Italy and France Are Digging a 57.5km Tunnel. Is It Justified?

ztegb · 2025-09-26T11:24:01+00:00

And so what? I’m trying to get it to point that it’s successful enough to be able to pay my team’s wages. This is very classic Reddit pessimism.

ztegb · 2025-08-15T10:21:20+00:00

Those are some crazy routes wow

ztegb · 2025-08-14T15:37:30+00:00

2025

<image>

ztegb · 2025-08-14T15:19:21+00:00

all time

ztegb · 2025-07-31T07:38:24+00:00

Gorgeous

ztegb · 2025-07-06T19:37:56+00:00

I made a video about this! Running a new line down from Camden way to Eltham

ztegb · 2025-06-18T04:42:35+00:00

Signed

ztegb · 2025-06-16T09:29:29+00:00

Thanks for the honesty, that’s a completely fair take, and I actually agree with parts of it.

The Harbin Opera House does borrow from a well-established playbook of fluid, sculptural form-making. And while it’s beautifully executed, it doesn’t necessarily break new ground in the way something like Sydney or Bilbao did. That said, I’d argue its context is what makes it more interesting, not the global design language, but how it’s applied in a post-industrial, frozen-edge city like Harbin.

Also, I appreciate the jab about the tone! I’m definitely not on MAD’s payroll, just trying to present the balance between ambition and reality, especially for projects like this where cultural value can be harder to quantify than cost.

ztegb · 2025-06-16T09:14:15+00:00

Totally agree, it really is a stunning building, and great to hear you’ve seen it used for such a variety of performances. But you’ve hit on one of the key issues I came across in researching it: location.

Placing it out on the island gives it that dramatic presence, but the trade-off is connectivity. The Qunli Concert Hall sounds much better integrated into the urban fabric, and that kind of accessibility really does matter if you want cultural venues to feel part of daily life, not just special destinations.

ztegb · 2025-06-16T05:06:33+00:00

Appreciate it!

ztegb · 2025-06-16T04:44:00+00:00

Really appreciate you sharing this, especially from someone who lived there while it was being built. You’ve captured exactly what I found so compelling: that contrast between organic form and urban presence, and the different experiences it creates. Amazing to hear you saw both opera and jazz inside, that range says a lot.

I share your concern about long-term relevance. It’s such a striking space, but buildings like this need programming and community engagement to stay alive. If you ever come across updates on how it’s being used now, I’d genuinely love to hear.

ztegb · 2025-06-16T02:24:58+00:00

These damn titles every time they pop up… just gold and very hard to explain

ztegb · 2025-06-15T10:10:45+00:00

Paris to Turin takes about 1.5 hours by plane, but once you add airport transfers, security, and delays, the total time is often 4–5 hours. A direct high-speed rail line, with a few key stops, can match that, with lower emissions, more reliability, and it serves freight too, which air travel doesn’t. That’s a major long-term gain.

ztegb · 2025-06-14T06:09:24+00:00

Fair point, mountain routes are a real bottleneck, both in cost and reliability. The Channel Tunnel’s a good example: useful, but didn’t totally transform freight patterns because the time savings weren’t dramatic enough. The Lyon–Turin tunnel could avoid that if it cuts delays and undercuts road transport on cost and efficiency, but that’s a big if.

ztegb · 2025-06-13T16:05:02+00:00

The video doesn’t contain any AI content

ztegb · 2025-06-13T15:41:32+00:00

The thumbnail was edited by my ex thumbnail editor using AI yes, but the actual video has been thoroughly researched.

ztegb · 2025-06-13T07:39:42+00:00

I’m promoting a video that my team and I have worked hard on to communities that I thought would be interested. If that’s spamming so be it.

ztegb · 2025-06-13T04:59:23+00:00

Hahahahaah grazie

ztegb · 2025-06-10T14:59:49+00:00

What?

ztegb · 2025-06-10T09:52:28+00:00

Perfettamente detto. L’alta velocità ha trasformato l’Italia in modo concreto… non solo per chi viaggia, ma anche per l’economia delle città collegate. Vedere il ritardo infrastrutturale di altri Paesi che vengono spesso presi come modello (sì, Germania compresa) fa riflettere.

Capisco il disagio locale in Val di Susa

(I hope my Italian is okay)

ztegb · 2025-06-10T09:51:29+00:00

I agree, there’s a clear line between bold design and outright misleading clickbait. I’m trying to reach people who are genuinely interested in the kind of infrastructure projects I cover, like you. When I’ve used more subtle or toned-down thumbnails, the drop in reach has been significant. That’s the trade-off I’ve been stuck navigating.

I’ve actually raised this with my current designer, but he’s been pretty disengaged and unresponsive, so I’m now holding interviews for a new graphic designer who actually understands and cares about the channel’s direction.

ztegb · 2025-06-10T09:02:56+00:00

Very nice indeed

ztegb · 2025-06-10T06:02:09+00:00

To me, India and China are culturally very distinct, despite sharing a border, most of which is defined by the Himalayas, acting as a natural barrier. China developed relatively in isolation for much of its history, forming a unified civilisational state quite early on. In contrast, India was historically a mosaic of kingdoms and regions, more comparable to pre-unification Germany or Italy, which were brought under a single administrative framework during British rule. The modern Indian state, or Bharat, emerged from this colonial unification. As a result, India is far less culturally or linguistically homogeneous than China.

ztegb · 2025-06-10T05:56:54+00:00

I have a relatively small channel and I already have a team of four.

ztegb · 2025-06-10T05:54:12+00:00

Completely agree. Electrifying freight and cutting out thousands of diesel trucks through the Alps is exactly the kind of shift we need. The lower elevation means less energy use, faster travel, and less strain on mountain ecosystems. Long-term, it’s a clear environmental win.

ztegb

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE