A huge pyramid in the middle of nowhere tracking the end of the world on radar. An abstract geometric shape beneath the sky without a human being in sight. It could be the opening scene of an apocalyptic science fiction film, but it’s just the U.S. military going about its business, building vast and other-worldly architectural structures that the civilian world only rarely sees.
This colorful scene isn’t a view of a new luxury loft. It’s Rabot Towers, an abandoned public housing project in Ghent, Belgium. When the first stage of demolition removed the building’s exterior walls, the former blight became an unexpected beauty, captured here by photographer Pieter Lozie.
I’m as baffled as you are that it’s taken so long, but it seems someday we still might get the stadium we’ve all known architecture really needs: Turkey’s Burasapor soccer team, nicknamed the "Green Crocodiles," could soon be getting an architectural masterpiece, a structure that will rival the greatest palaces of the last 200 years, even outdoing the timeless proportions of the Acropolis. It is a coiling green crocodile with blazing spotlights in its eyes.
Skyscrapers tend to become lightening rods for the neighborhoods they’re in—and nowhere is that more true than in Johannesburg’s Ponte City, a hulking 54-story tower has gone from Apartheid enclave to drug dealer haven to symbol of urban renewal.
The standard advice authorities offer when lightning starts crackling across the sky is for people to take shelter inside buildings. Through lightning rods affixed to the roof, electrical wiring, and plumbing that can direct the electricity away from occupants and into the ground, substantial structures offer protection.
The Brooklyn Bridge was an awesome feat of engineering that required not just scientific prowess, but political strength. For 14 years, the construction of the bridge was overseen and managed by a woman named Emily Warren Roebling, who took over the role as chief engineer after her husband fell ill.
Back in 2013, when Istanbul was still competing to host the 2020 Olympics, the city announced plans to build "the world’s largest and busiest airport terminal." The Olympic bid ended up failing—but Istanbul still wants to build its mega-airport.
Do you like modern architecture? What about stomach-churningly scary videos of people hurling themselves off tall things? Well, you’re in luck: After four people were arrested for BASE jumping off of One World Trade last month
We all know about Möbius strips—those 3D shapes surfaces that weirdly only have one side. But how is it possible to build real architectural structures out of a mathematical construct?
British architect David Chipperfield was chosen to build Stockholm’s Nobelhuset today, more than a year after a competition to design it got underway. This 275,000-square-foot complex will house a museum and administrative center for the Nobel Prize, along with a cafe and a library. Wonder how long before TED will build a museum dedicated to itself? [Bustler]
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