World's Greatest Supertall Skyscrapers

Some of the World's Greatest Skyscrapers. Enjoy. LINK: Youtube

Minneapolis Architecture

Starting with Philip Johnson's acclaimed IDS Tower in 1972 (which is still, perhaps, one of the best looking skyscrapers in the country) Minneapolis has seen architecture play an increasingly important role in the fabric of the city.

Recent buildings by Jean Nouvel, James Dayton, Frank Gehry, Cesar Pelli and Herzog & de Meuron, as well as classics by Minoru Yamasaki & Associates, Gunnar Birkerts and Ralph Rapson, are making the City of Lakes also the City of Architecture. This video surveys some of the buildings that have transformed the cityscape as a result of the city's considerable investment in its skyline.

John Comazzi, a University of Minnesota Architecture professor, guides us around these Minneapolis landmarks, revealing some of the more interesting architectural details, facts and marvels. We start at the Walker Art Center's new addition by Herzog & de Meuron and conclude, fittingly, backstage at the new Guthrie Theatre building designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, who had this to say about the project: "At the heart of the city, the Guthrie is a machine for capturing and radiating the enveloping vistas. It condenses the landscape that unfolds around it." LINK: Youtube

12 Artist Interpretations of City Skylines

"“Jerusalem Fountain” by Frank Meisler"
Displayed at King Solomon Hotel in Jerusalem during the late 1970s, this spherical sculpture—made of pewter with gold and silver plating—represents how Jerusalem was viewed in the Middle Ages: circular, and the “navel of the world” with seven symbolic gates. Photo courtesy of Frank Meisler. LINK, Via: The Presurfer

The Pixel Cloud Skyscraper Is a JRPG Dream Fortress

This digital cloud skyscraper was a finalist in Singapore's recent contest to design a pavilion for the World Expo 2010. And it's nothing short of wondrous.

By Singapore-based Design Act, "My Dream, Our Vision" is constructed from 3866 cubes of varying opacity, and serves as a physical manifestation of the intangible: digital information floating above the green landscape. Embodying "xin" (or "new"), visitors are beckoned inside by music to post their dreams of tomorrow, to incite innovation.

And it just looks really, really cool. LINK

aAskyscraper’s amazing 728-ton stabilising ball

Due to both the immense size of taipei 101 and the fact that it sits just over 600ft from a major fault line, engineers had no choice but to install one of this size at a cost of $4m. too heavy to be lifted by crane, the damper was assembled on site and hangs through 4 floors of the skyscraper. it can reduce the building’s movement by up to 40%. LINK



an incredible video. on may 12th, as the horrendous earthquake occurred in china’s sichuan province, tremors were felt for miles, including in taipei 101. youtube user phuaalvin was in the building at the time and said that as the building started to shake, dozens of people ran to the damper to watch it in action. here’s the video he took… LINK: Youtube