If you think that infrastructure can’t be cool, think again. Transport systems, public utilities, telecommunications, and various facilities might sound dull and dreary on the surface, but that’s not the case. Not only are they vital to keep civilization healthy and society functioning, but they can also look incredibly impressive from a design perspective.
Today, we’re showcasing some of the most out-of-the-box examples of infrastructure from all over the globe, as showcased on this brilliant online group. Scroll down for some awesome sights. And if you have any friends who are engineers or are really into architecture and design, be sure to share the pics with them, too.
#1 Holland, Michigan's Downtown Has Heated Streets And Sidewalks That Melt Snow And Ice
The system utilizes wastewater from a nearby power plant which circulates through 120 miles of plastic piping underneath the pavement. It can melt an inch of snow in an hour even at 20 degrees Fahrenheit... No salt!
Image credits: No_Cartoonist9458
#2 Highway Turned Into A Canal In Utrecht, Netherlands
Image credits: Extra_Place_1955
#3 Sart Canal Bridge, Belgium... So Surreal, So Serene
Image credits: No_Cartoonist9458
Infrastructure is a very broad category. It encompasses a wide variety of different structures, without which civilization comes to a grinding halt.
On one side, you have everything related to transportation, like roads, highways, railways, bridges, airports, tunnels, public transit, etc. These are probably the things that might immediately come to mind when you hear the word ‘infrastructure.’ However, that’s just part of the equation.
#4 Animal Crossing In Bydgoszcz, Poland
Image credits: LUXI-PL
#5 Boston - Big Dig Before vs. After
Image credits: newtoboston2019
#6 Wave Pedestrian Bridge - Kyiv, Ukraine
Image credits: rockystl
You also have structures and systems related to public utilities and energy infrastructure, like power plants, electrical grids, clean drinking water supplies, and waste management systems.
Then, you have telecommunications infrastructure that spans phone networks and the internet, including cabling and satellites.
#7 Layers
Image credits: cnewell420
#8 At Nearly 24 Miles Long, The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway In Louisiana Stands As The Longest Continuous Bridge Over Water In The World
Image credits: No_Cartoonist9458
#9 Chiba Suspended Monorail, Tokyo Metropolitan Area
Image credits: Double-decker_trams
You also can’t forget the IT infrastructure that includes hardware and software, which keep things like data centers, network equipment, cloud computing, firewalls, and operating systems functioning smoothly.
On top of all of that, you also have social infrastructure facilities like hospitals, schools, libraries, cultural institutions, and recreational facilities.
#10 The Monorail In Chiba, In Tokyo's Suburbs
Image credits: biwook
#11 The Longest Highspeed Rail Line In The World Crossing A Desert. Lanzhou- Xinjiang Railway
Image credits: Spoiledsoymilk
#12 Bus Lanes In Essen, Germany
Image credits: Cultural_Skin_1276
Taken together, good infrastructure is the foundation on which any civilized society is built. Without it, everything falls apart. Proper infrastructure improves people’s quality of life and allows society to function efficiently and effectively. Meanwhile, infrastructure creation and maintenance projects create jobs.
If your infrastructure fails, everything breaks down.
#13 Saale-Elster-Talbrücke, Germany's Longest Railway Bridge And Also Europe's Longest Highspeed-Rail Bridge
Image credits: william-isaac
#14 The Age Of Walls Overlooking The Age Of Bridges, Highspeed Train, Beijing, China
Image credits: Spoiledsoymilk
#15 Amsterdam Netherlands In 1971 vs. 2020
Image credits: frorningboppy
Infrastructure that doesn’t just fulfil its function but also lasts for a long time without much need for maintenance is doubly impressive.
Resilient Roadways points out that the Romans began realizing the need for more reliable, long-lasting, durable, and efficient roadway systems in 312 BC. This was when the Via Appia (Appian Way), linking Rome with Capua, began to be built. It was the prototype for the Roman road system.
But the first roads are far, far older than that.
#16 Map Of La Plata, Argentina. One Of The Best Planned Cities In The World
Image credits: Double0six
#17 Mass Timber Parking In Wendlingen, Germany
Image credits: r_sole1
#18 The Monorail In Wuppertal, Germany
Image credits: EdgeApprehensive211
According to the Federal Highway Administration, which is part of the US Department of Transportation, the oldest constructed roads that have been discovered date back to around 4000 BC.
They were stone-paved streets in the Mesopotamian cities of Ur and Babylon (now modern Iraq).
#19 Bridge In The Netherlands
Image credits: tijelu
#20 The Bike Lane In Downtown Seattle
Image credits: Mobile_Millennial
#21 Infrastructure That Never Was : The City Of Cincinnati Started To Build A Rapid Transit System In The 1920s But Only Completed Seven Miles Of Subway Lines Before The Project Was Abandoned
Image credits: No_Cartoonist9458
In this day and age, roads and streets tend to be paved with asphalt concrete. The Federal Highway Administration explains that this is what you get when you add asphalt cement to sand and rock.
Asphalt cements can be modified, for instance, by adding polymers for added stability, less displacement under traffic, and less fatigue-related distress.
Meanwhile, the so-called binders that are added must be soft enough during cold periods to minimize thermal cracking.
#22 Wuhu Yangtze River Bridge, China
Image credits: straightdge
#23 Turning Off Niagara Falls For The First Time In 12,000 Years 1969
Image credits: No_Cartoonist9458
#24 This Is What A Highspeed Rail Line Cutting Through A Plateau Looks Like, Ningxia Province, China
Image credits: Nervous_Plan_8370
The subreddit that we’re featuring today boasts 741k members. It has been around since 2011, and encourages people to share high-quality images of infrastructure. Members are asked to provide a bit of context about the photos they share. And you should mention the fact if you actually took the photo yourself.
#25 Dutch Roundabout With Center Bus Lane
Image credits: Minute_Play1196
#26 Nouvelle Route Du Littoral, Most Expensive Road Of The World In Réunion Island, France
Image credits: AggressiveShoulder83
#27 London Sanitation Engineers Overseeing New Sewer Construction Following The Great Stink Of 1858
Image credits: biwook
“Paved roads and other public transit, agriculture, freight, waste management, and water systems are all things we could live without, but we really don't want to,” the moderators of the subreddit write, adding that these things “look cool, too!”
The subreddit has also adopted the witty tagline “Because sometimes faster is better,” and we can’t help but agree with them.
#28 Favourite Airport Layout/Design? Midway Airport, Chicago
Image credits: No-Significance-1023
#29 Five Way Streetcar Junction Being Built In Toronto, 1923
Image credits: rounding_error
#30 The Marenostrum Supercomputer
Image credits: r_sole1
We’d like to hear your thoughts, Pandas. Which of these infrastructure projects wowed you the most? Which ones do you think have the perfect balance of incredible aesthetics and functional design?
What is the most impressive structure, facility, building, or piece of infrastructure that you’ve personally seen?
Let us know in the comments below.
#31 Shonan Monorail, Near Tokyo, Japan
Image credits: biwook
#32 Nanjing South Railway Station
Image credits: straightdge
#33 Herzegovina Bridge, Bosnia And Herzegovina
Image credits: UselessBot_
#34 The New Gordie Howe Bridge Progresses Across The Detroit River
Image credits: innsertnamehere
#35 Tokyo Monrail
Image credits: tannerge
#36 Three Gorges Dam, World's Largest Hydro-Power Project
Image credits: straightdge
#37 Monorail Under Construction In Monterrey, Mexico
Image credits: Spascucci
#38 Anji Khad Bridge- India's First Cable-Stayed Railway Bridge
Image credits: 165Hertz
#39 Takaosan Highway Interchange, Tokyo
Image credits: biwook
#40 Łódź, Poland
Image credits: Rift3N
#41 Somewhere In China
Image credits: straightdge
#42 Retro-Future Infrastructure: A 1913 Vision Of A Five-Storied, Six Level Super Street In New York, With The Claim That It Would 'Increase The Efficiency Of Business Traffic By 25 Percent
Image credits: No_Cartoonist9458
#43 Earthquake In Japan Raises The Manhole Above Ground
Image credits: Saturn_Ecplise
#44 Jiangsu, China
Image credits: straightdge
#45 Chongqing East Railway Station
Image credits: straightdge
#46 Infrastructure P**n Or Ugly?
Image credits: According_South_2500
#47 3 Train Systems In Bangkok
Image credits: Few_Maize_1586
#48 The Gordie Howe International Bridge In Detroit, Oct. 24, 2022
Image credits: No_Cartoonist9458
#49 Palo Verde Nuclear Powerplant, USA's Largest Thermal Powerplant And 2nd Largest Of Any Powerplant
Image credits: One-Demand6811
#50 I Find Some Beauty In Road Interchanges
Image credits: Fun-Raisin2575
