Top 30 Marvelous Architectural Feats on the Planet

Source Article: Wow Amazing | http://bit.ly/2VimdKJ

Who could have imagined that something that only sparked as ideas are now a part of the material world, and are now considered as the world’s massive and majestic architectural feats?

Now, we are listing some of the planet’s most marvelous, and somewhat unimaginable, buildings from some of the greatest minds that shaped our modern world today.

1.  Valencia Opera House

2.  National Center for the Performing Arts

3.  Fallingwater

4.  Petronas Twin Towers

5.  Sydney Opera House

6.  The Louvre

7.  Burj Khalifa

8.  Turning Torso

9.  Millau Viaduct

10.  Bird’s Nest Stadium, Beijing

11.  ARIA Resort and Casino

12.  BMW Welt

13.  New National Opera House

14.  The National Art Center, Tokyo

15.  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

16.  Farnsworth House

17.  California Academy of Sciences

18.  Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church

19.  Cooper Union Building

20.  The Copenhagen Opera House

21.  Yoyogi National Gymnasium

22.  Harpa

23.  Seattle Central Library

24.  Wembley Stadium

25.  Neue Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart

26.  KUMU

27.  Cartier Foundation

28.  Saint-Pierre, Firminy

29.  V.C. Morris Gift Shop

30.  Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

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The tallest skyscrapers of 2018 include a helipad, sky gardens, and an indoor skating rink

Source Article : Aria Bendix , Business Insider US Jan 01, 2019, 09:02 AM

  • The year’s tallest skyscrapers include a number of luxury towers around the world.
  • The structures feature notable design elements like helipads, sky gardens, and an indoor skating rink.
  • 2018’s tallest building, the Citic Tower in Beijing, draws inspiration from an ancient wine vessel.

This was a landmark year for new construction, with more than 140 skyscrapers erected across the globe.

The number falls short of 2017’s total, but represents the second-highest tally ever recorded, according to data from the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).

The vast majority of tall buildings completed in 2018 are located in China, which underwent a major construction boom, producing more skyscrapers than anywhere else in the world.

The nation is now home to half of the world’s 100 tallest skyscrapers, including the Citic Tower, a mammoth structure that tops out at more than 1,700 feet (518 metres).

Take a look at some of the tallest buildings completed in 2018.


The year’s tallest tower was named after a wine vessel.

Bairuilong/Wikimedia Commons

At more than 1,700 feet (518 metres), the Citic Tower in Beijing is the tallest structure built in 2018, and the eighth tallest structure in the world, according to the CTBUH.

The skyscraper is commonly known as China Zun, a reference to the ancient wine vessel that inspired its curvature.

Earlier this year, Chinese national security officials were worriedthat the building’s top three floors housed a secret view of the Zhongnanhai complex – the official residence of China’s president, Xi Jinping, and other top political leaders. A Singapore-based paper reported that the government has assumed ownership of those top three floors, but Business Insider could not independently verify the claim.

Read more: Saudi Arabia is building the world’s tallest skyscraper – here’s what it will look like


Vietnam’s Landmark 81 tower contains an indoor skating rink, movie theater, and five-star hotel.

Ennguyennguyen/Getty

Vietnam’s Landmark 81 tower is part of a $1.5 billion (R21 billion) mixed-use development called Vinhomes Central Park, which stretches across Ho Chi Minh City.

Residents of the tower’s luxury apartments have access to a pool, spa, and outdoor lounge. Visitors at the commercial center can enjoy a gym, movie theater, and indoor skating rink.

The tower also features a five-star hotel and three-floor observation deck, which offers unparalleled waterfront views.


The third tallest tower of 2018, built in Hong Kong, has a slightly shorter twin.

Yinsanhen/Wikimedia Commons

Tower 1 of the Changsha complex in Hong Kong is about 500 feet (152 metres) taller than its twin, which stands at around 1,000 feet (304 metres).

Though the two towers are structurally similar, Tower 1 features a 2.5 million-square-foot mega-mall (over 200 000 square-metre), along with luxury office space and a six-star hotel.

The building is the 13th tallest in the world, according to the CTBUH.


Locals call Shenzhen’s third tallest building Spring Bamboo.

Sparktour/Wikimedia Commons

China Resources Headquarters is unmistakable for its rocket-like structure and reflective glass panels, which illuminate the Shenzhen skyline.

At just under 1,300 feet (396 metres) tall , the building anchors a waterfront business district that includes office, retail, residential, and public space.

Its shape closely resembles a bamboo shoot, lending it the popular nickname Spring Bamboo.


There’s a helipad at the top of China’s Logan Century 1.

Awesome SkyscraperProject/YouTube

The design of China’s Logan Century 1 is also nature-inspired – it mimics the shape of a blooming flower.

Aluminum fins on the facade help to conserve energy, while the sides are covered in tinted glass.

At the top of the tower is a helipad and observation deck, where visitors can gaze across the lush city of Nanning.

Tesla’s new Solar Roof is actually cheaper than a normal roof

Source Article:

Good news for those who have been eyeing Tesla’s new Solar Roof – the company just announced pricing for its photovoltaic tiles, and they come in at just $21.85 per square foot. That’s nearly 20 percent cheaper than a normal roof once you factor in the energy savings and tax credits.

Tesla, Solar Roof, Eco-Friendly, Solar, Elon Musk, solar power, renewable energy, photovoltaic panels, solar panels, solar shingles

Tesla, Solar Roof, Eco-Friendly, Solar, Elon Musk, solar power, renewable energy, photovoltaic panels, solar panels, solar shingles

Tesla’s sought-after Solar Roof tiles are made of glass layered over a photovoltaic substrate, and they serve as a replacement for traditional roofing materials. This ensures they look like the “real thing” from the ground – even though they accomplish much more than a standard roof.

Tesla, Solar Roof, Eco-Friendly, Solar, Elon Musk, solar power, renewable energy, photovoltaic panels, solar panels, solar shingles

So far, Tesla has two styles available for pre-order: a textured black glass tile and a smooth grey tile. The tuscan and slate tiles will be available for installation in early 2018. According to the company, installing a Solar Roof takes between five and seven days – and Tesla manages the entire process itself.

Tesla, Solar Roof, Eco-Friendly, Solar, Elon Musk, solar power, renewable energy, photovoltaic panels, solar panels, solar shingles

The fact that the Solar Roof tiles are so economical is applaudable, considering that Consumer Reports predicted back in November that the tiles would need to cost under $24.50 per square foot to compete with traditional roofing materials. Tesla accomplished this — and went one step further. Now, the company is offering an infinite warranty for the tiles. “We offer the best warranty in the industry—the lifetime of your house, or infinity, whichever comes first,” a Tesla representative told Inverse. Consumer Reports based their cost numbers assuming 30 years worth of electricity savings. They didn’t factor in local or government rebates or incentives, so the deal gets even sweeter when you add those in.

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Related: Tesla to power Gigafactory with world’s largest solar rooftop installation

An additional benefit of the Tesla Solar Roof is that it is touted to be stronger than a traditional roof. In areas where thunderstorms and high winds are rampant, a sturdier abode makes all the difference.

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Fortunate consumers who purchase the Solar Roof will also receive the forthcoming Powerwall 2.0, which is a battery storage device with a built-in inverter. It connects to your home’s electrical system, enabling a house to go 100 percent off-the-grid. Though it costs an extra $6,500, the long-term savings are estimated to add up to thousands of dollars.

NOTE: This article has been updated to reflect accurate pricing numbers as calculated by Consumer Reports. Read the full calculation here.

Disclaimer: All material is sourced and is credited to the original author. Please click the link provided in the blog and support their work.

Construction company rolls out first inclusive ‘at work’ signs

Ayesha Butt, an apprentice electrician, in front of a “Men and Women at Work” sign.

It’s a sign of the times.

A Manhattan construction company has rolled out gender-neutral “Men and Women at Work” signs — believed to be the first of their kind in the city.

Plaza Construction began replacing archaic “Men at Work” signs at the entrances to their job sites Sept. 4 as part of a “female-friendly initiative” that “encourages women to enter the industry by creating a gender-neutral workplace environment,” CEO Richard Wood told The Post.

Hardhat Ayesha Butt, 22, an apprentice electrician at 100 Varick St., where a 25-story condo is being built, said the new slogan helps combat the “stigma” faced by female construction workers.

“It makes people know there are females doing the job and getting into the field,” she said.

Still, her own family can’t understand her career choice.

“My parents don’t like this. They want me to do something ‘normal,’ like be a doctor,” Butt told The Post. “They tell me, ‘We will pay you to stay home.’”

Her male co-workers, however, have accepted her as one of their own.

“We bust her balls as much as anybody,” a fellow electrician said. “She gives as much as she gets.”

When she first started, Butt recalled, “They’d say, ‘Make sure to use gloves. Your hands will get messed up. Your boyfriend won’t like it!’”

The diamond-shaped signs are even opening the eyes of women.

Texas native Leslie Arellano, 23, a graphic designer from Brooklyn, first got the message while walking to work last month on Murray Street.

“I applaud whoever designed them,” she said. “I didn’t realize there are women interested in doing that sort of work.”

Besides Murray and Varick, the signs are posted on Greenwich Street in FiDi and Charlton Street in SoHo, along with 30 other Plaza job sites in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Resorts World Casino NY in Queens, New Jersey, Washington DC, Miami and Tampa, Wood said.

When it comes to equal pay, the construction industry is actually more progressive than most, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While women nationally make only 80 percent of what men earn, in construction, they earn 91.3 percent of their male counterparts.

Women accounted for 9 percent of the construction workforce nationally, and 7 percent in NYC, in 2017.

Plaza said women comprise 25 percent of their workforce.

Neither the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York nor the Professional Women in Construction were aware of any other gender-neutral signs in the city.