Bridges should be beautiful | Ian Firth

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2018

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Bridges need to be functional, safe and durable, but they should also be elegant and beautiful, says structural engineer Ian Firth. In this mesmerizing tour of bridges old and new, Firth explores the potential for innovation and variety in this essential structure -- and how spectacular ones reveal our connectivity, unleash our creativity and hint at our identity.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This TED Talk features engineer and bridge designer Ian Firth, recorded live at TED 2018.
0:07.5	This talk contains powerful visuals. Watch it now on TED.com.
0:13.6	The world needs bridges.
0:18.1	Have you ever thought about what it would be like not to have any?
0:22.2	It's hard to imagine a civilization without bridges,
0:25.7	because they're so essential for growth and development of human society.
0:29.8	But they're not just about a safe way across a river or an obstacle.
0:36.0	They shout about connectivity, community. They reveal something of our creativity,
0:43.3	our ingenuity. They even hint at our identity. And when bridges fail or destroyed in conflict,
0:53.3	communities struggle, development stagnates. People suffer. And when bridges fail or destroyed in conflict,
0:57.5	communities struggle, development stagnates, people suffer.
1:06.3	Even today, there are over one billion people living in poor rural communities around the world that do not have safe year-round access to the things that you and I take for granted.
1:11.4	Education, medical care, access to markets,
1:15.5	which is why wonderful organisations like Bridges of Prosperity
1:18.3	build bridges in this kind of place. This is in Rwanda.
1:21.8	And they make such a difference.
1:24.3	Not only to those lives immediately around the bridge,
1:27.3	but the impact of these bridges is huge,
1:29.4	and it spreads over the whole community far and far wide.
1:34.5	Of course, bridges have been around for an awfully long time.
1:37.8	The oldest ones are stone, because it's a very durable material.
1:42.0	I don't know about you, I love to look at the development of technology
	...

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