Dubai - The "Greenest" of Them All

Renewable energy concerns have been gaining in popularity in the last few years. The result is architects and engineers that are looking to make their buildings increasingly energy efficient.

One of the most incredible designs, though still on the drawing board, is that of the Burj al-Taqa (Energy Tower) in Dubai, UAE. The aim for this 68 story skyscraper is to generate enough electricity to support all of its needs, and possibly more. The building, pictured to the right, features a giant wind spire to capture the usually vicious desert winds, and will be built with more than 160,000 square feet of solar panels. The building will also be connected to an additional 180,000 sq. ft. of solar panels literally floating in the sea next to it. Speaking of the sea, builders are also planning on collecting energy from the waves.

Although expensive to build initially, the prospect of skyscrapers and buildings that not only generate their own electricity but actually realize a net surplus is exciting. As fears of global warming and climate change increase, renewable energy buildings such as this one are sure to only continue to gain in popularity. Let's hope this trend continues.

Return to China - The 2008 Olympic Buildings

The Olympics are extremely competitive, but it isn't the athletes alone that compete. The Olympic Committee selects one city out of dozens of hopefuls to host the Games. The competition is fierce, with many factors influencing the 110+ members of the International Olympic Committee.

The 2008 Summer Olympics, to be hosted in Beijing, China, have spurred some serious architectural development just in order to host the games. Although there are dozens of Venues that the Olympics will take advantage of, a few in particular stand out for their simple "outstanding-ness". You'll see what I mean in a minute.

Check out the "Water Cube", to the left. It's proper name is the Beijing National Aquatics Centre. To my knowledge, there is no comparable building in the world. The outside is designed to look like cells, which are illuminated from behind at night. The design, believe it or not, reduces energy consumption by up to 30% simply by being more efficient in taking in sunlight for heat, and insulating it against loss. The real reason is the material used in construction, ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene), which is more durable, lighter, and less costly to install than glass.


This building, the Beijing National Stadium, is actually called "The Bird's Nest." That's right, because it resembles just that (click for a better look). The architecture is actually kind of interesting, for the very reason that it looks so random that it shouldn't be able to actually support itself. The mess of steel is actually just a façade, with the real supporting structure visible just behind it. Regardless, once completed, it will be capable of seating nearly 100,000 spectators during the Games.

New York - Rise of the Skyscrapers

The New York skyline has traditionally been one of the most awe-inspiring sights in the world. Tall buildings here are the rule rather than the exception, and the sheer number of larger than life structures, whether at night or during the day, catches and holds the eye.

There are and were many practical reasons for the development of the skyscraper, not the least of which now is limited land. Building up allows for far more floor space in a smaller area (for reference, the Empire State Building has just shy of 2.8 million square feet of floor space). For years, though, buildings have needed larger bases to support their own weight, limiting the amount of upward progress possible. Architect/Engineer George Fuller finally solved the problem of load-bearing capacities with the help of Bessemer Steel. The newly forged steel, stronger than previous materials, allowed buildings to rise upwards, supporting themselves entirely. The result was a furious competition to build the largest building. The competition is still alive and well today, almost 100 years later. In New York City, the Flatiron Building was one of the first, completed in 1902. Others soon followed, culminating in the historic race between the builders of the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. Unfortunately, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, which stood dwarfing all other building on the NY Skyline, were destroyed in 2001.

Competition continues today for the title of the world's tallest building, and will be sure to continue for the foreseeable future. To get an idea of the largest skyscrapers today, see here. Be sure to check out the links for some great pictures.

Iran - Bridge of 33 Arches

Happy Friday readers!

Bridges are often overlooked while taking a quick glance at famous architecture, but fortunately, we will be taking a look at one today! We go forward nearly 1000 years this time, to 1602 CE. The Si-o-se Pol, or the Bridge of 33 Arches, in Isfahan, Iran is one of the most famous remnants of the Safavid dynasty, which ruled all of modern-day Iran, and several surrounding countries for more than 200 years. The bridge is one of the legacies of Shah Abbas I.


The bridge, pictured above, is made of 2 layers of 33 arches, hence the name. The design relies heavily on symmetry, as is obvious in the picture. The 33 base arches and the smaller double arches above complement each other well, giving the illusion of length and making the bridge look longer than it truly is. At a length of 525 feet and width of 45 feet, it is no small bridge, although it is far from the largest in the area. The inside is hollow, and allows for the passage of pedestrians, as can be seen here.

Mecca - Masjid al-Haram

Hello again, readers!

Let's take a look at Masjid al-Haram. This Muslim Mosque, first completed in 638 CE, is built around the Kaaba, a huge granite cube. According to Islamic legend, the Kaaba was originally built by the angels of Allah before mankind was created. Subsequent legendary humans have supposedly rebuilt it many times over the years. Adam, the same from the Old Testament, was, according to tradition, the first to rebuild it after the angels. Similar icons from the Old Testament have been said to have rebuilt it as well, including Abraham and his son. Interestingly, it is this Kaaba that Muslims throughout the world worship towards and direct their prayers towards. It is also the object millions of people flock to every year, as required by their religion.

Although the mosque has been built around the Kaaba, it is the mosque itself that is a huge architectural achievement. Designed to accommodate more than 4 million people at one time, the inside and outside together total 356,800 sq. meters, or a staggering 221 square miles! Obviously, the mosque has grown throughout history, as the number of worshipers continually increases. There have been several major renovations, including one on-going project, aiming to further increase the amount of pilgrims it can support. The vast majority of the recent construction work has gone to expanding the capacity of the mosque, leaving much of the main buildings and walls the same for several centuries now.

The general style is reminiscent of the traditional Islamic style of building. You will almost certainly recognize the style of such famous buildings as the Taj Mahal, while other more obscure but equally grandiose mosques continue to employ this Islamic style. I hope you've learned something and gotten a chance to appreciate the enormous scale of some of these buildings, and the amount of architectural planning, engineering, and labor that went into building these magnificent structures.

Rome - The Colosseum

Hi guys & girls, today we'll be fast forwarding about 600 years to about 80 CE and taking a look at some Roman architecture, specifically the Roman Colosseum.

I'm sure you're all familiar with the Colosseum, pictured here to the upper left. What you may not know is why it was built, what purpose it served for its builders, and why it's survived for as long as it has.

Originally started under the emperor Vespasian and capable of seating more than 50,000 people, the Colosseum was a masterpiece of engineering at the time of its construction. It was built primarily for public displays ... plays, animal hunts, gladiatorial fights, executions, etc. Even though it stopped being used for entertainment, it's legacy as a forum for gladiatorial contests, the likes of which we've seen in the movie "Gladiator", will easily endure for the foreseeable future.

It was built with 100,000 cubic tons of travertine stone held together, not with plaster, but with iron clamps. While most of the structure still stands, vast portions have been damaged through disasters, both human-caused and natural, such as fires, pillaging, earthquakes, lightning, etc.
Despite all of the damage, the vast majority of the building remains standing. The sheer longevity of the Colosseum- almost 2 millennia now - is truly a testament to Roman engineering and architecture.

PS: A larger version of the picture above can be seen here.

Ancient China - Temple of Confucius

Today I'll take a look at some of the
architecture seen in ancient China.

This building is the "Temple of Confucius" in Qufu, China. It was originally built in 478 BCE, but has been expanded and rebuilt since. The style has stayed the same, but the size of the building increased as Confucianism began to dominate the philosophy of the country.

The style is traditional Oriental, and is seen primarily in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam, all East Asian countries. The general look is to have a broad base and to taper upwards to a smaller point with similar, almost identical, layers. This idea of a hierarchical building reflects the hierarchical Asian society. More subtle details like color and carvings give the building a sense of purpose. For instance, the carved dragon is the symbol of the Emperor, marking either the buildings in which he resides, or the buildings which were erected to pay homage to him. The style is still in use today, and was the guiding style of the Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world until July 2007.

First Post!

Hi everyone. Welcome to my WRT235 blog!

Welcome to all of my classmates, and to anyone else that may have stumbled upon me.

For the next two weeks or so, I will be posting a series of entries tracing the history of architecture from ancient times to now. Both the time and the place will be changing with each post, hopefully giving a glimpse as to the cultural and structural reasons for the design of the buildings in each era.

In order to attract attention to my blog, I plan on submitting it to several search engines. I also plan on looking at and commenting on other small blogs. Hopefully, my posts will be interesting enough to entice a few responses!

Take a look around, let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions.

See you in class!