Top Ten Architects

How many people does it take to envision, design and construct a typical building? Nowadays there is a long list of people like architects, builders, carpenters who help the design and construction process. However some of these designs below were created by individuals with a vision and often took decades or maybe a lifetime to create. 

Facteur Cheval - This guy was a mail man and had no formal training in design or construction and learned as he went, day by day, for over 10,00 days with a few people aware of his creation until it was completed. The masterpiece he constructed is called Hauterives and is situated in France.

Sutyagin – This Russian guy started this amazing wooden skyscraper as a simple two story structure, then just kept building. The building now stands 13 stories (144 feet) tall. Taking what he learned and earned as the owner of a small construction company he built this masterpiece. This piece of design is now under threat of demolition because of safety concerns.

Herzog & de Meuron - One of my favourite contemporary architectural design is the Beijing bird’s nest olympic stadium. The design was awarded to a submission from the this swiss architecture firm in April 2003, after a bidding process, that included 13 final submissions. The design, which originated from the study of chinese ceramics, implemented steel beams in order to hide supports from the retractable roof: giving the stadium the appearance of a “Bird’s nest.”

They have also created some more fantastic designs like the ones below

Allianz Arena

Elbphilharmonie

Quite often i receive emails from my Dad when he is in work and i recieved one a couple of weeks ago about the buildings in Dubai and thought they were amazing. After this email i thought of doing a bit of research and here are some fantastic designs in Dubai.

Al Nakheel Properties – This is possibly my favourite ever structure the Palm Islands also known as the Palm Dubai and The Palms. The Palm Islands are the three man-made islands in the world. These Palm Islands are built in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Palm islands are considered as the Eighth Wonder of the World. 

Joachim Hauser - Hydropolis was created by this architect and isn’t it genius. This hotel, the world’s first underwater luxury resort, brings new meaning to the “ocean-view room.” Situated 66 feet below the surface of the Persian Gulf, Hydropolis will feature 220 guest suites. Reinforced by concrete and steel, its Plexiglas walls and bubble-shaped dome ceilings offer sights of fish and other sea creatures.

Norman Foster and Partners - One Central Park was designed by this amazing architecture firm. One Central Park, a mixed-use building that will feature the world’s highest apartment. A sense of loftiness is communicated in the building’s design, which places the residential section of the structure above buttressed “fins” that separate the public spaces from the private ones. The building is also eco-friendly, as it’s oriented to reduce solar gain. Taking into consideration the fact that skyscrapers tend to be inefficient in terms of energy consumption, Foster & Partners gave the building a central core that absorbs heat and a sunshade system, to reduce cooling costs. Dealing with temperature is a key design challenge within a hot desert environment.

They are also responsible for some other great designs like the ones below

Millau Viaduct

Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill - Burj Dubai was designed by these guys and will be the world’s tallest building when it opens in 2009. Its shape is inspired by the indigenous desert flowers that often appear as decorative patterns in Islamic architecture, but it also has an engineering purpose: The swirl shape ensures that the mass of the structure lessens as it reaches the top, making the structure steadier. A mixed-use building developed by Dubai’s Emaar Properties, the Burj Dubai will house shops, offices, residences, and entertainment venues.

These guys are awesome and are responsible for many great designs like the one below

Beijing Poly Plaza

I Have always been fascinated by architecture thousands of years ago, like the pyramids, great wall of china and so on. I find it amazing how in times where tools and technology were in their early stages they could still create such amazing designs usually by man power alone. Their designs aswell are just stunning and it makes you constantly wonder how they managed such an immense feet. Below are some of my favourite structures.

The Great Pyramids of Giza - The ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs and their queens. The pharaohs were buried in pyramids of many different shapes and sizes from before the beginning of the Old Kingdom to the end of the Middle Kingdom. There are about eighty pyramids known today from ancient Egypt. The three largest and best-preserved of these were built at Giza at the beginning of the Old Kingdom. The most well-known of these pyramids was built for the pharaoh Khufu. It is known as the ‘Great Pyramid’.

Scientists today believe that the Pyramids of Giza were not created by man because everything about them are so perfect. Each block used to build the pyramids are all exactly 0.025 millimetres apart and that is still impossible to create something today. Also each of the tops three pyramids line up perfectly to the constellation of orions belt, freaky!

Roman Coliseum - The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre  is the largest amphitheatre built in the Roman empire. Originally capable of seating 50,000 spectators, it was once used for gladiatorial combat. It was built in the 70s AD by Jewish slaves captured at the end of the Great Jewish Revolt. The Colosseum is located just east of the Roman Forum. 

Inside the coliseum

Amazing isn’t it. I like the bottom photo as it shows perspection of the size of the coliseum to people and its just fantastic.

The Great Wall – this is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built between 5th century BC and the 17th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. The most recent set of fortifications dates from the Ming Dynasty, and its longest section stretches 6,352 km (3,948 miles) from Shanhai Pass in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. It is generally considered to be the longest man-made structure on earth. It is amazing how such an accomplishment could have been achieved in such early times, it is just genius.

Maya Pyramids and Temples - These were created by the mayans who were a Mesoamerican civilisation and are noted for creating the first written language of Meso America. They are still highly regarded today because of their knowledge, especially of astrology. Their way of time keeping is more accurate than ours is today and based on the stars they have predicted many times in history. Such as the invasion of white people to their lands and more scary the end of the world in 2012. they could tell what the stars would be like thousands of years ahead because of their amazing chart they they created over time. They believe in 2012 the world is going to come into alignment with the milky way and cause total devastation. Scientists today have noted this to be true and are even scared of what might actually happen. They said this happened before and when it did there was a massive pole shift, where the poles move position in a matter of days. They said that Alaska used to be on the ecuador before this last happened. I have always been interested in this culture and i find their pyramids absolutely beautiful not only because of the design but the art in which it holds and the knowledge of the stars. Their design was all based on the stars and structure was designed to map the spring equinox. 

Below is a video of Mayan 2012 and their predictions, it is a must see.

The Acroplois - The Acropolis of Athens is the best known acropolis (high city, The “Sacred Rock) in Greece. Although there are many other acropolises in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification. The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock which rises 150 m (512 ft) above sea level in the city of Athens, Greece. It was also known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Kekrops or Cecrops, the first Athenian king. The whole structure is based on the fibbonacci sequence and is absolutely beautiful.

Future systems - When i see these guys work i just love it, i just really like the organic nature of everything.