Morrow Royal Pavillion - Recycled Glass; "Eco-Friendly" & Cool

Recently completed the Morrow Royal Pavilion is one of the more significant and notable "eco-friendly" buildings constructed in recent years. The building is not only "eco-friendly"; it is also architecturally and aesthetically interesting and it has generated a good deal of publicity garnering headlines such as "Cash not the only thing green in Sin City - Vegas now home to world's largest green building made with recycled beer bottles" and "Las Vegas Entrepreneur finds a creative way to recycle Beer Drinkers ...

Antoni Gaudí's Barcelona - Palau Güell

GAUDÍ'S BARCELONA - A PERSONAL TOUR PART 2 At age 26 Antoni Gaudí met Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi, a wealthy Catalan industrialist, politician and patron of the arts. That meeting would have an influence on Gaudí's career that extended for many years and commissions from Güell ultimately gave rise to some of Gaudí's most renowned creations including several that bear his name; Palau Güell, Parque Güell and the ...

Antoni Gaudí's Barcelona - Casa Batlló

GAUDÍ'S BARCELONA - A PERSONAL TOUR PART 1 Recently I was fortunate enough to be able to take a long vacation in Europe. A long lazy week in Barcelona before a Mediterranean cruise sailing out of the port there afforded me the opportunity to experience firsthand some of Antoni Gaudí's outstanding and unique work. Camera in hand I was able to visit several Gaudí sites and that has afforded me the opportunity to add a series of ...

The Futuro House Project - Information, Photos & Locations

AN ONGOING SPECIAL FEATURE - UPDATED 102913 More accurately called Futuro Houses these 20th Century prefabricated homes are often referred to as "UFO Houses". I first came across the Futuro House at the beginning of July 2011 right after I had started this website and the one in Royse City, TX, USA became the subject of one of my early articles. Since then I have been fascinated by the Futuro House and I have spent ...     [Image By Runder]

Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

Some of the most magnificent structures ever conceived were built in the Middle Ages. Few modern structures can match the awe inspiring gothic cathedrals of Europe. These massive monuments to times past were often constructed over decades and sometimes over hundreds of years; generations of craftsmen dedicated their lives to the projects never to see the final glory of the completed cathedrals. Take York Minster for example; started in 1220 the current cathedral took ...

Hang Nga Guesthouse, Vietnam aka The Crazy House

Opened in 1990 the Hang Nga Guesthouse in Da Lat, Vietnam is the brainchild of architect Dang Viet Nga. Early in its life the property was often described as "The Crazy House" by visitors and Nga soon adopted that nickname herself; these days the guesthouse is most commonly referred to that way and you will note in one of the photos the welcome sign that actually uses that name. In overall shape the property resembles a large tree trunk and it has been described as a "fairy tale house". The architecture ...

Royal Ontario Museum "Crystal", Toronto, Canada

In 2002 the Royal Ontario Museum, a Canadian world culture and natural history museum located in Toronto, began a significant expansion and renovation project dubbed Renaissance ROM. By far the most significant part of this project was the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. The facility was designed by architect Daniel Libeskind who beat out around 50 other high profile architects in a competition for the project. The "Crystal" is certainly an eye catching creation with its sloping walls, angular...

Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, CA, USA

In my recent article on Frank O. Gehry's Venice Beach House I used an image from the blog "What Do I Know". During some correspondence with the author of "What Do I Know" he mentioned the Walt Disney Concert Hall; one of Gehry's most iconic creations. While researching and writing my recent articles on Gehry and also on two of his buildings, the Venice Beach House and The Hotel Marques de Riscal, I had come across the Concert Hall but I had not looked closely at it. The mention of it ...

Kosovo National Library, Prishtina, Kosovo

I came across a picture of this building the other day while browsing on Flickr. The caption just read "Cool Building" and there was no location info but since the photo included the plaque on the front it was easily identifiable as the Biblioteka Kombëtare, Republika e Kosovës [English translation] or, in language I can understand, the National & University Library Of Kosovo located in the capital of Kosovo, Prishtina. It looks for all the world like someone took a giant net and draped it over the building; the...

Frank O. Gehry Venice Beach House, Venice, CA, USA

In my "spotlight" article on Pritzker Prize winning architect Frank O. Gehry published recently I observed that Gehry "buildings often include the use of flowing curves and metal claddings that add a surreal touch and differentiate them from other, more conventional, designs. Having said that Gehry by no means restricts himself to one theme; take a look at the Venice Beach house ..." Today I return to Gehry to look at the Venice Beach House which is, to use an old cliché, the ...