Aug 23, 2022
Of all of the spectacularly designed hotels in the world, there is one that is salient for being the most creative and well-placed. This hotel is The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, which was built over 100 years ago in 1893. The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac hotel is a beautiful structure, in the style of a French chateau. It is located at the apex of a massive hill in the center of Quebec City. Not only can the building be seen from everywhere in the city, it also boasts magnificent views of the city below and the Saint Lawrence river. The hotel has 18 floors but appears far grander due to the elevation it is built on. This historic hotel is Quebec’s most popular and busiest hotel by a wide margin.
The building was designed by Bruce Price to resemble a horseshoe but later additions altered that shape. The structure was inspired by the French chateaux, with its steep roofs and multiple towers and turrets. The hotel was commissioned by the Canadian Pacific Railroad Company. Interestingly, it was not the first hotel located on this site. The Chateau Haldimand predated it, but that hotel was destroyed to integrate the hotel with the Canadian railway system, the primary mode of passenger travel at that time.
Construction of the hotel began in 1892 and was completed in just over a year, allowing the hotel to open almost immediately. Although only a third of the original hotel was built at this time; new sections were added in the 20 years following its opening. The Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac continues to function as a hotel and was also determined to be a National Historic Sight in 1981. All in all, this magnificent hotel, located on an elevated landmass in the center of Quebec is not just an incredible hotel, but also a symbol for Quebec City.
Jun 23, 2022
One Vanderbilt is a new ninety-three floor building located in the center of Manhattan on the corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue. It is the fourth tallest building in New York City, after One World Trade Center, the Central Park Tower and 111 West 57th Street.
The facade of the building is made of highly reflective glass, with layers of light gray terracotta between the glass panels. One Vanderbilt is a slim tower that tapers as it rises. There are a group of pavilions at different heights which culminate with a 100-foot antenna. The structural features of the building include a mechanical core made of steel and concrete that is surrounded by a steel frame. It does not contain interior columns.
The base has a series of angles and cut outs that highlight the historic Grand Central Station, which is right next door. Below ground, One Vanderbilt connects to the Grand Central to facilitate access for commuters. One of the challenges in designing the building involved its location right next to Grand Central Station, a landmark structure. The plans had to be approved by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The building was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. Construction of the building began in 2013 and completed in 2020. However, due to the pandemic, One Vanderbilt did not open to the public until October 2021.
The building is primarily used for commercial purposes and contains over 1.6 million square feet of office space. The top four floors contain an observation deck called the Summit, where visitors can enjoy the panoramic views along with site specific art installations by Kenzo Digital. One of the observation floors has an exhibit called Levitation: there are two glass ledges suspended about 1000 feet over Madison Avenue. There is also a rooftop bar at the Summit called Apres, where visitors can enjoy drinks and light bites while taking in the incredible view.
The author with his family at Levitation at One Vanderbilt
May 26, 2022
The Gran Torre Santiago is a relatively new skyscraper in Santiago, Chile which, at 980 feet tall, is the second tallest building in Latin America. The Gran Torre Santiago is part of the Costanera Center complex, which contains two hotels, a giant shopping mall and other office space. This complex is located in the financial area of Santiago, referred to as “Sanhattan.” One of the special features of the building is the observation deck on the 61st and 62nd floors. Known as the Sky Costanera, the deck has phenomenal panoramic views of the city.
The Gran Torre Santiago is a simple, tapered structure that ends with four indented corners at the top to accentuate its slenderness. The building is a streamlined, glass tower that stands out for its height in Santiago. Although the tower is less than half the height of the Burj Khalifa, it dwarfs all of the other buildings surrounding it. In fact, the Gran Torre Santiago is even taller than some of the Andean mountains surrounding the city, so it has become a focal point for people when navigating the city. In fact, the tower casts a mile-long shadow over the city.
The tower was designed by an international team, including Ceaser Peli (an Argentinian architect), Alemparte Barreda (a Chilean architect), and by Watt International (Canadian company). One challenge for the architects was the building’s location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region where there is high level of seismic activity. Therefore, the Gran Torre is designed with 21st-century mechanical systems, including a special outrigger system to protect it during earthquakes.
The Gran Torre is not without some controversy. It is a symbol of power and wealth in Santiago, where there is a lot of income disparity. Construction began in 2006 but had to stop during the global financial crisis in 2009. It stood incomplete for a year, reflecting the broken promises of economic prosperity. However, construction resumed and the tower was completed in 2013. For some Chileans, the tower now represents Chile’s financial recovery.
May 1, 2022
Neuschwanstein castle is a beautiful castle located in Hohenschwangau, a small town in the Southwest Bavaria, Germany. The Castle was built as a residence for the King Ludwig II of Germany, who envisioned it as a medieval retreat away from Munich, the capital of Bavaria. Ludwig was known as the Mad King because of all the money he spent on building castles and his desire to remove himself from other people. “Neuschwanstein,” or the New Swan Stone Castle, has many beautiful towers and designs that blend in perfectly with the Alps’ surrounding trees, waterways, and mountains.
The Castle was designed by Eduard Riedel, a German architect, in the Romanesque style of medieval Europe. Construction on the Castle began in 1869. Its location on an alpine ridge in the Alps made for a spectacular setting but a challenging project. For example, a new road ascending 200 meters had to be created to reach the peak of the site, and the peak had to be leveled to allow for a secure foundation for the Castle. The technological complexities of the construction prevented King Ludwig from moving into the Castle until 1884. In fact, some aspects of the Castle were never completed. There was supposed to be a tower standing over 90 meters high with a chapel in its base, but the tower was never completed. Nevertheless, the exterior is striking, with its immaculate, light gray limestone facade. And the scale of the Castle is exceptionally grand. There is a massive courtyard in the center that allows for taking in the fresh mountain air.
In contrast to the beautiful exterior and surroundings of the Castle, the interior is full of extremes: fourteen of the two hundred rooms are finished ornately with a lot of color and decoration, but the balance of the rooms is unfinished. Singers Hall is one of the most elaborate finished spaces and was inspired by Richard Wagner’s operatic music. There is even a bedroom named after Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde opera. The finished rooms have gold-covered ceilings, intricate floor mosaics and numerous large-scale paintings.
Neuschwanstein now serves as a popular tourist attraction with over 1.3 million visitors annually. Also, you may notice that it is very similar to another very popular castle, Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom of Disney. Neuschwanstein actually inspired the Disney castle. Overall, Neuschwanstein is a beautiful castle, and one of the most unique buildings in the world. 
Mar 21, 2022
There are many new, glass structures around the world, but one of my favorite ones is the Shard. The Shard is a unique 72-story tower in the center of London, England designed by the Italian architect, Renzo Piano. The majority of its floors are used as office spaces, but there is also a restaurant on one of the highest floors and an observation deck on the 72nd floor that overlooks London and the surrounding countryside. The Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom and the seventh tallest building in all of Europe.
The Shard’s construction began in 2009 and was completed in 2012. Piano used 95% recycled material to construct it. It is one of the most eco-friendly buildings in the United Kingdom. The Shard is constructed with a stable frame, which allows it to move up to 20 inches during high winds, but a thick concrete core for fire safety and emergency escape routes.
The Shard is shaped like a pyramid and covered in glass, which appears to shoot up from the river Thames and low buildings in the surrounding area.The Shard’s exterior has over 11,000 panes of glass making up its intricate patterns.The unique design was inspired by the railway lines next to it—the windows running along the length of the building resemble railroad tracks. The glass panels are glazed with a special coating that allows them to reflect the weather and the skyline.
Piano envisioned the tower’s pyramidal shape as a modern interpretation of a classic church spire. However, many Londoners were concerned that a modern, glass structure would be out of place in an historical area of London. Thus, Piano’s design was highly criticized by the English, who believed it would be “a shard of glass through the heart of historic London.” This gave the building its name. Although it was originally to be called the London Bridge Tower, it is known widely as the Shard.
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