Interesting Architectural Structures

The temple Borobudur in Java, Indonesia is a colossal stupa built on a small hill in the Kedu valley.Its form and site are symbolic references to Mount Meru, which in Indian mythology represents the center of the Universe.

Wonders of the World
Edited by Alessandra Capodiferro

A symbol of the vast size of China, the Great Wall crosses almost two thirds of the country from east to west, covering a distance of 4,160 miles.

Wonders of the World
Edited by Alessandra Capodiferro

This is incredibly interesting dear Inda!

I have been lately reading "Lindesfarne Letter" eometry and Architecture. I know your Estonians build many spires reaching so high... Maybe the reason is in the following quote:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Sacred in Architecture has common ground with health and cosmology, since the inner essence of correct and appropriate form in Architecture is based on a resonance of harmony and health. Total healthiness comes from wholeness, which is holiness. This resonance enables a consonance to sound from microcosm through mesocosm to macrocosm, and is the root and secret to finding unity and the unified experience.

The material world is subject most dramatically and universally to the laws of gravity - in human experience that which "pulls down" to earth. The realm of life, however, is dominated by levity, a word meaning "up-lift" that has significantly fallen out of use in the English language since the Industrial Revolution. If the material world is essentially about "pulling down" (entropy?), then the human world, particularly as understood in the inspiring philosophy and ideals of a sacred tradition, is essentially about "lifting up." As all life draws up to the light, so is the human psyche attracted to the elevating principles which act as constant regenerators to the forms and beings of our world.

Architecture, as sacred expression, is concerned with the power of levity in the physical, emotional, intellectual, inspirational and ontological realms, always dedicated to raising experience to a more inclusive and comprehensive unity and integrity. Therefore, it is not without relevance that the vertical dimension is so often the dominant one in so much of sacred architecture.

There are architectural principles that transcend different cultural expressions. These are based on elemental and primordial factors and demonstrate how structure on the physical level is integral with structure on the metaphysical level. They are analogous to the universal anatomical and physiological laws, transcending culture or race, that rule our human bodies: the blood groups, for instance, are a most insistent symbol of human unity on a physical level despite all the differences of skull shape, skin color or hair texture. We must not lose sight, however, of the fact that the Anthropos is the collective archetype for the whole human family - without which to be human has no meaning.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There is information in that description that speaks to the eternal self and unity consciousness that meditators and positive futures thinkers can use! I KNEW levity was important! - light being to all!!!

My own understanding of humans constructing THINGS in the best way is: "As above, so below" meaning we reflect the cosmic principles as best we can to be in harmonious balance with all, the cosmos, or God. I have read that entire towns were designed by wise ones who overlooked the entire area, and planned the paths into and around the structure to be in alignment with cosmic processions such as sun, moon and important constellations. From Stonehenge to Aztec pyramids and towns to airport designs these functions are clear. Since you are starting this post with caveman and the ancient archetects, here are some temple layouts of Chemetan (Egyptian) towns and monuments. I believe walking through a procession in those days would have been fabulous. Brazilian Carnival perhaps comes close, or the Vatican.







The great pyramids were supposed to be covered in white in their prime, what a glorious view eh? Interestingly the word Architecture has the root word "Arch," and the Islamic arches were a gift to southern European cultures such as Italy, Spain and Portugal. Not arch-enemies, but arch-friends! he he..

As a reference as to why I am so thrilled about this subject, see my greatest reference below, I was "Information Architect" for TIS Worldwide (Transaction Information Systems) on 2nd and Market in SF.




And Givnology is my greatest architectural creation (thanks to you all)!

Love and light being, Teo

Thank you Teo for your vast research and comprehensive reply.

I found a picture of the area depicted on your map of the great pyramids and the sphynx.

The Sphynx at the centre of the photo lies to the right of the processional way that joined the valley temple to the upper temple. The pyramids were built between 2590-2506 BC.

Clustered papyrus-bud columns in the hypostyle hall of Amenophis III at Luxor, early fourteenth century B.C.
The Pharaoh's architect was Amenhotep-son-of-Hapu.

Photo: Roloff Beny
Odyssey

Thank you dear Inda for starting this interesting post. It is fascinating to see how architectural structures have evolved through the ages.

... Teo dear, only you could associate Brazilian Carnival with the Vatican!!

Telephone .........

bye bye
Love, Margherita

Brazilian Carnival with the Vatican!! could become quite an interesting addition to the thread
Let us see what Teo can find
************************************************

The ruins at Nankoweap are among the best known of the prehistoric ruins at Grand Canyon.
The Anasazi may have been the ancestors of the people who later lived and farmed both in the inner canyon and on its rims.

Preeminent among megalithic monuments in Great Britain is Stonehenge.
Enclosed by a circular ditch 300 feet in diameter, stones are arranged in 4 series. 2 outermost form circles. The 3rd is a horseshoe shape. The innermost is ovoid in form. Some original uprights remain.
Within the ovoid lies the "Altar Stone."
It was probably a bronze age burial site. Nothing is known for sure.

Thank you everyone for your contribution. I can see that this will be a wonderful thread. Looking forward to at least 100 replies

Love,
Sue

Machu Picchu (which means "manly peak") was most likely a royal estate and religious retreat. It was built between 1460 and 1470 AD by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, an Incan ruler. The city has an altitude of 8,000 feet, and is high above the Urubamba River canyon cloud forest, so it likely did not have any administrative, military or commercial use. After Pachacuti’s death, Machu Picchu became the property of his allus, or kinship group, which was responsible for it’s maintenance, administration, and any new construction.

The Maoris are the indigenous people of New Zealand. Their art and culture are deeply rooted to their homeland. Beautiful wood carvings that adorn the huts and fancy fish hooks carved out of whale bones give the Maori art their special flavour.

Legends passed down from generations to generations tell of the gods that created the land they live in. The natural disasters the ancient Maoris faced are explain by colourful narrations of angry gods out to punish the people.

Their history in New Zealand stretches back to the 12th century -- way before the Pakeha, the white man, invaded New Zealand.

Today the Maoris remember their roots by teaching the young about the history of the Maoris. Annually, a festival called Aotearoa Traditional Maori Performing Arts Festival will be held in New Zealand.

The South Pacific islands, with their mild and temperate weather patterns called for a different kind of architecture that was found in harsher climates.

Nipa hut and coco palms in Samoa

In the North West Territories of Canada we have a slightly different climate ,where the ground has always a little permafrost, which calls for a different architecture than anywhere else.
There are two cultures here, the Dene and the Inuit people.

Japan

The grounds of Horyuji (Horyu Temple) house the world’s oldest surviving wooden structures, conveying images of Japan as it existed more than 1300 years ago, during the Asuka Period (AD. mid 6th - beginning of 8th c.). Horyuji is located at Nara (90 minute drive East of Osaka).

Royal residence and gardens, the Grand Palace
Just south of Wat Phra Kaew we visited the gardens of the royal palace residence. The residence and the grand halls adjacent to it have not been the actual living residence of the king for some years now, yet they are still used for coronations, official ceremonies and the interment of royal ashes. At the center of the garden is Chakri Mahaprasat, the Great Holy Hall of Chakri. Built in 1882 by British architects, the hall combines an odd, yet successful blend of Thai, Victorian and Italian Renaissance architecture.

Wooden churches were built in many countries hundreds of years ago. Slovakia, the Ukraine, Poland, and Russia, just to name a few, all house these beautiful works of architecture. All of these churches offer something unique and different to visitors. The beauty and history of each church attracts thousands of tourists each year.

Russian Orthodox Wooden Church

Thank you Vicky for all your input. You have posted some wonderful images and information.

I found another image of a little wooden church.
It is the Church of Our Savior from the village of Faminskoye, Russia (1712). It is now in the Costrama Museum of Wooden Architecture.

We don't have to keep this tread in complete chronologic order, so I will take us back to the Acropolis in Greece which is an amazing architectural complex.


The Acropolis hill, so called the "Sacred Rock" of Athens, is the most important site of the city. During Perikles' Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground.
The first habitation remains on the Acropolis date from the Neolithic period. Over the centuries, the rocky hill was continuously used either as a cult place or as a residential area or both. The inscriptions on the numerous and precious offerings to the sanctuary of Athena (marble korai, bronze and clay statuettes and vases) indicate that the cult of the city's patron goddess was established as early as the Archaic period (650-480 B.C.).

Acropolis, Athens

Photo by: Glen

Great inspiring architecture and posts!!!


From: http://csc.apolyton.net/scenarios/mexico.shtml

quote:

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The Aztecs entered Anáhuac (the Valley of Mexico) in the mid-thirteenth century, but it was not until 1325 when they founded their capital city, Tenochtitlán, in the place where an eagle was sighted killing a snake on a cactus. Gradually the Aztecs transformed their capital from a miserable village of thatched huts to a grand city with adobe houses and stone temples. Paralleling the sophistication of their city, the Aztecs put themselves on the road to empire.

---

PYRAMID OF THE MOON
From: http://members.cox.net/davehanson/aztec/

quote:

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Teotihuacan was an abandoned ghost city by the time the Aztecs found it, and gave it its name, which means "the place where men become gods". No one knows the true name of the city or the people who lived there (who once numbered 200,000). The huge site is laid out on both sides of the "Avenue of the Dead", which was perfectly aligned on a north/south axis. At one end of the avenue was the Plaza of the Moon, surrounded by several flat-topped step pyramids shown in the foreground above. In the background is the large Pyramid of the Moon, which I enjoyed climbing, especially because that end of the site was relatively deserted early in the morning.

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PYRAMID OF THE SUN

From: http://www.crystalinks.com/pyrsun_moon.html

quote:

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The Pyramid of the Sun, built in the 2nd century AD, dominates the landscape of the ancient city of Teotihuacan in Mexico.

Teotihuacan -the place of the Gods - was the first true city in Mesoamerica, at its peak - 600 AD - it housed more than 100,000 people.

It is the third largest pyramid in the world and the largest in the Teotihuacan complex.

It's sides are 700 feet long, it is about 200 feet high, and is actually a succession of pyramids built one on top the other over the centuries. The pyramids and many other structures at Teotihuacan are stepped, rather than smooth sided like the Egyptian pyramids, and the stones of which they are made are not so large that there would be a mystery about how they were moved as there is with the Egyptian pyramids, the Moai statues of Easter Island, and the Nasca Lines.

At its peak time - most of Teotihuacan was plastered, and the pyramids were painted bright red.

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from the same site:


STREET OF THE DEAD

Well, if that gives you the creeps, a bad joke to make up for the deadheadedness...

Thank you for the fabulous images Teo.

Now we come to a Roman aqueduct.

One of the greatest surviving monuments of Roman engineering, this aqueduct stretches from the walls of the old town to the edges of Sierra de Guadarrama. It is about 2950 feet long although the section where the arches are divided in two levels is about 900 feet. It is made of rough-hewn massive granite blocks, joined without mortar or clamps.

Ephesus in Turkey was a major centre of Greek and Roman Asiatic colonies. It once had a population of 300,000.

Here is the "Library of the Ancient Ruins."
Ephesus, Turkey (c.356BC)
Photo by: Nick Meers

I love this thread. When I have a bit of time I'll get some help with posting some images.
Thank you all for your contribution. The images are awesome.

Love,
Sue

Thank you for this wonderfully informative thread.I love all the pictures and the text.

I see you girls are having problems posting your images; I hope the problem can be corrected, otherwise we will miss a lot of beautiful images.

Gisele

btw I am working on the uploading and attachment viewing issue here and it may mean we all grajimicate to using the photo albums, what joy, more OMWORK you all! he he..

St Mark's Cathedral, Venice, the most important church in the city since Early Christian times but the cathedral of Venice only since 1807. The body of the apostle St Mark, stolen from its resting place in Alexandria, was brought to Venice in 828 and subsequently interred in the new church. Virtually nothing of the 9th-century church survives; it was badly damaged by fire in 976 and only temporarily repaired. The present basilica was begun c. 1050 and completed in the 1090s.

Thank you Vicky for your post. I love Venezian architecture.

The Ca d'Oro.
A jewel of gothic palace architecture on the Canal Grande. It was built from 1421-1434/38.

The Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge, at the bottom) is the true heart of Venice. The current structure was built in just three years, between 1588 and 1591, as a permanent replacement for the boat bridge and three wooden bridges that had spanned the Grand Canal at various times since the 12th Century. It remained the only way to cross the Grand Canal on foot until the Accademia Bridge was built in 1854.



"The Doge's Palace, Venice, has faades which date from 1309-1424, designed by Giovanni and Bartolomeo Buon. The palace, started in the ninth century, several times rebuilt, and completed in the Renaissance period, forms part of that great scheme of town-planning which was carried out through successive centuries. The faades, with a total length of nearly 152 m (500 ft), have open arcades in the two lower storeys, and the third storey was rebuilt after a fire in the sixteenth century, so as to extend over the arcades. This upper storey is faced with white and rose-coloured marble, resembling ornate windows and finished with a lace-like parapet of oriental cresting."

— Sir Banister Fletcher. A History of Architecture. p506.

From Ixquick

Now we are going to another part of the world to look at a wonderful Byzantine structure.

The Church of Hagia Sophia, associated with one of the greatest creative ages of man, was also the Cathedral of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople for more than one thousand years. Originally known as the Great Church, because of its large size in comparison with the other churches of the then Christian World, it was later given the name of Hagia Sophia, the Holy Wisdom of Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity.

Justinian conceived the grandiose project of rebuilding the Great Church from its foundations. Nothing like it was ever built before or after. Construction work lasted five years [532-537] and on December 27, 537, Patriarch Menas consecrated the magnificent church.

Now that it is easy to post images here I will give it a go:

Westminster Abbey is a living church as well as an architectural masterpiece of the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. Founded as a Benedictine monastery over a thousand years ago, the church was rebuilt by Edward the Confessor in 1065 and again by Henry III in the thirteenth century in the Gothic style we see today.

Known as the House of Kings, the Abbey is the final resting place for monarchs including Edward I (called ‘Longshanks’), Henry III, Henry V and Henry Vll who built a magnificent Lady Chapel here. The shared vault containing Elizabeth I and her half-sister Mary I (‘Bloody Mary’), and the tomb of Mary Queen of Scots are echoes of the bloodstained and turbulent Tudors.

The Abbey has been the setting for Coronations since that of William the Conqueror in 1066 and is home to the Coronation Chair. It has also witnessed numerous other royal occasions such as weddings and funerals.

In Poets’ Corner you will be surrounded by memorials to Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters and many others. Great scientists and musicians are also remembered in the Abbey, from Newton and Darwin to Purcell and Handel. The grave of the Unknown Warrior is to be found in the Nave.

Westminster Abbey is central to the life of the nation. Worship is offered every day. You are always welcome at any of the regular services.

Budapest, Hungary.

No one seems to know why this is so named - it has certainly never been called on to defend anything. The stories say that in the old days this was where the fishermen defended Castle Hill from. It stands behind Matyas Church, overlooking the river and was built around 1900 by the same person who was responsible for the reconstruction of the church. There is a small fee to pay to climb up it, but it is worth it for the views. It makes for some of the finest photo opportunities in all of Budapest.

Budapest, Hungary.

On the left of the Bastion is the Hilton hotel which blends in beautifully with the surrounding architecture.

Parliament Building - Budapest, Hungary.
This magnificent building, constructed between 1885 and
1904, is undergoing renovations.

Lavish external ornaments of soft limestone cannot tolerate modern polluted air, and they are thus
being replaced by hard stone over the years.

Warwick Castle was founded in 1068 and was rebuilt and updated a number of times. Today it combines castle ruins, largely of the fourteenth century with one of the finest great houses in England.

Great replies, posts and attachments! Like my first post in this topic, I will share some terminology and breakdowns, not hoping any architecture breaks down, he he.. but de-extrapolations, what some of the root terms mean.

The word Architecture has roots in the word Arch, and the arches are an importand design element. Additionally, Arch has roots in the word Arc, and this is the fundamental mathematics of all building and architecture.


Various forms of arches (Sturgis)


More Arch terminology


Perspective section of nave bay of Amiens Cathedral
A) nave arcade, B) triforium, C) clerestory, D) side aisle, E) buttress, F) pinnacle, a) blind arcade, b) compound pier, c) respond, d) mullion, e) tracery, f) traverse rib, g) diagonal rib, h) boss, i) molding profile, j) strut, k) finial

-From Abacus To Zeus, A Handbook Of Art History, James Smith Pierce

This thread is truly very interesting and we can go on and on ...
Looking at the Igloo Vicky posted I suddenly was reminded of the Apulia a Region in the South of Italy where there are characteristic buildings called TRULLI.(trullo from Latin turrula which means "little tower")


Alberobello is the name of the little town




Puglia, land of the Trulli
Trulli are circular, conical-roofed white-washed houses built of stone without any use of mortar. Their roofs, topped with pinnacles, are tiled with concentric rows of gray slate and often painted with astrological or religious symbols.
Their origin is obscure but few of these solid-looking constructions date back more than a couple of centuries. (In another text I read instead that these constructions go back to the XIIth century) The greatest concentration of Trulli houses is in and around Alberobello.
The characteristic of this type of construction is that the ambient inside temperature remains almost constant irrelevant of outside temperature, therefore it is relatively warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Alberobello is a UNESCO World Heritage site, which has concentrations of Trulli with many of them now souvenir and wine shops, boutiques and restaurants.


For those who understand French:

Les trulli

Entre Castellana Grotte et Ostuni, ces petites poivrières grises ou éclatantes de blancheur font partie intégrante du décor. Un décor verdoyant parsemé de vignobles, d’amandiers et d’oliviers. Dans un pays où la pierre abonde, le trullo a résolu pendant des millénaires, d’une manière simple (en apparence) et harmonieuse, les problèmes de l’habitation. On raconte que le seigneur du cru, le comte d’Acquaviva, cherchant à loger les paysans qui travaillaient sur ses terres, le fit dans une ferme provisoire au toit et aux murs en pierres non jointes. Le bâtiment était facilement démontable en cas d’inspection royale alors que Ferdinand I" d’Aragon avait interdit dans la région l’édification d’habitations stables. Cependant il existe un lien manifeste entre les trulli (trullo vient sans doute du latin turrula qui signifie " petite tour ") dont les plus vieux remontent au XII’ siècle, et les " maisons en pain de sucre " de la Syrie du Nord (surtout la région d’Alep) qui existaient déjà dans l’Antiquité. On peut y voir un effet des Croisades et des rapports que le comté d’Edesse et la principauté de Tripoli entretenaient au Moyen Age avec l’Italie à travers la Pouille et l’Apulie.



The name of Alberobello /Beautiful Tree comes from Latin Silva Arboris Belli, because in that Region in the past there was a big region covered with a forest.



Love, Margherita

Dear Margherita,

Your images are magical

Here is a little old residential house from Tallinn, Estonia. At the present time it is home to a tiny giftshop.

The Church of the Resurrection,
St.Petersburg, Russia

Designed by Alfred Parland in the style of 16th and 17th-century Russian churches, the Church of the Resurrection provides a stark (some would say jarring) contrast to its surroundings of Baroque, Classical and Modernist architecture.

The Cesmenskaya Church
St.Petersburg, Russia.

Architect: Y.M. Felten 1774-1777

Thank you Teo for your wonderful architectural sketches. The best example of Gothic architecture is one of the oldest French gothic cathedrals in Paris, France:

Notre Dame Cathedral (c.1163-1235)

The rear of Notre dame has some of the best examples of flying buttresses.

Both photos of Notre Dame by Alex Bartel
from: Architecture by James Neal

The white Hsin-byu-me Pagoda is situated in the north of Mingun. It was buildt in 1816 and it represents the Mount Meru with it's seven surrounding hills.

Yangon Myanmar

Shwedagon Paya,
It is today, still the most sacred of Buddhist sites in Myanmar. The present structure, after much enlarging and rebuilding over the centuries, consists of a massive stupa that rises 100 meters and topped by a diamond-encrusted orb, surrounded by several smaller zedis, shrines and pavilions. Almost every corner of the complex is decorated with intricate carvings painted in gold and exuberant reds, blues, and yellows.

The Alhambra
Granada, Spain

Spain was conquered in 714 A.D. by Muslim armies (after being conquered by, among others, Romans and Visigoths). During the 800 years until Spain was reconquered by Christians, the Muslims greatly influenced the culture of Spain. During the middle ages, when little mathematics and science were being done in the rest of Europe, Spain was an intellectual center.
The Alhambra is a walled city and fortress in Granada, Spain. It was built during the last Islamic sultanate on the Iberian peninsula, the Nasrid Dynasty (1238-1492). The palace is lavishly decorated with stone and wood carvings and tile patterns on most of the ceilings, walls, and floors. Islamic art does not use representations of living beings, but heavily uses geometric patterns, especially symmetric (repeating) patterns.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage was the home of Shakespeare's wife before they married in 1582. Besides its romantic associations, as the place where the teenage Shakespeare courted his future wife, the Hathaway home has also come to be regarded as the quintessential English country cottage. The thatched farmhouse continued to be inhabited by the Hathaway family and its descendants until the late 19th century.

Prambanan Temple, Indonesia

The Prambanan Temple is a group of Hindu temples, and was also known as Lorojonggrang Temple. The word Prambanan refers to the name of a District, Prambanan District, whereas Lorojonggrang refers to its actual name.

TajMahal, India

Taj Mahal stands on the bank of River Yamuna, which otherwise serves as a wide moat defending the Great Red Fort of Agra, the center of the Mughal emperors until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637. It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess. She died while accompanying her husband in Burhanpur in a campaign to crush a rebellion after giving birth to their 14th child. The death so crushed the emperor that all his hair and beard were said to have grown snow white in a few months.

India

The Pallava dynasty ruled from AD 600 to 900. The characteristic feature of the Pallava temple architecture is the rock-cut temples. The finest specimen of rock-cut shrines can be seen at Mahabalipuram. The Shore temple at Mahabalipuram is a fully carved temple complex with a towered sanctuary and mandapa.

The Duomo

Firenze, Italy
----------------

The Duomo is the 4th largest cathedral in the world. It seats 30,000 people inside.
Construction of the Duomo started in 1286, and took 150 years to build.

Gates of Paradise Doors,
Firenze, Italy

Among the many treasures of Grace Cathedral, the ones most visible to visitors are the great east doors, replicas of the famed Doors of Paradise. Their shimmering gold surfaces beckon the pilgrim up the great stairway to look in awe at the intricately sculpted and nearly three-dimensional panels. The original doors, by master sculptor and craftsman Lorenzo Ghiberti, stood at the east entry of the ancient Baptistry of the Duomo (Cathedral) in Florence, Italy. Now in the Duomo museum (replaced by a replica), they are considered by many art historians to mark the beginning of the Renaissance. Their popular name- Doors of Paradise- is based on a tradition that the young Michelangelo, greatly impressed by the doors, described them as worthy to be the Gates of Paradise.

Ponte Vecchio
Firenze , Italy.

One of the world's rare remaining covered bridges. 1345 and 1564.

The ruins of Hadrian's Wall form the most spectacular Roman remains in Britain. The mighty wall ran across the whole width of Britain, from Wallsend (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west.. The wall was originally 15feet high with 6 foot battlements on top of that. It was begun in about 120 A.D. on the orders of the Emperor Hadrian, and was manned until it was abandoned in 383

The Tower of Pisa is the bell tower of the Cathedral. Its construction began in the august of 1173 and continued (with two long interruptions) for about two hundred years, in full fidelity to the original project, whose architect is still uncertain.

In the medieval town of Miltenberg, Germany you will find a unique gothic structure, called the
"Giant's Inn".

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

This is King Ludwig's magnificent and most famous castle, built in the neo-late romanesque style. With its turrets and mock-medievalism, its interior styles ranging from Byzantine through Romanesque to Gothic its a real fairy-tale fantasy come true. It was built between 1869 and 1886 for the Bavarian King Ludwig II. A splendid and imaginative "fairy-tale castle" high above the Alpsee lake with the Alps towering above it.
Only about a third of the building was actually completed.

.
The Orangery
Weikersdorf, Baden, Austria(c.1866)

Now primarely used for concerts. It was here that Mozart composed Ave Verum.
Beethoven spent 15 summers here composing.

Foto: Nic Barlow
From: Architecture by James Neal

Tower Bridge has stood over the River Thames in London since 1894 and is one of the finest, most recognisable bridges in the World.

Louvre Museum, Paris France

The Palace
A medieval fortress, the palace of the kings of France, and a museum for the last two centuries, the architecture of the Louvre Palace bears witness to more than 800 years of history.

Two Centuries as a Museum
Established in 1793 by the French Republic, the Louvre Museum, in the company of the Ashmolean Museum (1683), the Dresden Museum (1744) and the Vatican Museum (1784) is one of the earliest European museums.

The pyramid was added in front of the palace in 1985.

Orsay Museum
Paris, France

The Gare d'Orsay inaugurated for the Universal Exhibition on July 14,1900 was the 1st Parisian train station to have electric power.
In 1977,the station became a museum dedicated to the artistic creation of the 2nd half of the 19th century (1848-1914).
The interior design was created by Gae Aulenti.
The collections come from the Louvre, Musée du Jeu de Paume & the National Museum of Modern Art,especially.
Paintings, sculptures, architecture,objets d'art,photography,film,graphic arts.

Amsterdam windmills

The Netherlands is synonymous for its windmills, clogs, tulips, canals, cheese markets… practically everything that you would expect to find in a charming and utterly picturesque country. But, whatever image you associate with the lowlands, the first thing likely to come to mind is the windmill (molen). Such is the importance of these living monuments that there is even a National Windmill Day (11 May), and on festive occasions or national holidays molens are decked out in flowers, garlands, figures of angels or the Dutch flag. For centuries, windmills have helped the Dutch fight water shortages so it is little wonder that they were the first to develop ‘windmill technology.’ In the glory days, the Netherlands boasted more than 10,000 mills but the molen population today stands at a mere 1,000. Many of the remaining mills are open to the public and a couple have even been transformed into homes, but a word of warning, these are not museums!

Mikonos, Greece

Mikonos is known the world over, for its windmills.

In the old city precinct of Odense lies the house which, in all probability, was where Hans Christian Andersen, the writer of fairytales was born. This house opened as The Hans Christian Andersen Museum in 1908 – a museum devoted to the writer’s life and work – making it one of the world’s oldest writer museums.

This is a very wonderful thread. Thank you everyone. Please keep it going.

Sincerely,
Gisele

Chris, Di and Matthew in New Caledonia / Interesting Architecture



This is the roof of Le Fare at the Meridien. I couldn't see any nails. The roof appeared to be held together by rope.

I should have posted this with the other wooden churches, but I just found this beautiful church in Norway so I did not want to leave ot out of this thread.

Sogenfjord
Norway

Iolani Palace

Hawai'is Royal palace.
Official residence of King Kalakaua and Queen Lili'uokalani, the last Monarchs of Hawai'i, 1882-1893

This is the only royal palace in the United States of America.

Castelul Bran, Transylvania

Also known as Dracula's castle, built between 1377 and 1382 as a palace and military fortress, it was once the residence of Queen Maria of Romania, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

The Eiffel Tower
Paris, France (1887-1889)

A monumental example of frame building.
Built for the Paris Exhibition 1889

Hundertwasserhaus
Vienna, Austria

Designed by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. After many years of planning the foundation-ceremony took place in 1983 and the first inhabitants moved into the 50 aparthents of the house in 1985

Arc de Triomphe
Paris, France.

In the middle of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the border of the 8th, 16th and 17th arrondissement stands the greatest arch in history: the Arc de Triomphe (arch of triumph).

It was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to commemorate his victories, but he was ousted before the arch was completed. In fact, it wasn't completed until 1836 during the reign of Louis-Philippe.

Sacre Coeur,
Paris, France

The Sacred-Heart is the basilica built on Montmartre. This Basilica was built to the glory of the "Holy Heart of Jesus" to redeem the Nation's sins after the 1870 bloodshed of the Commune of Paris. It overlooks Paris from the Montmartre hill.

Imagine a hotel which is built from scratch every year. A new design, new suites, a brand new reception - in fact everything in it is crisp and new.
Well, there is such a hotel; the Ice Hotel, situated on the shores of the Torne River, in the old village of Jukkasjärvi in Swedish Lapland.

There is another Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada

A little house in the far north of Lappland where the snowqueen and the reindeer live.

Golden Gate Bridge
San Francisco, USA

The Golden Gate Bridge, completed after more than four years of construction at a cost of $35 million, is a visitor attraction recognized around the world. The GGB opened to vehicular traffic on May 28, 1937 at twelve o'clock noon, ahead of schedule and under budget, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in the White House announcing the event.

The Sentinel Building and the Transamerica Pyramid(1972) by William Pereira and Associates.

San Francisco, CA
USA

Bridge and Opera House
Sydney, Australia

Here is another view of the beautiful
Opera House in Sydney.

Construction was started in 1959.The architect was Jorn Utzon from Denmark.

Also known as the ’Royal Pavilion’, Brighton Pavilion was built in 1784 and purchased in the early nineteenth century for the Prince Regent. Between 1815 and 1821 the Pavilion was rebuilt under the direction of the architect John Nash who employed a mixture of classical and Indian styles which have been labelled ’Hindoo-Gothic’. It is a quite unique building and well worth seeing.

Architecture of Gaudi,
Spain.

The son of a coppersmith, Antonio Gaudi was born in Reus, Spain in 1852.

Over the course of his career, Gaudi developed a sensuous, curving, almost surreal design style which established him as the innovative leader of the Spanish Art Nouveau movement.

Although categorized with the Art Nouveau, Gaudi created an entirely original style. He died in Barcelona in 1926.

Another interesting building by Gaudi

Casa Battlo,
Gaudi

Great work everyone. I am really catching up on my world architecture. Please keep it going.

Gisele

Glad that you are enjoying this thread Gisele.
We like it also. Keeps us informed about world architecture.

Here is a little house in an African village.

This is quite a different architectural structure in Africa.

Office building

A quite different building in South Africa

I found another interesting structure to add to Africa in Dogon county.

Now we come to Monaco and a completely different architecture.

The Royal Palace, Monaco, home of Prince Rainier III, the ruler of the principality.

The Potala
Lhasa, Tibet, China

For centuries the Potala was the abode of the Dalai Lamas.It is the highest building in one of the highest cities in the world.

The Registan
Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Registan is the most imposing complex of Central Asia and one of most beautiful of Islam. Its name of "sand square" does not evoke unfortunately the magnificence of architecture. The first medersa (Ulug beg) was built from 1417 to 1420.

The Dome of the Rock
Jerusalem, Israel

The Dome of the Rock is an atypical Islamic religious structure.It was built in 684 by an unknown architect.

From: 'Wonders of the World'

Gripsholms Castle
Sweden

The shores of Lake Mälaren, in the small town of Mariefred, beautifully locate this 14th century castle.

Here is a beautiful building in Tashkent

Persia

Persia's greatest contribution to ornament, gloriously colored enameled tile, faces the dome and stalactite portal of Shaykh Lutf Allah Mosque, built in the early 1600s on Isfahan's vast royal plaza.

Just a quick note to you ARCHITECTOLOGISTS in this topic, I have let InfoPop technical support know that some of the attachments are not showing up. We're on it! So don't try and edit and reattach the images - let's hear from them first so that we aren't doing this endlessly!

Love and light being, Teo

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater
The Kaufmann Conservation on Bear Run

Fallingwater, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most widely acclaimed works, was designed in 1936 for the family of Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar J. Kaufmann.

The key to the setting of the house is the waterfall over which it is built. The falls had been a focal point of the Kaufmann's activities, and the family had indicated the area around the falls as the location for a home. They were unprepared for Wright's suggestion that the house rise over the waterfall, rather than face it. But the architect's original scheme was adopted almost without change.

I am going back in time a bit but I wanted to post some interesting ruins

Melrose Abbey, Scotland

The original site of the Abbey was 4 miles down the River Tweed, just below Scott's View. Founded by St Aidan in about A.D. 660,

Rosslyn Chapel , Scotland

Rosslyn Chapel is touted as being one of the most mysterious places in Scotland, especially with the current gloat of books purporting to show how hidden secrets lurk within every crack of stone at this venerated place. Anybody who has ever visited the chapel may feel that it deserves its current status, and I must confess the atmosphere even on a busy day is something to be experienced. The exquisite carvings are some of the best in the whole of Europe, and portray scenes not found in any other 15th century chapel. It has become a kind of Mecca to those interested in the mysteries of life, and contains many carvings relevant to biblical, masonic, pagan and Knights Templar themes.

Fabulous thread.
Thank you everyone.

Gisele