Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel temples are two massive rock temples in Nubia, and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Nubian Monuments. The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari. However, the complex was relocated in its entirety in the 1960s, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir.

Construction of the temple complex started in approximately 1244 BCE and lasted for about 20 years, until 1224 BCE. Known as the Temple of Ramesses, beloved by Amun, it was one of six rock temples erected in Nubia during the long reign of Ramesses II. Their purpose was to impress Egypt's southern neighbors, and also to reinforce the status of Egyptian religion in the region.

Caltrans District 7 Headquarters

The site consists of a public plaza surrounded by a shifting building exterior. The outer layer of the double facade eminates from the body of the building protecting the inhabitants using a constantly shifting mechanical skin of perforated aluminum panels that alternately open or close depending on the suns angle and intensity. Appearing to be windowless and opaque at midday, the building transforms in appearance over time until it reaches near complete transparency at dusk.

Research done for the San Francisco Federal Building project led to resolutions that challenge normative office culture, improve office worker comfort, and increase environmental efficiency. Floor plans were made deliberately nonhierarchical, with open, light-exposed workspaces prioritized for all workers regardless of rank. All window shades on exterior windows are manually operable to ensure that employees have a sense of control over their own work environments with respect to the amount of light and air that they deem optimum.

Centre Pompidou-Metz

The building opens up to vast, modular exhibition spaces whose dimensions can accommodate very tall pieces as well as large installations. The hexagonal roof structure, which echoes the floor-plan, covers a building with a total surface area of 115,175 sq. ft. (10,700 sq. m.), including 53,819 sq. ft. (5,000 sq. m.) of gallery space. Other areas such as the Forum, the restaurant terrace and the garden provide further opportunities to exhibit works.

The laminated timber roof structure surrounds a 252 ft. (77 m.) metal spire. Its frame is covered with a translucent fibreglass and Teflon textile canopy and overhangs the buildings walls by up to 65 ft. (20 m.). In 2003, following an international competition, Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines were appointed as prime contractors. The architects have been working in France as a team since 2000. In 2004 they formed SARL Shigeru Ban Architects Europe, a subsidiary of the Japanese company with headquarters in Paris.

Harlech Castle

A concentric castle, constructed atop a cliff close to the Irish Sea, it is most notable for its massive gatehouse. Built by King Edward I during his conquest of Wales, construction started in 1283, and is part of Edward's iron ring of castles around Snowdonia. Designed by Master James of St. George, it took seven years to build.

Built to a concentric plan, with one line of defences enclosed by another, the outer walls are much shorter and thinner than the stronger inner walls, and have no towers defending them besides the gatehouse. The inner ward is roughly square, with a large round tower at each corner, with the domestic buildings, including the great hall, built against the inside of the inner walls. Since the surrounding cliffs made it difficult to attack from the east, this side is faced by the imposing gatehouse. The gateway is flanked by two massive D-shaped towers, and defended by a series of doors, portcullises and murder-holes.

Château de Thorens

Built on an ancient fort dating to 1060 and by the order of count Gérold de Genève, the castle was confiscated by the duke of Savoie in 1479. Damaged during the French invasion of Savoy in 1792, the Château was restored in the 19th century by the Marquise Alexandrine de Sales, with preservations being undertaken to the present. The count Camille Benso de Cavour (18101861) is frequently linked with this chateau and contains the personal effects of this statesman, his furniture, and his works of art; in particular, the sumptuous desk in the style of Boulle Napoléon III on which was signed the Treaty of Annexation.

The chateau contains works of art, Flandres tapestries, masterpieces of paintings, and the furniture of the Renaissance, the Baroque period, and the Second French Empire. The heart of the castle, the residence, is illuminated with light from the salon and shows the finesse of 17th century tastes. The arched kitchen (1632) and austere arched rooms of the inner fortifications bring attention to the uses of original occupants.

Speyer Cathedral

Begun in 1030 under Conrad II, the triple-aisled vaulted basilica of red sandstone was influential in the development of Romanesque architecture during the 11th and 12th centuries, and is the largest Romanesque church. In 1981 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The red sandstone for the building came from the mountains of the Palatine Forest and is thought to have been shipped down the channelled Speyerbach.

It was nearly completed and consecrated in 1061. This phase of construction, called Speyer I, consists of Westwerk, nave with two aisles and an adjoining transept. The choir was flanked by two towers. The original apse was round inside but rectangular on the outside. The nave was covered with a flat wooden ceiling but the aisles were vaulted, making the cathedral the second largest vaulted building north of the Alps (after Aachen Cathedral). It is considered to be an outstanding example of early Salian architecture.

AutoTurme

Located in Wolfsburg, these twin transparent towers rise 158 ft. (48 m.) and provide quick access to 800 vehicles through a motorized central evevator system in each tower. Each tower is automated both internally and externally delivering the vehicles to the Volkswagen factory floor.

Each 19 story tower has a circular exterior sheathed in glass with an eliptical interior, both sitting in the middle of a large reflecting pool. This structure sits within a complex of pavilions within a landscaped property celebrating the Volkswagen family of cars. Designed by Henn Architekten, the firm is managed by Gunter Henn and six partners, and currently has about 200 architects and specialists in related disciplines work in their offices in Munich, Berlin, Dubai and Shanghai.

il Vulcano Buono

crater with a diameter of 492 ft. (150 m.) and a base of 1,050 (320 m.). All the activities that were once located in Naple's Piazza Mercato are included, a shopping mall, entertainment and public spaces, restaurants, hotel, and offices.

The structure consists of some interlocking and rotating solids, each with different slopes that form ridges that range from 82 to 134 ft. (25 to 41 m.) high, with all the centers functions located on multiple levels. Made of reinforced concrete covered with turf, the building integrates into the surrounding landscape. Divided into three concentric zones, the innermost with a stage dedicated to entertainment, the middle to trade, and the outer crowns the building with green and planted with pines. From the outside, except for the different entrances, the complex is practically invisible as an architectural element.

Marina & Beach Towers

Designed to maximize the greatest number of units facing the beach and to allow for the development of landscape feature surrounding the structure. Each unit type is based on a standard module that shifts repetitively into the facade, a surface responding to the shifts of light while protecting from the sun. The buildings footprint allows for building and landscape to merge amongst retail, restaurant, yacht and beach clubs.

The sustainability of the building was just as important in the design, with the form allowing for cool breezes to blow into spaces shielded from the sun, and the building contains solar and wind arrays to generate some required energy, and water used throughout the site is reused. Designed by Oppenheim Architecture + Design, OAD is a full service architecture, interior design and urban planning firm located in Miami, Florida, and founded by Chad Oppenheim.

Château de Valençay

Château de Valençay is a residence of the d'Estampes and Talleyrand-Périgord families, and located in the province of Berry, though architecturally invites comparison with the Renaissance châteaux of the Loire Valley. Construction began in 1540 in place of the demolished 12th-century castle and was not completed until the 18th century, when the south tower was added.

Influence from the 16th century include an outsized round tower at the western corner, capped by a dome à l'impériale, and the central block in the shape of a donjon, with a slender tower on each corner, grouped around the raking roof. Its feigned battlements are evocative of the Middle Ages. The exterior is clothed in classical orders: the Doric order on the ground floor, the Ionic order on the first floor, and the Corinthian order on the second. This was an innovative feature anticipating French classicism. An arcaded gallery rings the courtyard. The western wing with its Mansard roof dates from the 17th century.

Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. Named after Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, it was founded in 1852, and has since grown to now cover some 12.5 acres (0.05 km2) and 145 galleries.

The first building to be erected was the Sheepshanks Gallery in 1857 on the eastern side of the garden; its architect was Captain Francis Fowke. The next major expansions were designed by the same architect, these were the Turner and Vernon galleries built 1858-9, then the North and South Courts, both of which opened in 1862. On the very northern edge of the site is situated the Secretariat Wing, also built in 1862 that houses the offices and board room.

Kiltro House

Designed by Juan Pablo Corvalan and built on 1.25 acres (5,000 sq. m.) next to a vineyard, the house took 3 years to build and is a rectangle sheathed in glass from floor to ceiling placed on stilts and topped off with a sprawling cypress-wood terrace that can accommodate 80 people. Basically it is a terrace with a house underneath.

All of the interior rooms flow into each other surrounding an enclosed atrium which has a ladder up to the terrace roof. The only self-contained room in the house is the master bedroom, but it faces out to the mountains to provide a view. The principal façade when arriving to the house is the roof, designed as a structural complement underneath the deck that allows the lack of cross-bracing in the windows and acts as a wooden envelop that is extended and returned to block excessive sun exposure, although letting the sun enter in the early morning and winter. Juan Pablo Corvalan is the leader of Supersudaca.org, a group in Chili that aims to challenge and redefine architecture.

Astoria Central Park West

These high rise, twin towers where designed by Gruen Associates, and offer floor-plans ranging from 1,119 to 3,024 sq. ft. The property consists of a 12 story tower with 82 units and a 13 story tower with 152 units sitting on a 2 story podium containing parking, with 2 additional parkling levels below ground. Located in an urban park, they offer countless outdoor community facilities including a junior-Olympic sized pool, spa, wading pool, encircled by private cabanas and chaise lounges, lush professional landscaping including a custom water wall, basketball courts, a barbecue pavilion, and an open entertaining terrace with a fireplace.

Gruen Associates, established in 1946, provides architectural, interior design, planning, urban design, environmental assessment, landscape architecture, community participation and transportation services worldwide, and includes such notable structures as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls

The basilica was founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine I over the burial place of Saint Paul, and the first edifice was expanded under Valentinian I in the 370s. In 386, Emperor Theodosius I began the erection of a much larger basilica with a nave and four aisles with transept. Under Gregory the Great (590-604) the basilica was again extensively modified.

The covered portico that precedes the facade is a Neo-classicist addition of the 19th century reconstruction. The new basilica has maintained the original structure with one nave and four aisles, being 432 ft, (131.6 m.) long, 210 ft. (65 m.) wide and 97.4 ft. (29.7 m.) high, being the second in size in Rome. The 80 columns of the nave are from the 19th century, as well as the stucco-decorated ceiling. Of the ancient basilica there remain only the interior portion of the apse with the triumphal arch.

Shandong Hotel and People's Hall

Located in Jinan China, the Shangdong Hotel complex consists of 3 parts, including the hotel, conference center, and Great Hall. The main building was designed by John Portman & Associates with interior design by Woodhead International. The hotel's 72 ft. (22 m.) lobby contains six sightseeing elevators and a 5th floor skybridge, all in the traditional design style of Portman.

The Great Hall of Shandong can be able accommodate 2,500 people and is the largest meeting and concert venue of the kind with the most advanced equipment in Shandong Province. The hotel has 15 dining halls with 50 private dining apartments and can accommodate about 2,000. The largest single room dining space accommodates 1,000, with 690 guestrooms facing into the atrium of the 25 story building.

Winter Palace

The Winter Palace was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian Tsars. Situated between the Palace Embankment and Palace Square, the present (4th) structure was built between the late 1730s and 1837, and was severely damaged by fire and immediately rebuilt in 1837.

The palace was constructed on a monumental scale intended to reflect the might and power of Imperial Russia. Designed by many architects, most notably Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the structure is what is known as the Elizabethan Baroque style; the green-and-white palace has the shape of an elongated rectangle. The palace has been calculated to contain 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms and 117 staircases. Its principal façade is 500 ft. (150 m.) long and 100 ft. (30 m.) high. The rebuilding of 1837 left the exterior unchanged, but large parts of the interior were redesigned in a variety of styles, leading the palace to be described as a 19th-century palace inspired by a model in Rococo style.

Linked Hybrid

Designed by Steven Holl Architects, and consisting of 644 apartments, commercial zones, hotel, theater, and educational facitilies, this 2,383,409 sq. ft. (221,426 sq. m.) complex was designed to be pedestrian oriented, is located adjacent to the old city wall of Beijing, creating a new urban space that is inviting and open to the public.

The ground level offers open walking passages for residents and visitors, providing shops surrounding the large reflecting pond. On the intermediate level of the lower buildings, public roofs gardens offer green spaces, and at the top of the eight residential towers private roof gardens are connected to the penthouses. All public functions on the ground level have connections with the green spaces. The elevator displaces like a "jump cut" to another series of passages on a higher levels.

CastleRock Residences

CastleRock is a 3800 sq. m. residential development located on a hillside over looking th sea on the southern coast of Turkey. The area is surrounded by several ancient architectural sites, including an ancient amphitheater constructed around the 4th century B.C., and the Bodrum Castle, which was constructed in the 15th century.

The resulting design attempts to blend into its surroundings, with buildings organized by bending and curving them along the natural contours. There are 16 units consisting of 3 unique typologies, with both duplex and triplex units, each with their own pool and garden. Sweeping walls provide a level of privacy for the units and maximize views from the houses with openings in the stone walls for angled views. Few materials are used in construction, in order to respond to the local environment and to provide a sense of unity. The buildings are constructed from four primary materials: stone, concrete, glass and steel. The natural stone cladding is regional, and is supplied from local quarries.

Carnavalet Museum

The Carnavalet Museum in Paris, dedicated to the history of the city, occupies two neighboring mansions: the Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau. The Hôtel Carnavalet was purchased by the Municipal Council of Paris in 1866 and opened to the public in 1880, while the Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau was annexed to the Canavalet and opened to the public in 1989.

In 1548 construction began on a mansion that came to be known as the Hôtel Carnavalet, and was complete about 1560. In 1654, the mansion was bought by Claude Boislève, who commissioned the well-known architect, François Mansart, to make extensive renovations. The Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau was also built in the middle of the 16th century. and originally known as the Hôtel dOrgeval.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart

The first stone of the basilica was laid in 1905, with the construction halted by the two World Wars and wasn't finished until 1970. Belonging to the Metropolitan Archbishopric of Mechelen-Brussels, it is the sixth largest Roman Catholic church by area in the world. The massive brick and concrete reinforced church features two thin towers and a green copper dome that rises 290 ft. (89 m.) above the ground.

The initial project of Leuven-based architect Pierre Langerock was a sumptuous neo-gothic church inspired by the "ideal cathedral" of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Only the foundations had been finished when the World War I broke out. In 1919 the project by architect Albert Van Huffel was adopted and the unfinished church consecrated in 1935. The cupola was finished in 1969 and in 1970, Cardinal Suenens marked the completion of the construction of the Basilica. The final design by architect Albert Van Huffel won the great architecture prize at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris.

Capilla del Retiro Chapel

Located alongside Auco's Carmelite Monastery, a red-roofed, white-walled complex that nestles on the valley floor, the new chapel, designed by Cristian Undurraga of Undurraga Deves Arquitectos, is a simple square concrete structure, with an arrangement of four intersecting concrete walls, raised up on blocks and identified by a cross on a pole.

Beneath the structural grid created by the four concrete walls there is a sizeable hole, roughly excavated and faced with rustic stone to create an artificial geographical feature. The chapel itself is a wooden box, built from recycled railway sleepers and suspended from the concrete structure above it. This in turn is set within glass walls, creating the illusion of a room suspended in a void.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Christ

Located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in Paris, the basilica was designed by architect Paul Abadie after winning a competition over 77 other architects. Begun in 1875 and usable around 1891, though construction was wraught with set delays.

The overall style of the structure shows an interpretation of Romano-Byzantine features, a conscious reaction against the neo-Baroque excesses of the Opéra Garnier, which was cited in the competition, and many design elements of the basilica symbolise nationalist themes. Abadie died not long after the foundation had been laid, in 1884, and five architects continued with the work: Honoré Daumet (1884-1886), Jean-Charles Laisné (1886-1891), Henri-Pierre-Marie Rauline (1891-1904), Lucien Magne (1904-1916), and Jean-Louis Hulot (1916-1924). The Basilica was not completed until 1914, and formally dedicated in 1919.

Palais Garnier

The Palais Garnier is a 2,200-seat opera house on the Place de l'Opéra. Designed by Charles Garnier in the Neo-Baroque style in 1875, it is regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces of its time. Designed as part of the great Parisian reconstruction of the Second Empire initiated by Emperor Napoleon III, who chose the Baron Haussmann to supervise the reconstruction.

The project was put out to open competition in 1861, and was won by the architect Charles Garnier (1825-1898). The foundation stone was laid in 1861, followed by the start of construction in 1862. On 29 October 1873, an incentive to complete the Palais Garnier came when the old Paris Opéra, known as the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, was destroyed by a fire. In 1969, the theatre was given new electrical facilities, and in 1978 part of the original Foyer de la Danse was converted into new rehearsal space for the Ballet company by the architect Jean-Loup Roubert.

Endesa Headquarters

Designed by Rafael de La-Hoz and KPF, (which has designed several atrium-centered projects in the colder climates of northern Europe), La-Hoz divided the office floor area into two continuous blocks embracing the atrium. These are concrete structures with modular plans and floor plates over 50 ft. deep. Open offices predominate, lit by continuous floor-to-ceiling windows. The layering of the facades, and the shadows they cast, further enlivens the indoors.

The facades vary according to the exposure, with fixed aluminum brise-soleils on southern elevations of the comb-shaped block that faces away from the highway, with its northern corners marked by crisp folded planes of white Córdoba limestone. The dramatic atrium changes its mood with the shifting of roof louvers and the moving clouds and sun. Security measures keep the general public out, as would the isolation of the site to pedestrian traffic.

Museum of Anthropology

Designed by Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, it was based on his award-winning designs on traditional northern Northwest Coast post and beam structures. The original facility opened in 1976, and in 1990 a new wing was added, including a resource library, teaching laboratory, office, and exhibition gallery. The total area of the original building and the Ceramics wing included 58,833 sq. ft. of usable space: 16,092 sq. ft. for academic functions, and 38,889 sq. ft. available to the public.

A building highlight is a set of massive doors carved in 1976 by four master Gitxsan artists, Walter Harris, Earl Muldoe, Art Sterritt, and Vernon Stephens. Other highlights include the 49 ft. (15 m.) glass walls of the Great Hall, beneath which stand towering totem poles from the Haida, Gitxsan, Nisga'a, Oweekeno and other First Nations.

Rafael del Pino Auditorium

Designed by architect Rafael de La-Hoz, the Rafael del Pino Auditorium is transparent, open and inspired by the garden that previously existed in the same space, the building exhibits an arboreal structure that supports and surrounds the usable area of the building on both sides. The Auditorium is located on the ground floor, with a capacity of 250 people and with views of the street and contains the latest cutting-edge technology.

Located on a side street off of Madrid's Paseo de la Castellana, this 53,819 sq. ft. (5,000 sq.m.) building is distributed throughout five floors, an attic and two levels underground, located in the old garden of the palacete built by Salaberry in 1907. The project stands out for its metallic (steel) structure that has been possible thanks to the application of new technology in laser cutting systems and the application of new computer systems and topography systems that allowed for its assembly as well as the curved and inclined shapes of its north facade.

Mont St. Michel

According to legend, St. Michael the Archangel appeared to St. Aubert, bishop of Avranches, in 708 and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. Aubert repeatedly ignored the angel's instruction. The mount gained strategic significance in 933 when William I, Duke of Normandy, annexed the Cotentin Peninsula, placing the mount in Normandy. Ducal patronage financed the Norman architecture of the abbey in subsequent centuries.

When Louis XI of France founded the Order of Saint Michael in 1496 he intended that the abbey church of Mont Saint-Michel be the chapel for the order, but because of its great distance from Paris his intention could never be realized. The wealth and influence of the abbey extended to many daughter foundations, however, its popularity and prestige as a centre of pilgrimage waned with the Reformation, and by the time of the French Revolution there were scarcely any monks in residence. The abbey was closed and converted into a prison, but by 1836 influential figures had launched a campaign to restore what was seen as a national architectural treasure.

Vanke Center

Designed by Stevel Holl with partner Li Hu, the center includes apartments, hotel, and headquarters for the Vanke Real Estate Co. A conference center, spa, parking, restaurants, and a 500 seat auditorium are located under the structure under a large green tropical landscape. It was decided to float one large structure under the 115 ft. (35 m.) height limit to generate the largest green space open to the public at ground level. Suspened on 8 cores, as far as 164 ft. (50 m.) apart, the building consists of cable-stay bridge technology with record loads of up to 3280 tons merged with high strength concrete frames.

Integrating several new sustainable aspects to the site, a microclimate is created by cooling ponds fed by a grey water system. The building has a green roof with solar panels and uses local materials such as bamboo. The glass façade of the building will be protected against the sun and wind by perforated louvers. The building is claimed to be tsunami-proof and is the first LEED platinum rated building in Southern China.