Leseprobe zu »Auf der Suche nach Atlantis«

The reed told her not to worry: “The wind bends me, but it doesn’t break me:
rather, how far will you be able to resist?”
Then wind started, as strong as never before, and bent the reed to the ground.
When the gusts subsided, the barrel returned straight as before; the oak, on the
other hand, had been broken and lay on the ground, its roots in the wind. A bit
like what happened with the airport.
Now do you understand why the theme of the lightness of building is not just
a question of form? Everything stems from the need to survive cataclysms.
Earthquakes have two movements: jolting and undulatory. If the building is
heavy, once it starts to move, it becomes difficult to keep it still. Weight is
important because the telluric force imparted by an earthquake is enormous,
the lighter the building, the less force is needed to stop it. Lightness and
flexibility are essential because they allow the construction not to break,
absorbing the impact.
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