21 December 2008

The Seismic Isolation Dance

Two buildings in Wellington are virtually earthquake-proof: (1) the Parliament and the (2) Te Papa Museum. They are protected by flexible plates at their base which essentially allow the building to remain relatively still during an earthquake by providing a shock-absorbing buffer at the building's base. This buffer is also capable of allowing the entire building to shift from left to right without damaging its frame. After seeing a video of the plate action (follow link for video), I was inspired to create the Earthquake Dance. In case of an emergency in Wellington, this is what I will be doing:



By the way, I'll be in Tonga for Christmas and New Years Eve, so enjoy the holidays!

2 comments:

t said...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! I miss you tons, JH!

Healeyite said...

John I believe you failed to mention that you nearly got kicked out of the Parls for that little maneuver!