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环球双语:五角大楼背后的建造秘密
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来源:新浪 2007-6-13 11:03:00 |
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How The Pentagon Got Its Shape
In November 1941, workers rush construction of the War Department headquarters in Arlington. Earlier that year, with Adolf Hitler controlling much of Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had declared a national emergency. The War Department, suddenly growing at an explosive rate, needed a new home. The ultimate result would be the Pentagon.
1、1941年11月,建筑工人在五角大楼的工地上。1941年初,希特勒控制了欧洲大部分,时任美国总统罗斯福宣布全国进入紧急状态。迅速壮大的美国陆军部(存在于1789年至1947年)急需一座新的指挥基地,于是五角大楼开始动工。
(五角大楼坐落在美国华盛顿附近波托马克河畔的阿灵顿镇,是美国国防部所在地。从空中俯瞰,这座建筑成正五边形,故名“五角大楼”。)
The building materials were comprised of reinforced concrete made from 680,000 tons of sand dredged from the Potomac River and supported by 41,492 concrete pylons. The design saved enough steel to build one battleship during wartime. The structure filled 29 acres -- enough space to accomodate five U.S. Capitol buildings.
五角大楼的地基很差,原为河边无人居住的大片沼泽。为此,建筑工人打下了41492根水泥柱,并就地取材,从附近的波拖马可河中挖来68万吨砂石,以压制成30万立方米的钢筋混凝土建筑材料。五角大楼的设计为战争年代节约了建造一座战舰的钢材。其总建筑面积为29英亩,相当于5座美国国会。
Brehon Burke Somervell, chief of the Army's Construction Division, had a reputation as a smooth but ruthless operator -- associates would later describe him as "dynamite in a Tiffany box." He strongly advocated moving the proposed new War Department building out of Washington and over the Potomac River in to Arlington.
五角大楼的设计负责人是陆军准将布里恩·伯克·萨默维尔。当他接到任务时,只有4天时间供他提交出一个具有防火和全空调功能的、能容纳4万人办公的行政大楼设计方案。萨默维尔素以严厉著称,他的合作者在后来评价他说:“他就像是罐子里的炸药”。萨默维尔曾坚决主张将美国陆军部从华盛顿迁至托马克河畔的阿灵顿镇。
An architectural rendering prepared in July 1941. There were many problems with the irregular design. Yet, given the site, the pentagonal design had one overriding virtue, draftsman Socrates Thomas Stathes remembered later: "It fit."
1941年7月,五角大楼的立体建筑图绘制成功。尽管它的不规则形状还是引出了许多问题,但基于客观环境的限制,五边形的设计方案还是最佳的选择。绘图者苏格拉底·托马斯后来回忆说:“(五边形)是最适合它的。” |
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