There are 2 other images of this object. See our image rights statement.
Object Timeline
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Model, Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) Shield Tunneling Machine ("Big Bertha")
This is a Model. It was designed by Hitachi Zosen Corporation.
This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from Hitachi Zosen Corporation as part of Tools: Extending Our Reach.
"Big Bertha," the world’s widest diameter tunnel-boring machine, began digging a double-decker tunnel under Seattle, Washington, for the city’s new Highway 99 tunnel project in summer 2013. Measuring 17.5 m (57.5 ft.) across, Bertha’s spinning head shreds and scraps earth, designed to excavate an average of 10.7 m (35 ft.) per day, while the debris is simultaneously removed on a conveyor belt. More efficient than drilling and blasting, tunnel-boring machines also limit their effect to the surrounding ground and produce a smooth tunnel wall of cement plates, thus reducing the cost of lining the passage. Operations hit a snag in December 2013 when Bertha hit a metal pipe, suspending operations as workers tried to free the machine from the jam. "Big Bertha," named for the Seattle’s—and the nation’s—first female mayor, Bertha Knight Landes, is expected to resume operations in March 2015.
It is credited Courtesy of Hitachi Zosen Corporation.
- Marmon Sixteen Automobile Model Automobile Model
- lacquered wood, chrome-plated metal, rubber.
- Gift of Walter Dorwin Teague, Jr..
- 1977-71-1
- Photograph, Spiral Staircase
- photograph.
- Courtesy of Smithsonian Libraries.
- 32.2019.1
- Model Of A Walled Entrance With Gate (Italy)
- carved and painted pine, wrought iron gate and window grill.
- Gift of Mrs. James O. Green and Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt.
- 1921-17-16-a/d
Our curators have highlighted 2 objects that are related to this one.
- Carlyle Hotel Birdhouse Model
- gouache-painted wood.
- Gift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw.
- 2013-3-7
- Staircase Model (France)
- mahogany, ebony, pear (wood) or sycamore, oak; biscuit porcelain.
- Gift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw.
- 2007-45-12
Its dimensions are
H x W x D: 133 x 306 x 71 cm (52 3/8 x 120 1/2 x 27 15/16 in.)
Big and Bigger: Designing for Scale
Join Cooper Hewitt curator Matilda McQuaid as she moderates a panel discussion about the role tools play in large-scale projects. Panelists including Paul Ceruzzi of the National Air & Space...
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Tools: Extending Our Reach.
