The Moodna Viaduct. For the cultural fans out there, the Wikipedia entry says:
The Moodna Viaduct is an iron railroad trestle that spans the Moodna Creek and its valley at the north end of Schunemunk Mountain in Salisbury Mills, New York. The bridge was constructed between 1904 and 1908 by the Erie Railroad and was opened for train passage in 1909. The trestle spans the valley for 3,200 feet (975m) and is 193 feet (59 m) high at its highest point, making it the highest and longest railroad trestle east of the Mississippi River. The open design of the trestle was used to reduce wind resistance and is a major reason why the trestle is still in service today.
For the designer, it's a confluence of architecture, engineering and landscape architecture/ecology. The structure spans a gorgeous valley between the hills (mountains when I live there, but can't call them that after living in the American West). The structure is build up simply of just steel angles and plates, making up a structure of sublimely vast size! In ecology/landscape architecture, the viaduct disturbs the 'native' forest, creating an opening for wildlife to forage (many critters and deer seen in here) that also allows the incredibly competitive 'Tree of Heaven' (a.k.a. plant from hell) to gain ground and begin to take over. The trees you see under the viaduct, this ailanthus, are just a couple of years old at most.
I'll get to a diptych, but notice how the viaduct, as a steel shape wedges into the space of the forest........and then notice what Mr. Serra does not too far away
www.flickr.com/photos/kenmccown/2740223564/
Not sure when I'll stop gushing about the full-frame 5D and the nearly complete disappearance of noise!
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