The patterns created as they push or pull around window openings are a whole dynamic order of exterior decor into themselves.

Via

Via

England’s weather is about as far from tropical as possible — except within the bubble of this amazing “Heart of Africa” biodome coming soon to Chester zoo. The 112-foot-high zoological attraction will simulate the rainforest habitats of the African Congo.

The biodome will cover 172,000 square feet and will be home to a number of animals, including a band of gorillas, a troop of chimpanzees, okapi ( giraffe-like creatures), birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, and invertebrates. A water ride will show off animal enclosures, and a jungle canopy will flourish above visitors’ heads.

When it is opened in 2014, the biodome is expected to be Europe’s biggest conservation and animal attraction. We can only hope that the attraction inspires environmental action among visitors!

Inside the biodome

Rainforest inside the biodome

The biodome from above

At Navesink from the Riverview Tower:

Olympic 2008 opening ceremonies in Beijing:

Fireworks over Lake Union:

Australia Day fireworks:

Singapore Fireworks Festival 2006:

Fourth of July 2009, Independence Day United States of America:

Disneyland Fireworks:

This is a concept for a “tree hotel” designed by the Swedish architectural firm Tham & Videgard Hansson.  It  is made of mirrors and thus totally invisible. It blends into its surroundings in a very cool way. It’s the ultimate tree house for luxury weary travellers who want to leaf the city life behind.  Each room at the new hotel in Lapland is a box made of aluminium and covered in mirrored glass stuck 50ft up a tree.   The mirrored walls are specially designed to make the walls disappear into the landscape by reflecting the woodland canopy surrounding them.Visitors have to climb into their room by a rope ladder.

What started out as a dream by Dave Longaberger, Founder of The Longaberger Company, has been built Home Office into a giant basket to house the entire corporate offices of the company. Dave believed the idea was one of his best and would draw attention to the company, while simultaneously helping to build our brand.The dream was achieved on December 17, 1997 when the Home Office that is designed to resemble a basket finally opened for business.

The building’s 80-foot high handles took 18 months to design and build, project manager Ken Parks said. The handles, which weigh 75 tons apiece, came in 13 pieces that were welded together at the construction site. Each has a special heating unit that prevents ice from forming and falling into a 4,500-square-foot glass ceiling below.
the windows as large as possible 16 feet wide by 6 feet high. Inside, the big basket is decorated with blue and green tiles that match the colors used in Longaberger’s decorative-pottery products

Today, the company’s 3,600 employees make about 7 million of the hardwood maple baskets a year at a factory in nearby Dresden. The baskets come in more than 80 different styles in sizes ranging from the small tea basket to the large hamper.

The Dancing House (Czech Republic)
The Dancing House is the nickname given to an office building in downtown Prague, Czech Republic. It was designed by Croatian-born Czech architect Vlado Milunic in co-operation with Canadian architect Frank Gehry on a vacant riverfront plot (where the previous building had been destroyed during the Bombing of Prague in 1945). The construction started in 1994 and was finished in 1996.

The very non-traditional design was controversial at the time. Czech president Vaclav Havel, who lived for decades next to the site, had supported it, hoping that the building would become a center of cultural activity. Originally named Fred and Ginger (after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers – the house vaguely resembles a pair of dancers) the house stands out among the Neo-Baroque, Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau buildings for which Prague is famous.

The Piano House (China)
It is a house that looks like a piano. You can probably see that from the picture. It also has a glass violin that houses an escalator. And it is way off the beaten tourist path. However, since its creation its hometown, Huainan, has presumably drawn a horde of classical music enthusiasts The only thing. The to-scale piano is missing is a giant Schroeder pounding away at the keys.

Kansas City Library (United States)

Kansas City Library has one seriously cool façade. Local residents were asked to nominate influential books that represent kansas city, humungous versions of the winning nominations were then used as the exterior of the library car-park.

The Robot Building-The Bank of Asia (Thailand)

The Robot Building, located in the Sathorn business district of Bangkok, Thailand, houses United Overseas Bank’s Bangkok headquarters. It was designed for the Bank of Asia by Sumet Jumsai to reflect the computerization of banking; its architecture is a reaction against neoclassical and high-tech postmodern architecture.The building’s features, such as progressively receding walls, antennae, and eyes, contribute to its robotic appearance and to its practical function. Completed in 1986, the building is one of the last examples of modern architecture in Bangkok and has garnered international critical acclaim.

The Blue Building (Netherlands)
The borough of Delfshaven, Rotterdam, asked Schildersbedrijf N&F Hijnen to come up with a plan for a block of derelict buildings, which will eventually be demolished. The agreement with the neighbourhood is that the block will remain blue as long as there isn’t a new plan for the area.

The Astra Haus (Germany)

The strange building is actually a brewery in Hamburg, Germany. The floors can move up or down on it’s skinny column core. As of now, the unique building has been destroyed. One of it’s more famous beer brands was recently bought by a big refreshment corporation. And that beer brand was called Astra.

The Crooked House (Poland)
Polish architect of the Crooked House, Szotynscy Zaleski, was inspired by the fairytale illustrations of Jan Marcin Szancer and the drawings of the Swedish artist and Sopot resident Per Dahlberg. The most photographed building in Poland, the 4,000 square meter house is located in Rezydent shopping center in Sopot, Poland.

The sam key building (canada)

The Sam Kee building is situated at 8 West Pender Street. It runs from the corner of Pender and Carral to the lane at the halfway point of the block. It is two storeys tall and 1.5 meters (six feet) deep. The story behind the building is as exotic as the structure with several intriguing twists and turns included in its telling. The City of Vancouver provided the original owner, Chang Toy, with a challenge when it expropriated all but two meters of his property as part of an expansion of Pender Street. No compensation was provided to its owner who was left with what most believed to be a useless property. In a creative turn of events fuelled by spite and some say a bet an architect was hired to design a building to fit the remaining property. The rest is history in more ways than one.

Academy of Sciences (California)

Late period architecture has broadly fallen into two distinct categories: buildings that slide seamlessly into the already existing landscape and those that stand out entirely from it. Renzo Piano’s California Academy of Sciences redesign falls into the latter. With a verdant roof, replete with its own foliage, the Golden Gate Park building hides out like a ninja, though skylights and copious large windows on the exposed façade give it light.

Upside Down House, Szymbark(Poland)

Tom Tucker’s son has an upside down face. It is both funny and tragic at the same time. Conversely, Daniel Czapiewski’s Upside Down House in Szymbark is not the least bit tragic. Though many a tornado-belt travesty sufferer or Wizard of Oz-a-phobe may cringe at images of the flipped over building, most people, including many tourists, have flocked to the strange attraction.

Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto(Canada)
Royal Ontario Museum redesign and Frank Gehry’s absolutely stunning (stunning!) Art Gallery of Ontario redux. Before all that came an addition to the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD). Will Alsop’s towering structure turned OCAD into one of the most unique buldings in the world. A cow-evoking black and white box sits four-stories above the ground, set on a number of different colour pillars. At night, the box is a similarly colourful and bright. Given the building’s use, it is a fittingly strange and creative look.

Lotus Temple, New Delhi(India)
It was created in 1986, the building has 27 different pedals, all rising to mirror the flower in curvature and scale. With its proximity to water and white façade, it looks vaguely like the Sydney Opera House, though it has a markedly more symmetrical bent. While reality mirroring buildings are usually relegated to roadside attractions, this one has become a design standard bearer.

Guggenheim, Bilbao(Spain)
Frank Gehry’s world-renowned museum along the Nervion River is a deconstructionist marvel that employs a random collection of lines and metal to create a shockingly cohesive yet no-less sumptuous feast. It toys with perception relentlessly. Viewable from infinite angles and in countless lights, it never, ever looks the same. Strange and malleable it holds a unique place as one of the world’s most original, recognizable, and bizarre buildings.

Kunsthaus Graz (Austria)
Kunsthaus Graz, is unlike any other buildin. It houses an art gallery, though the building itself is one its most intriguing aspects. Outfitted with a range of lights and employing a variety of lines, it is as dynamic as it is original. Globular and massive, it redefined its area by adding an apropos contemporary lilt.There is a 19th century building resting under the huge structure, which makes it even weirder.

Hundertwasser Building(Germany)
This residential complex can be found in Darmstadt, Germany. The U-shaped building is quite unique as it rises like a ramp and has grass, shrubs, flowers and trees planted on its roof. Of the 1,000 windows, no two are the same and trees grow out many of them. At the highest point, there are 12 floors. It was completed in 2000 and designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

Bubble House(France)
This bubble house is located in France. Architect, Antti Lovag is committed to the concept of organic architecture and thus inspired to create buildings resembling shapes and forms found in nature. A few of these bubble houses can be found along the coast of France.

Hang Nga Guesthouse: Crazy House(Vietnam)
Like a Disney animation of a Grimm’s Brothers fairy tale, a bizarre southern Vietnam hotel built by the daughter of Ho Chi Minh’s right hand man. It’s as if it was sculpted by Salvador Dali on the grounds of a classic French colonial villa. It has little bridges and oddly shaped corridors all linking together like a mini maze.

Wonderworks
Location: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Architect: Bullock Smith & Partners
Completion Date: 2006
WonderWorks began as a Top Secret facility on a remote island, in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle.

As legend has it one experiment went awry, in an attempt to harness the power of a man-made tornado, the entire laboratory was hurtled skyward, hundreds of miles away, it landed upside down in the heart of Pigeon Forge TN.

When you enter the building, everything will be upside down, so in order to participate in the fun, you must be inverted. Once you’re properly aligned for your adventure, Family Fun awaits with more than 120 interactive, hands-on exhibits. As the Building hurtled skyward it encountered what can only be described as a time portal.

The Volcano fountain, Abu Dhabi is one of the most famous Abu Dhabi tourists attractions. Lying right on the seafront, the fountain looks most impressive during the night. Tourists on tours to Dubai should definitely visit this tourist site.

Bellagio Fountain, Las Vegas

A refreshing addition to your entertainment options, the Fountains of Bellagio were destined to romance your senses. Take in a complimentary Las Vegas show of water, music and light thoughtfully interwoven to mesmerize its admirers. All for your amusement, the most ambitious, choreographically complex water feature ever conceived amazes against the beautiful backdrop of Las Vegas’ lavender sky. Each dynamic performance from the Fountains collection is unique in its expression and interpretation. Fall in love with the stunning nature of this unprecedented aquatic accomplishment while relishing a clever concert of opera, classical and Broadway tunes.

Mirage Fountain, Las Vegas
The new $25 Million Dollar Mirage volcano, designed by the same company which developed the Fountains of the Bellagio newly opened on December 8, 2008! The new Mirage volcano erupts every hour with a 4 1/2 minute free show, featuring water shooting 120 feet above the Volcano with 120 fireballs thrown into the air, choreographed to a new musical score. The technology being used allows the Mirage volcano to be more realistic in both more appearance and island setting. Steam pours from the sides of the volcano, water flows down crevices on the sides of the mountain, and fire and flames sprout from numerous openings.

Dubai Fountain

Emaar has unveiled a world-class water, light and music spectacle in the 30-acre Burj Dubai Lake within Downtown Burj Dubai. Located near Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, and The Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destinations, the fountain assures a vibrant musical and visual experience.
At over 900 ft (275 metres) in length – equivalent to that of over two football fields – Dubai Fountain is about 25 per cent larger than The Bellagio Fountain in Las Vegas in area. Powerful water nozzles shoot water sprays to heights of over 500 ft (150 metres) – equivalent to that of a 50-storey building.
Over 6,600 lights and 50 colour projectors create a visual spectrum of over 1,000 different water expressions that will appeal to visitors. Different combinations of water-forms of Dubai Fountain perform to selected musical pieces – chosen from a range of classical to contemporary Arabic and world music.

Moscow Fountain

Kiev Fountain

Saint-Petersburg Fountain

Geneva Fountain

Originally a simple security valve at the Coulouvrenière hydraulic factory, this water fountain has, over the years, grown to be the symbol of Geneva.

In 1891, it was transferred to the “Rade”, to become a major tourist attraction. However, it was not until 1951 that it was provided with an autonomous pumping station, propelling 500 litres of water per second to a height of 140 metres at a speed of 200 km per hour (124 miles/h). Eight 9,000-watt projectors light the fountain’s majestic column in the evening as it soars skywards.

Barcelona Fountain

The original Barcelona fountain of magic was built for the 1888 Expo World Fair in Ciutadella Park. Determined to improve on their previous effort, a subsequent fountain was designed and constructed for Barcelona’s 1929 World Expo. This fountain has become a real landmark in Barcelona and is situated near Montjuïc. With coloured light shining through the water, the Barcelona Magic Fountain almost appears to dance and is quite mesmerising.

Main building access is on the ground floor and through the two symmetrical structures located on each side of the tower’s base. one of the structures houses the children’s library while providing (through skylights) an excellent view of the tower above. the children have the chance to use both the enclosed library as well as part of the park outside.  The conference rooms are located on the lower ground floor offering a more controlled environment. All this area is flooded with natural light from skylight-like holes on the ground above while framing views of the tower. The building’s cafeteria is located 135 meters above ground and provides a 360 degree view of dubai and the surrounding zaabeel park. there are also two staircases connecting the cafeteria level with the viewing platform above providing a connection between the two.

Once every two years, the Grand Place, a central market in Brussels, Belgium becomes one of the largest flower gardens in the world.

The flower carpet of Grand Place has a different model every time and it’s made out of roughly 700,000 begonias. This is definitely one of the must see- attractions of Brussels.

2008′s carpet was based on the patterns of the 17th Century French Savonnerie tapestry. A perforated plastic with the design on it is laid down and the spaces between the floral design areas are filled with rolled turf. The stems are packed so tightly, 300 stems per square meter, directly onto the stone, so they won’t be blown away. No soil is used at all. The 2010 Flower Carpet will be on the Grand-Place from August 13th till August 15th.

1. Superman: Ride of Steel:

At a height of nearly 21 stories, “Superman: Ride of Steel” is the world’s top-rated coaster. With a 221 foot drop, Superman reaches a top speed of 77 miles per hour and delivers a lot of airtime (that funny feeling of weightlessness as the coaster goes over a hill), making it a favorite of coaster enthusiasts.

2. Millennium Force, Cedar Point, OH:

Towering at a height of 310 feet, Millennium Force is one of the tallest and fastest gigacoasters in the world, with a huge 300-foot vertical drop and a top speed of 93 miles per hour.

3. Kingda Ka, Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson Township, NJ:

Towering at an incredible height of 456 feet (45 stories!), Kingda Ka is a strata-coaster (exceeds a height of 400 feet) and accelerates from 0-128 miles per hour in less than four seconds. A hydraulic launch shoots the train straight-up the 456-foot tower, pauses at the top and goes straight downward into a 270-degree spiral.

4. Alpengeist at Busch Gardens Europe, Williamsburg, VA:

It is also one of the world’s tallest and fastest full-circuit coasters. The ride was manufactured by Bollinger and Mabillard (B&M) and is themed after a runaway ski lift. With six inversions and a 170-foot drop, Alpengeist reaches speeds of 67 mph.

5. Expedition GeForce, Holiday Park:

Expedition GeForce, located at Holiday Park in Haßloch, Germany, is one of the largest coasters in Europe. Expedition Geforce is nearly 174 feet tall and reaches speeds of close to 75 miles per hour. Since its debut in 2001, Expedition Geforce has been a favorite of coaster enthusiasts.