The New A+A: It's Elfin's Tuesday Architectural Appreciation thread!!!

Fred I think HTS has pwned you.

mrlebowski – Member
Best place I have ever lived.

Me too.

tigs121 – Failkirk wheel?

I like ’em big.

I thought the Sagrada Familia was a mess. I’d wanted to see it for 30 years but it was a shambles. Epic, but a shambles.

Since we are on a bit of an Elizabethan stylee. This was in my family for 150yrs..

Al – where did you live in SF?

Cynic-al

Aye taken from the top looking into the wheel.

Not sure if it’s architecture or engineering?? I suppose you can’t have one without the other.

Some cracking buildings – top thread!

However, if you are going to build a big shed to keep your space ship in you need to do it properly.

I thought the Sagrada Familia was a mess. I’d wanted to see it for 30 years but it was a shambles. Epic, but a shambles.

I agree it’s a mess, but a wonderful, crazy, insane mess! Gaudi was a bit tapped if you ask me. Genius though.

But if you’re talking about buildings that took ages to build, then this monster has to rank up there:

Köln cathedral. Started construction 1248, completed 1880!

How about Hitler’s holiday camp…

Prora.

Or the imposing lump that Stalin left in Warsaw…

Elfie, this is ace! Castles and military installations next week?

You’ll like the Romanian Parliament building then HTS! 🙂

Cripes you’d think NASA would put the S[ace Shuttle through the carwash before letting folk take pics.

Ive been to the top of that Elf – aye aye talk about vertigo..

Elfie, this is ace! Castles and military installations next week?

Really glad people are enjoying this. I’ve been a bit down recently, but this has perked me right up! 🙂

Not sure what next week’s theme will be yet. So many ideas just from today. Could have castles, but there’s bridges, towers, skyscrapers, government buildings, religious buildings, sports stadia, power stations, industrial buildings, etc etc etc. A theme per week for ages!

Couple of me favourite castles:

Conwy

With one of me fave bridges too. 🙂

Denver.

Colorado Convention Center

Sugar Cube

DIA
With the possible snow loads we get out here you would question the sanity of making your roof out of stretched fabric.

Public Library

Art Museum (or bad LSD trip)

Another vote for this wonderful bridge

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Tower Bridge 7[/url] by gary_foulger[/url], on Flickr

It is indeed a wonderful bridge, Cheesy! 🙂

As is this one:

Now with 25 year paint finish 😉

Gare du Nord

Mayern Châteaux

Charles de Gaule

Some crazy-ass structure in Neuquen, Argentina

The Grange in Hampshire set in a stunningly beautiful setting:

We’ve already had the chapterhouse, here’s the truly wonderful staircase leading up to it:

Wells Cathedral

And another structure I absolutely love:

The old Victorian lighthouse, Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset

The Royal Crescent, Bath.

Hell, while we’re at it:

Wells Cathedral western front.

Oooo, nice photo of Wells West Front. Lovely building.

Wunundred! 🙂

Guess….

Good fred, Fred

Cube Houses Rotterdam

Amsterdam Central library , which is like a ipod inside.

Oriel Chambers, the worlds first skyscraper!

I used to love walking through here as part of my commute when I worked in London
[/url]
St Pancras[/url] by W Hyde[/url], on Flickr

St Peters

Yes, St P and Koln Cathedral – both get my vote.

Excellent thread. It’s really made me think – I work 30 yards from The Gherkin and hadn’t realised anyone actually liked it – I’ve always thought it irredeemably repulsive. I will look at it again on my way home with an open mind…..

I agree on Sagrada familia. Down one side on the side road where its just a typical street they’ve rushed it haven’t they? Big bland slabs.

It looks so obvious what they’ve thought.

Guggenheim museum in New York. Comes as quite a shock after the square-ness of most of New York’s buildings

The inside is where it gets spectacular though

Seeing as it’s now Wednesday, maybe we should save them for next week now…

Stopped in a hotel in Sauze D’oulx like that DezB, was like being inside a giant toilet roll 🙂

Ah google says it was hotel la torre, pics here here here

And for those who like fornication this was a local bar

Pretty cool that. I bet the contents of the rooms were slightly less erm, cultural… 🙂

La Grande Arche de la Défense, Paris. This thing really is quite grande, particualarly when you’re standing under it.

The one thing my home town is famous for. Interesting because it’s not meant to be that shape

Wells Cathedral – the upside down gothic arches that help hold the tower up:

I work 30 yards from The Gherkin and hadn’t realised anyone actually liked it – I’ve always thought it irredeemably repulsive. I will look at it again on my way home with an open mind…

..

I love the Gherkin, as do many Londoners. It’s a fantastic building. I can just about see the top of it from my bedroom window!

One London office building I’ve always loved is the Natwest Tower; big, solid, imposing and iconic; bin part of my experience of London for as long as I can remember:

Remembered this little Gem, in a place called Ringebu near Lillehammer in Norway:

It’s an octagonal stone church. Very unusual and quirky little building.

Maybe not the most striking of buildings but it’s certainly the highest…..in this country anyway!

A few from Berlin,probably a bit different now,these were taken in 2003,whilst I was working at Saltzgitter for 3 months.

Seeing as how the footy’s on tonight, a footy stadium:

Add 100,000 screaming passionate footy fans into the mix, and it becomes a volcano of noise. Incredible place to watch a game of footy.

some nice ones on this thread…

I love the Gerkin, although I always think of it as one of those Victorian glass paperweights. Can’t wait until the pointy monster on the right is finished, the views across London Village are going to be truly spectacular:

The Founders Building, Royal Holloway University at Egham. I’m currently working there constructing something much more modest, but this building is amazing from every aspect and is huuuuuge!

La Grande Arche de la Défense, Paris. This thing really is quite grande, particualarly when you’re standing under it.

I walked to it, and was impressed by the scale of it, but it wasn’t amazing / boggling enough to do much for me. My main thought was that they hadn’t lined it up properly with L’axe historique.

I like architecture that is mind-boggling, and sufficiently strong in itself to banish thoughts about whether it’s in line with other stuff nearby. TBH I was more curious about the cemeteries west of La Grande Arche than I was about the arch itself.

No challenge / beef / diss intended, just sharing my view on things. 🙂

Sugar Cube
I’ve been in there ,it’s quite quirky inside.

this is my favourite building shot that I’ve taken.
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Hilton[/url] by Jon Wyatt[/url], on Flickr