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The Shard

The Shard

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.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Jan 26, 2022

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore could be the most unique building in the world. It has 3 very large towers consisting each of 57 floors and has many other attractions around it like a mall, many sculptures, and an indoor waterfall. The 3 towers combine for 2,561 hotel rooms! Although, what makes the building most unique is that there is a very long boat boat-like shape connecting the three towers at the top. To add to that, there is a really beautiful infinity pool and restaurant on it and much more! Lastly, the hotel consists of 2,561 hotel rooms. 

The Marina Bay Sands hotel was opened on February 17th, 2011. The resort is designed by the Israeli-born architect Moshe Safdie. His unique design was inspired by a deck of cards and he actually used Lego to model the building during his planning stages! Safdie noted that the “two to one brick ratio [of legos] was perfect.” Indeed, the towers are each form from 354 stacked concrete “boxes” and is therefore characterized as a Brutalist structure. 

Marina Bay Sands consist of three identical towers with a boat-like rooftop and a lobby that runs through all of the towers; the towers are linked with a cantilevered sky garden on the 57th floor. Within this 1.2 hectare sky garden, there is an infinity pool which is the world’s largest rooftop pool at 150 meters long. Inside the hotel, there is a four-story high casino which is actually the largest atrium casino in the world. In addition to the impressive three tower structure, numerous low-rise buildings in the surrounding are house a museum, shops and restaurants.

The design of the three towers, with the open space between them, integrates Singapore’s business district with its seafront. When describing his plan, Safdie said “three towers, framed [by a cantilevered garden] above…created two big windows to the sea, and they’re quite dramatic. You can see either way through the building to the other parts of the city.” Safdie found a way to build towers that simultaneously create public space and integrate nature.

The Marina Bay Sands is a relatively new hotel but is already one of the national symbols of Singapore due to its unique design, and serves a model for architects seeking to connect buildings to their urban environments and to nature.  

Big Ben

Big Ben

Nov 26, 2021

Out of all the creative and unique buildings in the world, Big Ben is one of my favorites. Big Ben is a tower is located in the center of London, England, and was completed in 1859 as part of the Palace of Westminster. It is best known for the massive clock on its center, which has Venetian glass dials and keeps time using a pendulum weighted by penny coins. Adding or removing these coins can slow down or speed up the clock.

Big Ben was originally named the Clock Tower and, in 2012, it was re-named the Elizabeth Tower its mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s ascension to the throne. People call the tower Big Ben because that is the name of the largest of its five bells which chime to mark the time.

The foundation of the tower is set on gravel, with the clay of London below. Thus, the tower actually leans slightly toward the north. It stands at 316 feet tall and is constructed with bricks.

Not only is Big Ben a creative idea and national symbol, but it’s architecture is a beautiful example of neo-gothic revival style. There are intricate lines going up the tower and running around the clock. Above the clock, there are two little sections containing bells that chime every hour and keep London on schedule and alert. At the top of the tower, there is a triangular roof with a spire and cross on top, which really finish the building off really well.

An interesting fact about Big Ben is that only citizens of the United Kingdom are allowed inside. Despite this, tourists still love to admire the exterior of the building due to its rare structure and intricate architecture.

Big Ben has became a symbol for London and is the main reason that the building is a must-see for all tourists visiting London. In the past 10 years, it has the 26th most annual visitors of any building or monument in the entire world.

The Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa

Oct 15, 2021

The Burj Khalifa is a building in Dubai that most people only know about because it is the tallest building in the world, but there is really so much more to it than that. The construction of the Burj Khalifa began in 2004 and wasn’t done until 2009. Ever since then, it has been the tallest building in the world at 163 floors (2,722 feet).  

The Burj Khalifa is located in the center of Dubai, a city in the United Arab Emirates. There is also a few massive fountains and other attractions just outside of the building. It is a symbol for the city of Dubai and is the most seen attraction in Dubai. The Burj Khalifa contains numerous commercial and residential floors along with a very famous observation deck on the top floor. The building holds many world records including, tallest existing structure, tallest structure ever built, highest elevator, worlds highest restaurant, and many more. Additionally, the Burj Khalifa is over three times at tall as the Eiffel Tower! 

The thing that interests me about this building the most is the extremely creative architecture. The building stars out very wide and slowly gets thinner as you get higher. There is also a spiral effect that is created by the fact that the building is not symmetrical, despite the similar designs on both sides. The architecture makes the building able to stand as the tallest and one of the most beautiful beautiful skyscrapers in the world. Also, the land around the skyscraper also adds to the effect. There is a little body of water and an abundance of very interestingly designed buildings surrounding the tower.  

Tokyo Skytree

Tokyo Skytree

Sep 10, 2021

Out of all of the fascinating buildings around the world, the Tokyo Skytree has always stuck out as one of the most compelling skyscrapers. The Tokyo Skytree is located in Tokyo, Japan and became the countries tallest structure upon its completion in 2010 at 2,080 feet. Despite hitting this height, the building didn’t open officially until 2012. In the building, there are only two real floors, which are used as observation decks. There is one at 410 feet high and one at 1,230 feet high. It has become a symbol for Tokyo and has rapidly became one of the most popular tourist destinations in Japan. 

As you can imagine, the architecture and design of this building is quite unique and unlike any other building. The Skytree only has two actual sets of floors, and the rest of it is only standing due to its interesting organization of steel poles that connect the building all the way to its antenna on the top. The steel poles are made in a triangular design, which creates the best base in order for a building of that nature to be able to stand so high in the sky. The Tokyo Skytree really stands out in its location. It is surrounded by an abundance of regular buildings, none of which have heights anywhere close to the Skytree, providing a phenomenal view from both observation decks where it feels like you can see the whole world in the distance. Overall, the Tokyo Skytree’s unique design makes it one of the most intriguing and compelling skyscrapers in the world.