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Architectural Photography

February 22nd 2010 01:09
What is Architectural Photography? In a broad sense it involves photographing the exteriors and interiors of domestic, commercial, religious, institutional, engineering or any other structures.

Like all photography the master practitioners capture and amaze us with their brilliance, imagination and creativity.

SmashingDownloads produced this article showcasing 60 brilliant examples of Architectural Photography. Below is just a small sample.



Architectural Photography - Cube Houses
Rotterdam Cubehouses – Photography by Guus Vuijk


subway photography
Subway by theo peekstok


Glass building reflections
Clean Glass by Vasudha Donnelly



Architecture
Architectural Photography by Tomasz Przetacznik


Architectural Photography
Round And Round by Scott Crouse

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Monasteries Around The World

January 25th 2010 01:26
Monasteries may vary greatly in size. In most religions the life inside monasteries is governed by community rules that stipulates the gender of the inhabitants and requires them to remain celibate and own little or no personal property.

The life within the walls of a monastery may be supported in several ways: by manufacturing and selling goods, often agricultural products such as cheese, wine, beer, liquor, and jellies; by donations or alms; by rental or investment incomes; and by funds from other organizations within the religion which in the past has formed the traditional support of Monasteries.

Below are some famous and breathtaking monasteries. These images and information sourced from decodestuff.com. See the full list of 22 amazing monasteries here.




Famous Monastery
Yumbulagang Monastery. Perched on a small hill east of the Yarlong River in southeast Naidong county, near Lhasa, 9km south of Tsetang, Tibet.
Yumbulagang , palace of mother and son in Tibetan dialect, is the first palace and one of the earliest buildings in Tibet and it has a history of more than 2,000 years. Destroyed during the Cultural Revolution it was rebuilt in the 1980s. The walls are painted with beautiful murals which tell the early history of Tibet.


Famous Monasteries in Asia
Tigers Nest Monastery, Perched on the edge or a 3000 feet high cliff in Para valley, Bhutan.
Taktshang (Tiger’s nest monastery) is the most famous of monasteries in Bhutan. It hangs on a cliff at 3,120 metres (10,200 feet), some 700 meters (2,300 feet) above the bottom of Paro valley. Famous visitors include Ngawang Namgyal in the 17th century and Milarepa.

The name means “Tiger’s nest”. The legend was that Guru Rinpoche flew over the Himalaya from Tibet in the 7th century on the back of a tigress. He then meditated in a cave there for three months where the monastery was later built. The cave is said to be the origin of Buddhism in Bhutan.


Beautiful Monastery
Monastery Grigoriou, Located in the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece.
The Monastery of Gregoriou is built on a beautiful location at the south-west side of Mount Athos and is dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The monastery was founded in the 14th century.

It occupies the seventeenth rank in the hierarchical order of the twenty Athonite monasteries. It is considered to be one of the most well-organised and strict coenobitic monasteries. It is inhabited by 70 monks (1990).

Its katholikon was built in 1768, in accordance to the Athonite plan. The church’s walls were decorated in 1779 by the holy monks Gabriel and Gregory from Kastoria.



well known Monastery
Khor Virap Monastery. Located in the Ararat plain in Armenia, very close to the border with Turkey.
The Khor Virap monastery is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Armenia. It is also significant as being the place of Gregory the Illuminator’s 13-year imprisonment, after which Gregory, by converting the King Trdat III to Christianity in the year 301, made Armenia the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion.

In the mid-1960, volunteers for the Canadian Youth Mission to Armenia helped renovate/restore the cathedral.



Cave Monasteries
Cave Monasteries of Cappadocia, located in central Turkey.
Cappadocia is mentioned in the Biblical account given in the book of Acts 2:9, with the Cappadocians being named as one of the people groups hearing the Gospel account from Galileans in their own language on the day of Pentecost shortly after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Acts 2:5 seems to suggest that the Cappadocians in this account were “God-fearing Jews”.

The Natural Rock Citadel of Uchisar – is the highest peak in the region. It is completely honeycombed with ancient dwellings. Many of these spaces were used as cave monasteries, though today they mostly inspire photographers and artists. Its honeycombed architecture is revealed by erosion and suggests intense fortification and infrastructure.
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Constructing The Empire State Building

December 21st 2009 01:22
Empire State Building 1930



“The Empire State building was built in 1930.
Safety will only be invented in the 1990’s”




construction of the Empire State Building
Move it, move it, this building won’t build itself!



safety issues building the empire state building
Don’t look where I point, listen to where I think this beam must go



empire state building workers
If this spanner slips and hits me on the nose…will I bleed before hitting the sidewalk?



scaffolding on the empire state building
Please note the scaffold board the guy on the right is standing on



Empire State Building - Dangers for workers
Yeah! Boss. The nuts are all here!

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The Guggenheim Turns 50

November 18th 2009 01:38
guggenheim art museum


The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opened its doors on October 21, 1959 and is one of the best-known museums in New York City and one of the 20th century's most important architectural landmarks. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the museum––which is often called simply The Guggenheim––is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art, and also features special exhibitions throughout the year. Located on the Upper East Side in New York City it is the second museum opened by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation which was founded in 1937. The 50th year anniversary of the Frank Lloyd Wright building occurred on October 21, 2009. The Museum recently underwent an extensive, three year renovation.

In celebration of the anniversary, these are some historical pictures from the Guggenheim in New York. Images and information sourced from Life.com, read the full article here.

gugenheim
The glass and steel dome above the Guggenheim's rotunda, with its finely balanced mix of geometric and natural, arched shapes, is the sort of detailed touch for which Frank Lloyd Wright was justly renowned.


guggenheim art
Many Guggenheim aficionados swear that the only way to truly enjoy Wright's design is to ride the elevator to the top of the ramp, and then view the artwork while walking down. Others are equally adamant that walking up the ramp and looking at art at the same time is, literally, a nauseating experience.


guggenheim
The famous dome gleams as if new after the museum's 2007-2008 renovation.


solomon r. guggenheim museum
The Guggenheim—especially now, after it has been 'fixed' to more accurately reflect the architect's original hopes and ideas for what it could be—captures much that makes Wright's work so distinctive and revolutionary. It is at once austere and welcoming, hinting at self-aware humour without falling into the self-indulgent traps (cuteness, or weirdness for weirdness' sake) that bedevil so much post-WWII public architecture. It is a marvellous contradiction: a museum for the people, designed by an arrogant, narcissistic, American visionary.




*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article for Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
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Building The Twin Towers

September 30th 2009 13:11
Life.com presents a tribute to the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York and those who were involved in its construction. See the full story here.


twin towers history
Before the Towers
This neighborhood, known as Radio Row for its heavy concentration of radio and electronics stores, was razed in 1966 to make way for the development of the World Trade Center.


Twin Towers construction
Cleared and Ready for Building
With buildings torn down and cleared, the site was now ready to build on. For anyone who has seen the site in the last few years, this photograph is frighteningly similar to what the area looks like today.


twin towers of New York
Construction
The idea for a World Trade Center in New York dates back to 1946, but for various reasons, political and otherwise, active planning didn't begin until the 1960s. By 1967, the Port Authority (responsible for building the towers) had awarded $74 million in steel contracts, and construction was soon underway.


world trade center towers
Under Construction
Another view of the towers on their way up.


Twin towers at night
Early Evening Over Manhattan
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Statue of Liberty Reopening

July 8th 2009 11:24
The Statue of Liberty, closed since 9/11 reopened on the 4th of July 2009. Thanks to the National Geographic, here is some rare pictures and information from inside the statue. Read more here.

statue of liberty
Photographed from a rare vantage point, several of the Statue of Liberty's 25 observation windows look out over New York Harbor

[ Click here to read more ]
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Motels of America

July 1st 2009 10:49
From Thomas Hawk's collection on Flickr, here are some of the sights you will find when road tripping over the USA. See the remainder of the collection here.


[ Click here to read more ]
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Bridges of the World

June 12th 2009 11:23
Thanks to darkroastedblend.com, here are some of the most interesting bridges in the world. See more spans here.

interesting bridges
Sanhao Bridge over Hunhe River in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Hallgrímskirkja Church in Iceland

March 18th 2009 01:52
The Hallgrímskirkja (literally, the church of Hallgrímur) is a Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. At 74.5 metres (244 ft), it is the largest church in Iceland and the fourth tallest architectural structure in Iceland. The church is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 to 1674), author of the Passion Hymns.
Hallgrímskirkja Church Iceland

State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson's design of the church was commissioned in 1937. It took 38 years to build the church. Construction work began in 1945 and ended in 1986, the landmark tower being completed long before the church's actual completion. The crypt beneath the choir was consecrated in 1948, the steeple and wings were completed in 1974. The nave was consecrated in 1986. It is situated in the centre of Reykjavík and is visible throughout the city. It has become one of city's best known landmarks. It is similar in style to the expressionist architecture of Grundtvig's Church of Copenhagen, Denmark, completed in 1926


[ Click here to read more ]
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1950s Kitchens

February 4th 2009 05:56
Kitchens sure have changed a lot over the last half century or so.
Take a look at what was fashionable back in the 1950s.
Which design would you choose


[ Click here to read more ]
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Strangest Buildings in the World

November 21st 2008 13:35
Thanks to Village of Joy, here are some of the weirdest, most inventive and crazy building designs on the planet. If these aren't unusual enough for you, many more architectural wonders can be seen here.


[ Click here to read more ]
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World's Largest Arch Bridge in Dubai

August 29th 2008 11:26
It's hard to be surprised anymore when you hear what they're building next in Dubai.
Now it’s the longest Arch bridge in the world, at a length of 1.6 km and 64m wide. It will have 6 lanes of traffic in each direction with a total capacity of 20,000 vehicles per hour.
Known as the Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Crossing, or simply the Sixth Crossing it will cost almost US $1 billion as part of a huge road project near The Lagoons real estate development. The bridge will open in 2012


[ Click here to read more ]
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Fog Over Dubai

August 1st 2008 14:04
Burj Dubai ("Dubai Tower") is a skyscraper under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure on Earth. Construction began on September 21, 2004, and it is expected to be completed and ready for occupation in September 2009.

Burj Dubai's final milestone will be to surpass the Warsaw radio mast which stood at 646.4 m (2,121 ft) until it collapsed in 1991 to become the world's tallest structure of any type ever built


[ Click here to read more ]
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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
[ Click here to read more ]
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