Underground by David Macaulay

First published: 1976

Subjects: Jobs and work and science

Type of work: Science

Recommended Ages: 13-18

Form and Content

In Underground, by David Macaulay, the puzzle of what lies beneath cities is unraveled in clear pen-and-ink sketches that stand out against the brown earth and white background. In the text, each aspect of the underground and its construction is explored in concise, direct statements that explain various parts of the world beneath city streets.

Accurate, step-by-step explanations help readers understand the unseen structures and systems. The network of walls, columns, cables, pipes, and tunnels serves many purposes: Walls and columns support buildings, bridges, and towers, while cables, pipes, and tunnels carry water, electricity, and gas. Larger tunnels transport people on subways. Macaulay examines the maze beneath the streets by exposing a typical section of the network. He has invented a site at the intersection of two streets that serves as a prototype of any underground in an urban setting and portrays various kinds of foundation construction that support both large and smaller buildings.

The foundations considered depend on the composition of the earth’s surface, which may include sand, clay, rock, water, and, at the very bottom, bedrock. Horizontal and vertical diagrams indicate the site plan and soil profile. Various methods are used to determine the exact composition of the site: for example, digging a hole, using a sounding rod, or employing a variety of methods to analyze samples of soil. Bedrock, although the best material, may be too far beneath the surface. In that case, foundations must be constructed. Macaulay shows and explains various foundations, such as spread foundation for smaller buildings, which means a concrete slab with footings. Precisely how this is done is shown in a double-page, four-panel illustration, with the text interpreting lagging, reinforcing rods, and steel ties. Macaulay’s technique of guiding the reader from the parts to the whole is well demonstrated in the section in which he follows the step-by-step diagram with a full-page view from the perspective of a viewer far underground looking skyward with the busy traffic of the street suspended overhead, creating a view similar to looking through a glass-bottomed street.

Larger buildings use adaptations or combinations for four types of foundations: floating foundations, friction piles, bearing piles, and piers. Each of these types is demonstrated with diagrams and text, enabling the reader to compare and contrast the four methods. Excavation methods prior to the foundation are explained. The reader senses the seriousness of this task through illustrations that help explain the support needed. By showing life above the ground such as a pianist on the third floor of the building, the reasons are made absolutely clear.

Words such as “slurry” are explained in the text; this is helpful since not all words appear in the glossary. Guiding readers through complex vocabulary and a multiplicity of concepts is Macaulay’s strength. As the intricate web of underground parts is unraveled, a periodic look at the whole reminds the reader of where the parts fit. These views often are inhabited by people (such as a boy and his dog), revealing the humanness of the environment. This is masterfully delineated lest the reader/observer get buried in the plethora of particulars.

Once the foundations are laid, Underground moves to the next level, portraying the structures necessary for utilities such as water, sewage removal and drainage, electricity, steam, gas, and telephone communication. Most cities have grown gradually and randomly, so that a crowded intertwined underground system is more often the case. In Underground, an ideal system is shown so that water, sewer, storm drain, electrical, steam distribution, gas distribution, telephone systems, and subway systems can be explained clearly. The complex technology beneath cities has been rendered significant, fascinating, and amazing in only 112 pages.

Critical Context

In classrooms where research in social studies, science, and technology is conducted, Underground provides knowledge, pleasure, and an ideal model for investigation. Previous works by David Macaulay introduced architectural monuments of civilization, enabling understanding and appreciation of the constructed environment. The three award-winning books Cathedral (1973), Castle (1978), and Pyramid (1975) represent a trilogy in the canon of books for young adults and for a general audience.

His previous book concerning a city represented an earlier time and a community above ground, City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction (1974). This work was included in the Children’s Book Showcase in 1975. The combination of text, illustrations, and format that the award recognized is a hallmark of Macaulay’s work. This excellence is also evident in Underground, in which black-and-white drawings convey the excitement of a city and diagrams explain the most intricate details of engineering feats. A third color, brown, is introduced in Underground, adding contrast. The density of text is greater than in some of Macaulay’s earlier books, but the information presented is no less clear and is in keeping with the subject. Thus, the most complicated concepts can be easily understood, and the whole is unified, from the introduction to the satisfying conclusion.

David Macaulay is an artist, illustrator, author, researcher, and teacher whose books teach and inform. They are picture books, but, as Macaulay has said, “Information told more through pictures than words does not necessarily have an age limit for appreciation. Picture books can be universal in their appeal and efficiency.” Underground is such a book.