Weird Buildings

These are just some really cool buildings that I found on the Internet.

The Dancing House

The Robot Building

Ripley’s Building

The Longaberger Basket

The Tokyo Sofitel Hotel

Ugh... Pep Rally

Today the school schedule is messed up because of the stupid pep rally, so i really don't feel like posting a real blog today. Pep Rallies are dumb.

The White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the executive residence of every U.S. President since John Adams. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the home in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades which were meant to conceal stables and storage. In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior walls. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed house in October 1817. An interesting fact is that on the $20 bill, the image of the white house is actually the back, not the front. The President's house was a major feature of Pierre Charles L'Enfant's plan for the newly established federal city, Washington, D.C. The architect of the White House was chosen in a competition, which received nine proposals, including one submitted anonymously by Thomas Jefferson. The nation's first president, George Washington, traveled to the site of the federal city on July 16, 1792 to make his judgment. His review is recorded as being brief and he quickly selected the submission of James Hoban, an Irishman living in Charleston, South Carolina. Washington was not entirely pleased with the original Hoban submission, however; he found it too small, lacking ornament, and not fitting the nation's president. On Washington's recommendation the house was enlarged by thirty percent; a large reception hall, the present East Room, was added. This was likely inspired by the large reception room at Mount Vernon. The building Hoban designed is verifiably influenced by the first and second floors of Leinster House, in Dublin, Ireland, which later became the seat of the the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament). Construction of the White House began with the laying of the cornerstone on October 13, 1792, with no formal ceremony. The main residence, as well as foundations of the house, were built largely by enslaved and free African-American laborers, as well as employed Europeans. The initial construction took place over a period of eight years, at a reported cost of $232,371.83 ($2.4 million in 2005 dollars). Although not yet completed, the White House was ready for occupancy on or circa November 1, 1800.

Wonderworks

Wonderworks building is actually an amusement park for the mind with over 100 interactive exhibits for visitors of all ages to experience. The most eye-catching feature of Wonderworks is the unique exeterior. The building appears to be upside atop a 1930’s era brick warehouse. The building was designed to look as though it has been the victim of a massive earthquake. Activities inside Wonderworks are things such as Earthquake Simulators, the Hurricane Hole, the Anti- Gravity Chamber, Famous Disasters Room, Virtual Hoops, the Bubble Lab, the Velocity Tunnel, the Bed of Nails, the WonderWall, Reaction Time Testers, the Big Piano, the Shadow Wall, the Risk Zone, Shuttle Landers, Fighter Jets, the Race Machine, Computer Aging and the Wonder Coaster.

Astra Haus/CCTV & TVCC

The Astra Haus was strange building that was actually a brewery in Hamburg, Germany. “Was” because the unique building has been destroyed. Another unique thing about the Astra Haus was that its floors could move up or down on its column core. One of its more famous beer brands was recently bought by a big refreshment corporation. And that beer brand is now called Astra.


Another cool building is the China Central Television Headquarters Building & Cultural Centre. The total development is 5 813 000ft² consisting of two main buildings: the CCTV building and the Television Cultural Centre (TVCC). The irregular grid on the building’s facades is an expression of the forces travelling throughout its structure.

Fuji TV

The Fuji Television headquarters in Odaiba is known for its eccentric architecture. Fuji Television Network, Inc. is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as Fuji TV or CX. It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System. i just thought that this building looked cool.

University of Central Florida (UCF)

The University of Central Florida (commonly referred to as UCF) is a university located in Orlando, Florida. UCF is the largest undergraduate school in the state of Florida, the second largest overall, the sixth-largest university in the nation. UCF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida. It was founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University with the goal of providing highly trained personnel to support the Kennedy Space Center, located only 35 miles to the east, and to this day maintains a satellite campus at the Space Center. In 1978 the school was renamed the University of Central Florida as its academic scope had expanded to encompass all academic fields. In 1990, the University of Central Florida founded the Space Education and Research Center and is a member of the NASA Space grant colleges. As of 2008, total enrollment consists of a 50,000 student body seeking bachelor's degrees through doctorates, as well as certificates and specialist degrees. The university is organized into twelve colleges providing nearly 100 separate courses of study with the majority of the population located at the main campus, approximately 13 miles east of downtown Orlando and 55 miles south of Daytona Beach. Since its rapid growth starting in the late 1990s UCF has expanded its influence throughout Florida and now consists of twelve satellite campuses in eastern central Florida. In the Fall of 2006, UCF's admission rate declined drastically from 61% of prospective students admitted to only 46%, as a result of more and more students applying to the university each year. The acceptance rate continued to decline for Fall 2008 when there was a 38% acceptance rate for 25,000 first time in college applications. Freshmen admitted in Fall 2008 posted average SAT scores of 1219, ACT scores of 26 and average high school GPAs of 3.76. UCF's official colors are black and gold, the various sports teams go by the name of Knights and the official mascot is a male gold-armored black knight named Knightro. The UCF academic logo is a Pegasus.

Test

We took a test today and it was very long. I had to look up almost every answer so it took me a while. I don't have enough time left to do a normal blog, so this is what I am posting.

Nothing

I can't think of anything to do my blog on today. So.... I guess that's it.

Biltmore Stairs

I was in the Biltmore Estate a couple of years ago with my family. We were on vacation for the summer. We went there because it is a very historical building and is a French Renaissance inspired chateau near Asheville, North Carolina, built by George Washington Vanderbilt between 1888 and 1895. It is the largest privately owned home in the United States at 175,000 square feet and featuring 255 rooms. Still owned by Vanderbilt's descendants, it stands today as one of the most prominent remaining examples of the Gilded Age. In 2007, it was ranked eighth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects. One specific feature of the house that I remember very well is the grand marble staircase. This entire staircase is a spiral staircase made of huge marble slabs that are held together just by the force of the stairs pushing together. The force is so great that the stairs can hold thousands of pounds on them and they don't need anything to hold them up, except for the points at which it is fastened to the floors above and below.

L'Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris, France that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the Place de l'Étoile. It is at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. The triumphal arch honors those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier fromThe monument stands 162 ft in height, 148 ft wide and 72 ft deep. It is the second largest triumphal arch in existence. Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. The Arc de Triomphe is so colossal that three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919, marking the end of hostilities in World War I, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it, with the event captured in a newsreel World War I. Since the fall of Napoleon (1815), the sculpture representing Peace is interpreted as commemorating the Peace of 1815. The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin (1739–1811), in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture, especially the Arch of Titus. Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Corhtot; Rude; Étex; Pradier and Lemaire. The main sculptures are not integral friezes but are treated as independent trophies applied to the vast ashlar masonry masses, not unlike the gilt-bronze appliqués on Empire furniture.

The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. The tower has become a global icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world. Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris. More than 200,000,000 have visited the tower since its construction in 1889, including 6,719,200 in 2006, making it the most visited paid monument in the world. Including the 79 ft antenna, the structure is 1,063 ft high (since 2000), which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building. When the tower was completed in 1889 it was the world's tallest tower — a title it retained until 1930 when New York City's Chrysler Building (1,047 ft tall) was completed. The tower is now the fifth-tallest structure in France and the tallest structure in Paris, with the second-tallest being the Tour Montparnasse (89 ft), although that will soon be surpassed by Tour AXA (738.36 ft). At the time the tower was built many people were shocked by its daring shape. Eiffel was criticised for the design and accused of trying to create something artistic, or inartistic according to the viewer, without regard to engineering. Eiffel and his engineers, as renowned bridge builders however, understood the importance of wind forces and knew that if they were going to build the tallest structure in the world they had to be certain it would withstand the wind.

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a man-made canal in Panama which joins the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, it had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America. A ship sailing from New York to San Francisco via the canal travels 9,500 km (6,000 miles), well under half the 14,000 miles route around Cape Horn. Although the concept of a canal near Panama dates back to the early 16th century, the first attempt to construct a canal began in 1880 under French leadership. After this attempt failed and saw 21,900 workers die, the project of building a canal was attempted and completed by the United States in the early 1900s, with the canal opening in 1914. The building of the 77 km (48 miles) canal was plagued by problems, including disease (particularly malaria and yellow fever) and landslides. By the time the canal was completed, a total of 27,500 workmen are estimated to have died in the French and American efforts. Since opening, the canal has been enormously successful, and continues to be a key conduit for international maritime trade. The canal can accommodate vessels from small private yachts up to large commercial vessels. The maximum size of vessel that can use the canal is known as Panamax; an increasing number of modern ships exceed this limit, and are known as post-Panamax or super-Panamax vessels. A typical passage through the canal by a cargo ship takes around nine hours. 14,011 vessels passed through in 2005, with a total capacity of 278.8 million tons, making an average of almost 40 vessels per day.

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam, also sometimes known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada. When completed in 1935, it was both the world's largest electric-power generating station and the world's largest concrete structure. It was surpassed in both these respects by the Grand Coulee Dam in 1945. It is currently the world's 35th-largest hydroelectric generating station. This dam, located 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, is named after Herbert Hoover, who played an instrumental role in its construction, first as the Secretary of Commerce and then later as the President of the United States. Construction began in 1931 and was completed in 1935, more than two years ahead of schedule. The dam and the power plant are operated by the Bureau of Reclamation of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, Hoover Dam was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985. Lake Mead is the reservoir created behind the dam, named after Elwood Mead, who oversaw the construction of the dam. The initial plans for the finished facade of both the dam and the power plant consisted of a simple, unadorned wall of concrete topped with a Gothic-inspired balustrade and a powerhouse that looked like little more than an industrial warehouse. This initial design was criticized by many as being too plain and unremarkable for a project of such immense scale, so Los Angeles-based architect Gordon B. Kaufmann was brought in to redesign the exteriors. Kaufmann greatly streamlined the buildings, and applied an elegant Art Deco style to the entire project, with sculptured turrets rising seamlessly from the dam face and clock faces on the intake towers set for Nevada and Arizona time, in the Pacific and Mountain time zones respectively (although because Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, the two clocks show the same time throughout much of the year).