National Grand Theatre

By:  Mauro Echeverz Ríos 

National Grand Theatre

Author:Paulo Andreo

Where: Beijing ,China

Materials: cristal, aluminium and titanium

For: famous music acts and big sport events

Biography

The form is like a semi-sphere.It is surrounded by artificial water lakes.

Opinion

In my opinion it is an elegant building but i think it is very huge.

Torres Kio (Candela Tamarit and Estrella Castaño 3ºA)

The Kio towers are two skyscrapers that are shaped like a parallelepiped.

   They were built between the years 1989 and 1996. They are located in the city of Madrid.

   Designed by American architects Philip Johnson and John Burgeee.

   The main function of these towers is to house offices, specifically the tower on the left is home to the company Bankia and the tower on the right to the company Realia.

In my opinion, this building is huge and very curious.

United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel

The Chapel of the United States Air Force Academy is a religious building completed in 1962 in the Cadet Area, north of Colorado Springs, in the area known as El Paso County, Colorado, United States.It has 46m of height, 85m length and a wide of 26m. It was designed by Walter Netsch, of Skidmore Owings and Merrill. It was named National Historic Landmark of the USA. UU in 2004. The building is composed of 17 glass and aluminum needles, each one composed of 100 tetrahedra, which envelop the entire roof. The tetrahedrons that make up the needles are covered by triangular aluminum panels, while the tetrahedra that are generated between them are covered with a mosaic of colored glass with aluminum frame. The building has 3 churches, one protestant, another catholic and a third jewish. I find this building very interesting because of the shape it has, and the function it performs, I was also surprised when I saw it because of its very strange shape. BMW TOWER

INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE CENTRE

Carla Margolles de Prado 3rd A

Author(s): Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (also known by its acronym KPF)

 (in association with Wong and Ouyang , HK).

is one of the leading architectural firms worldwide. Based in New York, and with offices in

 London, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Seoul, the company is known for its skyscraper design. 

The firm was founded in 1976 by Eugene Kohn, William Pedersen and Sheldon Fox.

Name : The International Commerce Center. It's a skyscraper in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

 It is part of the Union Square complex and the formal name of the skyscraper

 is Union Square Phase 7.

 It has a total height of 484 meters and 108 floors. It was completed in 2010,

 when it became the second tallest skyscraper in China,

 behind the Shanghai World Financial Center, in Shanghai, and the sixth on the planet.

 The skyscraper has a super-hotel of the Ritz-Carlton chain 

in the last 15 floors, being the second highest hotel in the world, after the Abraj Al Bait Towers.

Function : Hotel and office 

Where is it? : Austin Rd W, West Kowloon, Hong Kong

Materials : It’s made of glass material , the height is 484m ,it has 108 plants ,

 83 lifts an the area is 274 064 m² / 2 950 000 ft²

Age/Period : The construction began in 2002 and was completed in 2010,

 the year in which it was inaugurated

Polyhedrashape : The building is a quadrangular prism

Opinon : I think the building is very nice and very big, and I find it curious that it is also a hotel

Louvre Museum

Laura Pena García 3ºA

LOCATION:

The Louvre or the Louvre Museum, is the world's largest art museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement.

AUTHOR:

Ieoh Ming Pei, FAIA, RIBA born 26 April 1917, most known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect. Born in Kwangchou and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Soochow. In 1935, he moved to the United States and enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania's architecture school, but quickly transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

HISTORY & PERIOD:

The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as the Louvre castle in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to the urban expansion of the city, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function and, in 1546, was converted by Francis I into the main residence of the French Kings. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres and the  Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nation's masterpieces.

MATERIALS:

The Louvre Pyramid is a large glass and metal pyramid designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard of the Louvre Palace in Paris. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. Completed in 1989.

FUNCTION:

It´s a museum. The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed Musée Napoleon, but after Napoleon's abdication many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners.

POLYHEDRA SHAPED:

The Louvre Museum is pyramid shaped

PERSONAL OPINION:

I love this structure because is very curious and it´s also huge and elegant. It´s also well balance.I dream visiting it and seeing it in the real life not only by potos.

TORRE EIFFEL

TORRE EIFFEL

    by : Carla Pérez González 

AUTOR :

Engineer of formation, Eiffel founded and developed his company specialized in metallic carpentry, which major achievement was the Eiffel Tower. He dedicated last thirty years of his life to the experimental investigation. It was born in Dijon (France) in 1832. It finished his studies in the Central School of the Arts and the Manufactures in 1855, the same year of the first great Universal Exhibition celebrated in Paris.

         HEIGHT:       His total height is 324 meters, including the antenna that has in the top; without her, it would reach only 300 meters.                                                                                                                                              

MATERIALS:

Wrought iron, pudelado, raised under the form of 18.038 interlaced pieces fixed by 2.500.000 clinches.


INTERESTING FACTS :His construction lasted little more than 24 months and possessed the work of 50 engineers and more than 250 workers.

Edificios Jorge

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation

Architect

Norman Foster

Location

Astana, Kazakhstan

Materials

Due to the speed with which the work had to be completed and also to the extreme temperature conditions that can be reached in Kazakhstan during the winter the pyramid was materialized by a steel structure instead of concrete as in the basement area.

At first it was thought that all the enclosures were made of glass, which would be entrusted to the artist Brian Clarke, who had already collaborated with Foster on numerous occasions.

Finally the contribution of Clarke was limited to the enclosures of the upper part of the pyramid and the rest of the triangular spaces that the structure left to be covered were covered with concrete panels on which a gray granite cladding was placed.

Year of construction

2003-2006

Shape

It has a pyramidal shape

Cost

$ 58,000,000 USD

Opinion

I think that this structure is very beautiful because I like the idea with which it was built and based on the hierarchical power of religions

Water Cube

Architect

PTWOve Arup & PartnersCSCEC

Location

Beijing, China

Materials

The structure of concrete and steel (6,700 tons) while the coating is created by translucent ETFE (ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene) membranes.

Year of construction

2003-2007

Shape

It's a cube

Cost

$ 143,500,000 USD

Opinion

I do not like this structure because it's just a cube with a pool inside

National Library of Belarus

Architect

Mihail VinogrdovVictor Kramarenko

Structural engineer

Shohina L.M

Electrical engineer

GVA Lighting Inc

Location

Minsk, Belarus

Materials

Its structural shell shaped diamond base is covered with glass panels that shine for 24 hours a day as the gem it represents. The architects Víctor Kramarenko and Vinogradov Michael wanted to preserve and transmit this vision also at night

•            Led technology

A large monitor measuring 25 × 25 meters on the side and 62 meters in diameter. 4,646 colored LEDs were placed around the building

Designed in

1989

Year of construction

2002-2006

Shape

It has an octahedral rhombic cube shape

Opinion

I like this structure because there are a lot of lights and it’s very beautiful at night

Agbar Tower

Architect

Jean NouvelB720 Architects

Technical architect

Josep Gilabert

Engineer

Gepro BOMA, Master of Engineering

Structural engineer

R. Brufau & A. Obiol

Location

Barcelona, ​​Catalunya, Spain

Designed in

1999

Year of construction

2001-2005

Shape

It has cylindrical shape

Materials

The Agbar Tower is formed by two dense concrete bodies, one central and the other perimeter. Both joined by radial beams that hold the different slabs that shape each of the levels of the tower. The perimeter concrete module is covered by a first skin created by aluminum modules lacquered and tinted in earth tones, blue, green and gray that decompose as height is gained, giving the tower its characteristic tone during the day. The perimeter module together with the aluminum panels are in turn covered by a second skin, a brie-soleil composed of 59,619 transparent and translucent safety glass slats. These 120x30cm mobile slats can be electronically oriented according to the atmospheric conditions of light, wind, etc. The building is crowned by a glass and steel dome.

Opinion

I do not like it because it seems too simple compared to the previous structures

Hood of the Cadets (Candela Tamarit and Estrella Castaño 3ºA)

The Cadets ' chapel is located in the United States Air Force Academy.

It is a religious building in the form of a tetrahedron. It was designed by architect Walter Netsch in 1962 and is located in Colorado Springs, USA.

In my opinion, this building is curious and very huge.

The Pentagon

 

Name: The Pentagon

Architect: George Bergstrom

Shape: Pentagon

Location: Arlington, Virginia

Materials: Concrete and stone

Date of construction: They laid the first stone on 9/11/1941; the construction lasted only 16 months.

Interesting facts:

·        Headquarters of the US Department of Defense, with capacity for 25,000 people, is the largest office building in the world.

o    It has five facades of 280 meters.

o    Five floors high (plus two underground) connected by         another 10 in the form of radio that connect them.

·        Although there are 28.16 km of corridors, it only takes a maximum of seven minutes to walk between any two points of the building.

·        In his sixth anniversary (11/9/2001) a terrorist attack happened.   American Airlines Flight 77 was kidnapped and the terrorists crush in The Pentagon.

Pyramid of the Louvre museum of Paris (Estrella Castaño and Candela Tamarit 3ºA)

The pyramid of the Louvre museum was built by Ieoh Ming Pei. He is a Chinese American architect. He born the 26 april 1917 and he is alive with 101 years. He built buildings all over the world.

  The pyramid of the Louvre museum was built between 1983 and 1989. It has modern and futuristic style. It is located in Paris.

   It is of transparent laminated glass panels. It shape is related to a pyramid.

   In my opinion, this building looks elegant and modern. Also, it is very tall.

For more information:

https://www.louvre.fr/en

Carlos V 's Palace

INTRODUCTION:

Carlos V’s palace is a building located in “La Alhambra” in Granada. Carlos I ordered Pedro Machuca to build it. Carlos I, after his wedding with Elizabeth of Portugal, started living in “La Alhambra”. He was astonished because of its beauty, so he build the palace, which was his real palace in Granada. Nowadays the palace belongs to the Alhambras’ Museum, and it works as a museum, like the other buildings.

PEDRO MACHUCA:

Pedro Machuca (Toledo, ca. 1490 - 1550) was an spanish painter and architect. Although he was born in Spain, he went to Italy for develop her career as artist. There is an hypothesis that said he was a learner from Miguel Ángel, in some texts is mentioned a Pedro Spagnuolo, which might be him. In Italy he also knew Rafael Sanzio, he reflected Sanzio’s style in some of his paintings.

He was one of the 1^st artist to bring the most modern style from Italy to Spain, actually the palace was the most “italian” building from Spain.

MATERIALS,  STYLE  AND SHAPE:

The palace is made of stone, as I did not find where the stone is from, I suppose that is  from a near open pit of the Alhambra. It also has some decoration made of metal in the façade or of wood.

It style is mannerism. It is a style inside the Renaissance, at its final days during the Cinquecento. This styles loses all canones of beauty; proportions, harmony, serenity and balance. In mannerist architecture, buildings lose clarity of composition and lose solemnity with respect to full classicism. 

The shape is a prism with a base of 63mx63m. In the middle of it, the courtyard is shaped as a cylinder. The shape of building it reflects its mannerism style, that was brought from Italy by Machuca.

OPINION:

In my opinion the palace is very original and it has a funny shape, especially taking in account the year in which it was built. But even though its freshness, I don't like it so much. The decoration of the façade is not very elaborated, and it doesn’t contrast very much with its location. I think façades from the Quattrocento are much more beautiful because, the are simple geometric patterns, but they play with colours and fits good with the buildings. Also the palace of Carlos V doesn’t match and it is not well balanced with the others buildings from the Alhambra, which are extremely more beautiful and elaborated.  

Bruno Valderrey Alonso 3rd A    

Houses Cube The Kubuswoning (Candela Tamarit and Estrella Castaño 3ºA)

The most known cube houses like Kubuswoning are houses that form a set called Blaak forest, creating a kind of forest.

There are 32 houses, each of which represents a tree from the hexagon-shaped trunk to the cube-shaped cup.

They were designed by the architect Piet Blom in 1984. They are located in Rotterdam.

In my opinion, this building is very original and very funny. It is also huge.