Tag Archives: architecture

[caption id="attachment_12217" align="alignright" width="225"]iStockphoto Burj Khalifa – iStockphoto[/caption]

Those who are passionate about futuristic architecture are very familiar with silver, this grey that is clearer than classic grey. Maybe they venerate it. It’s because this colour is closely linked with the most innovative constructions of the last few years. Why? Because most of them are composed of stainless steel, and sometimes titanium and aluminium, all metals that emit a silvery shimmer.

Chrome, which is used in stainless steel alloys to prevent corrosion, gives steel its silver sheen.

We took a look at futuristic projects that are in the construction phase: homes, apartment buildings, museums, hotels. Stainless steel and glass are omnipresent.

To help you imagine the buildings that will soon see the light of day, let’s look at more recent buildings. There are too many for us to name them all, but here are the most spectacular:

In Dubai, the silver of the Burj Khalifa bursts under the dessert sun. This architectural extravagance of this Persian Gulf country, which you see in the photo, has a strong futuristic accent. At 828 meters, the highest human structure ever built, the building projects shiny silver, steel and glass in the sky of the Arab country.[……]

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[caption id="attachment_11113" align="alignleft" width="320"]Siège de la télévision d'État CCTV à Pékin appelé aussi Le pantalon. Photo: iStockphoto Siège de la télévision d’État CCTV à Pékin appelé aussi Le pantalon. Photo: iStockphoto[/caption]

Imagine the scene: Stephen Harper stands in the House of Commons and asks Canadians to put a halt to constructing buildings with weird shapes. Too much is too much, he says.
This is not likely to happen for two reasons: Stephen Harper is not a dictator and Canada is a rather conservative country when it comes to architecture. The streets aren’t filled with grotesquely shaped buildings.
In any case, it would be delirious. Such a scene is impossible. What leader would dare do it? And which country in the world can boast having a surplus of strange architectural buildings on its territory?
We have the answer: China.
It happened in mid-October. According to the Agence France-Presse, Chinese President Xi Jinping took advantage of a speech in front of a delegation of artists to request that the multiplication of weird constructions in China come to an end.[……]

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Germany impressed the whole world with its World Cup performance. A historical 7-1 victory against Brazil and the final victory against Argentina. The Germans were showered with accolades. What a team. They’re patient and methodical. No flash, but efficient playing. Therein lies the genius of the German culture: the practical and efficient before the esthetic.

But the Germans’ greatest victory remains the reunification of the two Germanys after the Wall fell in 1989. Two diametrically opposed ways of thinking had to be merged: the capitalist mode and the communist mode. A colossal undertaking that is coming to a painful end. Many people believe that only Germans could overcome such an obstacle thanks to their cult of efficiency.

One building symbolizes this legendary exploit: the Reichstag with its famous glass dome.[……]

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