19 replies to this topic

[Monster Archiver]

I have been thinking and, in a couple of thousand years when people are looking back at the the 20th and 21st century, what amazing monuments will we have to show for ourself, we look back at things like the Pyramids, Stonehenge, Great wall of China, but there is nothing apart from the odd Skyscraper that has been built to mark the kind of culture we are and will skycrapers still be standing in 2000 years time?.

If there was a defying relic/building/temple to sum us up for this century, what could it be?

[The Mule]

Keith richards still being alive is one of the wonders of the world

[The Mule]

...but on a more serious note, todays architecture is not designed to last thousands of years. I don't think mjch of what's around now can survive that long without periodic repairs.

[Grey14]

Monster Archiver, on 11 September 2012 - 11:26 AM, said:

I have been thinking and, in a couple of thousand years when people are looking back at the the 20th and 21st century, what amazing monuments will we have to show for ourself, we look back at things like the Pyramids, Stonehenge, Great wall of China, but there is nothing apart from the odd Skyscraper that has been built to mark the kind of culture we are and will skycrapers still be standing in 2000 years time?.

If there was a defying relic/building/temple to sum us up for this century, what could it be?

Mt Rushmore would be considered a grand achievment and it would still be around then. Also the Crazy horse monument if it is ever finished. Also there is the Hoover dam. There are 3 right off the top of my head and that's only here in the US I am sure there are other examples in other countries that would fall into this same type of thing.

[and then]

An iPod or a PC.  No current construction would be around.  Maybe interstate highways would still be identifiable from space.

[tyrant lizard]

There are some pretty awesome bridges around the world that if maintained might be seen as wonders.

Also they might look back and see the ISS orbiting in 2 thousand years time and say "how did them barbarians get that thing up there using primitive rocket fuel and antiquated space age technology. And why doesn't it have a force field to protect it from rampaging Greys. They must have had help from beyond the stars."

Also, there's a wall I built in Banbury Street, Watford, that is a true wonder to behold. It defies gravity and looks like it was built by a man who just finished his second bottle of gin and climbed off a merry-go-round

[Mr Right Wing]

Monster Archiver, on 11 September 2012 - 11:26 AM, said:

I have been thinking and, in a couple of thousand years when people are looking back at the the 20th and 21st century, what amazing monuments will we have to show for ourself, we look back at things like the Pyramids, Stonehenge, Great wall of China, but there is nothing apart from the odd Skyscraper that has been built to mark the kind of culture we are and will skycrapers still be standing in 2000 years time?.

If there was a defying relic/building/temple to sum us up for this century, what could it be?

Channel Tunnel
International Space Station
Internet

are 3

[Grey14]

Oh I thought of a few others as well. The Christ the Redeemr staute in Rio, There is also the Motherland Calls statue in Russia which is the worlds largest non religous sculpture. The largest is the Spring Temple budda.

Edited by Grey14, 11 September 2012 - 12:57 PM.

[rashore]

I'm not sure what we've built in the last couple hundred years will last a couple thousand years without maintenance. But things I think are wondrous...

The Statue of Liberty
The Eiffel Tower
The Smithsonian
Bartram's Garden

[Leave Britney alone!]

Most of these examples are on objects that will not stand the test of time. Our culture will not be described by megaliths because we don't make any. The question the OP asks cannot be answered. We will be remembered by plastic rubbish. Who is this Made In China that they worshipped?

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

Sydney Opera House - it symbolises the move of man's mind from the formal and austere architecture of the late 19th and early 20th century to the more fluid ideals of the 21st. Also, it's all about the arts and not control or warfare.
The Gugenheim - it symbolises the entire WTF factor of modern life and art.
The White House - it's effectively the icon of government in the 21st century.

[Galilei]

Perhaps some of the religious figure statues or commemorative statues.

Examples:
Spring Temple Buddha
http://en.wikipedia....g_Temple_Buddha

Christ the Redeemer
http://en.wikipedia....deemer_(statue)

The Motherland Calls
http://en.wikipedia....otherland_Calls

[Parsec]

I agree with The Mule and Chasingtherabbit, our buildings (like almost everything else in this society) are not made to last long. They're made to impress, but scratch the surface and there's nothing below.

Anyway, the Great Wall wouldn't last long without maintenance too, it's news from last week that a piece of it just collapsed.

If you think carefully, it's also true that few buildings and monuments in history lasted thousands of years: of the seven original Wonders only the pyramids exist nowadays, and we're still debating about who built them, if the Egyptians, an old lost civilization, the aliens or the Smurfs.

Without maintenance, few buildings can survive: I grew up in a 400+ years old house and my girlfriend lives in a house that has round 800 years (it's been built in the XIII century), but, although they're not very domotic, they're just regular houses to live in. That's because they're cyclically restored, otherwise after some centuries they'd fall apart.
What's really changed is the construction technique and the materials used: once they used stones and bricks, today we use concrete, that tends to disgregate with time.
So, we should look at buildings or monuments made with stone, or out of it: Mount Rushmore could be a perfect candidate (I personally don't like it, but that's another story). All other buildings listed above won't last very much: Spring temple Buddha would collapse due to its concrete base (and the copper would end up eaten by rust), like would Christ the redeemer do (or probably it would "only" lose his arms). The Motherland Calls is unfortunately already leaning, due to groundwater problems, so without help it won't last even decades.

[DKO]

The Motherland Calls is one of the best structures ever built in my opinion. Looks awesome and the skill involved is amazing, especially the extremely heavy concrete arms sticking out like that.

But like Parsec said, it's sad it's foundations are sinking.

[jamesadem24]

Yet it is also timeless: the site made the World Heritage list in large part because of the long-standing human settlements in the region along with Rio's cultural influence on Brazilian artists and musicians.