We barely give a thought to concrete, but it’s absolutely everywhere. One of the biggest users of concrete is China, who have used more concrete in the last decade than the United States has in a century! That implies a humungous amount of urbanisation. Here are some of the biggest concrete structures in the world right now:
Three Gorges Dam, China
The number one spot goes to the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in central Hubei province. It is the biggest structure made from concrete currently on earth at 607 feet high and 7,575 feet long. It took 12 years to construct between 1994 and 2006. The hydroelectric power station holds 32 turbines generating 22,500 MW – the most in the world. Sluice gates were closed in 2003 so the gorges could be flooded. The reservoir now holds the same amount of water as Lake Superior and runs for 410 miles. To construct the colossal dam, 1.3 million people had to be relocated from the area. The hydroelectric station went live in 2012. It contains a whopping 144,309,356,753.51 lbs of concrete.
Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Not in the same league as the Three Gorges Dam but still a respectable weight of 848,878,569.099 lbs of concrete. At one time, the Petronas Towers were the highest buildings in the world and among the heaviest with foundations made of concrete that stretched down 120 meters under the ground.
Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE
This is officially the tallest building on earth and is constructed from 238,747,095.768 lbs of concrete. pounds of concrete
King Fahd Causeway, Saudi Arabia & Bahrain
This causeway runs between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in a 17-mile-long concrete stretch of road that used 1,856,921,867.98 lbs of concrete
Grande Dixence Dam, Switzerland
Whilst not the biggest, this dam in Switzerland is the tallest and took 31,832,946,341.227 lbs of concrete to construct.
Grand Coulee Dam, Washington State
This dam is located on the Columbia River in Washington State, United States. It is the largest concrete structure in America with a whopping 47,749,419,512.94 lbs of concrete used in its construction.
Wilshire Grand, Los Angeles
A very glitzy Los Angeles skyscraper that will be the highest on the West Coast. A lot of concrete is involved with 82,000,000 lbs needing to be mixed. When you need your own concrete mixing, consider Concrete Pumping from http://www.monstermixconcrete.co.uk/concrete-services.php
The Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas
Another American beast of a building, this hotel is the biggest 5 diamond rated resort on the planet constructed from an impressive 85,183,118 lbsof concrete.
Pantheon Dome, Rome
Not all large concrete structures are modern. The dome of the ancient Roman Pantheon building contains 9,997,964 lbs of concrete and was once of the first Roman concrete structures to be built.
This classic was one of the earliest Roman concrete buildings.
The Pentagon, Washington DC
The United States Department of Defence building had to be designed with a lot concrete to supply it with super-strong fortified walls. The iconic building was made using 1,764,507,448.36 lbs of concrete.