India's 50-storey Statue Of Unity is a triumph of aesthetics and engineering.

印度的 50 層高的團結雕像是美學與工程的一大成就。

And get this – it's made from melted-down old farm equipment.

而且仔細聽好了，它是由舊農具融製成的。

How did they do it?

它是怎麼建成的呢？

Can it really withstand earthquakes?

能抵禦地震嗎？

And how will its appearance change over the coming decades?

在未來的幾十年中，它的外觀又將如何變化呢？

Join us today as we look up and ask how the world's tallest statue was built.

今天，就跟我一起抬頭看看世上最高的雕像是如何建成的。

There are few more appropriate subjects for the world's tallest statue than Iron Man.

提到世界上最高的雕像，很少有比鋼鐵人更合適的主題了。

No, not THAT Iron Man.

不是那個鋼鐵人。

Indian statesman and independence activist Vallabhbhai Patel is nicknamed the "Iron Man Of India" for his incredible nation-building work,

印度政治家和獨立運動家，瓦拉巴伊·帕特爾因其建國偉業而被稱為「印度的鐵男子」

uniting all 562 independent princely states on the subcontinent after the British abruptly peaced out in the 1940s.

1940 年代，英國退出印度後，他統一了次大陸上的 562 個獨立土邦。

This statue was commissioned to celebrate Patel's monumental achievement.

這座雕像是為歌頌帕特爾不朽成就而建造的。

And to underline the fact it's for all Indians, farmers from all across the nation Patel helped create sent in their old unused scrap iron.

為強調其為民奉獻的精神，來自印度各地的農民送來了他們閒置的舊鐵具。

Some 100 million farmers are said to have participated, yielding 129 tonnes of scrap iron,

據說約有 1 億農民參與，收集了 129 噸廢鐵。

which today, melted-down, forms the foundation of the statue.

這些鐵塊熔化，構成了如今雕像的基礎。

The statue itself stands 182-metres tall, and that's no accident.

雕像高 182 米，此數字並非偶然。

182 was chosen because that's the number of seats on the Gujarati legislature.

182 正是古吉拉特邦立法機構的席位數。

It's constructed on a river island near where Patel grew up, facing the mighty Narmada Dam.

雕像座落於帕特爾家鄉附近的河島上，面對宏偉的沙達·薩羅瓦大水壩。

That dam, like so much else in Modern India, was also partly his idea.

那座大壩，如印度現代許多事物一樣，有部分也是他發想的。

Celebrated Indian sculptor Ram V Sutar, distinguished winner of the Padma Bhushan award for service to his country,

拉姆·V·蘇塔爾，因為國奉獻而獲得「蓮花裝勳章」獎的著名印度雕塑家，

was chosen to lead the design team.

被選中領導團隊設計此雕像。

He'd already made a statue of Patel, the one currently residing at Ahmedabad International Airport.

此前，他早已做過帕特爾雕像了，該雕像目前位於薩達爾·瓦拉巴伊·帕特爾國際機場。

Sutar reportedly combed through thousands of photographs and consulted many historians

據報導，蘇塔爾梳理了數千張照片並諮詢許多歷史學家，

in order to achieve the perfect likeness for his masterpiece.

只為實現其作品的高還原度。

Then he made models, first 3ft high, then 18ft, then 30 feet.

接著他製作了模型，先是 3 英尺、 18 英尺，到最後的 30 英尺。

The finished clay model underwent meticulous 3D scanning,

完成的粘土模型經過細緻的 3D 掃描，

with the model used as a reference for Chinese casting company Jiangxi Tongqing Metal Handicrafts,

好讓中國鑄造公司，江西同慶金屬工藝品公司作為參考，

where the bronze outer layer was manufactured.

以為雕像製造青銅外層。

Funding for the project came from a variety of sources, mostly the Gujarat government,

該計劃資金源於各種渠道，大部分來自古吉拉特邦政府，

but also private donations and even a fun-run marathon.

但也有私人捐款，甚至是公益馬拉松。

In total it's estimated the cost amounted to almost US$400 million.

據估計，雕像總成本近 4 億美元。

New York firm Michael Graves Architecture and Design was hired to oversee the project,

他們僱用紐約的麥可·葛瑞夫建築設計公司監督此計劃，

along with the Singapore-based Meinhardy Group and Indian infrastructure giant Larsen & Toubro.

同時也與新加坡邁進集團，還有印度基礎設施巨頭拉森圖博公司合作。

Some 4,076 laboroures worked alongside 250 engineers for 57 months on the project.

約 4,076 名工人與 250 名工程師在該計畫上費時了 57 個月。

Work began in earnest when Narendra Modi – then premier of Gujarat, now Prime Minister – laid the foundation on 31 October 2013,

雕像於 2013 年 10 月 31 日，當時的古吉拉特邦總理，也就是現在的總理奠基時，開始動工。

what would've been Patel's 138th birthday.

那天也是帕特爾的 138 歲冥誕。

The hillock on which the statue stands was flattened, from 70 metres to just 55 metres,

雕像座落的山崗被夷為平地，從 70 米降至僅 55 米，

in order that the foundations could be laid.

以便奠定雕像地基。

Of the many thorny engineering problems that had to be overcome,

在許多得克服的棘手工程問題中，

the most striking related to the statue's so-called "slenderness ratio."

最引人關注的問題便是雕像所謂的「細長比」。

What that basically means is that tall structures should ideally be more slender at the top than the bottom.

這基本上意味著，理想情況下，高層建築的頂部應該比底部更加細長。

Seems obvious, right?

這不是理所當然的嗎？

Ram V Sutar's sculpture of Vallabhbhai Patel, however, is clearly narrower at the base.

然而，拉姆·V·蘇塔爾所設計的瓦拉巴伊·帕特爾雕像底部顯然更窄。

Moreover, the statue's thrusting progressive stance meant those dainty sandalled feet are some 6.5 metres apart.

此外，這尊雕像推崇進步的姿態意味著，那雙穿著涼鞋的精緻小腳相距僅 6.5 米。

Engineers decided the best way to solve this problem was to create two separate concrete cores,

工程師們決定，解決此問題最好的方法是建造兩個獨立的混凝土核心，

the same kind of core you'll have seen a hundred times on skyscraper construction sites.

就是摩天大樓工地常見的那種核心。

Between them, these cores incorporate around 210,000 cubic metres of cement and concrete,

在兩者之間，這些核心包含了約 21 萬立方米的水泥及混凝土、

6,500 tonnes of structural steel, and 18,500 tonnes of reinforced steel.

6,500 噸結構鋼和 18,500 噸鋼筋。

Working in Gujarat's hot climate created challenges for the concrete pour team,

古吉拉特邦炎熱的氣候對混凝土澆築團隊來說是項艱難的挑戰，

who needed to use an assortment of chiller systems to keep the all-important coarse aggregate element of the concrete cool enough to set evenly.

他們需要使用各式冷卻器系統維護重要的粗骨料，確保混凝土溫度夠低，能均勻定型。

Lift shafts are concealed within each core for ferrying tourists up to the observation gallery,

每個核心中都隱藏著電梯井，用於將遊客送上觀景臺。

where up to 200 delighted sightseers can gaze out over the Narmada Dam

讓多達 200 名的興奮遊客能眺望沙達·薩羅瓦大水壩。

and hundreds of acres of manicured grounds through strategically concealed rips in Patel's dhoti.

透過帕特爾腰布上隱密的裂口，我們可以眺望數英畝修剪整齊的地面景觀。

Further up the cores are twin 250-tone tuned mass dampers.

在這之上則是雙 250 調諧質量阻尼器。

Why?

為何需要呢？

The area is occasionally prone to earthquakes.

雕像位處偶發地震地帶。

Thanks to those dampers,

有了這些阻尼器，

the structure can withstand quakes up to 6.5 on the Richter scale, to a depth of 10km and a radius of 12km away.

該結構可抵禦芮氏 6.5 級，深度 10 公里，半徑 12 公里的地震。

Cantilevered out from those mighty concrete cores is a steel "space frame",

從這些強大的混凝土核心中延伸出的是鋼製的「空間桁架」，

designed on CAD software.

由電腦輔助設計。

Onto this frame, the bronze-clad panels – transported by sea from China – were bolted on.

桁架上栓著從中國海運來的青銅板。

If you're thinking the panels don't entirely seem to line up, that's actually deliberate.

如果你覺得這些嵌板似乎沒有對齊，這其實是故意設計的。

Why?

為什麼？

The panels are designed to overlap slightly so they can move about in high winds – up to 180km an hour

這些嵌板被設計成略微重疊，可在最高達每小時 180 公里的強風中移動，

and prevent the transmission of stress throughout the structure.

使強風造成的壓力不會直接傳導到結構上。

The skin alone, by the way, weighs over 2,000 tonnes.

順帶一提，此雕像光外層就重達兩千多噸。

And each panel is unique, requiring a clever tagging and numbering system to avoid confusion and delay on site.

且每片嵌板都獨一無二，需要巧妙的標籤和編碼系統來避免混淆和耽誤工程。

The building phase took 33 months, by which point the statue was visible from 7km away.

建造階段耗時 33 個月，此時，從 7 公里外就可以看到這座雕像。

It wasn't just the statue that was built, by the way –

順便一說，他們不僅建了雕像，

the mammoth project, which is 200km away from the nearest major city in a densely-forested rural areal –

此建案之龐大，其距最近的大城市 200 公里遠，位於森林茂密的農村地區，

necessitated the building of a four-lane approach roan a food court, and a 52-room three star hotel.

需建設四線道、美食廣場，以及擁有 52 間房的三星級酒店。

There's also a museum featuring 2,000 photographs, and 40,000 documents.

這裡還有個博物館，收藏了兩千張照片和四萬份相關文件。

Within 11 days of the unveiling – on what would've been Patel's 143rd birthday –

在揭幕後的 11 天內，也就是帕特爾 143 歲生日，

some 128,000 tourists had visited the site, more than the Statue of Liberty managed in the same timeframe.

約有 12 萬 8 千名遊客到訪此景點，超過自由女神像同一時段內的參觀人數。

The total number of visitors currently stands at around 6 million.

目前，參觀訪遊客總數約為六百萬人。

The statue is not without its critics.

但此雕像的建造並非沒有負評。

Many argue it's an overpriced boondoggle, and the money would have been better spent addressing local poverty.

許多人認為，這是個耗資巨大而無意義的工程，這些錢本可以更好地用以解決當地貧困問題。

Over its projected 100 year lifespan, Patel's mammoth likeness will gradually turn green, owing to the composition of its metal.

在此雕像預期的百年壽命中，帕特爾像外表將因金屬成分因素逐漸轉為綠色。

And locals have wasted no time centring festivals around the giant statue,

當地人一刻都沒耽誤，圍繞這座巨型雕像舉辦了節慶活動，

like impressive light shows involving powerful lasers.

如由令人驚豔的雷射燈光秀。

Well, what do you expect from Iron Man?

你對這個「鋼鐵人」有什麼期望嗎？

What do you think?

你有什麼看法？

Is the panelled styling ingenious, or kind of an eyesore?

你認為嵌板是巧妙的設計，還是有點礙眼？

Let us know in the comments, and don't forget to subscribe for more heavy metal tech content.

請在評論區告訴我們，也別忘了訂閱觀看更多重磅內容。