Seven Names of the Ancient Wonders in the World (Part 3)

Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Iraq)

Babylon Hanging Gardens is a work built by King Nebuchadrezzar II in 603 BC to satisfy his wife’s nostalgia for the homeland of Medes. In the hanging garden there is a system of fountains consisting of two large wheels connected by chains with wooden barrels.

As the wheel spins, the chain and the water tank move as well, bringing the water from a tank below up high to water the plants. To water the garden’s flowers and plants, the slaves had to take turns bringing water from the river Euphrates to the garden.

Temple of Artemis (Turkey)

The wonderful marble temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis was completed around 550 BC in Ephesus, near the present day town of Selçuk in Turkey.

The 115m long temple, 55m wide, consists of 120 stone columns, each 20m high is said to hold many delicate works of art, including the bronze statue of Amazon.

In 356 B.C.E., a man named Herostratus burned the temple, hoping to become immortal. In 262, the Goths burned the temple for a second time, and in 401 the temple was disrupted by the Christians. Only the foundation and some other parts of the second temple still exist to this day.

New Seven Wonders of the World

Statue of Christ the Redeemer (Brazil)

38m high Christ the Redeemer statue stands atop Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro city of Brazil. The statue was erected in 1931 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the independence of Brazil.

30m high statue standing on a 7m pedestal. The head of the statue weighs 35.6 tons, is 3.7m high. Each arm weighs 9.1 tons. The distance between the fingers of the left and right hand is 23m.

This is the most famous statue of Jesus Christ and also the largest Art Deco monument in the world. With outstretched arms as if to embrace the entire city of Rio de Janeiro, the statue has become a symbol of peace and hospitality of the Brazilian people.

Great Wall (China)

This new world wonder was located along China’s northern border for centuries to prevent Mongol invasion. Built from the 5th century BC to the 16th century, it is the longest man-made project in the world, spanning 6,400km.

The most famous part can be mentioned at the Great Wall is the wall of the first Emperor of China – Qin Shihuang ordered to build around 200 BC. The Chinese have a famous saying: ” If you haven’t gone to the Great Wall, you won’t be a real man .”

The Secrets Behind Casino Architecture (part 1)

When entering a casino, does a potential patron, casual player, or high roller feel excited to bet big and win, or does he or she sheepishly move through the casino games en route to their destination? How risk-averse is this gambler or potential gambler, and how determined are they to partake in the many opportunities to spend big bucks?

There are many factors that influence the answers to these questions. Some factors are personal and are the result of the patrons’ upbringing, worldview, and temperament. Other factors, however, are environmental and produced by their surroundings.

There is, perhaps, no environmental factor more influential to the answer to the questions posed above than the casino’s architecture. Casino architecture sets up the stage for any patron to get the experience. It dictates how that person moves through the casino, what they see along the way, and how their emotional state is altered or impacted.

Architecture students often travel the world, learning about and seeing firsthand examples of different architectural styles and periods. They often visit ancient cathedrals, landmarks, and artistic structures to learn about how they were designed and which styles they represent.

What many architecture enthusiasts often forget is that modern architecture principles are often put to work in unexpected places and nowhere are these principles more carefully considered than in casino architecture around the world.

This should come as no surprise, considering that architectural alterations that modify the betting behavior of patrons even slightly can produce a significant increase in revenue. It is therefore not a coincidence that for examples of some of the most extravagant and over-the-top marvels of modern architecture, one need not look further than the world’s casinos.

According to the list of best Vegas casino hotels on Weekly Slots News, one example of striking casino architecture is The Venetian in Las Vegas. A replica of Venice, Italy, the casino and hotel is a spectacle to behold. It lulls guests into a state of euphoric relaxation and provides casinos designed beautifully and strategically.

Zaha Hadid Architects design the world’s greenest football stadium

Planning permission has been granted to build Forest Green Rovers’ Eco Park, the first football stadium made almost out of wood in the world, which is designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.

The Eco Park stadium of English League Two side Forest Green Rovers is going to be a 5,000 capacity wooden stadium on Junction 13 of the M5, along with landscaped parking as well as two pitches, one of which is a 4G playing area, with available access for the local community.

Considered as “the greenest football stadium in the world”, by the club Forest Green Rovers’ website, the new stadium can be built within the next three years.

Forest Green Rovers’ Eco Park

In an interview on the club’s website, Chairman Dale Vince said that it had taken five years for the club to finally get approval, with the first attempt rejected by Stroud District Council in June of last year.

He said, “It may take us some years. I think it may take us one year of detailed design work. This is just an outline planning application. The shortest case is three years if we started soon.”

Forest Green Rovers, the currently sixth team in League Two, became the first vegan football club in the world in 2017.

Zaha Hadid Architects, founded by the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, is assigned to design 950 projects in 44 countries. The company opened an office in Dubai in 2016, the same year when Hadid died.

Dubai developer Omniyat began the handover of commercial units at The Opus – the only building in Dubai created by Hadid in October 2018. M.E Dubai, forming part of the outstanding Business Bay property, the first M.E by Meliá hotel in the Middle East and also the only hotel in the world to be designed both inside and outside by the late Zaha Hadid, is planned to open in February 2020.

The s842-metre-long Sheikh Zayed Bridge of Abu Dhabi is also designed by Hadid, who took inspiration from sand dunes in order to create the structure’s curved arches.

National Stadium designed by architect Kengo Kuma in Tokyo is complete

Opening on December 21, Tokyo’s new National Stadium will replace its older, 56-year-old arena of the same name. (Rendering courtesy Kengo Kuma Architects)

In one month, Japan will celebrate the opening of its new $1.4 billion National Stadium ahead of next summer’s 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. Designed by Kengo Kuma and the Azusa Sekkei Corporation, construction on the 68,000-seat arena has officially been completed as of this week, according to the Japan Sport Council.

The project is located in Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu Gaien district and took almost exactly three years to build under the supervision of national construction giant Taisei Corporation. National Stadium is nearly twice the size of the venue it’s replacing, an arena of the same name that was built 61 years ago for the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics—the last time the city hosted the event. It’s set in the same space as its predecessor near one of Tokyo’s largest parks and features an all-timber-and-steel framing system that will allow lush greenery to spill over the pagoda-inspired structure’s sides when it grows in the next decade.

Kengo Kuma’s vision for National Stadium quickly came after nearly a decade of controversy that surrounded its build-out. Zaha Hadid was originally supposed to design the stadium as the centerpiece of the Tokyo Summer Olympics, but her proposal seemed too costly to complete in time for the 2020 grand opening. Instead, Kuma’s stadium, with its half-covered roof and open-air columns , was both cheaper and easier to build. The design team sourced more than 70,000 cubic feet of larch and cedarwood from Japan’s 47 prefectures, and while it was a clever sustainability move, the gesture also drew criticism over allegations of endangered tropical timber that was used.

The National Stadium is one of 42 venues used during the international event next summer. Eight of the total spaces are completely new and all were designed by local architects. As the largest stadium in the city, National Stadium will play host to the opening and closing ceremonies of both the Olympics and Paralympic Games, as well as some soccer and track and field events.

The official opening celebration for the National Stadium is scheduled for December 21, after which the site will host its first event: the Emperor’s Cup soccer final on New Year’s Day.

Mohegan Unveils Casino Development Concept for Hellinikon

Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, in partnership with GEK TERNA, unveiled INSPIRE Athens, its concept for the first Integrated Resort and Casino in Greece. The resort consists of a luxury hotel, entertainment venues, convention center, shopping, dining, casino, and a comprehensive mix of premium amenities, Mohegan says in a press release.

The development will help launch a new era of tourism growth and economic prosperity for all of Greece and the entire region. The building’s iconic design was created by Steelman Partners, an international architectural firm that specialized in IRC design. The concept form draws inspiration from the architectural history of Greece, especially from Athenian buildings and sculptures including the Caryatids and the Acropolis.

“We understood that INSPIRE Athens was meant to symbolize more than an integrated resort,” said Mario Kontomerkos, Mohegan Gaming, and Entertainment’s Chairman and CEO.

“It is our hope that INSPIRE Athens would be the catalyst that sparks the entire development of the Hellinikon area into the coveted Athenian Riviera, forever redefining the modern identity of Greece.”

Mario Kontomerkos, Mohegan Gaming, and Entertainment’s Chairman and CEO added, “Our overarching design was meant to be iconic in nature, yet characterize Athens’s historic architecture and rich culture while adopting a new stylistic narrative that inspires the region’s future.”

Much of the resort was designed to capitalize on the Greek affinity for the outdoors where virtually all the resort’s restaurants, bars, lounges, and nightclubs offer both indoor and outdoor experiences. The collection of food, beverage, and retail outlets includes internationally-recognized brands as well as domestic favorites that accentuate traditional Greek dining, drinking, and shopping.

INSPIRE Athens intends to be southern Europe’s center for A-list music concerts, theatrical performances, major sporting events, and other arts and cultural activities on a weekly basis. Officiating the announcement of the IRC was Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment’s Chairman and CEO, Mario Kontomerkos: “We hope we’ll have the opportunity to turn our vision into a reality and further elevate Greece as a must-visit travel destination with this landmark hospitality destination.”

He also mentioned his direct ties to the region as a Greek-American and his ambition for contributing both locally and nationally to the country by aligning with key travel, tourism, and workforce development goals. The INSPIRE Athens development is estimated to create more than 7.000 jobs in the region during and after construction, including direct, indirect, and induced.

The completion of the Integrated Resort and Casino is expected to increase tourism in the Attica region by at least 10 percent and contribute millions of euros every year to both the government and the people of Greece in taxes, infrastructure improvement, and public services.

The best architectural masterpieces by Frank Lloyd Wright

2019 is an important year for those who admire the late architect Frank Lloyd Wright: this year marks 60 years since his death, and 60 years since his greatest masterpiece, the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, opened in New York City, the United States. The Guggenheim Museum was one of eight of his buildings to be awarded Unesco World Heritage status.

Here are the most striking creations of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York City, the United States

Though the curving Guggenheim is a world away from the blocky, Cubism-inspired designs of properties like the Fallingwater house in Pennsylvania, it still has a variety of Frank Lloyd Wright trademarks. The inclusion of a large glass dome and the use of exposed concrete, for example. The museum was built inorder to house the art collection owned by Solomon R Guggenheim, and it opened 6 months after Wright’s death. He originally wanted the exterior of the building to be bright red, which he believed was the “color of creation”.

Jiyu Gakuen Girls’ School, Tokyo, Japan

Jiyu Gakuen Girls’ School, open to the public, was commissioned by Yoshikazu Hani, who wanted to build a school that felt like a home. Wright achieved this by adding ornate patterned window frames, a beautiful courtyard, and various other decorative touches, including the beautiful pendant lamps in the dining room. Look closely and you will also find out that the former school’s unusual dimensions as Wright designed this as a “child-sized” building.

Unity Temple, Chicago, USA

Designed as a replacement for Chicago’s Oak Park Unity Church, the Unity Temple is another of the buildings given Unesco World Heritage status this summer. The temple was a major game-changer in the field of ecclesiastic architecture – a cube that was made from bare concrete, topped with an enormous slab – and also one of the first of Wright’s buildings made with exposed concrete, which became his signature style. He compensated for the lack of windows and fortress-like appearance by installing skylights made with green, yellow, and brown glass, designed to remind worshippers of the natural world.

Behnisch Architekten completes the Adidas World of Sports Arena in Germany

Behnisch Architekten has completed the new office and reception building Adidas World of Sports Arena, marking the main entrance of Adidas’ headquarters campus in Herzogenaurach, Germany. With a sculptural shape emphasizing the group’s passion for sports, the Adidas Arena welcomes visitors to the headquarters with a strong visual identity, which is illustrated in its expressive, functional architecture.

In a balanced interplay between landscape, transparency, and a modern concept, Behnisch Architekten has set up a striking landmark within the Adidas World of Sports campus, which is formed by an abstract volume housing three workspace floors as well as hovers above a modeled landscape. This sculpted hill accommodates the entrance area of the building, part of which is publicly accessible, leading to a vast atrium suitable for many events.

Within the bright atrium, a dramatic floating staircase forms the heart of the building to take employees up to the three-story workspace section. With a total floor area of 52,000m2, the Arena building provides about 2,000 employees with modern and sustainable workspace organized on organic, flexible principles. The 3 levels are connected, both horizontally and vertically, through the main street, resembling a marketplace suspended in mid-air. On each floor, the main street is adjoined by 6 kitchen hubs that represent 6 key cities characterized by distinctive colors, materials, and types of furnishing in order to form individual addresses within the building. Work areas differentiate with areas for formal or informal meetings and recreational zones, organized as variegated clusters around lightwells of various sizes optimized in order to supply ample natural light.

The Arena’s façade incorporates a particularly developed shading system and sun control adapted to the orientation of each elevation, optimizing the interplay between maximum light transmittance. Thanks to its extensive use of recyclable materials and implementation of up-to-date energy-efficiency standards, the Arena has been submitted for LEED gold certification.

Frank Lloyd Wright and his 10 most striking creations

Frank Lloyd Wright is arguably the most well-known and revered architect of America in the 20th century. He believed there was a right way to design in the world, a natural architecture which served both functionality and beauty without sacrificing anything. He saw in offices, houses, and temples, the potential not only for art, but also for artistry – the ability to build dignified structures with a respect for the environments.

Frank Lloyd Wright and his most most striking creations

Wright conceived of over 1,000 designs and also executed around half of them over his 70-year career. He had a sweeping vision, spanning places of worship; museums, schools, and office spaces; private homes and hotels. In 1936, he started designing “Usonian” as an affordable-housing solution in the United States, a number of which still stand up to now. In the same year, eight of his buildings earned UNESCO status for pivotal role in the development of modern architecture.

Underpinning the designs of Wright was his belief that Nature, with a capital “N”, was sacred. His philosophy of “organic architecture” proposed that built environment had better accommodate the natural world in a greater whole. He drew inspiration from Japanese art and architecture, especially its emphasis on spirituality, harmony, and geometric simplicity, which praised the Japanese understanding of structure as “miraculous.” That is evident in differating degrees across his oeuvre. In 1957, Wright described the goal of an architect in missionary terms: “to help people understand how to make the world a better one for living in, life more beautiful, and to give rhyme, reason, and meaning to life”, or in other words, a perfect unity of materiality, philosophy, and the natural world.

There are the most striking creations of Frank Lloyd Wright to understand the celebrated architect.

  • The Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York City, the US
  • Jiyu Gakuen Girls’ School, Tokyo, Japan
  • Unity Temple, Chicago, the US
  • King Kamehameha Golf Course Clubhouse, Hawaii, the US
  • The Dwight D Martin House, Buffalo, the US
  • Taliesin, Wisconsin, the US
  • Fallingwater, Pennsylvania, the US
  • Johnson Wax Headquarters, Wisconsin, the US
  • Ennis House, Los Angeles, the US
  • Yodokō Guest House, Ashiya, Japan

The most iconic buildings of modern architecture

A new breed of buildings emerged as icons of the modernist movement of the 1900s when architects used innovative technologies in construction in order to create stunning structures.

The Farnsworth House

Designed by architect Mies Van De Rohe, the Farnsworth house is among the most widely recognized structures of the International Style of modern architecture. It was designed exclusively for Dr. Edith Farnsworth in the late 1940s. Built almost in steel and glass, this house emphasizes the modernist tenets of lightness, transparency, and structural expression. This only one-bedroom retreat stands out for its open-plan layout as well as its closeness to nature.

The Glass House

The Glass House by Philip Johnson was another iconic work of the International Style of modern architecture. This house located in a green suburb of Illinois, emphasizing the isolation of the individual from urban society. The work of Philip Johnson stands out for its minimalist structure, and elements of proportion, geometry, and transparency.

Seagram Building

The Seagram Building by Mies Van De Rohe epitomizes the tenets of modernism with its elegant steel and glass framework. This building’s design projects the utilitarian narrative of conventional skyscraper construction. The Seagram Building was also the first-of-its-kind to be complemented by a plaza, revolutionizing the importance of public spaces in urban cities.

Villa Savoye

Villa Savoye, designed by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, is a modernist response to the 1900s’ industrial machine age. The Villa Savoye is located in Poissy, a small town in France outside the city of Paris. This stunning structure is an adaptation of the principles of mechanized design. This home is a simulation of spatial efficiency and minimalist aesthetics.

Eames House

Designed by Charles and Ray Eames with the help of architect Eero Saarinen, Eames House is a modern marvel from the 1940s. It became known as Case Study House number 8 under the 1945 Case Study House Program of Arts and Architecture Magazine. This house stands out for its incredible glass and steel framework showcasing semblances of color.

The architect added to Everton Stadium team

London-based architect firm Pattern is going to take over from Sheppard Robson as the delivery architect on the £500m Bramley Moore Dock stadium of Everton FC.

Pattern will work alongside Dan Meis, the US-based primary architect, who was appointed to the project in 2017. Recently, the firm Pattern revealed CGI plans for the Everton stadium on the semi-derelict UNESCO world heritage site in North Liverpool.

Dan Meis wrote in a recent post on his website, “About £100m of our whole construction budget will be used for preparing the site in such a way that we can build the Bramley Moore Dock stadium without damaging the historic fabric of the dock,  meaning that the remainder of our budget must be spent with extreme efficiency. Luckily, the magic of Goodison isn’t about cheese shops and fancy clubs but rather historic stands, tight, steep, and right on top of the pitch. It’s a notoriously intimidating ground for opposing players and that is also what we intend to bring to Bramley Moore.”

“We consider it a labor of love and we have a great responsibility to live up to the unparalleled history of Everton club and her generations of passionate fans.”

Pattern is presently working on Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium. The firm has also previously delivered stadiums for the Pan-American Games in 2019. More locally, the firm worked on The City of Manchester Stadium in 2002, and follow-up proposals for its extension under its more widely known name, the Etihad Stadium.

The stadium of Everton FC is set to host up to 52,000 spectators and will be clad with steel, brick, and glass. It is set to include four stands, the largest of which has a capacity of 13,000 spectators. Lower tiers in the North and South stands offer the potential for safe standing.

Bramley Moore Dock stadium is expected to take 3 years to complete when it has gained the planning permission at Liverpool City Council meeting later this year.