Weirdomatic » architecture

Underground Living – Hidden Homes

Alexandra — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:53:28 +0000

Unbelievable? Wild? A bit strange? Since the beginning of time people have been living underground. All history books speak about cavemen. The 17th-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes had a very brutal image of these people and of the human being far away from civilization and called this kind of living “poor, nasty, brutish and short”.

Cave-house in shape of a human face, Bomarzo, Italy, 16th c, Picture source: Learning from Architecture

After thousands and thousands of years things have changed a little…
Today’s earth shelter dwellings are a more friendly and elegant return to nature: comfortable and eco. I wonder what Thomas Hobbes would say about these….

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Burj Khalifa – Tallest Building in the World

Alexandra — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:48:19 +0000

Grand opening! The tallest skyscraper has been unveiled to the world… After years of construction the well known Burj Dubai now called Burj Khalifa has been completed leaving far behind Taipei 101.

Use: Mixed (hotel, restaurants and offices)
Architect: SOM
Developer: Emaar

I personally find it AMAZING!!! If a few years ago the entire area was a building site, now everything is sparkling and breaking records. From project to reality….
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Weird & Unusual Hotels – Photography Contest

Alexandra — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:52:30 +0000

One of the most popular and read posts on Weirdomatic is the post about the eleven amazing hotels. A few days ago, I stumbled upon a great book for travellers that reminded me of it: “Bed in a Tree“. Chosen from a great variety of DK Travel Guides, it features all kind of weird, unusual and wacky hotels to visit and enjoy. So… I thought of a contest.. If you have some beautiful pictures of weird and amazing places you have visited or things you have seen, this book could be yours.

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Leaning Towers

Alexandra — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:40:34 +0000

If you like traveling, it’s impossible not to know the wonderful Tower of Pisa (La Torre di Pisa), the campanile belonging to the Cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa, also known as The Leaning Tower.

Dating back to 1173 and even intially meant to be a perfectly vertical structure, the Tower of Pisa is today one curious attraction due to its high leaning at about 3.99 degrees. How this happened? As Wikipedia says: “The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the third floor in 1178. This was due to a mere three-meter foundation, set in weak, unstable subsoil, a design that was flawed from the beginning.” Now, the Tower of Pisa is a beautiful landmark in a continuous fight with its harsh environmental conditions. If you’re interested in finding more about it, I would recommend: A Brief History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Source: WallpaperMe

The well known Italian tower, although one controversial building, as you’ll see, it’s not the only one of such kind… some other towers around the world stand almost like ready to fall – some intended to be like that, some not.

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