Architecture Preview #1

1. The Turning Torso

1. Santiago Calatrava
2. 2001-2005
3. Sweden
4. Only open for events
5. Estimated amount is 2,120,000,000 kronor, or 303,759,748 USD
6. It is the first twisting building in history.
7. When I saw the name, I thought it sounded pretty interesting. I looked up pictures, and I got exactly what I was expecting: a skyscraper with a "twist" (pun entirely indented). It's also the tallest building in Scandinavia as of now.

2. The Nautilus House

1. Javier Senosiain
2. 2006
3. Naucalpan, Mexico
4. Open
5. I cannot find any info on the budget.
6. It was inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, and based off the sea creature known as the nautilus.
7. The nautilus is a very interesting creature in my opinion. For those who don't know, a nautilus is a squid-like creature that lives inside of a snail-like shell. When I saw the name of the house, I expected something interesting, but I wasn't expecting it to be so literal to the point where the actual house in based off the design of a nautilus. The colorful tinted windows add a ton of pizazz to the house as well.

3. The Sanzhi UFO Houses

1. Unknown designer
2. 1978-1980 (Construction was abandoned)
3. Sanzhi District, New Taipei City (Taiwan)
4. Converted into a resort
5. No info found
6. Intended as a vacation resort, but infamously abandoned in 1980 due to mysterious deaths and suicides of the workers. Some conspiracy theories suggest that it was built upon a graveyard for Dutch soldiers.
7. The image I posted looks like a screenshot taken straight out of an Oscar-winning dystopian sci-fi movie, but it's real. The design of these buildings is beyond weird, and the creepy stories surrounding the place make it even more disturbing. It's the true definition of a ghost town.

4. Habitat 67

1. Moshe Safdie
2. Opened in 1967
3. Montreal, Quebec (Canada)
4. Open
5. About 13.5 million USD.
6. Moshe Safdie had the idea during his enrollment at McGill University.7. This place is giving me some SERIOUS flashbacks to the city of Ga-Zair from Dr. Seuss's "Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?" The strange name of the building got my attention, and my knowledge of the CN Tower (one of the tallest buildings in the world) lets me know that Canada has a good taste in architecture. 

5. The Burj Al Arab

1. Tom Wright
2. 1994-1999
3. Dubai, UAE
4. Open, hotel
5. 1 billion USD
6. This building is supposed to resemble a mast on a sailboat.
7. The Burj Khalifa (formerly known as the Burj Dubai) in Dubai, UAE currently holds the title of the tallest building in the world. It's clear that Dubai has plenty of money to spend on architecture, and the Burj Al Arab is no exception. I love the shape of the building and how it resembles a giant sailboat. It's just another example of how talented Dubai is when it comes to buildings.