If we built the Great Pyramid today, how much would it cost?
It’s a question that pops up from time to time and it’s one that’s not easy to answer. Even taking the shortcut of utelising today’s technology the cost would still be sky-high.
Architect Jean-Pierre reckons it could probably be built for about 5 billion dollars…from the inside out using the Internal Spiral Ramp theory.
“I am quite sure we could do the same today, and it would be the most economical method,” Houdin told Life’s Little Mysteries.
There would be two main differences between pyramid-building now and then. First, “Instead of people pulling the sleds that carry the stones up the ramps, you would use something with an engine,” he said. Secondly, “for the (topmost) 10 or 15 meters, you would use a small crane.”
Just as cranes are lifted onto the tops of skyscrapers today, a helicopter would apposition a crane onto a flat top of the pyramid. Stones and other construction materials dragged up to that level via the internal ramp would then be set in place by the crane. (It wouldn’t be feasible to build the entire structure with cranes, Houdin said, because they wouldn’t be able to reach far enough to lift materials from the base to the center of the top of the pyramid.)
It just so happens that there are plans to build another pyramid.
The Earth Pyramid project is not quite as large as Khufu’s pyramid but it will still be quite expensive to build.
The outer facing blocks will be made from a range of different types of stone, giving it a patchwork-like appearance. The first course of casing stones that will form the base of the pyramid will consist of 276 blocks with the aim of receiving one stone from each of the world’s nations. The expense of quarrying these stones would be exorbitant and so to keep costs low different methods to create the stones is being considered.
One of these is the Geopolymer method, currently being explored by the team at Louisiana Tech, that will enable the blocks to be poured like cement into molds onsite. It is hoped that the Earth Pyramid’s construction will provide an ideal opportunity to demonstrate the potential of environmentally-friendly technologies for use in future construction projects.
As well as having Jean-Pierre and myself on the team to offer guidance on ancient and modern building methods, world leading architectural design and engineering firm Arup has also recently become involved in the project. Arup is best known for it’s structural design of the Sydney Opera House and also it’s work for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the team will be bringing their expertise in structural engineering, selection of construction materials, environmental & sustainability aspects to the project.
Read more about the Earth Pyramid at the project’s website: http://earthpyramid.org
Sources:
MSNBC
The Earth Pyramid
Arup
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