The infamous Berlin Wall of Germany was widely regarded all over the world as the “Wall of Shame.” Constructed on August 13, 1961, by the German Democratic Republic following the end of World War II, this foreboding concrete, barbed wire was placed between East and West Berlin, and was built to divide the German city of Berlin both ‘physically’ and ‘ideologically.’
Heavily guarded by German militants, the Berlin Wall stood for nearly three decades. This suppressive structure was meant to prevent those in East Germany from crossing over into the West. Prior to the wall’s construction, an estimated 3.5 million East Germans crossed over from the East, into West Berlin.
The Dharahara Tower Then
Built back in 1932 by Bhimsen Thapa—the “Machiavellian” mukhtiyar (chief minister) of Nepal, the Dharahara Tower stood tall over downtown Kathmandu, Nepal for nearly two centuries. Rising nine stories high from its base to the top, the monument was recognized as the tallest building in Nepal. This tower housed a spiral staircase, complete with 213 steps for any visitors brave enough to take on the challenge of hiking up to the very top of the structure.
But being in the Himalayan Valley and its terrifying proximity to an unstable fault line, the Dharahara Tower faced a myriad of environmental challenges since its construction. After standing through some formidable earthquakes, the tower's luck ran out. On April 25, 2015, Nepal’s most iconic landmark was reduced to rubble, after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook the nation.
The Dharahara Tower Today
The government of Nepal banned together to push forward efforts to reconstruct the Dharahara Tower. Construction of the Dharahara Tower 2.0 began in June of 2018. Designers, architects, and builders aimed to make the new Dharahara Tower completely earthquake-proof.
Funded by the Nepal Reconstruction Authority — the government organization leading the reconstruction effort of the structure — according to Lonely Planet, while the new tower is “aesthetically similar” to that of the old tower that once stood prior to the earthquake, the new tower was ultimately decided to be constructed out of modern materials, utilized with the latest earthquake-resistant technology.
The Berlin Wall Today
In 1989, a series of protests against the wall began to emerge. It was not long before the fight against this repressive wall gained the attention of world-renowned celebrities like David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, and even David Hasselhoff, all of whom strongly advocated for tearing down this oppressive German wall.
Finally, on November 9, 1989, the head of the East German Communist Party formally announced that they would once again allow the citizens of the GDR to cross the border. Following this announcement, people soon began to climb over the wall, in order to cross over this symbolic German border structure. Eventually, people even began to rip apart and tear down this once impenetrable wall. Finally, on October 3, 1990, the wall was officially torn down.
Morandi Bridge Then
First opened in 1967 in the Italian city of Genoa, the Ponte Morandi was considered a ‘vital artery’ into the neighboring country of France and a key link that would otherwise be separated by the Polcevera River. Named after the civil engineer who designed it — Riccardo Morandi — this bridge, stretched a lengthy 3,878ft. The ‘signature’ Morandi piece was similar to his 1957 design of the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge in Venezuela.
The Morandi bridge was particularly unique. Indeed, though most cable-stayed bridges contain ‘stays’ comprised of woven metal cables, Morandi opted to instead utilize prestressed concrete around tie-rods—thus making it impossible to view the condition of the metal underneath the bridge. In doing so, Morandi ultimately and unknowingly caused a problem.