Architectural Beauty

..................and I have visited the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and was in awe of Anton Gaudi's vision and tried to visit everything else that he designed, wearing my girlfriend out and some serious shoe leather..............



Regards

diccus

Both really great buildings Diccus. The Chrysler Building has always been among my favorites, alot more so than a couple of the Chryslers I have owned.

Matt

I've always admired the Natural History Museum in London. As amazing on the outside as on the inside.

And the Royal Albert Hall, too.

Two great buildings Diccus, that would have been in my top ten. Here is another set of buildings that I have been lucky enough to visit. Even more remarkable given the tools that were available to build them.

Machu Picchu

Regards

Nic

I have always wanted to visit machu pinchu, you lucky man. Thank god I thought you were going to post a pic of Barcode Stadium......now that would fit in Rashers post


Diccus

Never really understood the philosophy behind Gaudi's Architecture and therefore don't fully know how to appreciate what he was trying to achieve. I might look into it more sometime, but I know some are still unfinished.
Rather predictably, my favorite Architect is Frank Lloyd Wright, but then residential building is how I see buildings relating to individual lives most. I always remember that an inch or two in a cupbard depth for instance is the difference between function and failure.
I was on the roof of the World Trade Centre 6 weeks before it came down, and that feels very strange to me now. I wonder about those kids working at the pizza bar at the top.
Grand Central Station is probably the most serene place for such a hub of life and for me close to being perfection.

I love these too - the Painted Ladies in San Francisco. Shame that the park opposite is so full of dog poo.

The Oasis swimming pool in Bedford is lovely from the outside - unfortunately looks like a public swimming pool inside, but then it would I suppose.

The Registan, Samarkand a square surrounded by wonderful buildings, and my favourite place to which I would love to return.

Always loved the Wills building in Heaton, Newcastle. It was very sensitively restored in my eyes. Had a friend who had a apartment in there so had the pleasure of staying there a few times. Mind I've always had a thing for Art Deco.



What do you reckon Nic?

Regards

Diccus

Concrete brutalism to some, but I must admit to rather liking the Barbican in London. I'll get me flame-proof coat...

Steve.

Just to show I'm not a total heathen, this is probably the most awe-inspiring building I've ever visited. The view as you enter the compound is pretty much as the cliched photo and for a moment almost an anti-climax.

Then as you start to wander around, appreciate it from different angles, and finally get up close... it's stunning, humbling and unforgettable.

Steve.

There was supposed to be a black version the other side of the river as well.

Diccus,

I am old enough to remember when the Wills building was still a tab factory (!), but agree it is a decent restoration, that has meant the building has been retained.

I also have a soft spot for this type of architecture. The Hoover building is a place that I used to commute past regularly, when living in Marlow and driving to Central London. The Tesco purchase and conversion saved it from a lingering death.



Regards

Nic

quote:

Originally posted by Diccus62:

Always loved the Wills building in Heaton, Newcastle. Mind I've always had a thing for Art Deco.


What do you reckon Nic?

Regards

Diccus

Bruce,

The Registan in Samarkand is rather nice. Did you buy a rug while you were there? English people visiting Uzbekistan are quite a rarity.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Mile High Skyscraper, "The Illinois", 1956 (not built)

Burg Eltz:



Visited this castle on a Europe roadtrip in -96. Stunning.

quote:

Bruce,

The Registan in Samarkand is rather nice. Did you buy a rug while you were there? English people visiting Uzbekistan are quite a rarity.

Steve,

We visited in the mid 90's, spending time in Uzbekistan (Samarakand and Tashkent) and then hiking in the mountains in Tajikistan. Samarkand did have a few western visitors then, but Tajikistan hardly any.

Bought very little as I recall, nothing much for sale to a tourist market. In Samarkand we were captivated by the architecture, and saddened by the evident decay of many buildings. I also recall the food-utterly, utterly awful.

Steve Bull-Glad you chose the Taj Mahal. Rather like the Mona Lisa it is hard to see with fresh eyes but unlike that icon I agree that 'in the flesh' it is genuinely inspirational, and just gets better the more you walk around (and inside) it.

You may have gathered I'm a fan of islamic architecture. Closer to home another gem (but on a more domestic scale) is the Alhambra in Grenada. Also the Mezquita in Cordoba, a building whose effect is completely impossible to capture in a photograph.

Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Lawson:
Frank Lloyd Wright's Mile High Skyscraper, "The Illinois", 1956 (not built)

... but strangely similar to Liebeskind's (sp?) first designs for the new WTC on Ground Zero....

I notice they're still building the Sagrada Familia (I think they should quit while they're ahead). If you go into the vaults you see some of Gaudi's original plans, which involved a huge central gherkin-like tower about three times the height of the existing ones. Now that would be impressive!

This is my idea of architectural beauty (but it badly needs a clean-up):

or this one:

Mother nature makes some pretty spectacular structures too. What about this set of pillars? 7,000 light years away, each pillar is several light years high.
Dunstan

Back on the ground I'm suggesting a Dutch house, the Rietveld Schröder house in Utrecht.

From the internet:
Eighty years after it was built, a visit to the Rietveld Schröder House remains a fascinating experience. It was designed by Gerrit Rietveld for Truus Schröder in 1924. As Rietveld’s client she had a great influence on the result. This house is the only building ever realized on the basis of the architectural principles of De Stijl. Typical features are the use of the Stijl colours red, blue and yellow, in combination with white, grey and black, the relation between interior and exterior and the unity between the free-standing pieces of furniture and the fitted parts of the interior. According to Rietveld and Schröder one had to have an active attitude to life.
For them too living in a home is a conscious act. The furnishing of the house reflects this conviction. The occupant has to perform a transaction for every activity: the bathroom is created by opening out a wall, while the sleeping areas could be screened off with sliding walls, and privacy was obtained by placing shutters in front of the windows.
The house is literally a machine for living in. After the death of Truus Schröder in 1985 the house became the property of the Rietveld Schröderhuis Foundation that in turn entrusted it to the Centraal Museum to administer once it had been restored. It has been open to the public since 1987. At the end of 2000 UNESCO placed it on the World Heritage List as ‘an important and unique icon in Western architectural history and a masterpiece of human creativity.’ The Schröder House occupies a key position in Rietveld’s work.