In adding the dome to the Florence Cathedral (Italy) in the early 15th century, the architect Filippo Brunelleschi not only transformed the building and the city, but also the role and status of the architect.
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructingbuildings or other structures. The term comes from Latinarchitectura; from Ancient Greekἀρχιτέκτων (arkhitéktōn)'architect'; from ἀρχι- (arkhi-)'chief' and τέκτων (téktōn)'creator'. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements.
Architecture began as rural, oral vernacular architecture that developed from trial and error to successful replication. Ancient urban architecture was preoccupied with building religious structures and buildings symbolizing the political power of rulers until Greek and Roman architecture shifted focus to civic virtues. Indian and Chinese architecture influenced forms all over Asia and Buddhist architecture in particular took diverse local flavors. During the Middle Ages, pan-European styles of Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals and abbeys emerged while the Renaissance favored Classical forms implemented by architects known by name. Later, the roles of architects and engineers became separated.
Modern architecture began after World War I as an avant-garde movement that sought to develop a completely new style appropriate for a new post-war social and economic order focused on meeting the needs of the middle and working classes. Emphasis was put on modern techniques, materials, and simplified geometric forms, paving the way for high-rise superstructures. Many architects became disillusioned with modernism which they perceived as ahistorical and anti-aesthetic, and postmodern and contemporary architecture developed. Over the years, the field of architectural construction has branched out to include everything from ship design to interior decorating. (Full article...)
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55 Wall Street in 2012
55 Wall Street, formerly the National City Bank Building, is an eight-story building on Wall Street between William and Hanover streets in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The lowest three stories were completed in either 1841 or 1842 as the four-story Merchants' Exchange and designed by Isaiah Rogers in the Greek Revival style. Between 1907 and 1910, McKim, Mead & White removed the original fourth story and added five floors to create the present building. Since 2006, the banking room has functioned as an event venue called the Cipriani Wall Street, while the upper stories have been a condominium development known as the Cipriani Club Residences.
Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort (13 March 1825 – 15 March 1898) was an English emigrant to New Zealand, where he became one of the country's most prominent 19th-century architects. He was instrumental in shaping the city of Christchurch's unique architectural identity and culture, and was appointed the first official Provincial Architect of the developing province of Canterbury. Heavily influenced by the Anglo-Catholic philosophy behind early Victorian architecture, he is credited with importing the Gothic revival style to New Zealand. His Gothic designs constructed in both wood and stone in the province are considered unique to New Zealand. Today, he is considered the founding architect of the province of Canterbury. (Full article...)
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Illustration 1: Sicilian Baroque. Basilica della Collegiata in Catania, designed by Stefano Ittar, c. 1768.Sicilian Baroque is the distinctive form of Baroque architecture which evolved on the island of Sicily, off the southern coast of Italy, in the 17th and 18th centuries, when it was part of the Spanish Empire. The style is recognisable not only by its typical Baroque curves and flourishes, but also by distinctive grinning masks and putti and a particular flamboyance that has given Sicily a unique architectural identity.
The Sicilian Baroque style came to fruition during a major surge of rebuilding following the massive earthquake in 1693. Previously, the Baroque style had been used on the island in a naïve and parochial manner, having evolved from hybrid native architecture rather than being derived from the great Baroque architects of Rome. After the earthquake, local architects, many of them trained in Rome, were given plentiful opportunities to recreate the more sophisticated Baroque architecture that had become popular in mainland Italy; the work of these local architects – and the new genre of architectural engravings that they pioneered – inspired more local architects to follow their lead. Around 1730, Sicilian architects had developed a confidence in their use of the Baroque style. Their particular interpretation led to further evolution to a personalised and highly localised art form on the island. From the 1780s onwards, the style was gradually replaced by the newly fashionable neoclassicism. (Full article...)
Temples built prior to Hoysala independence in the mid-12th century reflect significant Western Chalukya influences, while later temples retain some features salient to Western Chalukya architecture but have additional inventive decoration and ornamentation, features unique to Hoysala artisans. Some three hundred temples are known to survive in present-day Karnataka state and many more are mentioned in inscriptions, though only about seventy have been documented. The greatest concentration of these are in the Malnad (hill) districts, the native home of the Hoysala kings. (Full article...)
The seat of government for the state was initially in Philadelphia, then was relocated to Lancaster in 1799 and finally to Harrisburg in 1812. The current capitol, known as the Huston Capitol, is the third state capitol building built in Harrisburg. The first, the Hills Capitol, was destroyed in 1897 by a fire. The second, the Cobb Capitol, was left unfinished when funding was discontinued in 1899. (Full article...)
Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House. During the 19th century it was enlarged by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. (Full article...)
King Francis set his daughter-in-law an example of kingship and artistic patronage that she never forgot. She witnessed his huge architectural schemes at Chambord and Fontainebleau. She saw Italian and French craftsmen at work together, forging the style that became known as the first School of Fontainebleau. Francis died in 1547, and Catherine became queen consort of France. But it wasn't until her husband King Henry's death in 1559, when she found herself at forty the effective ruler of France, that Catherine came into her own as a patron of architecture. Over the next three decades, she launched a series of costly building projects aimed at enhancing the grandeur of the monarchy. During the same period, however, religious civil war gripped the country and brought the prestige of the monarchy to a dangerously low ebb. (Full article...)
Location in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London
The Tower House, 29 Melbury Road, is a late-Victorian townhouse in the Holland Park district of Kensington and Chelsea, London, built by the architect and designer William Burges as his home. Designed between 1875 and 1881, in the French Gothic Revival style, it was described by the architectural historian J. Mordaunt Crook as "the most complete example of a medieval secular interior produced by the Gothic Revival, and the last". The house is built of red brick, with Bath stone dressings and green roof slates from Cumbria, and has a distinctive cylindrical tower and conical roof. The ground floor contains a drawing room, a dining room and a library, while the first floor has two bedrooms and an armoury. Its exterior and the interior echo elements of Burges's earlier work, particularly Park House in Cardiff and Castell Coch. It was designated a Grade Ilisted building in 1949.
Burges bought the lease on the plot of land in 1875. The house was built by the Ashby Brothers, with interior decoration by members of Burges's long-standing team of craftsmen such as Thomas Nicholls and Henry Stacy Marks. By 1878 the house was largely complete, although interior decoration and the designing of numerous items of furniture and metalwork continued until Burges's death in 1881. The house was inherited by his brother-in-law, Richard Popplewell Pullan. It was later sold to Colonel T. H. Minshall and then, in 1933, to Colonel E. R. B. Graham. The poet John Betjeman inherited the remaining lease in 1962 but did not extend it. Following a period when the house stood empty and suffered vandalism, it was purchased and restored, first by Lady Jane Turnbull, later by the actor Richard Harris and then by the musician Jimmy Page. (Full article...)
The mansion was designed in an eclectic French Renaissance style by C. P. H. Gilbert and built by foreman Harvey Murdock. The building largely retains its original design, except for a tankhouse on the roof. Gilbert and Murdock constructed the bulk of the house with brick, which was then faced with limestone ashlar. The northern facade on 79th Street, containing the main entrance, is characterized by multiple windows in square recesses or semi-elliptical and fully Gothic arches. The western facade on Fifth Avenue is symmetrical and dominated by a curved, projecting pavilion. The interior of the mansion comprises 27 rooms on six floors, for a total floor-space of 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2). Critical reviews of the house's architecture over its history have been largely positive. (Full article...)
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The ruins of the Round Church in Preslav. View from the atrium entrance looking towards the narthex and rotunda gates, with the apse in the distance
The Round Church (Bulgarian: Кръгла църква, Kragla tsarkva), also known as the Golden Church (Златна църква, Zlatna tsarkva) or the Church of St John (църква "Свети Йоан", tsarkva "Sveti Yoan"), is a large partially preserved early medievalEastern Orthodox church. It lies in Preslav, the former capital of the First Bulgarian Empire, today a town in northeastern Bulgaria. The church dates to the early 10th century, the time of TsarSimeon I's rule, and was unearthed and first archaeologically examined in 1927–1928.
Considered to be one of the most impressive examples of medieval Bulgarian architecture, the Round Church takes its name from the distinctive shape of one of its three sections, the cella (naos), which is a rotunda that serves as a place of liturgy. The church's design also includes a wide atrium and a rectangular entrance area, or narthex, marked by two circular turrets. (Full article...)
Angkor Wat was built at the behest of the Khmer king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology and is surrounded by a moat more than 5 km (3.1 mi). Enclosed within an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west with scholars divided as to the significance of this. (Full article...)
The site has been occupied since Elizabethan times, when a large manor house was constructed. This was replaced in 1771 by a Georgian mansion for the owners, the Hoste Henleys. In 1836 Sandringham was bought by John Motteux, a London merchant, who already owned property in Norfolk and Surrey. Motteux had no direct heir, and on his death in 1843, his entire estate was left to Charles Spencer Cowper, the son of Motteux's close friend Emily Temple, Viscountess Palmerston. Cowper sold the Norfolk and the Surrey estates and embarked on rebuilding at Sandringham. He led an extravagant life, and by the early 1860s, the estate was mortgaged and he and his wife spent most of their time on the Continent. (Full article...)
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Bramall Hall from the west, the side of the main entrance, showing the courtyard and the north and south wings. The Great Hall is in the centre.
Bramall Hall is a largely Tudormanor house in Bramhall, Greater Manchester, England. Its oldest parts date from the 14th century, with additions from the 16th and 19th centuries. It is a notable example of the timber-framed buildings found throughout the historic county of Cheshire. The house functions as a museum and its 70 acres (28 ha) of landscaped parkland (Bramhall Park) are open to the public.
The manor of Bramall was first described in the Domesday Book in 1086, when it was held by the Massey family. From the late 14th century, it was owned by the Davenports, who built the present house and remained lords of the manor for about 500 years. In 1877 they sold the estate of nearly 2,000 acres (810 ha) to the Manchester Freeholders' Company, a property company formed to exploit the estate's potential for residential building development. The hall and a residual park of over 50 acres (20 ha) was sold on by the Freeholders to the Nevill family of successful industrialists. (Full article...)
Art Deco, short for the French Arts décoratifs (lit.'Decorative Arts'), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I, and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s. Through styling and design of the exterior and interior of anything from large structures to small objects, including how people look (clothing, fashion, and jewelry), Art Deco has influenced buildings (from skyscrapers to cinemas), bridges, ships, ocean liners, trains, cars, trucks, buses, furniture, and everyday objects including radios and vacuum cleaners.
The name Art Deco came into use after the 1925 Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris. Art Deco has its origins in the bold geometric forms of the Vienna Secession and Cubism. From the outset, Art Deco was influenced by the bright colors of Fauvism and the Ballets Russes, and the exoticized styles of art from China, Japan, India, Persia, ancient Egypt, and Maya. In its time, Art Deco was tagged with other names, like style moderne, Moderne, modernistic or style contemporain, and was not recognized as a distinct and homogenous style. (Full article...)
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The Strat tower is the tallest observation tower in the United States The city of Las Vegas, Nevada and its surrounding unincorporated communities in the Las Vegas Valley are the sites of more than 160 high-rises, 42 of which stand taller than 400 feet (122 m). The tallest structure in the city is the Strat tower, which rises 1,149 feet (350 m) just north of the Las Vegas Strip. The tower is also the tallest observation tower in the United States. However, the Strat is not considered a building because the vast majority of the tower is not habitable. The tallest building in Las Vegas is the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which rises 735 feet (224 m) and was topped out in November 2008. This building remained unfinished for several years due to the late-2000s recession and opened in December 2023. The second tallest habitable building in the city is the 59-story Resorts World, which rises 673 feet (205 m) and was completed in 2021.
Beginning in the 1960s, high-rise hotels began to become more concentrated on the Las Vegas Strip. The first high-rise hotel and casino resort to rise higher than 492 feet (150 m) was the 529-foot (161 m) New York-New York Hotel & Casino, completed in 1997. Las Vegas entered into a skyscraper-building boom in the late 1990s that has continued to the present; of the city's 40 tallest skyscrapers, 39 were completed after 1997. As of 2012, the skyline of Las Vegas is ranked 66th in the world and 18th in the United States with 176 completed high-rises. (Full article...)
The skyline of Lujiazui CBD in Pudong District with Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai International Finance Center, Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center and Shanghai Tower The city of Shanghai, China is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world in terms of skyscraper construction, with the City of Shanghai reporting at the end of 2004 that there had been 6,704 buildings of 11 stories or more completed since 1990. In 2011 there are over 20,000 buildings 11 stories or higher and more than 1,000 buildings exceeding 30 stories in Shanghai. As of January 2019, there are 165 high-rise buildings either under construction, approved for construction, or proposed for construction, of which five are over 300 m (980 ft) high.
Shanghai's first building boom occurred in the 1920s and 1930s, during the city's heyday as a multinational center of business and finance. The city's international concessions permitted foreign investment, and with it came architectural styles from the West, as seen today in areas such as the French Concession and the Bund. After the Communist takeover in 1949 the city's development was stifled, punished for its earlier capitalist excesses. After economic reforms beginning in the 1980s, the city is undergoing its second construction boom to fulfill its desire to regain its status as an important global financial center. (Full article...)
The skyline of Singapore in 2018 Singapore is a highly urbanised country with over 10,000 completed high-rises, the majority of which are located in the Downtown Core, its central business district (CBD). In the CBD, there are over 100 skyscrapers. The Guoco Tower currently holds the title of the tallest building in Singapore. It stands at 290 m (950 ft), exempted from the height restriction of 280 m (920 ft) in the CBD. A supertall tower, the Skywaters Residences is being built at the current AXA Tower site. Standing at 305 m (1,001 ft), it is expected to be completed by 2028.
Singapore's history of skyscrapers began with the 1939 completion of the 17-storey Cathay Building. The 70-metre (230 ft) structure was, at the time of its completion, the tallest building in Southeast Asia; it was superseded by the 87-metre (285 ft) Asia Insurance Building in 1954, which remained the tallest in Singapore for more than a decade. Singapore went through a major building boom in the 1970s and 1980s that resulted from the city's rapid industrialisation. During this time OUB Centre (present-day One Raffles Place) became the tallest building in the city-state; the 280 m (919 ft) structure was also the tallest building in the world outside of North America from its 1986 completion until 1989. The skyscraper-building boom continued during the 1990s and 2000s, with 30 skyscrapers at least 140 m (459 ft) tall, many of them residential towers, constructed from 1990 through 2008. (Full article...)
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The Salesforce Tower (right) has been San Francisco's tallest building since its construction in 2017. Prior to that, the Transamerica Pyramid (left) was the tallest building from its construction in 1972 until 2017. (Photographed on March 1, 2018) San Francisco, California, in the United States, has at least 482 high-rises, 58 of which are at least 400 feet (122 m) tall. The tallest building is Salesforce Tower, which rises 1,070 ft (330 m) and as of April 2023[update] is the 17th-tallest building in the United States. The city's second-tallest building is the Transamerica Pyramid, which rises 853 ft (260 m), and was previously the city's tallest for 45 years, from 1972 to 2017. The city's third-tallest building is 181 Fremont, rising to 802 ft (244 m).
San Francisco has 27 skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet (150 m). Six more skyscrapers of over 492 feet (150 m) are under construction, have been approved for construction, or have been proposed. Its skyline is currently ranked second in the Western United States (after Los Angeles) and sixth in the United States, after New York City, Chicago, Miami, Houston, and Los Angeles. (Full article...)
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Skyline of Boston's Back Bay Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England, is home to 585 completed high-rises, 37 of which stand taller than 400 feet (122 m). The city's skyscrapers and high-rises are concentrated along the roughly 2.5 mile unofficial High Spine urban corridor, which runs through planning districts from Back Bay to the Financial District and West End, while bypassing surrounding low-rise residential districts. By surface/roof height, the tallest structure in Boston is the 60-story200 Clarendon, better known to locals as the John Hancock Tower, which rises 790 feet (241 m) in the Back Bay district. It is also the tallest building in New England and the 80th-tallest building in the United States. The second-tallest building in Boston by surface/roof height and the tallest by pinnacle height is the Prudential Tower, which rises 52 floors and 749 feet (228 m). At the time of the Prudential Tower's completion in 1964, it stood as the tallest building in North America outside of New York City.
Boston's history of skyscrapers began with the completion in 1893 of the 13-story Ames Building, which is considered the city's first high-rise. Boston went through a major building boom in the 1960s and 1970s, resulting in the construction of over 20 skyscrapers, including 200 Clarendon and the Prudential Tower. The city is the site of 25 skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet (150 m) in height, more than any other city in New England. As of 2018[update], the skyline of Boston is ranked 10th in the United States and 79th in the world with 57 buildings rising at least 330 feet (100 m) in height. (Full article...)
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Glessner House, designated on October 14, 1970, as one of the first official Chicago Landmarks Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artistic, cultural, and social values. Once a site is designated as a landmark, it is subject to the Chicago Landmarks Ordinance, which requires that any alterations beyond routine maintenance, up to and including demolition, must have their permit reviewed by the Landmarks Commission. Many Chicago Landmarks are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, providing federal tax support for preservation, and some are further designated National Historic Landmarks, providing additional federal oversight. (Full article...)
A new era of castle construction began when the daimyo Nobunaga built Azuchi Castle from 1576 to 1579. Earlier fortifications of the Kamakura and Muromachi periods were crude large-scale structures; Azuchi, however, with rich ornamentation and a keep rising seven stories high, became the prototype for castle construction of the period. The style of Azuchi Castle marked a shift in the function of the castles from a place that was merely a fortress and military garrison to a political, cultural and economic center. The newer style castles functioned as home to the daimyōs, his family, and his most loyal retainers. Because of the expense of building such a lavish structure, castles in the style of Azuchi, functioned also to highlight the power and prestige of the daimyōs. These new castles were built of wood and plaster on a stone foundation. Generally the main keep or tenshu was positioned at the highest point, surrounded by a series of interlocking baileys with walls, small towers and pathways. Residential buildings were located in one of the outer circles. The daimyō conducted his business in the citadel. (Full article...)
John Douglas (1830–1911) was an English architect based in Chester, Cheshire. His output included new churches, alterations to and restoration of existing churches, church furnishings, new houses and alterations to existing houses, and a variety of other buildings, including shops, banks, offices, schools, memorials and public buildings. Perhaps his best-known design is that for the Eastgate Clock in Chester. His architectural styles were eclectic, but as he worked during the period of the Gothic Revival much of his output incorporates elements of the English Gothic style. He was also influenced by architectural styles from the mainland of Europe, and frequently included elements of French, German, and Netherlandish architecture. Douglas is probably best remembered for his incorporation of vernacular elements in his buildings, in particular half-timbering, in which he was influenced by the black-and-white revival in Chester. Other vernacular elements he employed included tile-hanging, pargeting, and the use of decorative brick in diapering and the design of tall chimney stacks. Of particular importance is Douglas' use of joinery and highly detailed wood carving.
John Douglas was born in the Cheshire village of Sandiway and was articled to the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley, later becoming his chief assistant. He established an office in Chester in either 1855 or 1860, from where he practised throughout his career. Initially he ran the office himself but in 1884 he appointed his assistant, Daniel Porter Fordham, as a partner. When Fordham retired in 1897, he was succeeded by Charles Howard Minshull. In 1909 this partnership was dissolved and Douglas ran the office alone until his death in 1911. As his office was in Chester, most of his works were in Cheshire and North Wales, although some were further afield, in Lancashire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Scotland. (Full article...)
Vancouver is the most populous city in the Canadian province of British Columbia and has roughly 650 high-rise buildings that equal or exceed 35 m (115 ft), and roughly 50 buildings that equal or exceed 100 metres (328 ft). Almost all of the city's buildings that exceed 100 metres in height are located within Downtown Vancouver. Vancouver's population density is the fourth highest in North America and the city has more residential high-rises per capita than any other city on the continent.
Skyline of Dallas (use cursor to identify buildings) Dallas, the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas, is the site of 42 completed high-rise buildings over 350 feet (107 m), 20 of which stand taller than 492 feet (150 m). The tallest building in the city is the Bank of America Plaza, which rises 921 feet (281 m) in Downtown Dallas and was completed in 1985. It also stands as the 3rd-tallest building in Texas and the 40th-tallest building in the United States. The second-tallest skyscraper in the city is the Renaissance Tower, which rises 886 feet (270 m) and was completed in 1974. The Comerica Bank Tower, completed in 1987 and rising 787 feet (240 m), is the third-tallest building in Dallas. Three of the ten tallest buildings in Texas are located in Dallas. (Full article...)
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General layout of a Shinto shrine: 1. Torii, 2. Stone stairs, 3. Sandō, 4. Chōzuya or Temizuya, 5. Tōrō, 6. Kagura-den (building dedicated to Noh or the sacred Kagura dance), 7. Shamusho (administration office), 8. Ema, 9. Sessha/massha, 10. Komainu, 11. Haiden, 12. Tamagaki, 13. Honden The number of Shinto shrines in Japan today has been estimated at more than 150,000. Single structure shrines are the most common. Shrine buildings might also include oratories (in front of main sanctuary), purification halls, offering halls called heiden (between honden and haiden), dance halls, stone or metal lanterns, fences or walls, torii and other structures. The term "National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897. The definition and the criteria have changed since the inception of the term. The shrine structures in this list were designated national treasures when the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was implemented on June 9, 1951. As such they are eligible for government grants for repairs, maintenance and the installation of fire-prevention facilities and other disaster prevention systems. Owners are required to announce any changes to the National Treasures such as damage or loss and need to obtain a permit for transfer of ownership or intended repairs. The items are selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology based on their "especially high historical or artistic value". This list presents 43 entries of national treasure shrine structures from 12th-century Classical Heian period to the early modern 19th-century Edo period. The number of structures listed is actually more than 43, because in some cases groups of related structures are combined to form a single entry. The structures include main halls (honden), oratories (haiden), gates, offering halls (heiden), purification halls (haraedono) and other structures associated with shrines. (Full article...)
In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance; Grade I structures are those considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, severe restrictions are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or its fittings. In England, buildings are given listed building status by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, acting on the recommendation of Historic England. (Full article...)
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View of Downtown Toronto in 2020Many of the tallest buildings in Toronto are also the tallest in all of Canada. The tallest structure in Toronto is the CN Tower, which rises 553.3 metres (1,815 ft). The CN Tower was the tallest free-standing structure on land from 1975 until 2007. However, it is not generally considered a high-rise building as it does not have successive floors that can be occupied. The tallest habitable building in the city is First Canadian Place, which rises 298 metres (978 ft) tall in Toronto's Financial District and was completed in 1975. It also stands as the tallest building in Canada.
The history of skyscrapers in Toronto began in 1894 with the construction of the Beard Building, which is often regarded as the first skyscraper in the city. Toronto went through its first building boom in the late 1920s and early 1930s, during which the number of high-rise buildings in the city vastly increased. After this period, there was a great lull in construction between 1932 and 1964 with only a single building above 91.5 metres (300 ft) tall being built. (Full article...)
Groundbreaking and construction of the cathedral began in 1883 after the previous cathedral, on Wellington Street, was destroyed by fire. Built from brick and stone, the new cathedral was designed by the London-based architectural firm Crawley and Company. The church opened on 7 December 1888, the day before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and was consecrated in 1938. Three years later, it was damaged during the Battle of Hong Kong, but remained untouched throughout the subsequent Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. At the turn of the century, the cathedral underwent an extensive and costly program of refurbishment, which was completed in 2002. The cathedral is listed as a Grade I historic building by the Hong Kong Government. (Full article...)
Conwy Castle (Welsh: Castell Conwy; Welsh pronunciation:[kastɛɬ'kɔnwɨ̞]) is a fortification in Conwy, located in North Wales. It was built by Edward I, during his conquest of Wales, between 1283 and 1287. Constructed as part of a wider project to create the walled town of Conwy, the combined defences cost around £15,000, a massive sum for the period. Over the next few centuries, the castle played an important part in several wars. It withstood the siege of Madog ap Llywelyn in the winter of 1294–95, acted as a temporary haven for Richard II in 1399 and was held for several months by forces loyal to Owain Glyndŵr in 1401.
Following the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, the castle was held by forces loyal to Charles I, holding out until 1646 when it surrendered to the Parliamentary armies. In the aftermath, the castle was partially slighted by Parliament to prevent it being used in any further revolt, and was finally completely ruined in 1665 when its remaining iron and lead was stripped and sold off. Conwy Castle became an attractive destination for painters in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Visitor numbers grew and initial restoration work was carried out in the second half of the 19th century. In the 21st century, the ruined castle is managed by Cadw as a tourist attraction. (Full article...)
The building was redesigned and 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. The palace and exhibition space was expanded in the 19th century and again in the 20th. (Full article...)
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The cathedral in 2018
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven (Spanish: Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María a los cielos), also commonly called the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, is the cathedral church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico. It is situated on top of the former Aztec sacred precinct near the Templo Mayor on the northern side of the Plaza de la Constitución (Zócalo) in the historic center of Mexico City. The cathedral was built in sections from 1573 to 1813 around the original church that was constructed soon after the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan, eventually replacing it entirely. Spanish architect Claudio de Arciniega planned the construction, drawing inspiration from Gothic cathedrals in Spain.
Due to the long time it took to build it, just under 250 years, virtually all the main architects, painters, sculptors, gilding masters and other plastic artists of the viceroyalty worked at some point in the construction of the enclosure. The long construction time also led to the integration of a number of architectural styles in its design, including the Gothic, Baroque, Churrigueresque, Neoclassical styles, as they came into vogue over the centuries. It furthermore allowed the cathedral to include different ornaments, paintings, sculptures and furniture in its interior. The project was a point of social cohesion, because it involved so many generations and social classes, including ecclesiastical authorities, government authorities, and different religious orders. (Full article...)
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Elgin Cathedral, a historic ruin in Elgin, Moray, northeast Scotland, was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It was established in 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II and stood outside the burgh of Elgin, close to the River Lossie. It replaced the cathedral at Spynie located 3 kilometres (2 mi) to the north, which was served by a small chapter of eight clerics. By 1226, the new and developing cathedral was staffed with 18 canons, a number that increased to 23 by 1242. A damaging fire in 1270 led to significant enlargement. It remained unscathed during the Wars of Scottish Independence but suffered extensive fire damage in 1390 when attacked by Robert III's brother Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, also known as the Wolf of Badenoch. In 1402, the cathedral precinct faced another incendiary attack by the Lord of the Isles followers.
As the cathedral grew, so did the number of clerics and craftsmen. Repairs following the fires of 1270 and 1390 resulted in the choir's doubling in length and the addition of outer aisles to both the nave and choir. While some parts of walls retain their full height, others are at foundation level, yet the overall cruciform shape is still discernible. A mostly intact octagonal chapter house dates from the major enlargement after the fire of 1270. The near intact gable wall above the double door entrance linking the west towers was rebuilt after the fire of 1390. It contains fragments of a large rose window with remnants of tracery work. The transepts and the south aisle of the choir contain recessed and chest tombs with effigies of bishops and knights. The now grass-covered floor bears large flat slabs marking early graves. The residences of the dignitaries, canons and chaplains within the chanonry were also destroyed during the fires of 1270, 1390 and 1402, forming part of the overall reconstruction process. Only the precentor's manse remains substantially intact, while two others have been incorporated into private buildings. Both west front towers, part of the initial construction, are mostly complete. A massive protective wall surrounded the cathedral precinct, but only two small sections have survived. Of the wall's four access gates, only the Pans Port remains. (Full article...)
Image 7
One Times Square in 2017 from one block north. The building is barely visible given the signage.
One Times Square (also known as 1475 Broadway, the New York Times Building, the New York Times Tower, the Allied Chemical Tower or simply as the Times Tower) is a 25-story, 363-foot-high (111 m) skyscraper on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Designed by Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz in the neo-Gothic style, the tower was built in 1903–1904 as the headquarters of The New York Times. It takes up the city block bounded by Seventh Avenue, 42nd Street, Broadway, and 43rd Street. The building's design has been heavily modified throughout the years, and all of its original architectural detail has since been removed. One Times Square's primary design features are the advertising billboards on its facade, added in the 1990s. Due to the large amount of revenue generated by its signage, One Times Square is one of the most valuable advertising locations in the world.
The surrounding Longacre Square neighborhood was renamed "Times Square" during the tower's construction, and The New York Times moved into the tower in January 1905. Quickly outgrowing the tower, eight years later, the paper's offices and printing presses moved to nearby 229 West 43rd Street. One Times Square remained a major focal point of the area due to its annual New Year's Eve "ball drop" festivities and the introduction of a large lighted news ticker near street-level in 1928. The Times sold the building to Douglas Leigh in 1961. Allied Chemical then bought the building in 1963 and renovated it as a showroom. Alex M. Parker took a long-term lease for the entire building in October 1973, buying it two years later. One Times Square was sold multiple times in the 1980s and continued to serve as an office building. (Full article...)
Most of its buildings were constructed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with some dating as far back as the 1830s, in a diverse array of architectural styles from those eras. Many prominent architects, including Marcus T. Reynolds and Russell Sturgis, have extant work in the district. Only 22 buildings are more modern, non-contributing properties. While 80 percent of its buildings are attached rowhouses, giving it a predominantly residential character even today, it also includes churches, two small parks and the Alfred E. Smith State Office Building. Among those are the city's oldest black church and the firehouse that housed its last volunteer fire department. One of Albany's legendary figures, longtime mayor Erastus Corning 2nd, was born in a house on Chestnut Street; another, gangster Legs Diamond, was murdered in one on Dove Street. (Full article...)
The pier was the central flashpoint of the Hong Kong riots in 1966, and 40 years later became the focus of a confrontation between conservationists and the government, which wanted to demolish the pier to allow for reclamation. The ferry service from the pier was suspended on 11 November 2006, and moved to piers 7 and 8 of Central Piers. Demolition commenced on 12 December, and was completed in early 2007. (Full article...)
Image 10
Goodrich Castle, seen from the east
Goodrich Castle is a Normanmedievalcastle ruin north of the village of Goodrich in Herefordshire, England, controlling a key location between Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye. It was praised by William Wordsworth as the "noblest ruin in Herefordshire" and is considered by historian Adrian Pettifer to be the "most splendid in the county, and one of the best examples of English military architecture".
Goodrich Castle was probably built by Godric of Mappestone after the Norman Conquest of England, initially as an earth and wooden fortification. In the middle of the 12th century the original castle was replaced with a stone keep, and was then expanded significantly during the late 13th century into a concentric structure combining luxurious living quarters with extensive defences. The success of Goodrich's design influenced many other constructions across England over the following years. It became the seat of the powerful Talbot family before falling out of favour as a residence in late Tudor times. (Full article...)
Image 11
The Fort's watch tower located at the edge of the entrance of Singapore's Keppel Harbour. The tower provided a commanding view of approaching ships entering into the harbour Fort Pasir Panjang or Labrador Battery is located within Labrador Park at the southern tip of Singapore island. It was one of the 11 coastal artillery forts built by the British in the 19th century to defend the western passageway into Keppel Harbour against piracy and foreign naval powers. During the 1942 Battle of Pasir Panjang, the fort played a supporting role but a limited one in defending the Malay Regiments against the Japanese invasion at Bukit Chandu. In 1995, the site was gazetted by the National Heritage Board as one of the 11 World War II sites in Singapore. (Full article...)
Image 12
Streetside in the district
The Sycamore Historic District is a meandering area encompassing 99 acres (400,000 m2) of the land in and around the downtown of the DeKalb County, Illinois county seat, Sycamore. The area includes historic buildings and a number of historical and Victorian homes. Some significant structures are among those located within the Historic District including the DeKalb County Courthouse and the Sycamore Public Library. The district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 2, 1978.
There are over 200 properties within the irregular boundaries of the Sycamore Historic District. Of those, 187 are considered contributing properties to the historic district, and 22 are non-contributing. Of all of the district's homes and buildings 75% fit within the historic district concept. Some of the major structures include several prominent Queen Anne style mansions, the Sycamore library, the DeKalb County Courthouse, and dozens of mid- to late 19th-century houses. (Full article...)
Image 13
Château de Chinon from the south The Château de Chinon is a château located on the bank of the river Vienne in Chinon, central France. It was founded by Theobald I, Count of Blois. In the 11th century the castle became the property of the counts of Anjou. In 1156 Henry II of England, a member of the House of Anjou, took the castle from his brother Geoffrey, Count of Nantes, after Geoffrey rebelled for a second time. Henry favoured the Château de Chinon as a residence. Most of the standing structure can be attributed to his reign; he died there in 1189.
Early in the 13th century, King Philip II of France harassed the English lands in France, and in 1205 he captured Chinon after a siege that lasted several months. Thereafter, the castle remained under French control. When King Philip IVaccused the Knights Templar of heresy during the first decade of the 14th century, several leading members of the order were imprisoned there. (Full article...)
Image 14
St Mary's Church, Nether Alderley, from the south in 2008
The church was built in the Gothic style, and has historically been associated with the Stanley family of Alderley. Its major features include a fine tower, the Stanley pew which is entered by an outside staircase, a 14th-century font, the western gallery, and monuments to the Lords Stanley of Alderley. The grounds contain a 17th-century former schoolhouse, now used as a parish hall, a medieval church cross, and the Stanley Mausoleum, which dates from 1909. An ancient yew tree stands in the churchyard. (Full article...)
The building, which involved people from various cultural backgrounds in its construction, was the centre of an Islamic reform in the area during the 19th century. Future president Sukarno spent a time of exile at the mosque in 1942. It survived the tsunami which struck Padang following the 1833 Sumatra earthquake, but was severely damaged after earthquakes in 2005 and 2009. (Full article...)
... that John Rauch, of the firm Venturi, Rauch & Scott Brown, was called "one of the unsung heroes of postwar American architecture" by the Architectural Record?
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