Buildings

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I'm watching the new episode of Qi just now and there was mention of a building in Bangkok which was built to look like an elephant.

What a major letdown to have bothered to have googled it!

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The Mirror Room - Propeller Island City Lodge, Berlin

The Dog Bark Park Inn, Idaho, USA

Das Park Hotel, Linz, Austria

The Old Jail, Mount Gambier, South Australia

Hostel Celica, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Gruft - Propeller Island City Lodge, Berlin

Magic Mountain Hotel, Panguipulli, Region X, Chile


Crane Hotel, Harlingen, Netherlands

Capsule Hotel, The Hague, Netherlands

bollocks to the mirror room!

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Italy to build the world's largest suspension bridge between Calabria and Sicily
Italy will forge ahead with a controversial plan to build the world's largest suspension bridge, a massive structure which will arch between the mainland and Sicily, the government said on Wednesday.
By Nick Squires in Rome
25 Feb 2009
telegraph.co.uk

Critics say that at six billion euros (£5.4bn), the cost of the two-and-a-half mile bridge across the Strait of Messina is far too high and have questioned the wisdom of building such a giant span in a region which is prone to earthquakes. Some engineers have given warning that the area's huge pylons would be vulnerable to high winds.

"It's true that it costs six billion euros but this is the project and we're not going back on it," Altero Matteoli, the public works minister, told Italian radio. He acknowledged that it would be essential to improve the ramshackle roads and railways on either side of the bridge, in Sicily and the mainland region of Calabria. "The bridge will oblige us to improve railway and motorway infrastructure as well as the ports. It's an enormous amount of work that will also increase tourism."

The project, which Mr Matteoli said could get underway this year, was first envisioned by Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, when he was in office in 2001-2006, but then ditched by his centre-left successor, Romano Prodi, amid concerns that it would mostly benefit construction firms run by the mafia. Mr Prodi's administration labelled it a vanity project and "the most useless and harmful plan of the past 100 years."

Mr Berlusconi was re-elected prime minister last year and put the project back on track. He insists that it will create thousands of jobs, boost tourism and improve transport links between the 'toe' of the Italian mainland and Sicily, replacing ferry services.

The bridge would be able to handle nearly 5,000 cars an hour as well as high-speed trains. The dream of building a bridge across the narrow strait was first envisioned by the Romans and later considered by Sicily's Norman rulers.

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Amazing pictures of 13-storey block of flats that toppled over
28th June 2009

A newly built 13-storey residential building collapsed in Shanghai yesterday, killing one worker. The block of high-rise flats toppled onto its side in the muddy construction site raising concerns that building safety standards are being overlooked in favour of fast construction in China's rush to modernise.

The building appeared to be almost complete with fitted windows and a finished, tiled facade. Other similar-looking blocks in the same property development were still standing nearby. Shoddy construction and the use of sub-standard materials is a concern in China's construction sector as the country scrambles to build out cities and finish massive infrastructure projects to keep pace with fast economic growth.

Construction-related accidents last year included the collapse of a steel arch on a new railway bridge, which killed at least seven and a crane which fell on a nursery school killing five. The collapse of dozens of schools during last year's Sichuan earthquake also led to a wave of public outrage about corrupt officials and construction firms.

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help ma boab!

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Chav-tastic coat of paint for wacky artist's house turned into Burberry shrine
19th November 2009
http://modernekunst.no/

Once a symbol for all things chav, Burberry had successfully re-branded itself as one of the UK's most sophisticated fashion labels. But a Norwegian artist looks set to undo all of their hard work after painting the exterior of his house - a former public toilet - in the brand's signature check.

Jens Werner, 33, covered the entire building in the famous beige, black and red tartan design. The re-painting of the building in Larvik took several weeks at a cost of thousands of pounds. The makeover of the property was part of an effort to turn Jens' home into a 'gathering place for happy people, peace-on-earth-mentality and art-loving people'. He explained how he came up with the idea after waking up one morning and thought that it would be 'a fun idea' to repaint the building, which he has owned for six years.

Burberry, which is over 150 year old, is a favourite with fashion-forward celebrities including Alexa Chung and Agyness Deyn. It became famous for its raincoats after the label was commissioned by the War Office to adapt its officer's coat to suit the conditions of contemporary warfare. After the war, the garment became popular with civilians.

The company's signature print, the Haymarket check, became ubiquitous in the Nineties among football hooligans and the new chav generation. Its popularity sparked thousands of imitations and the print was replicated on everything from baseball caps to shoes. The label's luxury status was dealt its final blow when former EastEnders actress Daniella Westbrook stepped out with her young daughter, both head-to-toe in the house tartan, complete with matching buggy.

After fighting hard to shake off its unfortunate associations with ‘chav’ culture the firm has divided the country into three categories according to how smartly they want to dress. The luxury fashion house has introduced a new tripartite system, splitting glamour queens who opt for silk catwalk dresses from those more comfortable in scruffy jeans. It was U.S. businesswoman Rose Marie Bravo who transformed the brand's image when she joined the company in 1998, spearheading a renaissance that saw the likes of Kate Moss, Rachel Weisz and Emma Watson star in its advertising campaigns.

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Property developer outwits planners by building £500,000 home disguised as a barn
29th January 2010

A property developer has won his battle to outwit planners by building a £500,000 home disguised as a barn on protected Green Belt land. Alan Beesley and his wife Sarah had faced eviction from their two-storey house but the Court of Appeal ruled that the couple had acted within the law.

Mr Beesley was granted permission to build a barn for agricultural use in 2002 and from the outside the property, near Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, looks like any other hay store surrounded by farm machinery. The property developer was originally granted permission to build a barn for agricultural use only. But it was then fitted out with three bedrooms, a study, bathroom, lounge, reception area, storeroom and gym However inside it is a house complete with three bedrooms, a study, bathroom, lounge, reception area, storeroom and gym.

The couple relied on a legal loophole which grants a certificate of lawfulness to homeowners who have lived in a property for more than four years, even if they failed to obtain the correct planning permission. High Court judge Mr Justice Andrew Collins branded the scheme a fraud in April last year and gave Welwyn Hatfield Council the chance to decide whether or not it wanted to evict the pair. But a panel of three appeal judges ruled that the couple were within the law and had achieved immunity for the use of the building as a dwelling.

Lord Justice Mummery said: 'It is a surprising outcome which decent lawabiding citizens will find incomprehensible: a public authority, deceived into granting planning permission by a dishonest planning application, can be required by law to issue an official certificate to the culprit consolidating the fruits of the fraud.' The judges also ruled that Welwyn and Hatfield Council must pay £21,184 in legal costs.

Mr Beesley, 38, who was not in court for the judgment, said: 'Obviously, I am delighted with the decision. My greatest concern, however, is the focus of the case on my so-called "deceit". When we originally applied for planning consent for the building it was not my intention at that stage to live in it. We decided to move there following a spate of burglaries, including two at our stables. We sited it beyond visibility from the road to make no impact on the countryside. I understand the local authority still wants to pursue this at great cost to the taxpayer. Surely, when its finances are at full stretch, there are more worthy causes than challenging the decision of three Court of Appeal Judges?'

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Half a million quid on a home that looks like a barn...

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This bizarre house really doesn't have an official name, but it does have a 135 degree angle. So that's what we're going to call it. Unfortunately, the only info we have about this house is that it was built in China or Japan. And that it has a silly pink roof. And if you look real close, you'll notice that its on a 135 degree damn angle

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Climb this: Anish Kapoor's massive artwork that will tower over London
Mayor Boris Johnson unveils designs for 'Britain's answer to the Eiffel tower', to be built in Olympic park
Mark Brown,
guardian.co.uk,
31 March 2010

Designs for what will be Britain's biggest piece of public art, a 120 metres tall looping tower by the artist Anish Kapoor that people will be able to climb, giving spectacular views of London, were unveiled today by Boris Johnson, mayor of London. Kapoor's Orbit, a vast, snaking steel structure, will dominate the 2012 Olympic park. It is being hailed as London's answer to the Eiffel tower and is part of an ambition to make the Olympics site a permanent visitor attraction.

Kapoor won the commission from a shortlist of bidders believed to include the artist Antony Gormley and the architects Caruso St John. Johnson said of Kapoor: "He has taken the idea of a tower and transformed it into a piece of modern British art. It would have boggled the minds of the Romans. It would have boggled Gustave Eiffel."

The structure will officially be called the ArcelorMittal Orbit, after steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, the richest man in Europe, who is funding it. Johnson said that if he and Mittal had not bumped into each other in a Davos cloakroom "we would not be where we are today". Mittal said: "This project is an incredible opportunity to build something really spectacular for London, for the Olympic games, and something that will play a lasting role in the legacy of the games."

The structure will cost about £19.1m. Johnson said: "Of course some people will say we are nuts – in the depths of a recession – to be building Britain's biggest ever piece of public art. But both Tessa Jowell [Olympics minister] and I are certain that this is the right thing for the Stratford site, in games time and beyond."

Kapoor has collaborated on the project with his friend Cecil Balmond, one of the world's leading structural engineers. Approximately 1,400 tonnes of steel will be used. The plan is for work to begin soon with a completion date of December 2011. Kapoor said one of his references was the Tower of Babel. "There is a kind of medieval sense to it of reaching up to the sky, building the impossible. A procession, if you like. It's a long winding spiral: a folly that aspires to go even above the clouds and has something mythic about it."

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That could be brilliant - and I'm sure they'd get the money back on it before long... but £19m seems a bit low. I'm sure they'll bump that up 2 or 3 times at least!

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The antenna of the 468-metre-high Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai. China, is seen on fire, and after the fire was extinguished by firefighters. No casualties were reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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How do you fix a problem like that?! I'm amazed the firefighters were able to even get to it.

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A three-storey building in China could possibly be the world's thinnest. At one end it measures only 0.4 metres wide, while it is three metres wide at the other. The building in Haikou, Hainan Island was built three years ago. The government appropriated most of the land the property is built on from its owner, leaving him with only 20 square metres. The owner then built the skinny building on his remaining land as a way of protesting. Local residents are now worried that the thin building may be blown over as Hainan Island is famous for its frequent typhoons

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Strata tower in Elephant & Castle named ugliest new building of the year
A gargantuan London tower block with three wind turbines built into its roof has been named the country's most unattractive new building, with critics deriding its “breakfast-extracting” ugliness.
Matthew Moore
12 Aug 2010
telegraph.co.uk

At 480ft, the glass and steel Strata tower in Elephant & Castle is the tallest block of flats in the capital, dwarfing all neighbouring buildings. While those lucky enough to afford an apartment on the upper levels enjoy stunning views over the city, locals complain that the tower's disproportionate size and “bar code” colour scheme make it an unavoidable eyesore. The developers behind the tower have also been accused of environmental tokenism, after installing turbines in the roof to meet just eight per cent of the building’s energy needs.

Ellis Woodman, the Telegraph architecture critic who led the judging panel, said that the Strata building was a damning indictment of town planning departments, describing it as “quite simply the worst tall building ever constructed in London”. He said: “Councils are meant to protect us from these buildings. How on earth did it win approval? A skyscraper is an energy-greedy building form, both in terms of construction, and the power needed to take people to their front doors in a lift. To top one off with some wind turbines is the worst sort of greenwashing.”

He added that the Strata building was awarded the Carbuncle Cup, an annual competition run by Building Design magazine, for “services to urban impropriety and breakfast-extracting ugliness”.

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This house was featured in a story today about how an estate agent had showed potential buyers around while the owner lay on the couch - dead.

While that's sad and crazy, it's not the part of the story which really got me - the price did. This delightfully rundown hovel-looking place is on the market for £800 000! I'm sure that has to be a mistake though.

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India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, moves into £630m home
The richest man in India, Mukesh Ambani, has moved into his new home in Mumbai which is 27 storeys high and worth £630m.
Laura Roberts
14 Oct 2010
telegraph.co.uk

Ambani, his wife and three children have moved into the building which is named Antilia, after a mythical Island. It contains a health club with a gym and dance studio, at least one studio, a ballroom, guestrooms and a range of lounges and a 50 seater cinema. There is even an elevated garden with ceiling space to accommodate small trees. The roof has three helicopter pads and there is also underground parking for 160 cars, which will come in handy for guests at Ambani's forthcoming housewarming party.

From the top floors of the 173m high property are spectacular views of Mumbai and of the Arabian Sea.

The 53 year-old tycoon is not only the richest man in India but the fourth richest man in the world. In total there is reported to be 37,000 square metres of space, which is more than the Palace of Versailles. To keep it running smoothly requires 600 staff. The glass, steel and tiles used to make the building are reported to be from local sources.

According to Forbes magazine Ambani, who owns much of Reliance Industries, the oil, retail and biotechnologies conglomerate, is worth £18bn. He used to help run the company before falling out with his brother. Ambani does not appear to be influenced by calls by the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, for business leaders to be "role models of moderation".

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It looks fecking awful! £630m worth of concrete and glass bollocks.

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Artist creates Monopoly house as monument to credit crunch (three more and he can buy a hotel)
29th October 2010

Standing as a monument to the credit crunch, this life-sized Monopoly house was created as an ironic statement on the global financial crisis. Created by Canadian artist An Te Liu, 44, the 36ft by 44ft work called 'Title Deed' was built in Willowdale, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Built around a condemned home in one of the town's original suburbs, the giant green house is almost identical to the famous board game pieces.

Mr Liu spent two months building the house last year and employed friends and volunteers to strip the home of guttering, satellite dishes and windows before covering it in latex block filler paint. He said: 'I received the commission from a curator in Willowdale to produce my vision for the Monopoly house in February 2009. The house was being prepared to be knocked down by a local developer so we took advantage in a delay in proceedings to plan to alter the house into the recognisable feature from the board game.

'I had already seen a similarity beforehand but once we began the process of changing the house using wooden boards for the windows and removing all the exterior extremities then the green painting could begin.'

Seeing property as a home, a loan, a debt, an investment and something that is more monetised than we realise, the artist wanted to use the iconic board game as a metaphor. 'Just as the sub prime mortgage crisis hit America and was caused by traders and bankers playing their games in Wall Street, so the common man was squeezed because of that,' he said. 'Our homes are not necessarily what we think they are. They are property just like in Monopoly to be remortgaged and used as collateral. We spent around £9,000 transforming this home to prove that point and I think we succeeded.'