One of the magical things of traveling is the architecture. It differs from city to city and each place hides something special. Have you ever stood in front of a building and admired it? Have you wondered how they built it? Cities that charm you the most, by Travel Channel’s opinion, are Dubai, Berlin, Chicago and New York. Which are the most interesting and unusual buildings that grew on our continent?
A solution in case of global crisis
The first that I want to mention isn’t anything special in looks, it looks like a cube that is pointing out of snow, but it’s special from another point of view.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault is just what it sounds. The building was created to store millions of seeds that could be destroyed in case of natural disaster or global crisis. The building is located in Norway, deep in the mountain and on a remote island, 1300 kilometres from the north pole. Technical conditions of the locations are practically perfect. The mountain gives the building safety, the area is geologically stable, the humidity level is low and arctic permafrost enables automatic freezing. The island Svalbard is also politically stable and military activity is prohibited from 1920. The vault is one of the safest buildings in the world. It is protected by top notch security system that ensures that the seeds are protected against any danger and it also has some unusual security guards – there are more polar bears on Svalbard than people. The building has three rooms that serve as vaults for storing seeds and can store 4 million plants and more than 2 billion seeds. Today it stores 830000 seeds. You can find all information about the building on the website
Croptrust where you can also interactively visit the building and have a look around.
Wheelbarrow and oil lamp equals masterpiece
When we think of France, our first thought will probably be Eiffel Tower but despite its glory, it isn’t the most interesting building in France. Eupedia says that one of the most unusual building in France is so called
Ideal Palace (Palais Ideal du Facteur Cheval) that you can find in a small village Hauterives. The palace was built by Ferdinand Cheval between 1879 and 1912. The building is extremely catching to the eye, as its story is to the ears. While delivering mail in April 1879 Cheval tripped on a big stone and decided to collect stones on this area. He was inspired by sculptures, made by nature and Egyptian and Hindu architecture and mythology. Cheval decided that he also wants to make such beautiful shapes. In the next 33 years, the mailman created a building with his own hands and named it Temple of Nature. He drove the stones with a wheelbarrow and worked at night with the help of an oil lamp. Even though Cheval was poor and not renowned, his work was recognized by great artists like Picasso and Anais Nin.
Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers in a Building
While walking on river Vltava, you might see a little weirdly, crooked. But don’t worry, you see correctly, you’re just looking at a house, called
Dancing House (Tančici dum). Its design is unique and in the centre of Prague, really moving. For many years, they said that this building doesn’t belong in this part of the city. Before the Dancing House was built, a neo-renaissance house stood there but was demolished in 1945 by American air force. Nothing stood there for decades. But Czech president who lived in the neighbouring building ordered an archaeological study of the area to Vlado Milunič. The architect connected with a Canadian architect Frank O. Gehry and together they created a dynamic building, which seems like it’s dancing. It represents dancers Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers and that is why the building is also called Ginger and Fred. Glass tower Ginger is leaning on the concrete tower Fred, which has a glass dome that represents hair, says the website
http://tadu.cz/. If you want an accommodation in Prague, we recommend
Hostel Downtown.
Titanium ship that is catching the light
Spain also has lots of interesting buildings, mostly due to Gaudi who took care for colourful and unusual buildings. A building that is one of the most important building of the 20th century is
Guggenheim Museum in Bilbau, Spain. It was created by Frank Gehry and is an example of one of the most inventive buildings of the previous century. The foundation chose Gehry because they wanted something inventive and bold. The building illustrates a ship and the titanium panels that look like fish scales are there coincidentally and catch the light, says on the website
www.guggenheim.org. The museum has 32500 square metres, 11000 is for exhibitions in more than 19 galleries. You realize its size when we enter it, the ceiling in the first floor is 15 metres high.
