There's something deep-ly appealing about a construction site. At one time or another, most of us have lingered to watch a crane hoist a heavy beam or stare into a massive excavation pit. But for MIT professor of civil and environmental engineering Sarah Slaughter, construction's bewitching power has less to do with big equipment than with the chaotic order of complex, collaborative activities. Add to the visible interplay of people and machines the unseen political, economic and artistic forces in play at a building site, and you can start to appreciate Slaughter's career-consuming fascination with construction.

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