The Contents of a Skyscraper Laid out in the Suburbs

[Captain Zissou]

This is an article highlighting the recent book by Kate Ascher entitled h The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper.  The book is 200 pages of graphics analyzing, dissecting, and examining everything about skyscrapers.  The graphic included in the article was so amazing that I just had to share it.  If Jacksonville was built vertically, we would probably only occupy a few square miles, with hundreds of untouched beautiful acres surrounding our compact and efficient city.  In a time where it is essential to do more with less, the graphic shows us a way to do just that.  This book is worth reading and this graphic alone is worth sharing with everyone you come across.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/st_theheights/

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

+1 and an assist:

[Captain Zissou]

Thanks NRW!!  It's a whole lot easier to see what I mean with the graphic on the page.

I'll learn how to post pictures and graphics someday, but not today!

[Traveller]

This may have been discussed before, but is it physically possible to build underground parking in Florida?  I know the Independent Life/Modis/Wells Fargo building has some, but that's the only one I've actually seen in this state.  Is it a cost issue (cheaper to build up than down), or is there an issue with the water table?

[simms3]

There is an actual tunnel in Fort Lauderdale under the New River River in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Building underground is probably possible, but very expensive.  Building underground in most of the south is most nearly impractical compared to how easy it is to do in other places because it's either granite bedrock (very hard rock) up here or high water table down there.

For the record, I believe Washington DC has a very high water table, but it has managed to construct one of the most extensive subway, tunnel, and underground parking networks in the country.  It also can tap into federal funding much more easily than a city like Jacksonville or even Miami can.

[coredumped]

Here's a google satellite shot of the "New River Tunnel" downtown:
http://g.co/maps/dkfw7
Off topic: Of course, it's not quite as cool as the bridge/tunnel "Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel" in VA

[Tacachale]

Building very far underground in Florida ranges between impossible to very (often prohibitively) expensive due to the water table in the Floridan Aquifer. The state's most famous subterranean development, Disney World's "underground" city, is actually at ground level, with a mound built over it and the park on top.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/magazine/a-rough-guide-to-disney-world.html?pagewanted=6&sq=john%20jeremiah%20sullivan%20disney&st=cse&scp=1

You'll rarely see a basement or sewer system more than a level, unless it's a wonderous underwater cave providing millions from Savannah to Tampa with their drinking water.

Some places follow the Disney route and get creative. Taking a cue from buildings with underground parking, the Peninsula on the Southbank just dedicated its first several stories to the parking garage, with the rest of the building over it. The University of Florida has a couple of "earth-integrated" buildings, like the old Florida State Museum building, which has an earthwork mound raised around it.

[Dashing Dan]

At least we've got rock beneath us.  Coastal Louisiana is not so lucky.

[ChriswUfGator]

There is an actual tunnel in Fort Lauderdale under the New River River in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Building underground is probably possible, but very expensive.  Building underground in most of the south is most nearly impractical compared to how easy it is to do in other places because it's either granite bedrock (very hard rock) up here or high water table down there.

For the record, I believe Washington DC has a very high water table, but it has managed to construct one of the most extensive subway, tunnel, and underground parking networks in the country.  It also can tap into federal funding much more easily than a city like Jacksonville or even Miami can.

There were more tunnels around Florida when I was a kid. For whatever reason people started thinking anything underground in Florida is a bad idea circa late 1980s. I guess they never heard of a sump pump? Where I grew up, the beach used to be lined with old 1920s-1950s era resorts, and many of them rather than cutting a street through the middle of the property, they built tunnels going underneath them to the beach. As the old hotels got demolished, so went the tunnels. There is still one left. The house I grew up in has a full basement, as does every house around it that dates from the same time frame. Never had any pumps, and always dry. But if you talk to a homebuilder, they think you're nuts for even thinking about a basement.

[simms3]

Houses in Avondale and Riverside have basements.  One house in particular right on Saint Johns Avenue has a very deep basement.  I have very fond memories from this house.

[thelakelander]

The feasibility of having a basement depends on several factors, including soil conditions.  They tend to be dominate in Northern and Midwestern climates because the building's foundation needs to be below the natural frost line to help prevent structural damage from the freeze-thaw cycle.  They are also more common in areas of high density (doing more with less land) and for reducing heating and cooling costs.  With that said, although uncommon (Florida lacks several of the factors that naturally drive the decisions to built them), they are around.  Growing up in Central Florida, I also remember several homes with basement levels in specific neighborhoods.

Btw, here are a few pics of the tunnel in downtown Fort Lauderdale:





As the Port of Miami further invests to set itself a part from JAXPORT and other Florida ports, they are building a tunnel for truck traffic as we speak:



more images and construction plans: http://www.portofmiamitunnel.com/

Also, before they ran out of money, there were plans to build subway tunnels under downtown Miami as a part of Metrorail's expansion.


Corridor 2B would have been a subway segment under downtown and to the cruise port.

[Tacachale]

Lakelander, I recall that there was some kind of underground building at Florida Southern College in your homestead. Do you know anything about that?

[acme54321]

Doesnt the Wells Fargo building have something like 3 storys below street level?  I was under the impression that a number of structures downtown had multi level basements, and then there are the tunnels that connect the buildings...

[Tacachale]

^Yes it does, it's at least 2 levels, maybe three. Many of the buildings down there have at least 1 level. City Hall has underground parking, which is real fun to get in and out of.

[thelakelander]

Lakelander, I recall that there was some kind of underground building at Florida Southern College in your homestead. Do you know anything about that?

Yes.  Evidently, there are a lot of closed and haunted underground tunnels at FSC.

http://unearthlyrealms.com/reports/haunting-reports/621-fl-lakeland-florida-southern-college