Architecture holds immense power in shaping a city’s culture, history, and social fabric. Numerous factors contribute to a city’s growth, but its defining characteristic remains its architecture. Through thoughtful planning and a profound comprehension of its cultural roots, a city can transport you across time.
For those seeking a community that shares captivating architectural images and significant structures, this is an ideal destination. The members of this platform are enthusiastic about exchanging their experiences and cultural heritage. If you’re intrigued by traditions and customs, this is the perfect place for you.
While some may not view architecture as a language, it can undoubtedly communicate with you. Specific aspects, such as the curvature and construction details, offer insights into a building’s past. This is because every element of a structure’s design can be linked to its origin.
01. Sun And Moon Pagodas In Guilin, China
Originally constructed in Guilin’s city moat during the Tang dynasty, the pagodas were rebuilt in 2001 based on historical records, serving as the focal point of Riyue Shuangta Cultural Park. The park emphasizes the harmony between Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. The Sun Pagoda features an octagonal base, bronze exterior, nine stories, and stands 41 meters (135 feet) tall. The Moon Pagoda also has an octagonal base, boasts glazed tile cladding, encompasses seven levels, and reaches a height of 35 meters (115 feet). The Sun Pagoda holds the title of the world’s tallest bronze pagoda and is among the select few equipped with an elevator.
02. The Shambles In York, England
“Shambles” is an archaic term referring to an open-air slaughterhouse and meat market. One theory suggests the word originates from “Shammel,” an Anglo-Saxon term for the shelves used by stores to display their merchandise. Another proposes that by AD 971, “shamble” signified a ‘bench for selling goods’ and by 1305, a ‘stall for selling meat.’ As recently as 1885, the street housed thirty-one butcher shops, but none are present today. Some structures along the street date back to the 14th century, and nearly all buildings on the road are designated as listed properties.
03. Mont Saint-Michel, France
Le Mont-Saint-Michel, a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France, served as an Armorican stronghold of Gallo-Roman culture and power during the sixth and seventh centuries until the Franks plundered it. Before the construction of the first monastic establishment in the 8th century, the island was known as Mont Tombe (Latin: Tumba). According to legend, the archangel Michael appeared to Aubert of Avranches, the bishop of Avranches, in 708 and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. In the 11th century, Italian architect William of Volpiano was appointed by Richard II, Duke of Normandy, to oversee the construction. He designed the Romanesque abbey church, boldly positioning the transept crossing atop the mount. To counterbalance this weight, numerous underground crypts and chapels had to be constructed. These foundational elements provided the support for the upward structure visible today.
04. Osaka Castle, Osaka, Japan
In 1583 Toyotomi Hideyoshi commenced construction on the site of the Ikkō-Ikki temple of Ishiyama Hongan-Ji. The basic plan was modeled after Azuchi Castle, the headquarters of Oda Nobunaga. Hideyoshi wanted to build a castle that mirrored Nobunaga’s but surpassed it in every way: the plan featured a five-story central tower, with three stories underground and gold leaf on the sides of the building to impress visitors. In 1585 the Inner donjon was completed. Hideyoshi continued to extend and expand the castle, covering approximately 61,000 square meters (15 acres), making it more and more formidable to attackers. In 1597 construction was completed, and Hideyoshi died the year after.
05. Kyoto, Japan
06. Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore
07. Inner Walls Of Ta Prohm Monastery. Cambodia, Khmer Empire, 12th-13th Century
Ta Prohm (“Ancestor Brahma”) is the modern name of the temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style primarily in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and initially called Rajavihara (“royal monastery”). In 1186 A.D., Jayavarman VII embarked on a massive construction and public works program. This temple was one of the first temples founded according to that program, built to honor the king’s family. The stele commemorating the foundation gives a date of 1186 A.D. and records that the site was home to more than 12,500 people. UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992.
08. This 50-Foot Tall Statue Of A Native American Woman In South Dakota Titled “Dignity”
09. The 24 Year Old ‘Wisteria’ Cottage. This Beautiful Cottage Is Located In Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
10. Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest
The Parliament building in Hungary is the largest structure in the country and was designed by Imre Steindl in 1902. It measures 268 meters long and 123 meters wide, features over 690 rooms, and is almost as tall as the Eiffel Tower. The number 96 refers to the country’s history from 1896 to 896.
11. Chefchaouen, Morocco
Chefchaouen, also known as Chaouen, was founded in 1471 as a small kasbah (fortress) by Moulay Ali ibn Rashid al-Alami, a descendant of Abd as-Salam al-Alami and Idris I, and through them, of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Al-Alami founded the city to fight the Portuguese invasions of northern Morocco.
12. Two 17th Century Half-Timbered Houses At Hohe Straße 18 And 19 In Quedlinburg, One Of The Best-Preserved Medieval And Renaissance Towns In Europe That Escaped Major Damage During World War II. Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
13. Athens, Greece
The Acropolis of Athens. The word acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον (Akron, “highest point, extremity”) and πόλις (polis, “city”). The term acropolis is generic, and there are many other acropoleis in Greece. It was also known more appropriately during ancient times as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the supposed first Athenian king. Pericles (c. 495–429 BC), in the fifth century BC, coordinated the construction of the buildings whose present remains are the site’s most important ones, including the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike. The Venetians damaged the Parthenon and the other buildings during the 1687 siege during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored in the Parthenon by the Ottomans was hit by a cannonball and exploded.
14. The Neuschwanstein Castle In Germany Looks Even More Stunning In Snow
King Ludwig II of Bavaria commissioned the palace as a retreat in honor of Richard Wagner. Ludwig chose to pay for the castle out of his fortune through extensive borrowing rather than Bavarian public funds. Construction began in 1869 but was never fully completed. The palace was intended as a private residence for the King until he died in 1886. The stage designer Christian Jank drafted the building design and was realized by the architect Eduard Riedel.
15. Tree House, Singapore
16. Casa Batlo, Barcelona, Spain
Casa Batlló was designed in 1904 by Antoni Gaudí and is considered one of his masterpieces. The building that is now Casa Batlló was built in 1877. It was a classical building without remarkable characteristics within the eclecticism tradition by the end of the 19th century. Josep Batlló bought the house in 1903. The design of the house made the home undesirable to buyers, but the Batlló family decided to buy the place due to its centralized location. The Batlló family was very well known in Barcelona for its contribution to the textile industry in the city. In 1904 Josep Batlló hired Gaudí to design his home; at first, he planned to tear down the building and construct a new house. Gaudí convinced Josep that a renovation was sufficient and was also able to submit the planning application the same year. The building was completed and refurbished in 1906.
17. This Is One Of My Favorite Museum’s Stairs (Paris)
18. Ruyi Bridge, China
This massive glass-bottomed structure, which measures 1,400 feet long and is suspended over 1,000 feet above ground level, is located in the Shexianju Scenic Area in China’s Taizhou Province. The jade riyi inspires it, a curved object interpreted as good fortune and power in Chinese folklore. The structure was designed by Yunchang He, a steel structure specialist.
19. English Country Garden Surrounding Asthall Manor, A Gabled Jacobean Cotswold Manor House Originally Built In The 1620s And Later Altered And Enlarged In The 1910s. Asthall, Oxfordshire, England
20. Evening Scene In Bremen, Germany
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