architecture
the most dramatic chapel on earth
if god was real and happened to be a sci-fi fan i reckon the cadet chapel at the air force academy in colorado would be his chapel of choice. it looks like no place of worship you’ve ever seen and from the outside resembles a row of 17 angular spacecraft sitting on their back-ends, ready to shoot off at any minute. the chapel and its surrounding complex was designed by walter netsch of architectural firm skidmore, owings & merrill and construction was completed in 1963. no sooner had the spire-fest been announced than the public outcry began…
extremely impressive shiny balls
the enormous 34ft diameter shiny ball pictured above goes by the name of ‘la géode’. this stunning metallic structure houses a 1000m² hemispheric imax screen at the ‘cité des sciences et de l’industrie’ in paris. it was designed in 1983 by french architect adrien fainsilber and then realised by engineer gérard chamaillou. it’s apparently one of the largest geodesic domes on earth.
2 stunning and surreal gasometer conversions
the reason for this post is to show you 2 incredible converted gasometers and illustrate that demolition shouldn’t always be the answer when industrial structures come to the end of their career. with a bit of imagination even an enormous disused gas container can look incredibly inviting whilst also serving a new purpose.
how to disguise a water tower and confuse the public
walking towards the ‘house in the clouds’ in suffolk for the first time can be a confusing experience if you approach from the right angle as the otherwise normal-looking home appears to either float above the trees or perch on a non-existent hill behind the surrounding greenery…
the frightening grid of nezahualcoyotl
while we’re on the subject of aerial geometry, check out the insane aerial views of nezahualcoyotl, mexico state’s 2nd most populous municipality. this particular area consists of hundreds and hundreds of rows of densely packed housing occasionally sliced by a main road. just looking at these photos makes me claustrophobic but i can’t help admiring the patterns created by the hardcore “pack ‘em in tightly” urban planning.
hands down, the coolest skyscraper ever made
there are so many reasons to love this beauty that it’s hard to know where to start. it’s got 13 floors which, to me at least, makes it a skyscraper. it’s entirely made of wood, thus making it a wooden skyscraper. it was made by the fair hands of a single crazy russian man, thus making it a homemade wooden skyscraper. brilliant.
the most organised shanty town on earth
pre-2001, the residents of dignity village in portland, oregon, were part of a mobile ‘tent city’ founded by 8 local homeless people desperate to find some kind of semi-permanent shelter. in 2001, following much campaigning and media support, portland city council agreed to allow the camp legal campground status on the basis that they move to an area called sunderland yard, thus securing dignity village’s short-term future.
6 incredible star forts
star forts are incredible, relatively unappreciated structures that have recently become a fascination of mine - humungous constructions that only really become visually stunning when you look down on them from above. this type of fortification design was adopted in the early 16th century as people realised that simpler, often circular forts were pretty crap when it came to the job in hand: defense. many of them still stand today in varying sizes. some are empty, some contain ruins. some, as you’ll see below, contain entire villages.
10 stunning ultra-geeky home cinemas
huge screens, incredible sound systems and luxurious seats are popping up in seemingly spare rooms and basements larger than my entire flat. however this is also giving a few movie geeks a real chance to shine and it seems they’re not content with a simple in-home movie theatre decent enough to hold a premiere in. so, in no particular order, here are 10 of the best, geekiest, themed home cinemas on earth…
5 fascinating ‘alternative’ school premises
the majority of tourists who visit vietnam (around 90%) will end up at halong bay, a huge stretch of coastline containing nearly 2′000 islands of varying size. surrounding many of the islands are floating villages - small communities of locals who have probably never lived on solid ground. above is one of many floating schools to be found dotted around the shores, flanked by school boats, the floating village’s equivalent to a school bus. in case you can’t read the sign…
