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Best Hotel Pools in the World

April 23rd 2008 08:17
Many hotels and holiday resorts have a pool for the recreation of their guests. Normally the more luxurious the hotel, the better the pool. This isn't always the case, some hotels simply have a superior designed pool than others.

The hotel and resort pools below are from all over the world and are all unique and cleverly designed. You can see more examples here.


world's best hotel pools



Heated hotel pool in the snow mountains - steaming


Hotel pool with spectacular view


Luxurious indoor swimming pool



Best hotel pools at night




*These images used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.

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Death Star Hotel

March 28th 2008 15:35
Well it's finally happened - a hotel in the planning stages that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Death Star from the Star Wars films. You're probably expecting that this hotel will be built in Las Vegas or Dubai, but instead it is planned for Baku, capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan. This may attempt to increase Baku's chances of hosting the 2016 Olympic Games.


Death Star Hotel


Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan which looks like the Death Star


Hotel Death Star




*These pictures used wither permission from Damn Funny Pictures.
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Notre Dame

February 1st 2008 07:06
A Gargoyle on Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

Notre Dame de Paris, known simply as Notre Dame in English is a Gothic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in Paris, France, with its main entrance to the west. It is still used as a Roman Catholic cathedral and is the seat of the Archbishop of Paris. Notre Dame de Paris is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. It was restored and saved from destruction by Viollet-le-Duc, one of France's most famous architects. The name Notre Dame means "Our Lady" in French.
Below are some pictures of this incredible and famous cathedral. You can see more images here.
Notre Dame de Paris.


Face of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris


Timeline of construction for Notre Dame de Paris:

• 1160 Maurice de Sully (named Bishop of Paris), orders the original cathedral to be demolished.
• 1163 Cornerstone laid for Notre Dame de Paris — construction begins.
• 1182 Apse and choir completed.
• 1196 Nave completed. Bishop de Sully dies.
• 1200 Work begins on western façade.
• 1225 Western façade completed.
• 1250 Western towers and north rose window completed.
• 1250 – 1345 Remaining elements completed.
Inside Notre Dame in Paris


Interior of Notre Dame. Stained glass windows




*These images used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.

**This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Notre Dame de Paris.

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Burj Dubai

December 26th 2007 13:15
Burj Dubai is a supertall skyscraper currently under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. When it is completed in late 2008, it is predicted to be the tallest man-made structure in the world, as well as the tallest building by any measure. Scheduled for occupancy in September 2009, the building is part of a 2 km² (0.8 sq mi) development called 'Downtown Burj Dubai' and is located at the "First Interchange" (aka "Defence Roundabout") along Sheikh Zayed Road at Doha Street.
Burj Dubai Tower at completion
Projected view of the Burj Dubai Tower once completed.

The building is being built mainly by South Korean company Samsung, along with the Belgian company Besix and the UAE company Arabtec. It was designed by American Adrian Smith before he left Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) of Chicago to start his own independent practice, Adrian Smith Gordon Gill Architecture in October 2006. However, SOM continues to lead the architectural, structural engineering and mechanical engineering of Burj Dubai. The total budget for the Burj Dubai project is about $4.1 billion US and for the entire new 'Downtown Burj Dubai', $20 billion US.

As of 24 October 2007, Burj Dubai has reached a height of 585.7 m (1,922 ft), with 156 completed floors.
Burj Dubai Pictures - under construction
Burj Dubai under construction at 14th October, 2007.

Burj Dubai's last two milestones will be to surpass the 628.8 m (2,063 ft) height of the KVLY-TV Mast in North Dakota, United States to become the world's tallest structure, and to pass the Warsaw radio mast in Gąbin, Poland (646.4 m (2,121 ft) until it collapsed in 1991) to become the world's tallest structure of any type ever built.

The projected final height of Burj Dubai is officially being kept a secret due to competition from other buildings under construction or proposed; however, figures released by a contractor on the project have suggested a height of around 818 m (2,684 ft).[8] Based on this height, the total number of habitable floors is expected to be around 160. However, when pressed for a more precise figure, the project manager merely repeated that he was able only to guarantee that the final height would be higher than 700 m (2,297 ft), and it would be the world's tallest free-standing structure when completed.
Burj Dubai Height compared to Taipei 101, Sears Tower, Petronas Twin Towers, Empire State Building, Canary Wharf
Final height of the Burj Dubai compared to other tall famous buildings.






*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Burj Dubai.

**These images are licensed under the same license and came from the same Wikipedia page as above.
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Zero Emission Tower in Dubai

November 7th 2007 13:01
The Burj Al-Taqa Energy Tower in Dubai is will be the world's first 322 metre tall zero emissions tower. It will use sun, wind, and water to create all of its own energy. It is being designed by German architect Eckhard Gerber.

Some pictures of the zero emissions tower in Dubai are below.

Dubai zero emissions tower


Energy efficient tower in the middle east


Zero energy green tower Dubai


zero emissions tower Dubai





*These pictures used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.
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Dubai City

September 3rd 2007 10:39
The Dubai government's decision to diversify from a trade-based but oil-reliant economy to one that is service- and tourism-oriented has made real estate and other developments more valuable, resulting in the property boom from 2004–2006. Construction on a large scale has turned Dubai into one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.

Burj Dubai
Burj Dubai
The Burj Dubai is a super tall skyscraper currently under construction in the "New Downtown" of Dubai. Projected to be completed and occupied in 2008, the silvery glass-sheathed concrete building will restore the title of Earth's tallest structure to the Middle East — a title not held by the region since Lincoln Cathedral upset the four millennial reign of Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza in 1311 AD


[ Click here to read more ]
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European Churches

August 15th 2007 11:39
Church architecture, (also known as Ecclesiastical architecture) refers to the buildings of Christian churches. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly by imitating other architectural styles as well as responding to changing beliefs, practices and local traditions. Both theological and practical influences on church architecture have included pagan and secular buildings and those of other faiths. Buildings were at first adapted from those originally intended for other purposes but, with the rise of distinctively ecclesiastical architecture, church buildings came to influence secular ones which have often imitated religious architecture. In the 20th century, the use of new materials, such as concrete, as well as simpler styles has had its effect upon the design of churches and arguably the flow of influence has been reversed.

Below are pictures of historic churches from all over Europe. If you enjoy these photos you can see many more here
[ Click here to read more ]
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United Nations Headquarters

July 30th 2007 10:49
The United Nations Headquarters is a distinctive complex in New York City that has served as the headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1950. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood, on the east side of Midtown Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River. Though it is in New York City, the land occupied by the United Nations Headquarters is considered international territory, and its borders are First Avenue west, East 42nd Street south, East 48th Street north and the East River east. FDR Drive passes underneath the Conference Building of the complex.

The complex includes a number of major buildings. While the Secretariat Tower is most predominantly featured in depictions of the headquarters, it also includes the domed General Assembly Hall, the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, as well as the Conference and Visitors Center, which is situated between the General Assembly and Secretariat buildings, and can be seen only from FDR Drive or the East River. Just inside the perimeter fence of the complex stands a line of flagpoles where the flags of all 192 UN member states, plus the UN flag, are flown in English alphabetical order


[ Click here to read more ]
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Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

May 18th 2007 10:41
The Chernobyl disaster was a major accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26, 1986 at 01:22 a.m., consisting of an explosion at the plant and subsequent radioactive contamination of the surrounding geographic area. The power plant is located near Pripyat, Ukraine. It is regarded as the worst accident ever in the history of nuclear power.

Following the accident, questions arose on the future of the plant and its eventual fate. All work on the unfinished reactors 5 and 6 were immediately halted. However, the trouble at the Chernobyl plant did not end with the disaster in reactor 4. The damaged reactor was sealed off and 200 metres of concrete was placed between the disaster site and the operational buildings. The Ukrainian government continued to let the three remaining reactors operate because of an energy shortage in the country. A fire broke out in reactor 2 in 1991; the authorities subsequently declared the reactor damaged beyond repair and had it taken offline. Reactor 1 was decommissioned in November 1996 as part of a deal between the Ukrainian government and international organizations such as the IAEA to end operations at the plant. On December 15, 2000, then-President Leonid Kuchma personally turned off Reactor 3 in an official ceremony, effectively shutting down the entire plant


[ Click here to read more ]
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Huge Statues

April 30th 2007 15:14
Today's photos are of some huge statues from around the world. I'm not sure what some of them are. If you can recognise them post a comment!


[ Click here to read more ]
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Glass Floors

April 23rd 2007 09:46
A glass floor is transparent section of a floor in a building or a boat. Usually made of a reinforced glass, the most common use is as a tourist attraction.

The highest above ground level is in the CN Tower in Toronto that can withstand a pressure of 4,100 kilopascals (600 lb/in²). The highest glass floor in a building in Europe is in the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth. The highest in Oceania is in the observation deck of Sky Tower in Auckland


[ Click here to read more ]
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Inside the Kremlin

April 9th 2007 11:05
The Moscow Kremlin is a historic fortified complex at the very heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River. It is the best known of kremlins (Russian citadels) and includes four palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of Russia.

The Cathedral Square is the heart of the Kremlin. It is surrounded by six buildings, including three cathedrals. The Cathedral of the Dormition was completed in 1479 to be the main church of Moscow and where all the Tsars were crowned. The massive limestone facade, capped with its five golden cupolas was the design of Aristotele Fioravanti. The gilded, three-domed Cathedral of the Annunciation was completed next in 1489, only to be reconstructed to a nine-domed design a century later. On the south-east of the square is the much larger Cathedral of the Archangel Michael (1508), where all the Muscovite monarchs from Ivan Kalita to Ivan V are interred


[ Click here to read more ]
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Sydney Harbour Bridge

April 6th 2007 12:48
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the widest long-span bridge in the world and is the largest steel arch bridge with the top of the bridge standing 134 metres above the harbour. The total weight of the bridge is 52,800 tonnes, and six million hand-driven rivets hold the bridge together.

The 75th anniversary of this iconic bridge was celebrated in March 2007. The bridge was formally opened on 19 March 1932. Amongst those who attended and gave speeches were the State Governor, Sir Philip Game, the Minister for Public Works, and Ennis. The Premier of NSW, Labor politician Jack Lang, was to open the bridge by cutting a ribbon at its southern end. However, just as he was about to do so, a man in military uniform moved forward on horseback and slashed the ribbon with a sword, declaring the bridge to be open "in the name of His Majesty the King and the decent and respectable citizens of New South Wales". He was promptly arrested. The ribbon was hurriedly retied and Lang performed the official opening ceremony. After he did so, there was a 21-gun salute and a RAAF flypast. The intruder was identified as Francis de Groot


[ Click here to read more ]
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London Eye

November 23rd 2006 02:40
The British Airways London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, opened in 1999 and is the largest observation wheel in the world (a type of Ferris wheel). It stands 135 metres (443 feet) high and is adjacent to London's County Hall. The Eye is officially the world's most popular tourist attraction, more popular than the Statue of Liberty, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Eiffel Tower. By July 2002 around 8.5 million people had ridden the Eye.

London Eye big Ferris wheel
London Eye viewed from Westminster Bridge.

[ Click here to read more ]
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