Ian Firth: Bridges should be beautiful
ايان فيرث: يجب أن تكون الجسور جميلة
Ian Firth designs bridges all around the world; some are very long and cross over wide rivers or sea channels, and some are really short and in the middle of towns and cities, but "all of them are unique and special in their own way." Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
what it would be like not to have any?
لو لم يكن هناك أية جسور؟
a civilization without bridges
of human society,
across a river or an obstacle.
لتجاوز نهر أو عقبة.
living in poor, rural communities
يعيشون في مجتمعات ريفية فقيرة
and I take for granted:
أمر مسلم به، مثل :
access to markets ...
والوصول إلى الأسواق...
like Bridges to Prosperity
"مثل جسور للازدهار"
this is in Rwanda.
هذا في رواندا.
immediately around the bridge,
for an awfully long time.
لمدة طويلة للغاية.
because it's a very durable material.
لأنها مادة متينة جداً،
the development of technology
with the materials
is a wonderful example --
هو مثال رائع -
الرومانية في جنوب فرنسا -
built using massive stones put together,
باستخدام أحجار ضخمة دمجت معاً،
these suspension bridges,
to build these bridges.
they rebuild this every year?
is not a durable material.
since Inca times.
منذ زمن حضارة الإنكا،
symbols of their location.
and Sydney are well familiar.
معروفة جيداً.
with the name of the place,
that in the war in 1993
until the bridge was reconstructed.
إلى أن تم إعادة بناء الجسر.
features in our landscape --
sometimes there's small ones --
to make our bridges beautiful.
in the South of France.
and British architect Lord Foster
والمهندس المعماري البريطاني (لورد فوستر)
synergy of architecture and engineering.
بين فني الهندسة والعمارة.
in the mountains in Switzerland --
في الجبال السويسرية -
and rather delicate bridge
and beautiful designs
in three convenient categories,
of the structural system
as their principal support.
is the way a beam will behave --
هي الطريقة التي ستتصرف بها الدعامة،
way of operating for an arch.
you need to go lightweight,
يجب استخدام أوزان خفيفة،
for variety is enormous.
for innovation and ingenuity
للابتكار والإبداع،
around these types.
happens relatively slowly in my world,
يحدث ببطء نسبي في عالمي.
that happen in mobile phone technology
في تكنولوجيا الهاتف المحمول
technologies and so on.
الرقمية وهلم جرا.
can be summarized in one word:
that loads will be excessive on one side
أن تكون الأحمال مفرطة على جانب،
too low on the other side.
منخفضة على الجانب الآخر.
are full of uncertainty usually,
for safety between the two, of course.
للسلامة بين الاثنين، بالطبع.
and get their sums right
والحصول على المجموع بشكل صحيح،
when things like this happen.
for these tragedies,
happens quite slowly.
on their projects, obviously.
لمشاريعهم، كما هو واضح.
من الحمض النووي الخاص بي.
if I wasn't wanting to innovate,
إذا لم أكن أرغب في الابتكار،
of knowledge and strength
من موقع المعرفة والقوة
since the beginning of time --
منذ بداية الزمن -
this film before --
Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse
جسر (تاكوما ناروز)
as "Galloping Gertie"
for quite a long time,
called Leon Moisseiff,
يدعى (ليون مويسيف)،
just that little bit too far
قام بتجاوز الحدود قليلاً،
suspension bridge development
تطور الجسور المعلقة
about doing another suspension bridge.
ببناء جسر معلق آخر.
to what had happened.
من الناحية الأمنية لما حدث.
a technological step change.
streamlined cross section
very torsionally stiff --
ما يجعله صلبًا للغاية -
at Tacoma would not happen here.
في (تاكوما) لن يحدث هنا.
important for long spans,
to want us to build longer spans.
which is a bit longer,
وهو أطول قليلاً،
the Messina Bridge in Italy,
with construction one day,
to Messina in a moment.
which uses that tension principle
التي تستخدم مبدأ الشد
a whole load of these right now.
يبنون الكثير منها الآن.
in Vladivostok, Russia --
في (فلاديفوستوك)، روسيا -
about long-span and lightweight.
عن البحور الطويلة وخفة الوزن.
as an example.
the capacity of the main cables --
قدرة الكابلات الرئيسية -
of that capacity
is there to support:
steel wire available to us,
عالية القوة المتاحة لنا،
around about five or six kilometers
حوالي خمسة أو ستة كيلومترات،
carbon fiber in those cables,
ألياف الكربون في تلك الكابلات،
necessarily the way to go everywhere.
الطريق التي يجب المضي فيه دائماً.
المرتبطة بها،
of other challenges associated with them,
a wide estuary or a sea crossing.
were somewhere like Gibraltar,
في مكان ما مثل جبل طارق،
multiple superlong spans
متعددة فائقة الطول،
something spectacular, wouldn't it?
that one finished in my lifetime,
اكتمل في حياتي،
for some of you guys.
لبعضكم يا رفاق.
which I think is really exciting.
أعتقد أنه مثير حقًا.
across very deep water in Norway,
عبر المياه العميقة جداً في النرويج،
are prohibitively expensive.
الأساسات باهظة للغاية.
multispan suspension bridge.
but nothing like this.
لكن لا شيء من هذا القبيل.
and held down --
against those buoyancy forces,
have to be tied together,
مرتبطة ببعضها،
would just wobble around
about the places around the world
to the possibility of a bridge
by the Norwegian Roads Administration,
enable development --
للغاية في بعض الأحيان
like Rudy Ricciotti here,
performance fiber-reinforced concrete.
بالألياف عالية الأداء.
and it's really durable,
sculptural quality.
من التقنيات والأشياء الجديدة التي تجري،
of other new technologies and things
والذكاء الاصطناعي، وكل هذا،
and AI and all of that,
which I alluded to earlier on.
أشرت إليه في وقت سابق.
they need to be elegant;
for an awfully long time.
whether it overran a few months.
بناؤها بضعة أشهر أو لا.
does exactly the opposite.
mediocre, ugly environments --
دون المتوسط وقبيحة -
numb to that stuff --
a large-scale vandalism,
through a design competition.
to those people who procure our bridges
لأولئك الناس الذين يقومون بشراء جسورنا،
which is often the key.
is one way to get good design,
هي طريقة للحصول على تصميم جيد،
of procurement going on
against good design.
a bit slowly sometimes in my world.
ببطء نوعاً ما في بعض الأحيان في عالمي.
about what we can do with it.
of long-span technology
elegant and beautiful stuff
الأشياء الأنيقة والجميلة
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ian Firth - Engineer, bridge designerIan Firth designs bridges all around the world; some are very long and cross over wide rivers or sea channels, and some are really short and in the middle of towns and cities, but "all of them are unique and special in their own way."
Why you should listen
As Ian Firth writes: "I have been fortunate enough to work on some of the world's most amazing bridges, and I lead fantastic teams of engineers involved in the design, construction and management of bridges all over the world. Since 1990, when I became a Partner in Flint & Neill, the UK engineering consultants who I joined as a young graduate in 1979, I have helped to grow the firm into one of the world's leading bridge design consultancies. Flint & Neill joined the Danish COWI Group in 2008 and rebranded as COWI (UK) in January 2017.
"I love the fact that my work has included some of the very biggest bridges as well as some much smaller and more intimate ones. The big ones include the huge 3.3 km-long single-span suspension bridge over the Messina Strait in Italy and the 1 km span Stonecutters Bridge in Hong Kong. The smaller ones include Copenhagen's new Inner Harbour Bridge, the Third Way Bridge in Taunton and the Swansea Sail Bridge in Wales. In fact, one of my favorites is the smallest: the little Bridge of Aspiration in London's Covent Garden, which is only 9 meters long! Working alongside bridge architects, I always try to weave elegance and beauty into my designs alongside the essential safety, economy and other factors, so that my bridges are popular as well as efficient and durable. Altogether, I reckon I have designed well over 100 bridges, but sadly not all of them have been built!"
Ian Firth | Speaker | TED.com