Hi people,
this is our new blog!
Here you will find information about some amazing buildings all over the world.
We hope you like it, we'll do our best.
See you soon!
Monday, March 31, 2008
See Those Buildings!
New Seven Wonders
The new seven wonders!
In 2001 an initiative was started by Swiss corporation New Open World Corporation (NOWC) to choose the New Seven Wonders of the World.The results were announced on July 7, 2007 and in this chapter, we will tell you what those wonders are, and a litle information about them.
Is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties.
Before the use of bricks, the Great Wall was mainly built with stones and wood, but then they started using bricks. Stone can hold under its own weight better than brick, but is more difficult to use.
Petra
Is an archeological site in Arabah.
It has a monastery, a theatre,a part called “the treasury” and is fulled of tombs, the most important one is the Urn tomb.
History
So far, no method has been found to determine when the history of Petra began, but it combines Greek, Egyptian and Syrian elements.
Christ the Redeemer (statue)
Is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue stands 39.6 metres tall, weighs 700 tons, and is located at the peak of the 700 m Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city.
Construction took nine years — from 1922 to 1931 and the monument was opened on October 12,1931. The cost of the monument was $250,000.
Is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,400 meter above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, near Cuzco. Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. Forgotten for centuries, the site was brought to worldwide attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction.
History
Machu Picchu was constructed around 1450 at the height of the Inca Empire. It was abandoned less than 100 years later. It is likely that most of its inhabitants wiped out by smallpox (a disease) before the Spanish conquistadores arrived.
Location
The location of the city was a military secret because its deep precipices and mountains were an excellent natural defense.
Architecture
Most of the construction in Machu Picchu uses the classic Inca architectural style of polished dry-stone walls of regular shape. Incas were masters of this technique, called ashlar, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without mortar.
Peru is a highly seismic land, and mortar-free construction was more earthquake-resistant than using mortar. Inca walls show numerous subtle design details that would prevent them from collapsing in an earthquake.
The Incas never used the wheel in any practical manner. How they moved and placed enormous blocks of stones is a mystery, although the general belief is that they used hundreds of men to push the stones up inclined planes.
Is a large pre-Columbian archeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Yucatán state, present-day Mexico.
There are two large, natural sink holes, called cenotes, that could have provided plentiful water year round at Chichen, making it attractive for settlement. Of the two cenotes, the "Cenote Sagrado" or Sacred Cenote, is the more famous. American Consul Edward Herbert Thompson dredged the Cenote Sagrado from 1904 to 1910, and recovered artifacts of gold, jade, pottery, and incense, as well as human remains. A recent study of human remains taken from the Cenote Sagrado found that they had wounds consistent with human sacrifice.
The site
The site contains many fine stone buildings in various states of preservation; the buildings were formerly used as temples, palaces, stages, markets, baths, and ballcourts. The most importants are el castillo and the great ball court.
El Castillo
This step pyramid has a ground plan of square terraces with stairways up each of the 4 sides to the temple on top. On the Spring and Fall equinox, at the rising and setting of the sun, the corner of the structure casts a shadow in the shape of a plumed serpent - Kukulcan, or Quetzalcoatl - along the side of the North staircase. On these two days, the shadows from the corner tiers slither down the northern side of the pyramid with the sun's movement.
The Great Ball Court
Archaeologists have identified seven courts for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame in Chichén, but the Great Ball Court about 150 meters to the north-west of the Castillo is by far the most impressive. It is the largest ball court in ancient Mesoamerica.
Colosseum
Is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering.
Originally capable of seating around 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. It remained in use for nearly 500 years with the last recorded games being held there as late as the 6th century. As well as the traditional gladiatorial games, many other public spectacles were held there, such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.
Although it is now in a ruined condition due to damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum has long been seen as an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. Today it is one of modern Rome's most popular tourist attractions.
Taj Mahal
In 2001 an initiative was started by Swiss corporation New Open World Corporation (NOWC) to choose the New Seven Wonders of the World.The results were announced on July 7, 2007 and in this chapter, we will tell you what those wonders are, and a litle information about them.
Great Wall of China
Is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties.Before the use of bricks, the Great Wall was mainly built with stones and wood, but then they started using bricks. Stone can hold under its own weight better than brick, but is more difficult to use.
Many western sections of the wall are constructed from mud, rather than brick and stone, and thus are more susceptible to erosion, those will possibly disappear in the next 20 years, because the erosion from sand storms.
Near tourist centers it has been preserved and even reconstructed, but in many locations the Wall is in disrepair. The stone of some parts has been taken of to rebuild houses and roads and other parts are full of graffitis and paintings.
Petra
Is an archeological site in Arabah.
It has a monastery, a theatre,a part called “the treasury” and is fulled of tombs, the most important one is the Urn tomb.
History
So far, no method has been found to determine when the history of Petra began, but it combines Greek, Egyptian and Syrian elements.
Petra today
Is a popular sight and featured in various works of art such as the movies Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, passion in the Desert and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger.
Christ the Redeemer (statue)
Is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue stands 39.6 metres tall, weighs 700 tons, and is located at the peak of the 700 m Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city.
Construction took nine years — from 1922 to 1931 and the monument was opened on October 12,1931. The cost of the monument was $250,000.
The statue was struck by lightning during a violent electrical storm on Sunday, February 10,2008 which caused havoc in Rio, falling trees in several neighbourhoods, but the statue itself remained unharmed.
Machu Picchu
Is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,400 meter above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, near Cuzco. Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. Forgotten for centuries, the site was brought to worldwide attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction.
History
Machu Picchu was constructed around 1450 at the height of the Inca Empire. It was abandoned less than 100 years later. It is likely that most of its inhabitants wiped out by smallpox (a disease) before the Spanish conquistadores arrived.
Although the citadel is located only about 80 kilometers from Cuzco, the Inca capital, it was never found and consequently not plundered and destroyed by the Spanish, as was the case with many other Inca sites. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle grew over the site, and few knew of its existence.
Location
The location of the city was a military secret because its deep precipices and mountains were an excellent natural defense.
Architecture
Most of the construction in Machu Picchu uses the classic Inca architectural style of polished dry-stone walls of regular shape. Incas were masters of this technique, called ashlar, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without mortar.
Peru is a highly seismic land, and mortar-free construction was more earthquake-resistant than using mortar. Inca walls show numerous subtle design details that would prevent them from collapsing in an earthquake.
The Incas never used the wheel in any practical manner. How they moved and placed enormous blocks of stones is a mystery, although the general belief is that they used hundreds of men to push the stones up inclined planes.
Chichen Itza
Is a large pre-Columbian archeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Yucatán state, present-day Mexico.
There are two large, natural sink holes, called cenotes, that could have provided plentiful water year round at Chichen, making it attractive for settlement. Of the two cenotes, the "Cenote Sagrado" or Sacred Cenote, is the more famous. American Consul Edward Herbert Thompson dredged the Cenote Sagrado from 1904 to 1910, and recovered artifacts of gold, jade, pottery, and incense, as well as human remains. A recent study of human remains taken from the Cenote Sagrado found that they had wounds consistent with human sacrifice.
The site
The site contains many fine stone buildings in various states of preservation; the buildings were formerly used as temples, palaces, stages, markets, baths, and ballcourts. The most importants are el castillo and the great ball court.
El Castillo
This step pyramid has a ground plan of square terraces with stairways up each of the 4 sides to the temple on top. On the Spring and Fall equinox, at the rising and setting of the sun, the corner of the structure casts a shadow in the shape of a plumed serpent - Kukulcan, or Quetzalcoatl - along the side of the North staircase. On these two days, the shadows from the corner tiers slither down the northern side of the pyramid with the sun's movement.
By digging from the top, they found another temple buried below the current one. Inside the temple chamber was a Chac Mool statue and a throne in the shape of jaguar, painted red with spots made of inlaid jade.
The Great Ball Court
Archaeologists have identified seven courts for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame in Chichén, but the Great Ball Court about 150 meters to the north-west of the Castillo is by far the most impressive. It is the largest ball court in ancient Mesoamerica.
Colosseum
Is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering.
Originally capable of seating around 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. It remained in use for nearly 500 years with the last recorded games being held there as late as the 6th century. As well as the traditional gladiatorial games, many other public spectacles were held there, such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.
Although it is now in a ruined condition due to damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum has long been seen as an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. Today it is one of modern Rome's most popular tourist attractions.
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, that was built under Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Is considered the first example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles.
The Taj Mahal attracts 2 to 4 million visitors every year. Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex and tourist must either walk from the carparks or catch an electric bus.
Buildings in History- the evolution
Buildings have always exist in the life of humans. And as humans develop, their buildings do so too. In this chapter we will explain that evolution and give you its main steps.
-The first buildings were the CAVES: natural underground voids large enough for a human to enter and formed by geologic processes.They are usually made of rock.
There, we can find a lot of information of the ancient civilitations by some paintings in their walls.
-The first buildings were the CAVES: natural underground voids large enough for a human to enter and formed by geologic processes.They are usually made of rock.
There, we can find a lot of information of the ancient civilitations by some paintings in their walls.
- Then, humans started to build houses by their own. SHACKS: they are small houses usually made with wood.
- Then people started building houses with other materials, such as bricks of cement, stone, iron, glass...
They were safer and more confortable than the old ones.
- Finally, humans started to built higher and more modern buildings, for example, the SKYSCRAPERS: tall, continuously habitable buildings.Modern skyscrapers are built with materials such as steel, glass, reinforced concrete and granite, and routinely utilize mechanical equipment such as water pumps and elevators.
Here we have a video with the tallest buildings nowadays.
Buildings' Technology
Constructions and demolitions.
CONSTRUCTION
Construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling an infrastructure.
When building it is necessary to consider some facts:
the place where the building is going to be build,
materials,
installations,
energy…
Here we’ve got a presentation about “Bioclimatic architecture”, to learn more about how could houses be build taking advantage of the nature and respecting it at the same time.
This is a presentation about "Intelligent Houses".
we want to show you the final evolution of technology in this area.
http://www2.imm.dtu.dk/~cdj/SmartHouseWebSite/Scenario3.swf
What do you think is more intelligent?
DEMOLITIONS:
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings or other structures.
There are different demolitions, depending to the building.
If it is only two or three stories high, just with elevated platforms, cranes, excavators and bulldozers is enough.
A video of different implosions:
CONSTRUCTION
Construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling an infrastructure.
When building it is necessary to consider some facts:
the place where the building is going to be build,
materials,
installations,
energy…
Here we’ve got a presentation about “Bioclimatic architecture”, to learn more about how could houses be build taking advantage of the nature and respecting it at the same time.
This is a presentation about "Intelligent Houses".
we want to show you the final evolution of technology in this area.
http://www2.imm.dtu.dk/~cdj/SmartHouseWebSite/Scenario3.swf
What do you think is more intelligent?
DEMOLITIONS:
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings or other structures.
There are different demolitions, depending to the building.
If it is only two or three stories high, just with elevated platforms, cranes, excavators and bulldozers is enough.
With larger building is required the use of a wrecking ball, what is an enormous and heavy metal ball, hanging on a cable, that is swung by a crane to the building. But nowdays there are newer methods, such as rotational hydraulic shears or silenced rock-breakers. 
Building implosion: It is a method which is used only with very large buildings, tall chimneys or smokestacks. In this method are used explosives so the demolition is very fast (few seconds).
A video of different implosions:
Buildings in films
These are some famous films in which a lot of very interesting buildings are shown:
- The Empire State Building, set in New York City, was built in 1931.
Films: King Kong and Independence Day.
1.The first picture: Independence Day. ( Starring Will Smith ). The Empire State Building is being iluminated by an extraterrestial spaceship. At the end of the film, the building is completely destrolled.
2. The second and the 3. pictures: King Kong. The modern and the old version.Not only do both films have almost the same argument, but also they have a part in the film in which “King Kong” climbs the Empire State.
4. The Empire State Building in the reallity.
- The World Trade Centre/ Twin Towers, is located in New York too and it was built in 1973. It has appeared in many films until its destruction by some terrorists.
Films : Men in Black II, Armageddon, WorldTrade Centre, Spiderman...
Photo: “World Trade Centre”, starring Nicholas Cage. It is about the terrorist attack of 2000, in which a lot of firemen and policemen died.
Here you have the thriller of the film "Spiderman", where The World Trade Centre appears. The sceen was banned.
- The Bank of England, in London City, is a very old and classical building. Film: 80 days around the world(starring Jackie Chan).
In this film, it works as the goal of the travel aroun the world. In the second picture you can see three people, running up the stairs of the bank.
- The Big Ben (London). Film: Sweeney Todd and Peter Pan.
1º picture: the Big Ben can be seen through the window.
2º picture: PeterPan and his friends flying aound the Big Ben.
- The Statue of Liberty, set in New York City, was a present than French people gave to the city, due to the centenary of their independence, in 1886.
Films: The day after tomorrow and The Planet of the apes.
- The Eiffel Tower ( France ) : it is a tower built besides the Sein River in Paris. ( 1887- 1889)Films: James Bond: A view to a kill.
Building Climbing
Many people like climbing mountains... and others like climbing buildings, for example
a man called Alain Robert (from France).
Here you have an amazing video in which he climbs both mountains and buildings all around the world!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)