One Wall Centre, Vancouver, Canada

One Wall Centre, also known as the Sheraton Wall Centre - North Tower, is currently the second-tallest completed building in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The skyscraper is located at a high point on the downtown peninsula of Vancouver and its address is 1088 Burrard Street.

One Wall Centre was designed by Chris Doray. It was completed in 2001 and won the Emporis Skyscraper Award for the Best New Skyscraper the same year.

One Wall Centre is 48 storeys tall with a total height of 491 feet(150 m). The first 27 floors of the building are the 4 Diamond Sheraton Hotel. Floors 28, 29, and 30 are the Club Intrawest Resort floors; which are operated independent of Sheraton. The remaining 17 floors are private residential condominiums. The One Wall Centre tower part of the Wall Centre complex owned by Wall Financial Corporation.

Taipei 101, Taipei, Republic of China

Taipei 101 is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Republic of China (ROC). The building, designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners and constructed primarily by KTRT Joint Venture and Samsung Engineering & Construction, is the world's tallest completed skyscraper according to the CTBUH, the arbiter of tall building height. Taipei 101 received the Emporis Skyscraper Award in 2004. It has been hailed as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World (Newsweek magazine, 2006) and Seven Wonders of Engineering (Discovery Channel, 2005).

The building contains 101 floors above ground and 5 floors underground. Its postmodern style combines Asian and international modern and traditional elements. It is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. A multi-level shopping mall adjoining the tower houses hundreds of fashionable stores, restaurants and clubs.

Taipei 101 was overtaken in height on July 21, 2007 by the Burj Dubai in Dubai, UAE, upon the completion of that building's 141st floor . As of January 2009, the title of "world's tallest building" still rests with Taipei 101, as international architectural standards define a "building" as a structure capable of being fully occupied. The Burj Dubai will claim the title upon its completion, which is expected in September 2009.

Akshardham, New Delhi, India

Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi epitomises 10,000 years of Indian culture in all its breathtaking grandeur, beauty, wisdom and bliss. It brilliantly showcases the essence of India’s ancient architecture, traditions and timeless spiritual messages. The Akshardham experience is an enlightening journey through India’s glorious art, values and contributions for the progress, happiness and harmony of mankind.
The grand, ancient-styled Swaminarayan Akshardham complex was built in only five years through the blessings of HDH Pramukh Swami Maharaj of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) and the colossal devotional efforts of 11,000 artisans and BAPS volunteers. The complex was inaugurated on 6 November, 2005.

Akshardham means the eternal, divine abode of the supreme God, the abode of eternal values and virtues of Akshar as defined in the Vedas and Upanishads where divine bhakti, purity and peace forever pervades.

For the first time ever in the world witness the heritage of India in all its facets, insights and beauty at the Swaminarayan Akshardham through its mandir, exhibitions, verdant gardens and other attractions.

Lotus Temple, Delhi, India

The Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi, India, popularly known as the Lotus Temple due to its flowerlike shape, is a Bahá'í House of Worship and also a prominent attraction in Delhi. It was completed in 1986 and serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent. It has won numerous architectural awards and been featured in hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.
Architect: Mr. F. Sabha

European Parliament Building, France

Located in Strasbourg, France.
Built at a cost of 3.1 billion French francs (470 million euros) at the intersection of the Ill and the Marne-Rhine Canal, it houses the hemicycle for plenary sessions, the largest of any European institution (750 seats - expanded to 785 - for MEPs and 680 for visitors), 18 other assembly rooms as well as a total of 1133 parliamentary offices.
With its surface of 220,000m² and its distinctive 60m tower, it is one of the biggest and most visible buildings of Strasbourg. The Louise Weiss(name of the building) was designed by the Paris-based team of architects Architecture Studio Europe. After the project was approved at an international contest in 1991, work, commissioned by the Société d'Aménagement et d'Équipement de la Région de Strasbourg on behalf of the Urban Community of Strasbourg, started in May 1995, with up to twelve cranes at the time on what was one of the biggest building sites of the decade in Europe. The inauguration of the building took place on 14 December 1999 by French President Jacques Chirac and Parliament President Nicole Fontaine.

London City Hall, London

City Hall is home to the Mayor of London, the London Assembly and the GLA, who in July 2002 became tenants of this striking rounded glass building on the south bank of the Thames near Tower Bridge.

Architect: Norman Foster

Aachen Cathedral, Germany

Located in Aachen, Germany.
Construction of this Palatine chapel, with its octagonal basilica and cupola, began between 790 and 800 under the Emperor Charlemagne. Originally inspired by eastern churches of the Roman Empire, splendid facings were added in the Middle Ages.

30 St Mary Axe, London

Said to be London's first environmentally sustainable skyscraper.

Windows in the lightwells open automatically to augment the air conditioning system with natural ventilation, an occurrence anticipated to save energy for up to 40% of the year.

The floorplans are shaped like flowers, with a circular perimeter indented by 6 triangular light courts. The indentations remain a constant size at each level, while the space between them diminishes.

The floor plan is rotated for each successive floor, creating a series of spiraling 5-storey atria that stretch the full height of the building.

41 floors. Height 180 m (590 ft)

Architect :Norman Foster
Building Type :commercial office tower

It is nicknamed the Gherkin for its tall, rounded, pickle-like shape.









For more details and pics, click here.

Taj Mahal, India

A white marble tomb built in 1631-48 in Agra, seat of the Mugal Empire, by Shah Jehan for his wife, Arjuman Banu Begum, the monument sums up many of the formal themes that have played through Islamic architecture. Its refined elegance is a conspicuous contrast both to the Hindu architecture of pre-Islamic India, with its thick walls, corbeled arches, and heavy lintels, and to the Indo-Islamic styles, in which Hindu elements are combined with an eclectic assortment of motifs from Persian and Turkish sources.

The Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal at Agra stands in a formally laid-out walled garden entered through a pavilion on the main axis. The tomb, raised on a terrace and first seen reflected in the central canal, is entirely sheathed in marble, but the mosque and counter-mosque on the transverse axis are built in red sandstone. The four minarets, set symmetrically about the tomb, are scaled down to heighten the effect of the dominant, slightly bulbous dome. The mosques, built only to balance the composition are set sufficiently far away to do no more than frame the mausoleum. In essence, the whole riverside platform is a mosque courtyard with a tomb at its centre. The great entrance gate with its domed central chamber, set at the end of the long watercourse, would in any other setting be monumental in its own right.

The interior of the building is dimly lit through pierced marble lattices and contains a virtuoso display of carved marble. Externally the building gains an ethereal quality from its marble facings, which respond with extraordinary subtlety to changing light and weather.










On a platform 22' high and 313' square.

Corner minarets 137' tall. Main structure 186' on a side, dome to 187'.

The mausoleum is 57 m (190 ft) square in plan. "The central inner dome is 24.5 m (81 ft) high and 17.7 m (58 ft) in diameter, but is surmounted by an outer shell nearly 61 m (200 ft) in height.

Specific design credit is uncertain, and is given by different sources to Istad Usa, Ustad Ahmad Lahori, Isa Muhammad Effendi, or Geronimo Veroneo.