, it was erected in Angkor, then one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with an estimated one million inhabitants.

Sandstone blocks transported by canals

"Built as a recreation of the Hindu universe, its most striking features are the five sandstone towers that rise above the four temple enclosures, representing the peaks of Mount Meru, the centre of the universe," Alison Kira Carter, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Oregon, tells The Conversation about the temple, which is surrounded by a large moat.

Sandstone blocks are the main material used in its construction. A decade ago, a team of researchers found more than 50 sandstone quarries in an escarpment at the foot of Mount Kulen, about 35 kilometres northeast of the Angkor monuments. They also identified a route of interconnected canals and rivers that were probably used to transport the sandstone blocks to the construction site, according to research published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Bricks were also used in the construction of Angkor Wat. The type of clay used and the conditions under which the bricks were fired produce a wide range of colours: whitish, yellow, red, grey or even black. "The bricks were bound together with tight joints during the construction process," says a document published by UNESCO and the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA). These bricks were bonded to one another with only "a very thin layer of binding substance."

King Suryavarman II commissioned the construction of Angkor Wat in the 12th century. Credit: icon0 com

A full-fledged "hydraulic city"

Beginning in 1950, French archaeologist Bernard Philippe Groslier used ariel photographs to reconstruct the layout of the ancient cities of Angkor. He discovered the complexity of its water management system—consisting of a vast network of canals, dykes, ditches and reservoirs—and dubbed Angkor the 'Hydraulic City'. The water system played a key role in the rise of the empire, ensuring a year-round supply of water to sustain the population, agriculture and livestock.

"Angkor's hydraulic system is so unique because of its scale," explains Dan Penny, a researcher in the University of Sydney's geosciences department, to the BBC. He says there are many examples of historic cities with sophisticated water management systems, but "none like this." He points out, for example, the scale of the reservoirs: "The amount of water the West Baray holds is incredible. Many European cities could have comfortably sat within it when it was built. It's mind-boggling; it's a sea."

Angkor Wat was known for its sophisticated water management network. Credit: Science Channel

The decline of Angkor Wat

Despite the fact that this water management network "was really important in the growth of the city and led to wealth and power," it also had a downside: "As it grew more complex and larger and larger, it became the Achilles' heel to the city itself." In the late 14th and early 15th centuries, prolonged monsoon rains were followed by severe droughts. These drastic climatic changes affected the water management network, destroying parts of it, fragmenting it and rendering it inoperable, according to Penny.

It is thought that the pressure of major droughts, the collapse of the water management system, constant Siamese attacks and the expansion of sea routes all contributed to the fall of this great empire. These ancient temples were then hidden beneath the forest until they were found by the French naturalist and explorer Henri Mouhot. After extensive conservation work, Angkor Wat is now one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Southeast Asia and a popular tourist attraction.

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ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

Mont Saint-Michel is much more than a rocky islet off the coast of Normandy. Surrounded by a bay where the tide can rise as high as 14 metres, it is one of France's top tourist attractions. As well as being an important pilgrimage site, it was once a prison. We look at the curiosities of this granite outcrop, whose constructions have been the inspiration for castles such as the one in the animated film Tangled and the city of Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings.

A place of pilgrimage that started from a dream

This small tidal island measures 240 acres—about 97 hectares—and is located in France, some 290 kilometres from Paris. According to legend, its history began with a dream. In 708, Archangel Michael appeared three times to Bishop Aubert of Avranches and asked him to build a shrine in his honour on a tidal island called Mont-Tombe. The dream came true and in 966, Duke Richard I of Normandy granted the Benedictine monks permission to settle there.

Thus this granite outcrop, which was to be renamed Mont Saint-Michel, became a very important place of pilgrimage throughout the Christian West. Pilgrims flocked to it in search of "protection and the salvation of their souls", according to the abbey's official website. At the same time, the monks began to produce, preserve and study a large number of manuscripts, which made the Gothic-style abbey an important centre of culture during the Middle Ages.

Mont Saint-Michel was an important pilgrimage site. Credit: Slice

A "Wonder of the West" surrounded by a bay

The construction of this "Wonder of the West" took place between the 11th and 16th centuries and is "a technical and artistic tour de force," says UNESCO. The abbey is the island's central and most prominent landmark. Its church is the "epicentre of a labyrinth of staircases" and stands on the highest point of the outcrop. To erect this 80-metre-high structure, four crypts were built around the four rock faces that support the building at the summit. In addition to the abbey, Mont Saint-Michel also has narrow cobbled streets, old houses and medieval ramparts around its base.

If there is one thing that makes the site unique, it is the water that surrounds it. "It has a magnetic effect on visitors because of its setting, the majesty of the tides, and the changing of the light," says Sébastien Daligault, a naturalist with Label Nature, who has been leading tours of the bay for more than two decades, in an interview with National Geographic. In the past, the outcrop became an island when the tide rose. Before the construction of a 910-metre causeway that once connected the island to the mainland, it was particularly difficult to reach because of quicksand and fast-rising tides. The concrete causeway was replaced in 2019 with a footbridge on stilts to allow the water to pass underneath.

In 1878, a causeway was built to facilitate access to the site. Credit: PxHere

The prison that saved the abbey from destruction

Mont Saint-Michel was not only a place of pilgrimages. In fact, pilgrimages took place until the 17th century, when the abbey was gradually transformed into a prison. Its spaces were renovated to house as many prisoners as possible. "This period of imprisonment, although dark, helped save the abbey from complete destruction," the abbey's website states.

The island, which was fortified in 1256, withstood sieges during the Hundred Years' War between England and France (1337-1453) and the French Wars of Religion (1562-1598). When the prison finally closed its doors in 1863, the abbey was totally dilapidated. It was then that restoration work began and the area around the site was developed to receive the first tourists in its history.

The construction of the abbey was "a technical and artistic tour de force," according to UNESCO. Credit: Francesco Bandarin / UNESCO

Today, three million tourists visit Mont Saint-Michel every year, according to UNESCO. The abbey is also home to a dozen monks from the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem. Its history and charm have made Mont Saint-Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, one of the most popular tourist sites in France.

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Marion Mahony Griffin was not only the second woman to graduate with a degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1894, she was also the first woman to obtain an architecture licence in the US state of Illinois. As some experts on her work point out, she made the drawings that people think of when they think of the famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. And not only that. She was also known for her ability to combine modern geometry with organic forms inspired by nature.

The hand behind Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic drawings

Mahony worked as an architect in the United States, Australia and India. She was a great draughtsperson responsible for creating Wright's distinctive style of representation in the early years of his career. As Jennifer Gray, a scholar of the architect's work and former Curator of Drawings and Archives at Columbia University's Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, notes: "Unlike Wright, who never formally studied architecture, Mahony had trained in standard rendering formulas at MIT."

Her perspective drawings were not used to construct buildings, but to show people untrained in reading plans, elevations and sections what a building would look like. In other words, they were used as "a marketing tool that would be shown to clients, exhibited in museums, and published in journals."

This drawing by Mahony shows the K.C. DeRhodes House, located in South Bend, Indiana. Credit: Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

A fusion of nature and architecture

An example of the originality of her drawings is the K.C. DeRhodes House, in which she integrates architecture with the natural world: "Much of the foliage is depicted as individual leaves and blades of grass, drawn as sharply as the building and in the same plane." In her drawings, lines vary in thicknesses to create depth and emphasis. Mahony also used various compositional techniques derived from Japanese prints: "the trees that break the picture plane, for example, as well as the use of negative space, unusual perspective, and abrupt changes in scale, such as the close-up bird and flowers in the foreground as they relate to the house behind."

Mahony played a key role in the design of Canberra, Australia. Credit: Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

In 1911, Mahony married Walter Burley Griffin, a former employee of Wright’s, and began making renderings for his studio. Shortly afterwards they moved to Australia, where they received some important commissions, including Newman College at the University of Melbourne, Café Australia and Capitol House, an office building with theatre. They also designed a plan for the new capital city of Canberra. Together they completed 280 architectural, planning and landscape projects, of which about 180 were built, according to Anna Rubbo, Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Sydney.

The architect who challenged gender roles

Although her style was "unconventional and immediately recognisable," Mahony decided to include her initials in her designs. "By identifying herself as the author, she challenged standard practices of a male-dominated profession in which only the signature of the principal architect is included on drawings," explains Gray. She understood "her presentation drawings to be art objects in their own right, not mere representations of Wright's architectural designs."

For Gray, "it is not an exaggeration to say that Mahony was in the vanguard of architecture and women's rights." Some scholars criticise that for years "architectural historians who acknowledge Mahony have tended to focus on her relationships with men and on her physical appearance, often in unflattering terms," according to The New York Times. But her legacy shows that the architect was first and foremost a woman ahead of her time, as the New South Wales Museums of History notes: "Over five decades she promoted progressive ideas that are as relevant today, 150 years after her birth, as in her own time."

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The Chengdu Science Fiction Museum looks like something from the future, or at least that is the impression given by the digital images produced by Zaha Hadid Architects, the firm responsible for designing the structure. It is a space under construction, conceived as part of Chengdu’s ambition to become a sponge city to mitigate flooding, that will host one of the most prestigious events for science fiction lovers at the end of 2023: the annual Worldcon convention.

A museum that seems to float on a lake

The 59,000-square-metre museum, which appears to be floating on a lake, will include exhibition galleries, a theatre, a conference hall, and other spaces. It has been designed using digital modelling analysis. This technique has numerous advantages. In addition to identifying and solving problems before physical construction begins—helping to reduce costs and risks—it can optimise various aspects of the design, such as energy efficiency and daylighting.

The museum will have a central atrium illuminated by the sun and a large window offering panoramic views of a mountain range. "The fluid forms of its roof radiate from a central point within, emulating an expanding nebula cloud with a star at its centre—transforming the museum into a 'star cloud' that disperses energy fields into its many different zones; guiding visitors through a portal that connects our lived experience with our imagination," says Zaha Hadid's studio.

The architects expect the museum to be ready for a major event in October 2023. Credit: Atchain / Zaha Hadid Architects.

Photovoltaic panels and a rainwater filtration system

Its creators are committed to building an innovative and sustainable museum. The roof will be equipped with photovoltaic panels to power the building, and it is the ideal size to shade the glass facades in the summer. "Landscaped with plants native to the region, the design collects and stores rainwater for natural filtration and reuse, allowing Jingrong Lake to become an integral part of Chengdu's sustainable drainage system that will mitigate flooding and increase biodiversity throughout the city," says the architecture firm.

If there is a key figure in avant-garde architecture, it is undoubtedly the Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, who was the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize—the world's highest architectural award—and who died in 2016. Her studio continues to design and build all kinds of structures. Since its founding in 1979, the firm has completed 950 projects in 44 countries.

In recent years, the firm has sought to find ecological solutions. This is the case, for example, of the headquarters of BEEAH, an environmental management company, built between 2014 and 2022 in the Al Sajaa desert in Sharjah (United Arab Emirates). The structure is designed to be naturally ventilated and incorporates technologies that aim to regulate the building's temperature with minimal energy consumption.

The BEEAH headquarters incorporates several sustainable solutions. Credit: Huffington + Crow / Zaha Hadid Architects.

The city at the epicentre of science fiction

Construction of the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum began in 2022 and is still ongoing, according to a post published by the architecture firm in June 2023. It is no coincidence that the site chosen for this futuristic structure is Chengdu. The city, located in southwest China, is a leading incubator of science fiction writing in the country. For example, Science Fiction World magazine, one of the genre’s most popular publications, has been published in the city for more than four decades.

By the end of this year, the structure will be ready to host the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and the Hugo Awards—one of the most prestigious awards in the science fiction universe. Zaha Hadid's firm has a clear objective: "Connecting the past, present and future, the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum will become a vibrant centre of innovation and a gathering place for the city."

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From the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant in the Maldives to the Transbay Tube, a rail tunnel that connects downtown San Francisco to West Oakland. These are some of the most impressive underwater structures on the planet. But building underwater is no easy task. In addition to the challenge of finding suitable materials, there is the issue of dealing with the water pressure and preventing corrosion of the structures. Some buildings have already been built underwater, but will underwater cities be the next stage?

Museums, hotels and other underwater constructions

A group of 35 human figures walking towards wall at a depth of 15 metres under the sea. This is the scene at the Museo Atlántico, which can be visited by diving off the coast of Lanzarote in Spain. There is also an underwater sculpture park on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The aim of its creators is for the figures to be colonised by corals and other endangered marine species. "Art and science are critical partners in the battle against climate change and fundamental in realigning our relationship to the natural world," Jason deCaires Taylor, the sculptor behind the works, told New Scientist.

The Atlantic Museum has 10 different groups of sculptures. Credit: RICI Comunicación

As well as underwater museums and sculpture parks, there are also some underwater hotels, research stations, railway tunnels, restaurants and even a nightclub. In 2018, the Conrad Maldives resort on privately-owned Rangali Island in the Maldives opened a luxury suite submerged some five metres underwater. A night there costs more than $9,000—about €8,230. The Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas resort, also located in the Maldives, has an underwater restaurant. "Watch sharks, turtles and tropical fish swim by as you savour gourmet dining at its finest," says the hotel's website.

In the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, at a depth of about 18 metres, is the Aquarius Reef Base. It is a laboratory that, according to Florida International University, is used to "study the ocean, test and develop state-of-the-art underwater technology, train specialised divers, and engage a worldwide audience through in-person and virtual experiences."

Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas resort has an underwater restaurant. Credit: Anantara Kihavah

The challenge of building underwater

When building in water, materials must be used that can withstand water pressure, corrosion and erosion. The most commonly used are concrete, acrylic glass and steel. The company BigRentz explains that "steel, typically encased by concrete, forms a solid structure for underwater buildings." Research published in the journal Construction and Building Materials indicates that underwater concrete is often used to build bridges, dams and other structures.

Another factor to consider is how these cities would be erected. "Today, underwater construction can be accomplished by divers, but professional diving is dangerous, and the types of tools and equipment that can both function underwater and be safely used by divers are fairly limited," says maritime news website gCaptain. For this reason, for underwater construction, attempts are often made to temporarily remove and keep out the water—a technique known as dewatering.

Building underwater brings with it a number of challenges. Credit: Practical Engineering

It is still too early to say whether such a city will be built in the coming decades. Building a fully functional and habitable underwater city presents enormous technical, logistical and economic challenges. Although research and theoretical concepts have been developed, no such city has yet been built on a large scale. The Japanese company Shimizu Corporation, for example, proposed the construction of an underwater city in 2014.

There are also other challenges to living underwater, such as cold temperatures, high pressure and, of course, ensuring that there is enough oxygen for humans. Ideally, construction in very deep waters should be avoided, according to the engineering website Interesting Engineering. The high pressure at these depths would require very thick walls, and residents would have to endure lengthy decompression periods when they returned to the surface.

Despite all these challenges, there are those who aim high and see underwater cities as a solution to the Earth's overpopulation problem. At the moment, the only underwater cities that exist are those that have been submerged underwater over time. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sea levels have risen by more than 20 centimetres since 1880. If the trend continues, countries such as the Maldives, China and Bangladesh could lose much of their land area. As Gerd Masselink, a professor in coastal geomorphology at the University of Plymouth in the UK, says, "whether cities or countries disappear depends on whether we as humans are doing something to counteract the threat."

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ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

Considered one of the most famous palaces on the planet, the Forbidden City, surrounded by a colossal wall and moat, is a masterpiece of Chinese architecture. It comprises 980 buildings—including palaces, audience halls, temples, gardens and courtyards—and covers an area of 72 hectares. It is considerably larger, for example, than the Vatican City at 44 hectares. We take a look at the inner workings of this megastructure in the heart of the city of Beijing.

Ice roads to move gigantic stones

In the 15th and 16th centuries, slippery ice roads were used to transport huge stones from a quarry to the centre of Beijing (about 70 kilometres). This is according to a 500-year-old document translated by the University of Science and Technology Beijing and reported in a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The heaviest of these stones weighed more than 330 tonnes.

The document in question recounts a dispute between imperial officials over how to transport more stones to the Forbidden City. While some argued that mules and carts were cheaper, others felt that men and sledges were a safer way to haul the expensive stones. That find sparked interest among researchers and "raises tremendous engineering questions", as Princeton engineer Howard Stone tells National Geographic magazine: "How in the world did they get these massive rocks to Beijing?" he asks.

Workers took advantage of the cold winters in northern China and dug wells every 500 metres to obtain water to pour over the ice and lubricate it to make it more slippery. Stone says some people have asked if the wells are still there. "It would be interesting to look for them," he suggests. Charles Faulkner, a former professor [now deceased] in the anthropology department at the University of Tennessee, was not surprised that these huge stones were transported: "If you get enough people, enough rope, and enough time, you can move just about anything."

The Forbidden City is located in the centre of Beijing. Credit: Patrick Denker / Flickr

Precious wood, fine gold and clay bricks

The Forbidden City was home to China's emperors and their families during China's last two imperial dynasties—the Ming and Qing—and was the ceremonial and political centre of the Chinese government for nearly 500 years. Its layout follows the practices of Feng Shui—an ancient Chinese system of spatial arrangement and design that seeks to harmonise the flow of energy in a given environment. All the most important buildings in the complex face south to honour the Sun.

More than a million labourers and 100,000 craftsmen built the Forbidden City between 1406 and 1420, including carpenters, masons, painters, sculptors and porcelain experts. Materials from all over the country were used in the construction of the Forbidden City: precious woods from Sichuan in south-west China, fine gold leaf from Suzhou near Shanghai, and clay bricks from Shandong in eastern China.

More than a million people were involved in the construction of the Forbidden City. Credit: Megaprojects

This enigmatic palace was so named because when it was first occupied in 1420, most of the kingdom's subjects were forbidden to enter the area. The Forbidden City ceased to be the seat of the Qing imperial government with the Chinese Revolution of 1911. Despite the ravages of the revolution and the war with Japan between 1937 and 1945, the complex remained in good condition.

In fact, it was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Even today, much of the complex remains closed to the public: visitors are barred from some working areas, sections that have not been repaired and places where some cultural relics are restored. Despite this, some 15 million people visit this great palace every year to see its best kept treasures.

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ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

Imagine not needing a traditional charger to charge your mobile phone. Or take it a step further and use what you are wearing—a jacket or pair of trousers, for example—to charge it. That's what a team of researchers at Nottingham Trent University in the UK claim to have invented: a woven textile embedded with miniature solar cells that can charge a smartwatch or mobile phone.

More than 1,000 tiny photovoltaic cells embedded in a jacket?

The researchers' goal was to create a textile solar panel that is breathable and soft to the touch. "We have combined long-established weaving techniques with modern technology to create future products which may change people's perceptions of clothing and electronics," says Matholo Kgatuke, one of the researchers and an expert in the weaving of electronic textiles.

The prototype textile solar panel has 1,200 solar cells five millimetres long and 1.5 millimetres wide, embedded in a waterproof polymer resin, according to a statement released by Nottingham Trent University. Together, the cells combined are theoretically capable of harnessing 400 milliwatts of solar energy. The researchers say the e-textile could be incorporated into a garment, such as a jacket, or an accessory, such as a backpack, and used to charge devices.

The fabric has solar cells for charging devices. Credit: Nottingham Trent University

Portable charging meets fashion

Electronic yarn (e-yarn) technology has been used to manufacture this textile. The solar panel fabric in question measures 51 by 27 centimetres and is equipped with strong but highly flexible wiring that the designers claim can be machine washed at 40°C with other laundry. "The material we have developed, for all intents and purposes, appears and behaves the same as any normal textile, as it can be scrunched up and washed in a machine," says Theodore Hughes-Riley, the researcher who led the project.

The expert, Associate Professor of Electronic Textiles and part of the Advanced Textiles Research Group at Nottingham Trent University's School of Art and Design, explains that both electronic textiles and wearable devices require a power source, which is often a battery. "The impetus for this work has been to develop a lightweight and unobtrusive portable power source for these devices. This may not completely replace the battery for some applications, but it could provide a portable charging solution," he tells Interesting Engineering.

The fabric has 1,200 photovoltaic cells five millimetres long and 1.5 millimetres wide. Credit: Nottingham Trent University.

A replacement for chargers?

In the short term, it does not look like this fabric will replace traditional chargers, and it is too early to say whether it will eventually be incorporated into commercially available clothing. For now, there are still some limitations. While the researchers hope to integrate the technology into commercial products, it is still just a prototype. Hughes-Riley admits that it could be a few years before this happens.

In addition, many of the technical details of this prototype are unknown, and the results have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal—where outside scientists evaluate the details. In addition, the production of this solar panel involves "a lot of manual processes", so it is "quite time-consuming." "In the future, we hope to automate more of the production process so that we can produce textile solar panels like this quickly," says Hughes-Riley. Such clothing could be more expensive than conventional clothing, which could limit its accessibility and market acceptance.

Despite the limitations, "this prototype offers an exciting glimpse into the future potential of electronic textiles." Other researchers are also trying to create textiles that can power a variety of devices. But for now, these are one-off projects. "Until now, very few people would have considered that their clothing or textiles could be used to generate electricity," says Hughes-Riley. It remains to be seen whether these projects will change, and whether these new fabrics will manage to find a place in the market.

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ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

Alexandre Gustave Eiffel became an international figure after building one of the world’s most emblematic towers: the Eiffel Tower. But this civil engineer, who specialised in metal structures, also produced many other unique creations: from bridges to railway stations to the iron framework of the Statue of Liberty and even wind tunnels. We explore the life and work of this great French civil engineer and businessman, who was tainted by a case of corruption that almost ruined his career.

The maestro who brought metal to life

After graduating from the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris in 1855, Eiffel founded and developed a company specialising in metalwork. His legacy is inestimable: he built hundreds of metal works all over the world. "Bridges, and in particular railway bridges, were his favourite field of work, but he also won renown for his metal structural work and industrial installations," explains the Eiffel Tower website.

"Eiffel managed to make his company the fourth, fifth or sixth largest of the major French metal construction companies," says engineer and historian Bertrand Lemoine, who explains that much of his success was due to his knowledge of the science of materials and his ability to choose effective partners. The Eiffel Tower, erected in Paris in 1889, is his most famous creation. But it is just one more example of his work in metal, which also includes two almost twin viaducts (in Oporto, Portugal, and Garabit, France) and the Bordeaux Bridge.

The Eiffel Tower is Gustave Eiffel's most famous creation. Credit: Eiffel Tower official website

The corruption scandal that threatened his career

Eiffel's career was not all smooth sailing. In 1893, the engineer became embroiled in a major corruption scandal surrounding the construction of locks at the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal Company, founded by French diplomat and businessman Ferdinand de Lesseps, was struggling to raise the funds need to complete the project. A huge publicity campaign turned into a fiasco when the press discovered that many parliamentarians had been bribed to obtain a special loan and open up the capital again to shareholders, according to Radio France.

The company failed to raise the funds, suspended payments and abandoned the project. This led all the ruined shareholders to bring charges of fraud and breach of trust against Ferdinand de Lesseps and others involved, including Eiffel. The newspapers Le Petit Parisien and Le Figaro reported that he was accused of "having received certain sums of money to carry out various tasks which he did not carry out". On 9 February 1893, the engineer was sentenced to two years' imprisonment and ordered to pay 20,000 francs, but on appeal he was acquitted and spared prison time.

Eiffel was embroiled in one of the biggest financial scandals of the 19th century. Credit: Eiffel Tower official website

Eiffel's scientific legacy

These events led Eiffel to retire from the business world and focus on research. He spent the last 30 years of his life conducting experiments. Above all, the engineer wanted to prove the usefulness of the Eiffel Tower in order to prevent it from being dismantled after 20 years, as originally planned. The monument thus became a laboratory where he carried out experiments in meteorology and aerodynamics and even had a small wind tunnel built.

But according to Lemoine, "it was the radio that made the tower a key site for scientific experiments." At the end of the 19th century, he says, the remote wireless transmission of signals was invented, which aroused the interest of the military authorities. The Eiffel Tower was an ideal place to experiment with these technologies because of its height, which allowed messages to be transmitted over long distances and over large areas. The monument "gained strategic military importance" and an extension of the land concession was granted for a further 70 years. "From then on, there was no doubt about its destiny," says Lemoine.

In addition to being a great builder, Eiffel conducted numerous scientific experiments. Credit: RFI English

Eiffel died on 27 December 1923 at the age of 91, surrounded by his family. To commemorate the centenary of his death, this year will see a number of tributes to the engineer. Exhibitions and immersive experiences will be organised at the Eiffel Tower. In addition, special music and lighting will be designed for the monument in collaboration with French DJ and producer Michael Canitrot. Other organisations such as the Association of the Descendants of Gustave Eiffel (AGDE) and La Poste will also be organising tributes with a clear objective: to keep the legacy of this magician of metal alive in the minds of many.

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The head of Christ the Redeemer arrived in Brazil in 50 separate pieces and his hands in eight. This iconic monument, the height of a 13-storey building, is a symbol of the Catholic Church and one of Brazil's top tourist destinations. We look at the construction of one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, which has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Symbol of the Catholic Church

In 1849, a Christian priest named Pedro Maria Boss visited Rio de Janeiro and proposed the construction of a religious monument on the summit of Mount Corcovado, but the idea was not pursued. But more than 60 years later, in 1912, a cardinal called Dom Joaquim Arcoverde once again advocated its construction, with one goal in mind: to show that the Catholic Church was part of Brazilian life.

The first stone of Christ the Redeemer was laid ten years later, on 4 April 1922. The construction, funded entirely by donations from the Brazilian people, took several years to get going and began in earnest in 1926. Local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa was put in charge of designing and supervising the construction of the statue's structure, while the French sculptor Paul Landowski was responsible for sculpting the figure of Jesus Christ. The face of the sculpture was created by the Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida, a colleague of Landowski`s in Paris. Although Christ the Redeemer was not a gift from the French government to Brazil —contrary to what many sources indicate— the head and hands were sculpted from clay to full size in Paris and subsequently transported to Brazil in dozens of catalogued pieces.

Christ the Redeemer is 30 metres tall, the equivalent of a 13-storey building. Credit: Sanctuary of Christ the Redeemer

Hurricane-proof Christ

The monument is made of reinforced concrete. This material was chosen partly because of its low cost and partly out of fear that a metal frame could be dismantled in the event of war. Standing atop Corcovado, Christ the Redeemer was designed to withstand winds of up to 250 kilometres per hour (four times the average recorded at the time of its construction). "He even withstands the winds of a Category 5 hurricane, like Hurricane Katrina, which hit the USA in 2005," the shrine's website says.

Heitor da Silva Costa "knew that something was missing to give the monument the true essence of a work of art. He came across soapstone, a malleable and erosion-resistant material that was abundant in Brazil. The pieces of soapstone were cut into six million triangular tiles, glued by hand onto a mesh and then applied to the statue by workers. According to the shrine's website, some ladies of the time wrote the names of their loved ones on the back of the tiles before attaching them.

Christ the Redeemer is the largest Art Deco structure in the world. Credit: The New York Times

30-tonne head

The construction lasted until 1931 and the monument was inaugurated on 12 October, the day of Brazil's patron saint (Our Lady of Aparecida). Christ the Redeemer stands 710 metres above sea level. The statue is 30 metres high —plus the 8 metres of the pedestal— and 28 metres wide. It is one of the largest Christ sculptures in the world. Each arm has a surface area of 88 square metres, the head weighs 30 tonnes and each foot measures 1.35 metres. "If it were to wear sandals, they would have to be size 530," states the monument's website.

"Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ rules! Christ protects your Brazil from all evil!" said Brazilian Cardinal Sebastiao Leme da Silveira at the unveiling ceremony. Since then, the monument has been repaired and renovated several times. For example, it was thoroughly cleaned in 1980 for Pope John Paul II's visit to Brazil that year. In the 21st century, escalators and panoramic lifts have been added. To reach the statue, tourists used to have to climb more than 200 steps.

Former US President Barack Obama and his family on a visit to Christ the Redeemer. Credit: The White House

Other influential people have also visited this iconic monument at the summit of Corcovado, including Diana, Princess of Wales, the Dalai Lama, and the former president of the United States, Barack Obama. The monument has become one of Brazil's most internationally known attractions. As the sculpture's official website states: "Whoever looks at Corcovado Hill today cannot even imagine it without the image of Christ the Redeemer fixed on its top."

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The Coronation Chair of Charles III is the oldest piece of furniture in Britain still in use for its original purpose. Located in Westminster Abbey’s St. George’s Chapel, it has been used in the coronation ceremonies of 39 monarchs and has undergone delicate conservation work. We analyse the history and secrets of one of the most precious and famous pieces of furniture in the world.

A chair that houses a sacred stone

This iconic piece of oak furniture, standing over two metres tall, was constructed between 1297 and 1300 by order of King Edward I. Its purpose was to create a relic case to house the famous Stone of Destiny, also known as the Stone of Scone. This 152kg rectangular block of red sandstone is considered a sacred object and an ancient symbol of the monarchs of Scotland, having been used for centuries to inaugurate its kings.

"The stone is now kept in Scotland, although chair and stone are reunited for coronations," explains Susan Jenkins, curator of Westminster Abbey. Edward II was the first king to use the chair at his coronation in 1308. The most recent was Charles III of the United Kingdom, who inherited the throne on the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, and was crowned king at the age of 74 with his wife, Camilla, on 6 May 2023.

Charles III was crowned King of the United Kingdom on 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey. Credit: BBC

From schoolboy graffiti to a bombing

The chair was painted by King Edward I's royal painter, Walter of Durham, and highly decorated. The wood was originally covered in a thin coating of gold, with motifs of plants, birds and other animals on a gilded background, and the figure of a king painted on the back. "It is one of the oldest surviving artefacts associated with coronations for which we have a complete provenance," RM Morris, honorary senior research associate at the Constitution Unit of University College London, tells Architectural Digest.

In its more than seven centuries of history, the famous chair has undergone various alterations, as Westminster Abbey notes: "From the ornate addition of four gilt lions, the national animal of England, in the early 16th century to the destructive graffiti on the back of the chair by Westminster schoolboys and visitors to the Abbey in the 18th and 19th centuries." One of the tourists carved "P. Abbott slept in this chair, 5-6 July 1800" on the seat. In addition, a bomb attack in 1914—allegedly by a group of suffragettes—damaged one of the corners.

This iconic piece of oak furniture stands over two metres tall and contains a sacred stone during coronations. Credit: Westminster Abbey

Conservation work to restore the chair to its former glory

The chair has also undergone several rounds of conservation and cleaning. In 2010, while such work was being carried out, small traces of vivid colours were found on it, new wooden tracery was fitted to the front of the chair—the original had been missing since the 18th century—and it was discovered that there was originally no seat. "A cushion on top of the Stone was probably used in earlier times," Westminster Abbey explains.

This year, a few months before Charles III's coronation, Westminster Abbey restorers used sponges and swabs to clean the chair and stabilise the gilding, Kristia Blessley, the Abbey's paintings conservator, told the Daily Mail. "It's so important to our country’s history and in the history of the monarchy, and it's really unique as a conservator to work on something that is part of a working collection and still used for the original function it was made for," she said.

Despite all the changes it has undergone, "the chair remains the place where the monarch sits in the moment they are crowned, marking a tradition and a connection to all those who have come before them," says Westminster Abbey. Jenkins explains that the chair is placed facing the high altar and the monarch sits with their back to the congregation. "This emphasises the religious nature of the coronation service," she adds. In a ceremony attended by more than 2,000 guests, Charles III became the latest monarch to be crowned. Seated in this chair and wearing a crown weighing more than two kilos and studded with precious stones, he heard the words: "God save the King".

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Cyborg beetles, cockroaches or dragonflies that can enter spaces inaccessible to humans could be useful for rescuing survivors of earthquakes and other emergencies, or for inspecting dangerous areas to detect gas leaks, for example. We investigate the potential and challenges of integrating technological components into these living organisms.

From rescue missions to hazardous site inspections

Cyborgs have the potential to perform functions beyond the normal capabilities of the organism, according to research published in the scientific journal Nature. "If we think about the insect functions that animals can't do, that inspires us to think about what smaller, insect-scale robots can do that larger robots cannot," Kevin Chen, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at MIT, told The Washington Post.

The idea of creating such cyborgs is not new. In 2006, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) asked US scientists to submit "innovative proposals to develop technology to create insect-cyborgs." In 2009, researchers at the University of California at Berkeley announced that they had successfully implanted electrodes in a beetle to control its movements in flight. "We demonstrated the remote control of insects in free flight via an implantable radio-equipped miniature neural stimulating system," they explained in a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience.

In recent years, several researchers have attempted to create cyborg insects with tiny integrated circuits to control their behaviour for urban search and rescue missions, environmental monitoring, hazardous site inspection and even crop pollination. While some scientists are building complete microrobots that mimic the movement and size of real insects such as bees, others are putting electronic devices into living insects such as dragonflies and trying to control them.

The DragonflEye project aims to turn dragonflies into a kind of drone. Credit: Quartz

Challenges for 'cyborg' insects

Electronic sensors are getting smaller and better, and manufacturing techniques are becoming more sophisticated. But there are still some challenges to overcome. One of the potential limitations of these cyborgs is the volume and weight of the batteries. In theory, this could be overcome by having the robots return to designated recharging points before the batteries run out, or by powering the batteries wirelessly.

This is according to a team of researchers who claim to have developed a rechargeable cyborg insect that uses a kind of soft backpack with an ultra-smooth organic solar cell module that does not affect its ability to move. The tests, details of which have been published in Nature, were carried out on the Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa), which is wingless.

Cyborg cockroaches could help find survivors in emergency situations. Credit: Riken

"The batteries inside small robots run out quickly, so the time for exploration becomes shorter," Kenjiro Fukuda, the researcher who led the investigation, told Reuters. A key advantage of this technique is that "when it comes to an insect's movements, the insect is causing itself to move, so the electricity required is nowhere near as much."

However, some experts question the impact of such technologies on the welfare of these animals. Jeff Sebo, a professor of animal bioethics at New York University, is concerned about how live insects might feel when they are controlled by humans while carrying heavy technology. Whether they feel pain or distress is unclear, he explains, but that doesn't mean humans should ignore it. "We’re not even going through the motion of having laws or policies or review boards in place so that we can half-heartedly try to reduce the harms that we impose on them," he adds.

Some researchers suggest sending small shocks into the cockroaches' abdomens to control them. Credit: Riken English Channel.

While the promises of some researchers are encouraging, most of the advances are still in the research phase, years away from commercialisation. But, as Chen points out, keep in mind that ten years ago, all this "sounded more like science fiction." Some of his current predictions also sound like something out of the distant future. He imagines a swarm of robots that mimic lightning bugs or bees and pollinate crops in vertical farms or even in space. In the latter scenario, "a flying robot would be much, much more suitable than sending bees". Only the future will reveal whether his predictions come true or ultimately remain in the realm of imagination.

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Tungsteno is a journalism laboratory to scan the essence of innovation.

ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

From the One World Trade Center and the Great Pyramid of Giza to the Great Mosque of Mecca and the Burj Khalifa. These are some of the heaviest structures in the world. But first place goes to a building in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, which boasts dizzying numbers. It is the Palace of Parliament, which weighs in at four million tonnes. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, 700,000 tonnes of steel and bronze, one million cubic metres of marble, 3,500 tonnes of crystal glass and 900,000 cubic metres of wood were used to build this controversial megastructure.

The People's Palace, but without the people

After the earthquake of 4 March 1977 damaged much of Bucharest, dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu launched a plan to rebuild the city. Romania's communist-era leader wanted to construct a building that was bigger and more impressive than the Kremlin in Moscow and the White House in Washington DC. The result was the Palace of Parliament, which was originally called the People's Palace, a somewhat ironic name given that much of the population suffered food shortages and power cuts while two billion dollars was poured into this massive project for the ruling class.

Construction, which began in 1984, was not without controversy because part of Bucharest’s historic centre had to be demolished, including churches, synagogues, monasteries and houses. People were told in the morning to pack up and leave, and by noon the bulldozers arrived and began demolishing everything in sight, according to the website Atlas Obscura, which reports that over 40,000 people were displaced and 9,000 homes torn down.

The Palace of Parliament is the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon. Credit: Earth 3D Map.

From 1,000 rooms to an underground bunker

Later, some 20,000 workers, 5,000 army personnel and 700 architects set to work. Romanian state-owned factories were used to decorate the interiors with silver brocade curtains and gold leaf ceilings. Construction was intended to take two years, but of the more than 1,000 rooms inside the building, only about 400 have been completed.

What particularly sets this building apart is its stratospheric size. With a height of 84 metres and a total surface area of 365,000 square metres, it is the second largest structure in the world after the Pentagon in the United States. Inside, in addition to over a thousand rooms, there is a concert hall that seats 4,000 people and a conference centre for more than 1,500 attendees. Some of the rooms are even larger than half a football pitch, according to The Guardian.

The Palace of Parliament houses the Bucharest International Conference Centre. Credit: European People's Party.

The palace's Union Hall features two large spiral staircases leading down to the main entrance. Ceaușescu wanted to make grand, synchronised entrances together with his wife Elena. "He was short and touchy about his height, so he had the staircases rebuilt twice in order to match his step," a parliamentary aid tells CNN. The building also has eight underground levels. The dictator feared nuclear war, so he ordered the construction of a bunker with concrete walls 1.5 metres thick to protect government leaders in the event of an attack.

Turn the building into a theme park or a casino?

Ceaușescu was the leader of Romania from 1965 until he was overthrown and shot in the revolution of 1989. At the time of his death, most of the exterior of the Palace of Parliament had been completed, but the interior was unfinished. The new government did not know what to do with the project. "They couldn’t afford to demolish the buildings, but they also didn’t have the money to mute the dreaded feeling that they exude. They were really profoundly monumental remains of this recent past that everyone wanted to forget," says Emanuela Grama of Carnegie Mellon University.

There were various proposals for what to do with the building, from turning it into a theme park or shopping mall to creating the world's largest casino. But none of these ideas came to fruition. Today it houses the Romanian Senate and Chamber of Deputies, the Bucharest International Conference Centre and the National Museum of Contemporary Art. Its sheer size and all the history behind it have made it one of Bucharest's main tourist attractions, as well as the setting for films and television programmes from around the world.

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Surfing the web is a regular activity for millions of users around the world. In fact, according to Statista, 64.4% of the world's population has access to the Internet. Some scientists are trying to extend the network to Antarctica, the Moon and the depths of the ocean. How do astronauts connect to the Internet from space? Is there Wi-Fi in the coldest place on the planet? What about underwater? On World Internet Day, 17 May, we take a look at some of the projects that are bringing the web to the farthest reaches of our world.

Wi-Fi in space

"You’ll probably see pictures of the space station of astronauts with iPads or laptops not connected by cables," explains Richard Hollingham, a science journalist and launch commentator for the European Space Agency, on The Naked Scientists website. They have Wi-Fi, but "it’s not really connected to the Internet as such." What they do have, he explains, is access to NASA's communications system, provided by tracking and data relay satellites.

The International Space Station orbits the planet in a low-Earth orbit, completing one rotation every 90 minutes. Above it, a number of satellites travel in geostationary orbits, relaying data to the ground, Hollingham says. Astronauts use these satellites to view HD video, get pictures and even watch movies. "On a Saturday or Sunday night, they often have movie night on the space station," he says.

Astronauts on the International Space Station connect to the Internet thanks to satellites. Credit: NASA

Internet in the coldest place on Earth

Scientists take turns visiting Antarctica to do their research on climate change, ozone depletion or sea level rise. As the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) notes, "the Antarctic region is a matchless 'natural laboratory' for vital scientific research that is important in its own right and impossible to achieve elsewhere on the planet."

To access the Internet, researchers have to connect to different satellite systems, some of which are only available for a few hours each day, according to Pilot, an internet service provider: "Latency is high, bandwidth is mediocre, and every scientist on the continent has to schedule their network access ahead of time to upload their data (and their selfies)."

There have been several attempts to bring high-speed Internet to Antarctica. Ninety-eight percent of all international Internet traffic flows through a vast network of undersea cables. The US National Science Foundation has considered building a fibre-optic cable that would run along the seabed from Antarctica to New Zealand or Australia. There have also been several tests in recent months with Starlink, the high-speed satellite Internet service operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

In recent years, a number of projects have attempted to bring high-speed Internet to Antarctica. Credit: Unsplash

The challenge of being online under the sea

Wi-Fi doesn't transmit as well through water as it does through air. A team of researchers has proposed a solution, details of which have been published in the journal IEEE Communications Magazine. It is an underwater optical wireless system called Aqua-Fi, an "underwater Wi-Fi" for sending information wirelessly underwater. The system has been tested to wirelessly connect an underwater platform to the Internet and transmit voice and video in real time using LED and laser light in a static water environment.

However, the system has some limitations. The researchers themselves acknowledge that if it were implemented in a real environment in the ocean, any movement of the water could generate turbulence and affect the quality of the system. Future work, according to the study's authors, should focus on improving the data rate and reducing the size of the equipment required. "The system as a whole requires miniaturisation to allow it to be mounted on small objects," the research notes. This is something that would also help reduce the power consumption of the entire system.

A team of researchers has developed an "underwater Wi-Fi" to send information through water. Credit: IEEE Communications Magazine

Despite these promising advances, the systems that currently deliver the Internet underwater, to Antarctica or in space are still far from being as fast and efficient as the way millions of people access the Internet from their homes. Scott Kelly, an astronaut who spent a year on the ISS, explained on Twitter a few years ago that the connection speed there was quite slow. This has changed in recent years and is likely to continue to improve, as a number of researchers have set themselves the goal of taking remote Internet communications to the next level.

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Tungsteno is a journalism laboratory to scan the essence of innovation.

ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

While some countries are trying to destroy drones with laser weapons, a team of Chinese researchers has used the technology to remotely recharge these devices, allowing them to stay aloft "forever". This could boost their usefulness for rescue or security work, as well as traffic control. We look at the technology’s potential and limitations.

The challenge of remotely recharging a drone

The drone in question has a photoelectric converter on its underside that, in theory at least, converts laser energy into electricity. While such systems do a "pretty decent job of wireless power transmission," the efficiency is "isn’t great," according to science and technology website New Atlas. "At the transmission end, power-to-laser efficiency can be between 50%- 85%, depending on how fancy your laser is, and at the receiving end you’re likely losing around 50% of your energy again," the website notes.

To charge the drones remotely, researchers at Northwestern Polytechnic University in Xianyang, China, needed to track them in the air. They developed an "intelligent visual tracking algorithm" designed to keep the beam pointed at the drone at all times. They also designed a system to shape the beam and adapt it to changes in atmospheric density, as well as a method to detect obstacles and quickly adjust the power of the beam to a safe level.

The system uses laser beams to remotely power drones. Credit: Northwestern Polytechnic University

From rescue missions to traffic control

The Chinese scientists successfully conducted their tests indoors with the lights on and off and outdoors at night. In these tests, the drone reportedly reached altitudes of at least 10 metres. But the researchers are convinced that this system could be extrapolated to higher- altitudes and much more ambitious drone operations.

"In some time-consuming missions, such as searching for tourists trapped in flash floods, the continuous flight of drones will greatly save precious rescue time," say the researchers. These devices could also be used for traffic control, security and logistics. But the researchers go even further, predicting something that at first glance seems far-fetched and more like science fiction: "In the future, large drones can be transformed into air buses to build a three-dimensional traffic network. We can even create a 'low-altitude satellite' or 'artificial moon' with this technology," they add.

Some drones can be used to monitor traffic, deliver packages or carry out rescue operations. Credit: Unsplash

A "prohibitively expensive" method?

While this solution seems promising on the surface, many details about how the system works are still unknown. For example, the researchers have not published data on the system's range photoelectric conversion efficiency. This is a large omission, as the science and technology website Interesting Engineering points out, since running a high-energy laser beam 24/7 to keep a drone airborne could prove to be "prohibitively expensive and would require massive amounts of energy." It is also unclear how dangerous these laser beams might be in open spaces.

At the moment, the researchers only have a laboratory prototype that is still at an early stage. But they are not alone in pursuing this ambitious goal. The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), for example, is looking at ways to turn aerial refuelling tankers into "airborne energy wells" to recharge battery-powered drones with laser beams, according to the defence website The Warzone. Whether these methods ultimately prove to be an effective way of keeping drones in the air for extended periods of time or simply an unfulfilled promise, we will have to wait and see.

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Tungsteno is a journalism laboratory to scan the essence of innovation.

ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

A planet or satellite with buildings, homes or rocket landing pads may seem like the stuff of science fiction. But a growing number of scientists are working to make it easier to explore space and make the lunar and Martian surfaces habitable. They aim to use some in-situ resources to develop building materials that are adapted to the infrastructure and environment.

How concrete behaves in space

"On missions to the Moon and Mars, humans and equipment will need to be protected from extreme temperatures and radiation, and the only way to do that is by building infrastructure on these extraterrestrial environments," explains researcher Aleksandra Radlinska of Pennsylvania State University. Some scientists see concrete, the most widely used building material on Earth, as a good alternative for building in space.

NASA believes that "it is strong and durable enough to provide protection against cosmic radiation and meteorites, and it may be possible to make it using materials available on these celestial bodies." While the idea may seem promising at first glance, the scientific community still has several unanswered questions about the chemistry and microscopic structures involved and how changes in gravity might affect the process.

Several researchers are investigating what it would take to build on Mars. Credit: DamiLee

Using lunar and Martian soils to make concrete

Norman Wagner, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Delaware, believes that "if we're going to live and work on another planet like Mars or the Moon, we need to make concrete". But "we can't take bags of concrete with us—we need to use local resources." His team has successfully converted simulated lunar and Martian soil into geopolymer concrete, which is considered a good substitute for conventional concrete.

The researchers mixed various simulated soils with sodium silicate and poured the geopolymer mixture into ice-cube-like moulds. After seven days, they measured the size and weight of each cube and crushed it to understand the material's behaviour under load. Their goal was to find out whether slight differences in chemistry between the simulated soils affected the material's strength.

"When a rocket takes off, there's a lot of weight pushing down on the landing pad and the concrete needs to hold, so the material’s compressive strength becomes an important metric," Wagner explains. On Earth, at least, his team managed to "make materials in little cubes that had the compressive strength necessary to do the job."

Explorers will need shelters on Mars to protect them from the harsh Martian environment, according to NASA. Credit: NASA/Clouds AO/SEArch

Printers to build in space

NASA is also exploring new materials and developing technologies to construct structures on planetary surfaces, such as landing pads, roads, habitats, garages or radiation shelters, using in-situ resources. But there are many challenges to building in space that go beyond the materials used. Not only is it difficult to get the necessary tool there, but the large machines used in construction are designed to work on Earth.

It is in this context that some researchers are trying to exploit the advantages of 3D printing. "We want to increase the technology readiness level and test systems to prove it would be feasible to develop a large-scale 3D printer that could build infrastructure on the Moon or Mars," said Corky Clinton, deputy director of the Science & Technology Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, in 2020. But keep in mind that space also presents challenges that make 3D printing difficult. Gravity allows layers of 3D printed material to "stick together" as they print and dry, so one of the biggest problems is that of microgravity, the state in which people or objects appear weightless.

Conditions in space can make 3D printing difficult. Credit: Tomorrow's Build

It is still too early to say whether there will one day be great buildings on other planets—or whether this is a mission impossible. In any case, much more research is needed to develop materials that can withstand the conditions of space and machines that can erect buildings like those on Earth. For now, the only certainty is that many researchers are working hard to make what is currently science fiction a reality.

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Tungsteno is a journalism laboratory to scan the essence of innovation.

ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

From the narrowest buildings in the world to the tallest and the most original. These are some of the iconic structures we have already talked about in Tungsteno. Now we investigate the ugliest, including the Scottish Parliament Building, according to Buildworld’s analysis of Twitter user comments. Also on the list are the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington D.C., Newport railway station in the UK, and the Ryugyong Hotel skyscraper in North Korea.

Scottish Parliament Building

In the words of former MP and chair of Glasgow’s Festival of Architecture and Design, Des McNulty, the entrance to the Scottish Parliament Building is "dark and gloomy". This is, in theory, accentuated by Edinburgh's typically damp, cold climate. "It feels like a cave," he says. The structure, which opened in 2004 and has been criticised for looking out of place in the Scottish landscape, tops Buildworld's list of the world's ugliest buildings, with 42% of tweets about it criticising its design. Its construction was plagued by continuous delays and complications and its final cost ballooned to ten times over budget.

The Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh has been criticised for not fitting into the Scottish landscape. Credit: Scottish Parliament

The J. Edgar Hoover Building

The second ugliest building in the world according to Buildworld is the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington D.C., which houses the headquarters of the FBI. More than a third of tweets about it are negative. Some people find the giant concrete structure "cold, unwelcoming and almost dystopian". One TripAdvisor user described it as a "scary building with a strange energy". As Buildworld puts it, "it's not pretty, but there's a certain Minecraft-y charm about this brutalist blocky monolith".

The J. Edgar Hoover building houses the FBI headquarters. Credit: cisko66

Newport Railway Station

Some people think Newport Railway Station looks like "a sci-fi snail shell" and that seen from the sky it looks like "a giant gleaming set of ovaries", according to Buildworld. The structure, which was built in 2010 and has recently become the second busiest railway station in Wales, is the third ugliest building on the planet. "Newport is an old town, and I know they are trying their best to change it, but this was not suitable for the town and uninviting," said Newport resident James Wall after learning the results of Buildworld's analysis.

Newport station is the second busiest railway station in Wales. Credit: Pwimageglow

Ryugyong Hotel

Nicknamed the "Hotel of Doom" and located in the North Korean capital Pyongyang, the Ryugyong Hotel is a pyramid-shaped reinforced concrete skyscraper that is 105 storeys high and over 300 metres tall. Its construction began in 1987 and wasn’t completed until 2018. Its nickname comes from a 16-year construction pause during which it loomed over the city, unfinished and windowless. Although it was designed to house at least 3,000 rooms and five revolving restaurants with panoramic views, it never opened and in 1992 was abandoned in the wake of the country's economic collapse. It is one of the tallest unoccupied buildings on the planet and the ugliest building outside the UK and US.

The Ryugyong Hotel was nicknamed the "Hotel of Doom". Credit: Roman Harak

Nine of the world’s 10 ugliest buildings are in the US or UK, according to Buildworld. They also include Boston City Hall, Preston Railway Station, the Verizon Building, the Watergate Complex, Denver International Airport and Trump Tower. To compile the list, Buildworld selected buildings around the world that are often considered ugly and identified tweets that talked about their design. It then used a sentiment analysis tool from Hugging Face to analyse the percentage of negative messages about each.

A big, ugly building represents many of the frustrations that ordinary people (and other Twitter users) love to vent about, from wasted public funds to misguided city halls. As a spokesperson for Buildworld told the Edinburgh Evening News, "the worst thing that can happen to an architect is to be ignored. For many architects and developers, being boring is a greater sin than being ugly. But when a building turns out ugly, it’s the passers-by who pay the price, locals and tourists alike."

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Tungsteno is a journalism laboratory to scan the essence of innovation.

OSCAR CUEVAS / IT Department

Disclaimer: this article was originally written in Spanish and translated using ChatGPT. This was later reviewed by an editor. Enjoy!

The artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT has become extremely popular in a short amount of time. Everyone is using it and it achieved the staggering figure of 10 million active users per day in its first month. Millions of users ask ChatGPT every day, a technology that has broken the record for the technology that was adopted the fastest, with a growth rate 10 times faster than that of Instagram.

It works like a chat that you can ask all kinds of things: a kind of technological oracle that can tell you all sorts of things: the best way to tie your shoes; how you should break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend in the gentlest way possible; how to write software; compose a song with its corresponding chords; or create a confidentiality agreement. And it remembers everything you've talked about throughout the conversation.

But what is ChatGPT really?

ChatGPT was developed by OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research company founded in 2015 by Elon Musk, Hoffman, who is the co-founder of LinkedIn, Peter, who is the co-founder of PayPal, and other prominent people.

OpenAI has specialized in developing advanced language models, and ChatGPT is one of its most popular and successful products. ChatGPT, Generative Pre-training Transformer, is defined as a generative language model that is used for the automatic creation of text.

If we put it in more colloquial language, we could say that it is a word predictor, similar to what mobile phones do when we write a message, but conditioned to take into account that our text is a question and the response it generates for us is the string of words that are most likely, according to its system, to appear next. That is, it predicts text.

Based on GPT-3.5, it uses a deep neural network and a machine learning algorithm for text production that can realistically imitate human language.

But what is a neural network? Let's take a look.

A neural network is a program designed to learn how to perform tasks. Normally, when humans want to talk to a computer and ask it to do something, we program and tell the machine exactly step by step what it has to do.

But there are some things that we don't know very well how to explain. For example, recognizing a handwritten number. There are thousands of ways to write numbers by hand; let's imagine the drawing of a cat, how many ways are there to draw a cat?

These are tasks that as humans we know how to do easily but are difficult to explain to a program.

For all of these things that we don't know how to program, we have invented machine learning and neural networks.

We prepare this neural network to know where it should look, what points are interesting in this data, what kind of operations it should perform with them so that it can draw conclusions. But it will be the neural network itself that, based on studying many cases and a lot of data, will try to understand what needs to be done in each of them so that it can draw its own conclusions.

If we look at our neural network, we can think of each point as what is known as a parameter. To give you an idea, the GPT-3 model, in particular, has a size of 175 billion parameters, making it the largest language model ever trained.

As we said, the network needs to learn and in the case of GPT-3 it was trained with a set of texts that included over 8 billion documents and more than 10 billion words.

From this text, the model learns to perform natural language processing tasks, achieving the ability to understand and generate language as a human would.

GPT is a system that has been trained to hold conversations with anyone in any language you write to it in. Its algorithms analyze the words you write, understand their order, meaning, and interpret what you want to say, then generate a response based on the information it has been trained with. As it collects more information, Chat GPT modifies the information with which it is trained and learns.

Thus, we can say that Open Chat GPT lives in constant update with new data and acquires a set of skills to automatically perform the task it is assigned. Inside this model, we find the architecture known as Transformer, a processing technique introduced by Google in 2017. It works through layers, which convert each word into numerical vectors that can then be mathematically processed by a neural network.

How to use it and a few important considerations

To use this platform, you need to go to its official website chat.openai.com and, if it is your first time accessing it, you need to create an account with an email address. Currently, we have three ways to use it:

The first is to subscribe to the ChatGPT Plus service, which costs $20 per month and allows you to interact with the options of the new GPT 4 engine. We can still use the basic and free version of ChatGPT, but it is still based on GPT-3.5.

Lastly, use Bing with ChatGPT, Microsoft's new search engine that offers this conversational option. This engine is also based on GPT-4 and can be used for free by requesting access to the service.

It is important to note that everything requested from Chat GPT is recorded and used by its developers to continue improving and advancing the tool. Therefore, it is recommended that if you want to maintain privacy online, do not share personal data.

For this same reason, NO business account should be used to sign up or use professional data.

In fact, in Italy, they have decided to block the use of ChatGPT, indicating that "OpenAI does not provide information to users or interested parties whose data it collects. And most importantly, there seems to be no legal basis that justifies the massive collection and processing of personal data to 'train' the algorithms on which the platform is based."

The Italian agency also insists that, although OpenAI's service is supposedly aimed at people over 13 years old, there is no age verification mechanism for users. "It exposes children to receive answers that are absolutely inappropriate for their age and knowledge."

Future of Chat GPT

As the main update compared to the third version, its "multimodal" nature stands out. Instead of working solely with text, GPT-4 is also capable of accepting images as input. That is, we can upload images to give visual instructions. However, the results will always be presented to us in textual format.

It is worth noting that OpenAI has been very cautious and has refused to provide an estimate of the number of parameters used in GPT-4. Some experts suggest that the evolution of the model has not necessarily been achieved by increasing the number of parameters. A major limitation would be that the required computing power would cost millions of dollars per hour.