Peculiar Constructions

ChenLu

Cologne Cathedral

Architectural Miracle——the Cologne Cathedral

It is the biggest cathedral of Germany, one of the most famous and magnificent cathedrals in the world, and a monument in the history of architecture. The cathedral was started in 1248 and finished in 1880. Generations of architects and civil engineers spent 632 years, 230,000 days to finish the unusual Gothic project.

The two main turrets, which look like two sharp swords to the air, is 157 meter’s high. The construction area is 8000 square meters. The whole construction costs 200,000 ton stone. Every stone was precisely made. But the experts still can’t find the formulas at that time.

There are 5 temples in the cathedral.

Chapel at Ronchamp , France

You can hardly find a beeline either from the wall or the roof.

The roof is structured by two concrete sheets. The bottom sheet flip up.The whole roof seems floating in the air.

Designed by Le Corbusier in 1950

Finished in 1953

The gateway is in the south, between the transverse curly wall and the standing cylinder wall.

The inside of the chapel is 25×13 square meter. Seats are set just in one side for seated prayers. The other side is for the standing prayers.

Le Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges

Pompidou , Paris , France

It is named for the French pre-president Pompidou.It includes a library, the Modern Art Museum, the Industrial Art Center , an so on.

The main building is a six-floor steel structure, whose steel posts, steel beams, trusses are all exposed on the surface of the building. Even the freight elevators, the cables and the pipes are set towards the street and are coloured brightly. So the building seems just like a chemical plant .

The Nest

The top of the Nest is a saddle ,whose height is from 42.8m to 68.5m. The long axis is 332.3m, and the short one is 296.4m. The Nest is supported by 24 trusses 。 The main trusses are radiate from the hatch of the roof.

The Nest is a big steel net. Designers expose the structure frankly, without any redundant decoration. The symmetrical structure makes everyone feel equal inside . The Nest just like a cradle with the hopes of life of human beings.

The Water Cube

Marilyn Monroe Mansion

This building is called Marilyn Monroe. The shape of it seems like a lady’s curves. So some people call it the Most Sexy Mansion in the world.

Though the dreamlike mansion looks perfect, from pictures and blueprints of other points of view, it is unstable. Maybe nobody want to get in the building for the first sight.

This building is designed by a Chinese architect Mayansong and his two Chinese partners. This design beats other 92 projects and will become a 50-floor mansion in the center of Mississauga , the seventh biggest city of Canada.