Demolition: The Art of Demolishing, Dismantling, Imploding, Toppling and Razing
5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - FIRE  The rumble builds to a deafening crash as the 32-story skyscraper plunges to the earth in a single, breathtaking, earth-shattering collapse. DEMOLITION: THE ART OF DEMOLISHING, DISMANTLING, IMPLODING, TOPPLING & RAZING takes you behind the scenes of one of the world's most awe-inspiring trades: large-scale controlled demolition. Hundreds of huge, full-color photographs-alongside stories, structure specifications and descriptions-capture every detail as buildings from around the world are reduced to rubble. A hotel in Atlantic City, a tower in France, a factory in Pittsburgh, a casino in Vegas-each project is captured in second-by-second photographs that follow structures that are aging, damaged, or simply in the way of progress, as they take their final, devastating plunge to the ground.Perhaps the only thing that captivates man more than assembling towering constructs is watching them come tumbling down-witness any child with a pile of building blocks. DEMOLITION speaks to this timeless fascination with amazing views of dozens of demolition projects. It explores the most modern technique-implosion-for taking down structures that have outlived their usefulness, but also examines the history of demolition, from Ancient Egypt to Ebbets Field, and the fundamental methods upon which the industry has been built.The Loizeaux Family of Controlled Demolition, Inc., has pioneered the process of implosion whereby explosive charges are placed at strategic positions within a building's frame, weakening the structure and allowing it to fall in on itself. Elaborate planning and engineering precision are required to bring down these massive structures without disturbing the surrounding buildings, and with thousands of tons of concrete and steel crashing down in seconds, safety is always a primary concern.In DEMOLITION, Helene Liss-with the help of the Liozeaux family-shares insider stories from colossal demolition projects like the Seattle Kingdome, and describes the techniques that Controlled Demolition, Inc., uses to implode buildings around the world. It also takes us to Hollywood and the sets of movies like Enemy of the State and Mars Attacks!, where demolition contractors consult with special effects coordinators to produce amazing implosions laced with spectacular pyrotechnics.Implosion combines the raw power of explosives and the complex precision of engineering. Through dazzling photography and description, DEMOLITION reveals this fascination and little known world-a world of constructive destruction.