Architecture really is an art. It involves so many principles and theories, and the thing is that it even involves the land around a structure. This is what’s called landscape architecture. This makes everything naturally beautiful. Even in urban environments, landscaping is very important since they include parks and all. Here are a few examples of landscape architecture that are famous all over the world.

Central Park

This park is located in New York in the United States. This has become one of the most popular landmarks of New York City (among many others like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and Times Square).  This has become a National Historic Landmark ever since the 1960s. Central park is also known for its carriage horses, sports, entertainment, and playgrounds.

The Louvre courtyard

Everyone knows the Louvre as the museum in Paris that houses thousands of works of art. When you go to the Louvre, you can’t help but notice the long stretch of the gardens it has. This was actually once the royal palace up until King Louis XVI decided that he wanted a bigger palace and moved to the Palace of Versailles. It truly is a marvel in landscape architecture.

The Muskau Park

Technology seems to be developing at a faster pace in our day and age. Because of this, you are able to witness innovations in so many fields such as Information Technology, Music Production, Vehicles, Wireless Communication, and even Architecture. It truly is a spectacular sight to see great contemporary designs of building when you are visiting certain cities, and a lot of them have become tourist attractions. They are built for different reasons whether as a symbol of power, creating land marks, or a showcase of artistic creativity. Regardless of the reasons, contemporary architecture is a reflection of the times. Here are a few examples of feats in modern architecture. They are famous because of what they symbolize, why they were built, their costs, and design.

The Petronas Twin Towers

One of the most famous symbols of contemporary architecture are the Petronas Twin Towers. They are located in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. From 1998-2004, the towers were the world’s tallest buildings and only recently beaten by Taipei 101. The construction faced a lot of problems but they were able to overcome it. It would cost them millions of dollars for each day that construction was delayed so what happened was 2 different companies were assigned to build the towers; the Hazama Corporation for Tower 1, and Samsung Engineering & Construction for Tower 2. The reason for this was for competition. A competitive nature between the two companies would create more efficient work. On the 41st and 42nd floors, the Skybridge connects the two towers. Tourists are given permission to visit these two floors because of the Skybridge.

The Beijing National Stadium

One of the symbols of Chinese power is the Beijing National Stadium. This beautiful piece of contemporary architecture was built specifically for the 2008 Olympics, which Beijing was host to. It is colloquially known as the “Bird’s nest” because it indeed was created to look like one. It is said that in China, bird’s nest is very expensive and it something that is eaten (yes it’s food to the Chinese) during special occasions. It was a joint project by a team of today’s most talented architects and consisted of Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Stefan Marbach, Ai Weiwei, and Li Xinggang.

Contemporary architecture really is captivating to the people in it’s time. They are symbols of what have been happening to a nation at that time, and could as well be sources of history. It really is worth spending billions on these. GP

The Chinese have been known to be pioneers of a lot of things around the world. This 2,000 year old civilization has heavily influence Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean cultures. The mysticism of the East can be largely attributed to them with their philosophical thoughts, martial arts, and astrology.

If you’d notice, a lot of architectural structures in Asia look quite similar. This is because of the influence of Chinese architecture. Imagine that their architectural styles are as old as their civilization and ever since the Tang dynasty; it had become a big influence of Asian architecture as a whole.

Characteristics of Chinese Architecture

You would notice that a lot of Chinese structures put a lot of emphasis on its horizontal axis. This is why their buildings look like Christmas trees or mushrooms that are stacked on one another. This makes it very distinguishable with Western architecture, which usually grows in height. The houses of the Chinese during older periods were different depending on their place in society. Common folk such as merchants and farmers had homes that had a shrine for gods in the center. Imperial housing was marked by yellow roof tiles because yellow was considered to be the Imperial color.

The Forbidden City: Ambassador of Chinese Architecture

One of the most famous structures of Chinese Architecture has to be the Forbidden city (aside from the Great Wall of China). It is located in Beijing and was the seat of power during the Ming dynasty to the Qing dynasty. It was constructed in about 14 years around the 14th century and the complex consists of 980 buildings. Ordinary peasants were not allowed inside the Palace walls and this is the reason why it was called the Forbidden city. Only soldiers, palace officials, and members of the royal family were allowed inside its gates. Nowadays, it is one of China’s famous tourist spots and it is where you will find the Palace Museum.