For the past ten years, a Hindu community
in Kauai, Hawaii, has been
planning the construction of a traditional
stone temple. According to
accounts in Hinduism Today, Satguru
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, the spiritual
leader of the community, told the architect
that he needed a concrete foundation
designed to last at least 1,000 years.
Deva Rajan, owner of Canyon
Construction in Moraga, Calif., was one
of the builders consulted. "When we
asked, 'How do you create concrete structures
to last 1,000 years?' No one had a
ready answer," said Rajan. "In the construction
industry, we are never asked to
perform work for this kind of longevity."
It turns out that most steel-reinforced
concrete structures eventually break
apart when the rebar begins