The Civil Engineering Wonders of the World are seven modern engineering marvels chosen by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as a tribute to the greatest civil engineering achievements of the 20th century.
ASCE chose the seven engineering wonders to echo the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the monuments that first showed humanity's fascination with structures that seemed to defy the limits of nature.
The seven Civil Engineering Wonders show modern society's ability to "achieve unachievable feats, reach unreachable heights, and scorn the notion 'it can't be done'," according to ASCE. Each infrastructure project on ASCE's list is a working structure of unprecedented scale.
Charles A. Parthum, ASCE's president in 1996, called the seven wonders "functional, operational masterpieces that have revolutionized civil engineering and benefited humanity."
The seven wonders on ASCE's list are the following.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) chose the Civil Engineering Wonders of the World in 1994. ASCE was founded in 1852 and is the oldest national civil engineering society in the United States, with more than 160,000 members in 177 countries.
ASCE selected the seven wonders from projects nominated by civil engineering societies and engineering experts worldwide.
ASCE judged each nominated project for the Civil Engineering Wonders on the following qualities.
Every Civil Engineering Wonder had to be complete and fully working, so several of the largest projects of the 1990s did not qualify. ASCE named the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge and Kansai International Airport in Japan, and the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, as possible wonders of the 21st century.
America's Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders are seven US engineering projects chosen by ASCE in 1952, for the society's 100th anniversary. The seven wonders on America's list are:
The Empire State Building and the Panama Canal are the only wonders on both America's list and the Civil Engineering Wonders of the World.
No, the Civil Engineering Wonders and the New Seven Wonders of the World are two different lists.
ASCE named its list the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, but 7wonders.org calls it the Civil Engineering Wonders, because the New Seven Wonders are also often called the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
The New Seven Wonders of the World were chosen by a public vote in 2007, and include the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, and the Colosseum. No wonders appear on both the Civil Engineering Wonders list and the New Seven Wonders list.