Amazing Architecture

[red]

I'm not religious, but I absolutely love old churches.  This stands as my favourite building I've ever been inside:

[dragonboy]

And the Swiss Re building in the City of London is cool.  It's known as the Gherkin:

I love the Gherkin!

The Petronas Towers in KL are a sight to behold, especially as the sun goes down & the lights go up.

[dragonboy]

Some of the most beautiful architecture I've ever seen was in Budapest. Amazing city!

[pawpaw]

Great posts!!! Now I'm going to get into it...

As far as houses go, I LOVE the Arts & Crafts stuff from the early 20th century. Greene & Greene were brilliant deigners and builders from this era; this is a house of theirs, the Gamble House in Pasadena:







The detail and craftsmanship in their work is so amazing. Custom furniture, cabinetry, millwork, masonry, it's perfect. And I remember another thread about fonts; I'm not sure of the exact name or names, but some of the fonts that came out of the Arts & Crafts movement are tops.

[ManNamedTruth]

Cathedral Of Learning, Pittsburgh, PA:

PPG Place, Pittsburgh, PA

[Jenny]

I love this building in Boston. I'm sure someone could tell me more about it:

that's City Hall in Boston (Government Center). I lived up there a bit, and it seems it's quite a controversial piece of architecture. Read more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_City_Hall

i live walking distance from here and to be honest i never really paid any mind to it, despite the width of it...
werd.

[The DARK]

I think I have a new favorite thread.

Is that Chicago thing for real?  Holy crap.

Yup. Have a look:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Spire

That's nothing though. This beast, expected to be completed late this year, will be by far the tallest building ever built:

[pawpaw]

I love when old buildings get a second life.

that's what we do in my job!  we help companies restore historic theatres. :)

I'm thinking of volunteering for a Toronto heritage job in the near future. I admire what you do EC, besides the singing and songwriting.

I was excited about the ROM's Crystal, but the reality is that I'm less than enthused about the finished product because of the aluminum siding that domintes the glass.

I love to see historic buildings restored, though it's often done with mixed results. And there is NO type of building that invites whimsy and imagination into design quite like a theatre. The whole point of the building's funtion is to escape reality!

Here's an old theatre in downtown Oakland (called the Fox Theatre) that's been sitting empty for years. Can't wait till it's restored!

[Jaimoe]

I think I have a new favorite thread.

Is that Chicago thing for real?  Holy crap.

Yup. Have a look:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Spire

That's nothing though. This beast, expected to be completed late this year, will be by far the tallest building ever built:

You probably mean it will be the tallest skyskraper ever built.


Until this year, the CN Tower was the largest building in the world, standing at 1815.39 feet:

[pawpaw]

Gaudi and Barcelona are magical.

[The DARK]

I think I have a new favorite thread.

Is that Chicago thing for real?  Holy crap.

Yup. Have a look:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Spire

That's nothing though. This beast, expected to be completed late this year, will be by far the tallest building ever built:

You probably mean it will be the tallest skyskraper ever built.


Until this year, the CN Tower was the largest building in the world, standing at 1815.39 feet:

No, tallest structure. According to the article, it will be the tallest man-made structure ever built.

[ali]

hey peoples, only here briefly... having the crappest of crap days but i had to say... just cried at work, which is not like me. :(

love this thread... welcome to my world!!! (now registered architect)

i'll have some time soon to put up some of my favourite buildings... hopefully

dorothy - those stairs are called castle stairs - they are left-over from medieval times, so knights in armour could climb up to the battlements (too hard & takes too long to try and manage normal stairs carrying all that iron around...) - one step per foot. i tried some in a former castle in verona 2 years ago, they feel weird but oddly easy to use!

enjoy the geekness!

[Dorothy_Mantooth]

of course let's not forget the tennis court on top of the Burj Al Arab



If your ball goes out of bounds, you're screwed.

[Dorothy_Mantooth]

I lived up there a bit, and it seems it's quite a controversial piece of architecture.

Any City Hall that is not made within the realm of American traditionalism usually is controversial. Even our City Hall in Austin caused a lot of controversy, especially because of this horizontal spire that everyone now refers to as the "armadillo tail." Good thing we don't have the weather to make icicles like Canada... that would be a death trap.

[Dorothy_Mantooth]

multiple post town.

there's also this lady who lives in the Southwest and tiles these guest houses on her land.



she's pretty much bat shit crazy but i loved every minute of it.

[TheBigChicken]

multiple post town.

there's also this lady who lives in the Southwest and tiles these guest houses on her land.



she's pretty much bat shit crazy but i loved every minute of it.

I LOVE BAT SHIT CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pawpaw]

I love this building in Boston. I'm sure someone could tell me more about it:

that's City Hall in Boston (Government Center). I lived up there a bit, and it seems it's quite a controversial piece of architecture. Read more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_City_Hall

There are ALWAYS going to be people who complain...you can't please everyone. Here's a building that just opened last year in San Francisco. It's a Federal Gov't (GSA) building, LOTS of different opinions on this one. It's technically quite savvy though, and a very efficient, sustainable design. I got to tour it before it was opened (that there was a building geek gushing):

[red]

I forgot how much I love this one too:

[pawpaw]

I lived up there a bit, and it seems it's quite a controversial piece of architecture.

Any City Hall that is not made within the realm of American traditionalism usually is controversial. Even our City Hall in Austin caused a lot of controversy, especially because of this horizontal spire that everyone now refers to as the "armadillo tail." Good thing we don't have the weather to make icicles like Canada... that would be a death trap.

Here's a building in Boston, on the MIT campus that Frank Gehry did. Gehry is probably the most acclaimed modern architect, known for the Guggenheim Bilbao, and the Disney Concert Hall in LA, but he also has this one in his portfolio. MIT filed a lawsuit against Gehry (and the General Contractor), claiming that his design caused leaks to spring, masonry to crack, mold to grow, drainage to back up, and falling ice and debris to block emergency exits. It's still pretty cool looking though.

[mjkoehler]

Sorry, couldn't resist