Architectural secrets of the world's ancient wonders | Brandon Clifford

Translator: Alba Calderón Castro Reviewer: Lara Villar

Do you think the things we build today

Credes que as cousas que construímos hoxe

will be considered wonders in the future?

serán consideradas marabillas no futuro?

Think of Stonehenge,

Pensade en Stonhenge,

the Pyramids,

as pirámides,

Machu Picchu and Easter Island.

Machu Picchu e a Illa de Pascua.

Now, they're all pretty different from what we're doing today,

Son bastante diferentes ó que facemos hoxe en día,

with those massive stones,

con esas pedras enormes,

assembled in complex but seemingly illogical ways,

xuntadas de xeitos complexos pero aparentemente ilóxicos,

and all traces of their construction

e sen rastro ningún da súa construción,

erased,

shrouding them in mystery.

envolvéndoas en misterio.

It seems like people could not have possibly built these things,

Semella que ninguén podería construír estas cousas,

because people didn't.

porque non o fixeron.

They were carefully crafted by a primordial race of giants

Foron coidadosamente creadas por unha raza orixinal de xigantes

known as Cyclops.

coñecida coma Ciclopes.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And I've been collaborating with these monsters

E estiven colaborando con eses monstros

to learn their secrets for moving those massive stones.

para coñecer os segredos sobre como mover esas pedras inmensas.

And as it turns out, Cyclops aren't even that strong.

Resulta que os ciclopes non son tan sequera tan fortes.

They're just really smart about getting material to work for them.

Só pensan moi ben como facer que o material lles funcione.

Now, the videos you see behind me of large, stone-like, wobbly creatures

Os vídeos que vedes detrás de min de grandes criaturas de pedra abaneando

are the results of this collaboration.

son o resultado desta colaboración.

OK, so Cyclops might be a mythical creature,

Vale, pode ser que os ciclopes sexan criaturas mitolóxicas,

but those wonders are still real.

pero estas marabillas seguen sendo reais.

People made them.

Están feitas por persoas.

But they also made the myths that surround them,

Pero tamén fixeron os mitos que as rodean,

and when it comes to wonders, there's this thick connective tissue

e cando se trata das marabillas, hai un groso tecido conectivo

between mythology and reality.

entre mitoloxía e realidade.

Take Easter Island, for example.

Tomade o exemplo da Illa de Pascua.

When the Dutch explorers first encountered the island,

Cando os exploradores holandeses a atoparon por primeira vez,

they asked the people of Rapa Nui

preguntáronlle á xente de Rapa Nui

how their ancestors could have possibly moved those massive statues.

como os ancestros moveran semellantes estatuas.

And the Rapa Nui said,

E os Rapa Nui dixeron,

"Our ancestors didn't move the statues,

"Os nosos ancestros non moveron as estatuas,

because the statues walked themselves."

porque as estatuas camiñaban".

For centuries, this was dismissed, but actually it's true.

Durante séculos, isto foi descartado, pero é verdade.

The statues, known as moai, were transported standing,

As estatuas, coñecidas como moais, transportáronse de pé,

pivoting from side to side.

pivotando de lado a lado.

OK?

De acordo?

As spectacular as the moai are for visitors today,

Por moi espectacular que sexan os moais para os turistas hoxe en día,

you have to imagine being there then,

tedes que imaxinar estar alí entón,

with colossal moai marching around the island.

cos enormes moais camiñando pola illa.

Because the real memorial was not the objects themselves,

Porque a verdadeira homenaxe non eran os obxectos propiamente,

it was the cultural ritual of bringing a stone to life.

era o ritual cultural de darlle vida a unha pedra.

So as an architect, I've been chasing that dream.

Así que coma arquitecto, persigo ese soño.

How can we shift our idea of construction to accommodate that mythical side?

Como podemos transformar a idea da construción para adaptar a parte mítica?

So what I've been doing is challenging myself

O que estiven facendo foi retarme a mín mesmo

with putting on a series of performances

poñendo en marcha unha serie de representacións

of the ancient but pretty straightforward task

da tarefa antiga pero sinxela

of just moving and standing big heavy objects,

de mover e pór de pé grandes obxectos pesados,

like this 16-foot-tall megalith designed to walk across land

coma este megálito de 5 metros de altura deseñado para camiñar

and stand vertically;

e manterse verticalmente;

or this 4,000-pound behemoth that springs itself to life

ou este mastodonte de 2 toneladas que cobra vida

to dance onstage.

para bailar sobre o escenario.

And what I've found is that by thinking of architecture

E o que atopei é que pensando na arquitectura

not as an end product but as a performance

non coma un produto final senón coma unha obra

from conception to completion,

dende a concepción ata a compleción,

we end up rediscovering some really smart ways to build things today.

acabamos redescubrindo xeitos moi astutos de construír cousas hoxe.

You know, so much of the discussion surrounding our future

Sabedes, gran parte da discusión arredor do noso futuro

focuses on technology, efficiency and speed.

céntrase na tecnoloxía, a eficiencia e a velocidade.

But if I've learned anything from Cyclops,

Pero se aprendín algo dos ciclopes,

it's that wonders can be smart, spectacular

é que as marabillas poden ser astutas, espectaculares

and sustainable --

e sostibles

because of their mass and their mystery.

polo seu tamaño e misterio.

And while people still want to know how those ancient wonders were built,

E mentres a xente aínda quere saber como se construíron esas marabillas antigas,

I've been asking Cyclops how to create the mystery

eu pregunteilles ós ciclopes como crear o misterio

that compels people to ask that very question.

que leva á xente a preguntarse esa mesma cuestión.

Because in an era where we design buildings

Porque nunha era en que deseñamos edificios

to last 30, maybe 60 years,

para que duren 30, quizais 60 anos,

I would love to learn how to create something

encantaríame aprender a crear algo

that could entertain for an eternity.

que se pudiese admirar eternamente.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)