Ever wondered how a snake’s glistening skin stays clean and moist even while it slithers through murky holes, slush, slime and dust? Or of the marvelous ways in which a camel keeps the desert sand out of its eyes and nose?

Nature has forever left us mystified with its bizarre ways of providing simple solutions to complex tribulations, a strategy that is a resultant of over 3.8 billion years of R&D. The failures are seen in the form of fossils while what surrounds us today are the survivors, who regenerate against all odds adapting themselves to live in harmony with Nature.

Man is not only inspired by these creatures and organisms in nature, but also started imitating them to create infallible systems and structures based on their special attributes – a phenomenon known as ‘Bio-mimicry’. Even in the construction industry people draw inspiration from the natural world making exciting departures from the rectilinear boxes that have dominated architectural history.

Taking cues from bio-mimicry, L&T, the largest engineering and construction organization in India has built scores of wonderful structures, most of which are landmarks in their own right. L&T takes pleasure in presenting the year 2011 Calendar drawing an analogy between some of these animals and plants with the functional aspects of various buildings, structures and equipment executed by the Company, across the globe.

Inspirations from Nature

Calendar 2011

January 2011

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Marinascape in Dubai – a hi-rise office, commercial and residential project

The weaver birds are rightly named for the highly complex nests they build. Using elementary material such as leaf-fibers, grass and twigs, these marvelous little birds build amazingly beautiful nests which become a crucial part of their courtship process. The social weaver of Africa, however, is reputed for its ‘apartment-house’ nest. About 100 to 300 pairs of birds live in separate flask-shaped chambers which are entered by tubes located at the bottom of the nest. These nests can measure upto 10 feet in height and 15 feet in width completed with a roof of straw thatch!

It is obvious that a Master Weaver has taught the weaver bird its building skills, we at L&T have designed and built several residential townships and apartments across India and the GCC countries facilitating people to enjoy high-class luxurious living.

Weaver Bird

February 2011

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Dam spanning river Kurket

Beaver, the prolific builder is acknowledged for its construction skills and celebrated as one of the few animals capable of re-engineering landscapes. It is common knowledge that they build their homes known as ‘lodges’ only in pools. What is amazing is that they create these pools by building dams across streams. The beavers fell trees and move material several times their-own weight. It takes the beaver only 20 minutes to cut down a tree 6 inches in diameter. The beavers dig up canals to haul logs which would otherwise be impossible to transport by land. The beavers are capable of building dams complete with spillways and passageways overnight!

It is obvious that a Master Engineer has given the beaver its dam building acumen, we at L&T undertake turnkey construction of dams covering all civil and electro-mechanical works.

Beaver

March 2011

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Termites are excellent masons who build their mounds with intricately designed spires and a main central shaft. The mound uses a complicated system of ventilation shafts to control the temperature within and the tallest spire can rise to almost 40 feet. The actual home of the termites is the holes that are below the ground level. The termites build the mounds only as an environment conditioning system to keep the lighting, temperature, air quality and humidity constant. This environmental conditioning is necessary because the termites ‘farm’ a kind of fungus for its food that grows only in these conditions!

It is obvious that a Master Engineer has given the termites their masonry skills, we at L&T offer design and consultancy services including seismic qualification for pump house, cooling towers, head-end facility including the ventilation stacks and reactor/turbine buildings for Nuclear Power Plants.

Termite Mounds

Unit 3&4 of Tarapur Atomic Power project

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Spider WebThe spider silk or gossamer is just one tenth the diameter of human hair but is ten times superior to high-grade steel in tensile strength. It is very light, yet highly ductile with an ability to stretch 140 % of its strength without ever breaking!

It is obvious that a Master Chemist designed the material property of a spider web, we at L&T design and build bridges of all types and span ranges using ingenious cutting-edge construction techniques that include cable stay. We even build large span auditoriums, sports stadiums, hotels and hospital buildings with central domes and atriums akin to these spider webs.

425m Wadi-Abdoun cable-stayed bridge at Amman, Jordan

May 2011

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DragonflyA pair of eyes on the dragonfly consists of nearly 60,000 lenses. What is more spectacular is that the brain of a dragon fly processes thousands of images from each lens to provide a 360 degree view of the world.

Another amazing fact is that the dragonfly can detect movements separated by 1/300th of a second. This means that to a dragonfly, a movie might look like a series of still pictures. Flight is a major asset apart from sight. A dragonfly can fly in any direction and even hover at the same position!

It is obvious that a Master Aviator has given the dragon fly its spectacular sight and aviation skills, we at L&T are driving the airport revolution in India, building virtually every major new international airport in the country. L&T offers engineering, procurement and construction services for modern airport terminal complexes from bold concept to breathtaking reality.

Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi, International Airport New Delhi.

June 2011

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LeavesTrees are perhaps the primary reason of life support on earth. The tree in-turn is wholly dependent on its leaves - the production center that can manufacture its own food using energy from the Sun through a process known as photosynthesis. The amount of energy trapped by photosynthesis is immense. It is approximately 100 terawatts per year which is seven times the global power consumption!

It is obvious that a Master Engineer has commissioned leaves as the power houses of the world, we at L&T offer EPC Solutions for producing green solar power covering all key elements in solar value chain. With booming opportunity in the renewable energy sector, L&T is gearing up to meet the emerging challenges.

Solar photovoltaic power system installed on the roof-tops of various buildings at L&T Campus, Chennai

July 2011

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Badgers are known as the fastest digging animals in the world. Badgers live together in large extensive system of underground tunnels called “setts”. They can dig through even asphalt paved areas and can disappear below the surface within minutes. They dig with their long claws and powerful legs to burrow themselves beneath the ground. The badgers are capable of digging faster than a man would be able to dig if he were using a shovel!

It is obvious that a Master Engineer has taught the badger how to dig so fast, we at L&T have made vital contributions to the development of transportation infrastructure, particularly in the area of rail and road tunnels including construction of underground metro rail corridors. L&T also constructs large underground caverns for storage of LPG including power house and transformer caverns for hydro power projects.

Badger

Underground tunnel for the Metro Rail Transit System for Delhi Metro

August 2011

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A section of the concrete paved six-lane Mumbai-Pune expressway

The Peregrine falcon is the world’s fastest bird. It can spot a pigeon from a distance of more than 5 miles under ideal conditions. They can hunt mid-flight and in a dive towards their prey, they can reach speeds of upto 320 kmph. These birds are also distinguished for their migratory skills for travelling over 25,000 kilometers in a year!

It is obvious that a Master Engineer has given these falcons their outstanding migratory skills, we at L&T create high quality road infrastructure for transportation to enable travelling at speeds of 90-110 kmph. We construct roads, highways and expressways conforming to international standards and our expertise also include construction of race tracks and test tracks for high-speed motor sports.

Peregrine falcon

September 2011

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The Quacking Aspen at Utah, U.S.A, also known as the Pando, is 80,000 years old and is considered a single tree because its trunks, known as branches, sprout from the same complex root system. The Pando covers 105 acres, contains more than 47,000 stems and weighs over 6 million kilograms. The roots near damper areas ferry water to the branches that are miles away and bring back nutrients that may be available in the drier areas. This is the secret of the Pando’s survival by defying other species of trees and even forest fires!

It is obvious that a Master Engineer has given these aspen their water handling capability, we at L&T lay pipelines for critical water transmission and distribution projects in India and abroad for various metros, urban, municipal and rural customers apart from leak detection and rectification works. Our capability spectrum includes laying of complex cross-country pipelines for the oil & gas industry too.

Pando

Bisalpur - Jaipur water supply pipeline - part of India’s largest integrated water supply project in Rajasthan

October 2011

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Rhino beetles are among the largest of beetles and are amazingly strong. They are rated as the world’s most strongest creature for their capability of lifting 850 times their own weight. This means if an average human being had the strength of the rhinoceros beetle, he would be able to lift a 65 ton object!

It is obvious that a Master Engineer has given these beetles their material handling capabilities, we at L&T design, manufacture and supply a wide range of material handling equipment that covers wagon loading systems, stockyard equipment, port handling equipment and conveyor systems.

Rhino Beetle

700 litre bucket-wheel excavator manufactured and supplied for the Mines II Expansion Project of Neyveli Lignite Corporation

November 2011

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Dolphins are extremely intelligent mammals that are capable of communicating with each other in a language of their own using sonar and special chemical-sensing organs. They are almost constantly making sounds of one of two kinds, either communicative or navigational. For navigation and echolocation they produce a click like sound and squeals at different pitches for communicating with one another. These communication signals are capable of travelling across many miles in the ocean!

It is obvious that a Master Engineer has taught dolphins to transmit signals, we at L&T have executed stringing of Optic Fibre Ground Wires over live transmission lines using sophisticated technique under tough conditions in different parts of the country. As a part of building railway infrastructure, we also undertake railway signaling and telecommunication systems for all types of railway constructions.

Dolphins

A typical extra high-voltage transmission line tower which carries optic communication cables

December 2011

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The honeybee is considered as the most evolved of all fauna since the time it split from the bumble bee 60 million years ago. Perhaps, this evolution has given the honey bees a highly complex social behaviour. The worker bees typically perform nursing for the first week, later involve themselves in maintenance duties such as wax secretion, guarding, undertaking, nectar processing, etc. When they are middle-aged they switch to foraging and finally retire doing colony defense duty. Man has emulated many management principles such as job rotation, division of labour and multi-tasking from these fascinating hard workers!

It is obvious that a Master Manager has given the bees their project planning, execution and management capabilities. We at L&T have the best of minds working constantly on major EPC projects involving comprehensive engineering services. They carry out engineering, procurement, manufacture, supply, construction and commissioning of projects well within the stipulated time schedules, as is the culture at L&T.

Honeybee

Vizag Steel Plant where L&T carried out engineering, procurement, manufacture, supply, construction and commissioning.