Great structures throughout history

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I have to say I don't really see why the Houses of Parliament (that is, the palace of Westminster) or its clock tower (Big Ben being the bell, of course) is really such a great building. It may be iconic but really, it's just a clock. The London Eye, directly opposite, is more impressive as a structure.

Isn't it just a giant Ferris Wheel?

If you're looking for impressive, how about St. Paul's Cathedral, or Salisbury Cathedral?

 

[aronnax]

The Red Fort of India
Arch de Triumph of France
The Leaning Tower of Italy

 

[Gen. Rommel]

These are the buildings I would allocate as being most symbloic for each civilization. Of course there are various that would also fit, but I just chose the ones that immediately pop into my head when thinking of a certain civilization and seem to epitomize said culture the greatest. Here's my take:

Germany - Brandburg Gate
France - Eiffel Tower
England - Big Ben
Scottland - Edinburgh Castle
Italy - The Colosseum
Greece - Akropolis
Russia - Kremlin
Turkey - Sultan Ahmed Mosque/The Blue Mosque
USA - Statue of Liberty
Japan - Tokyo Tower
China - Forbidden Palace/Tiananmen Square
Cambodia - Angkor Wat
India - Taj Mahal
Brazil - A Cidade Maravilhosa/Jesus Statue
Mexico - Chichén Itzá
Egypt - Great Pyramid of Giza
Australia - Sydney Opera House

Off the top of my head...a bit cliché and superficial, I know, but I can't help myself.

 

[sydhe]

Well, if the Taj Mahal is too sterotypical, try the Gopuram at Maduai:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Gopuram-madurai.jpg

 

[Vietcong]

all 7 origonal wonders of the world desirve to be on the list.

 

[Gen. Rommel]

Well, if the Taj Mahal is too sterotypical, try the Gopuram at Maduai:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Gopuram-madurai.jpg

Yeah, that is definitely a really beautiful Indian building...and foremostly, it's a genuine Indian building with intricate Hindu detailing on the fassade, unlike the Taj Mahal which is actually a Mughal building.

By the way, does anybody else think that looks like a candy building? It looks like it's a crazy Willy Wonka construction!

 

[joycem10]

The Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh, my undergrad school. The largest educational building in the Western Hemisphere (second only to a building at the U of Moscow). The outside construction is pretty impressive, but the interior is even better. Looks like an old castle or something.

 

[jacktheknife]

Most of the ones that got railroaded in that stupid New Seven Wonders of the World thing. Sure, I knew that Kiyomizu was a pipe dream, but what the hell, I thought it looked different.

 

[Zibong]

Ugh. The winner of that 'New 7 Wonders' contest that irked me the most was the Christ the Redeemer statue. Angkor, St. Basil's, Hagia Sophia, and a whole bunch of others that were snubbed present greater engineering and artistic challenges than Christ the Redeemer.

 

[#1 Person]

What about the Hagia Sophia? A cathedral turned mosque. From Byzantine to Ottoman. From the cross to the crescent.

An interesting fact was that a crescent flag always flew on the Hagia Sophia, as the Crescent was originally the symbol of the city of Constantinople, but after the Ottoman Empire conquered the city it was turned into the symbol of the Empire and subsequently the religion.

I think the Dubai Towers will have to go onto the list (I can see them from my window right now ) pretty impressive I assure you, already the tallest building in the world and their still adding more stories.

Historically speaking, on the Arab Peninsula, the Masjid al-Haram is also pretty impressive, perticularly since it was originally built long before the Prophet Muhammad lived.

In China, the MAOsoleum (love that pun) is pretty impressive, but so are the rest of the buildings in Tianammen Square.

 

[carmen510]

Great Pyramids (Will always be on my list)
Colosseum (Great feat of engineering)
Taj Mahal (Probably India's most famous building, internationally at least)
Empire State Building (Again, international, and view is great)
Statue of Liberty (Looks great)
Hagia Sophia (Engineering)
Eiffel Tower (International, great engineering, kind of looks bland to me though)
Notre Dam (Great cathedral)
Brandenburg Gate (Just love the history. )
British Parliament (I love the look, and that Big Ben is basically a huge clock)
CN Tower (Nice view, great engineering)
Vatican (Unbelievably great looking, lots of good places photographs don't show)
The Internet (What? )
St. Basil Cathedral (The fact that the tops look kind of like Hershey's kisses makes it cool )
Great Wall (Great for exercise, seriously )
Roman forum (Shame its in ruins)

 

[Photi]

there are some great buildings on this thread no doubt. my personal pick to the US would have to be the Golden Gate Bridge. That inspires awe. Perhaps the Brooklyn Bridge as well, but i have never seen it in person.

 

[GinandTonic]

The Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh, my undergrad school. The largest educational building in the Western Hemisphere (second only to a building at the U of Moscow). The outside construction is pretty impressive, but the interior is even better. Looks like an old castle or something.

Quite astonishing. I've never seen anything like that.

 

[Mirc]

The Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh, my undergrad school. The largest educational building in the Western Hemisphere (second only to a building at the U of Moscow). The outside construction is pretty impressive, but the interior is even better. Looks like an old castle or something.

Both this one and the one at Moscow are absolutely amazing.

Oh and since we are at Moscow, for something different, not essentially big or hard to make, but of an incredible beauty, I'd like to nominate Saint Basil's Cathedral and the metro of Moscow, which is used daily by almost 7 million passengers:

Spoiler :

 

[Rik Meleet]

Netherlands:
The complete Deltawerken.

If that is too big; the Oosterscheldekering and de Maeslantkering are marvellous in their own rights.

 

[Kyriakos]

The Rio-Antirio bridge is a moden (and recently completed) 'great structure' here:

The 2,880 meters (9,449 ft) long bridge dramatically improves access to and from the Peloponnese, which could previously be reached only by ferry or via the isthmus of Corinth at its extreme east end. Its width is 28 meters — it has two vehicle lanes per direction, an emergency lane and a pedestrian walkway. Its five-span four-pylon cable-stayed portion of length 2,252 meters (7,388 ft) is the world's second longest cable-stayed deck; only the deck of the Millau Viaduct is longer at 2,460 meters (8,071 ft). However, as the latter is also supported by bearings at the pylons apart from cable stays, the Rio-Antirio bridge deck might be considered the longest cable-stayed "suspended" deck.

This bridge is widely considered to be an engineering masterpiece owing to several solutions applied to span the difficult site. These difficulties include deep water, insecure materials for foundations, seismic activity, the probability of tsunamis, and the expansion of the Gulf of Corinth due to plate tectonics.

Its official name is the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge. Charilaos Trikoupis was a 19th century Greek prime minister, and suggested the idea of building a bridge between Rio and Antirio; however, the endeavour was too expensive at the time, when Greece was trying to get a late foot into the Industrial Revolution.

 

[Serutan]

For America, I'd nominate the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

[JohnRM]

The World Trade Center, towers one and two; and not for any patriotic reasons. When I was younger, about nine or ten (circa 1990), my Dad took me to New York City, for the first time. We went to the South Tower (2) and went to the observation deck, called the "Top of the World." Before we entered the building, my Dad quoted me the fact that you could not stand with your feet at the base of the tower and look up at the top without falling backward.

I remembered when I saw them from the outskirts of NYC; the skyline. They were wondrous and magnificent. I've never been impressed like that since.

When I stood against the base of the building, looked up, and fell back, my Dad caught me, and I was completely in awe of them. We went to the observation deck and, from there, it seemed like you could see forever. It was one of the most memorable events of my life.

 

[Mirc]

Before we entered the building, my Dad quoted me the fact that you could not stand with your feet at the base of the tower and look up at the top without falling backward.

I've heard this said for many buildings - but it's obviously not true for any building in the world...

But I'm not trying to argue against the WTC here, not at all. Just saying.

 

[JohnRM]

I've heard this said for many buildings - but it's obviously not true for any building in the world...

But I'm not trying to argue against the WTC here, not at all. Just saying.

It was true, for me, that day.