Following on from my post recently about TV shows raising awareness of architecture in young people, schoolchildren in Edinburgh are being encouraged to take note of the buildings around them. The Looking Up! project is a five week programme that take high school students around the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh examining the architecture and the changes over time.

Following this tour, the children are then to design their own building that ideally should complement existing structures. The programme then concludes with a talk from an existing architect and an awards ceremony that gives the students the chance to showcase their designs in front of an audience of friends and parents.

From March until May of this year, a new exhibition will take place in the J Paul Getty Museum entitled Building the Medieval World: Architecture in Illuminated Manuscripts. This exhibition combines the art and literature from medieval and renaissance periods with the architecture of the time.

This fascinating exhibition will display how the artists and writers of the time were influenced and how their works were changed by the architecture of the time. From entirely fictional scenes and simple framing of paintings, through to showing how the people of the time interacted with the buildings, the scope of this exhibition should fascinate those with an interest in the history of architecture.

828M or 2717 ft
Formerly known as Burj Dubai, Renamed after the man in the suit of aurmour who paid for it to be finished after Funding dried up. This my friends is the biggest thing ever made by man., at 828 m (2,717 ft) It took 5 years to build with Construction beging on 21 September 2004, The building opened on 4 January 2010. After the Shenanigans with funding.. Its set in what will be called flagship intersection.
This behemoth was Designed primarily by a Chicago based architect called Adrian Smith and the design was brought to life by the Samsung corp, who have been responsible for other massive buildings in the past.
Total cost to make? A smidgeon over 1.5 Billion Dollars.
Fancy some estate in this mansion? Well it will set you back anywhere up to $43,000, per square feet. Well if you’re an oil tycoon I guess that’s just a drop in the ocean.

This building is actually 1,076 ft tall if you include the ariel. Set on the stylish Rajprarop Road in the district of Bangkok known as Ratchathewi. (Is that where they got the name for the film Rattatui perhaps?) Built including 86 floors, the 85th floor actually rotates; this is the only hotel outside of Dubai to make the top five list.
The Building was completed back in 1997, with the Ariel being added two years later. In fact the height of the building seems to be in some discussion with the hotel website actually stating this is in fact a 309M building.. Come on guys, like its not big enough already without having to exaggerate!
However, in 2012 The Ocean One Tower will take the top spot as the tallest residence in the world at a massive 367M Until then Thailand has to be happy with 5th spot.

The dwindling awareness within the younger generation of many of our most famous and prodigious architects can be dispiriting but understandable. However, I was pleasantly surprised the other day to come across an aspiring young architect by the name of Ted Mosby.

This is one young man who is rapidly becoming extremely well known within the younger age group. OK, so he might be the lead character in How I Met Your Mother, an American sitcom, but his dynamism and enthusiasm for his career cannot help but increase the number of young people taking an interest in architecture. Something that I for one celebrate.

When constructing large towers there are millions of points to take into consideration one of them is how to deal with lighting strikes. When lighting strikes a building the bold of electricity needs to get to the ground, using a lighting conductor (in the US the call it a lighting rod) you can get the electric down to the ground.

The lighting conductor is generally made out of copper or aluminium and will be the highest point on a building. From there the conductor will be connecting to many wires taking the electricity down to the ground. Those wires need to be not connected to other electrical wires otherwise a strike could break the electrics.

The Beetham Tower the largest building in Manchester, England was recently hit by a lighting strike 9:20am 30th July 2009. The event was captured by the local University.

I can’t really explain what amazes me about them. They are, quite litterally the biggest thing that is is possible for humans to make. They contain the highest technology availeable and will be around for many, many years.

They have reached a skale now where they can be seen from space and are the most imposing thing that we can do to out planet. But at the same time, there is no reason why they can’t be beautifull. Architects create these huge buildings to house, home, provide work, provide storage and befefit thousands of people. They are, quite simply, the best we can offer as human beings.

Taipei remains the worlds tallest builting untill work has finnished on Burj tower in Dubai. The most interesting thing about the tower is the 660 tonne weight that sits neer the top of the tower that keeps all 508 metres of the tower stable during hurricanes, earthquakes and anything else that mother nature can throw at it during the next 2500 years.

The 660 tonne ball acts as something called a mass dampner.. and is basically a giant pendulum that reduces the amount of sway in the massive construction.. when combined with the 10,00 psi concrete and 8 mega-columns you have a building that is claimed to be the most stable in the world.. Though I guess it needs to be with all the earthquakes, typhoons and other natural disasters that batter Taiwan regularly.

I’m not a huge fan of this complex of Towers situated in Mecca, the holiest place in the Islaam religion. Its mainly down to the styling of the mega structure, which is due to be the 2nd tallest building when completed.

Its situated just over the road from one of the main entrances to the site that holds the Kaaba, the holiest site in islaam, millions of people flock to the site every year to participate in hajj.. it just seems bad taste to dump this monstrosity of a structure, complete with Mall, massive parking areas and a 7 star hotel right on the edge of what should be a really holy place.

This rather lovely collection of towers in India are the exceptionally beautiful creation by Indian architects aiming to create the worlds largest financial hub.. and lets just be clear here, by largest we absolutly epic. Think a whole city dedicated to the worlds financial comings and goings.

I wish them the best of luck and hope the project goes well, but I cant help but think the artists pictures and renderings will probably be more wishful thinking than factual probability. The fact that they think they can catch up to Dubai where there is a seriously large amount of skyscrapers going up all the time.