Bailong Elevator — An Elevator Built into the Side of a Huge Cliff

Have you ever taken an elevator ride to the top of a mountain? No? Then you haven’t been to Wulingyuan in Zhangjiajie, China, because if you had, you would have surely seen the towering Bailong Elevator built into the side of a huge cliff. Also known as Hundred Dragons Elevator, this glass elevator stands 330 meters tall and is claimed to be the highest and heaviest outdoor elevator in the world. Quite possibly, it is the only elevator in the world that lets people ride up a cliff.

Photo — Link

The elevator can take ~48 passengers at once to the top, a journey that takes 2 seconds shy of 2 minutes. After it was built, the lift was said to be the world's tallest full-exposure outdoor lift, tallest double-deck sightseeing elevator, and the fastest passenger elevator with the biggest capacity. The elevator was built during 1999 and 2002 at the cost of 120 million yuan or $19 million. The project was met with fierce criticism from environmentalists who were angry that it was sited in the middle of a World Heritage Site.

Photo — Link

Photo — Link

Photo — Link

Photo — Link

In the rocks were cut mines and tunnels to provide the infrastructure elevator. In addition, in the event of an earthquake or a natural disaster people from all three elevator cars can be quickly evacuated.

Photo — Link

Supporters of the project say that the lifts with the highest passenger capacity in the world, saved the mountain trails of the excess load.

Photo — Link

But their opponents point to the fact that the region, which is visited by 5 million people every year and is already saturated with tourists and is another attraction that will increase their number, only hurt the environment.

Photo — Link

Despite the protests, the lift is available for tourists, and indeed promotes the growth of popularity of this region of Hunan.

Photo — Link

After the building was put into operation in 2002, he was temporarily closed for safety reasons. After some improvements elevator resumed operation in 2003 and is now a cult destination among tourists. The lift can save 3 hours of walking and just one minute gives travelers the mountain, which offers a beautiful view of the valley from the quartzite pillars.

Photo — Link

Those who decide to explore this beautiful place, it is worth considering that in bad weather elevator closed. Entry fee is $ 39, and a lift to the lift - 8.9 dollar.

Photo — Link

Wulingyuan - cliffs in Zhangjiajie National Park, which is located in Hunan Province in the southeast of China. This is a place of amazing beauty and at the same time a natural zoo, botanical and geological reserve. The place is famous for its quartzite cliffs up to 800 meters. The highest peaks of Wulingyuan reach a height of more than 3 km above sea level. Mountains are a picturesque sight: the huge stone pillars above the rainforest cut by sharp peaks, waterfalls, a giant cave system.

Photo — Link

Photo — Link

Photo — Link

Photo — Link

Photo — Link

The elevation of Tianmen Mountains is 1518.6 meters (the highest one in Zhangjiajie); people may feel amazing that about 40 peaks inside the mountain area are over 1000 meters. Due to the high elevation of the mountain, the day time is longer than the night hours and the temperature on the mountains is about 10 degree centigrade lower than the Zhangjiajie city, the sunrise on the mountain is 30 minutes earlier and the sunset is 45 minutes later than it is in the city areas. Thus it is known as an endless sky without darkness.

The mountain is famous for its unique natural miracle - the Tianmen Cave; it was authorized as a national forest park in July, 1992. The door-alike cave was created after the cliff collapsing in ancient time. Tianmen Mountains is rich in Chinese culture; it is regarded as the Top 1 Heaven Mountain in the west part of Hunan province and the sprit of Wuling (an old name of the county here). This place has absorbed the essence from the nature for thousands years, therefore visiting the holy temple on the mountain – Tianmenshan Temple has become a popular way to pray for a safe and healthy life.

Read more »

The Tower Al-Bahar — Abu Dhabi

A quick glimpse at the upcoming weather for Abu Dhabi will show a week of intense sunshine, temperatures steadily above 100 degrees Fahrenheit with 0% chance of rain.  In such extreme weather conditions, even architects listing environmental design as their top priority are up against a tough battle.  Never mind that the sand can compromise the structural integrity of the building, the intense heat and glare can render a comfortable indoor environment relatively impossible if not properly addressed.  For Abu Dhabi’s newest pair of towers, Aedas Architects have designed a responsive facade which takes cultural cues from the “mashrabiya”, a traditional Islamic lattice shading device.

Completed in June 2012, the 145 meter towers’ Masharabiya shading system was developed by the computational design team at Aedas.  Using a parametric description for the geometry of the actuated facade panels, the team was able to simulate their operation in response to sun exposure and changing incidence angles during the different days of the year.

The screen opperates as a curtain wall, sitting two meters outside the buildings’ exterior on an independent frame.  Each triangle is coated with fiberglass and programmed to respond to the movement of the sun as a way to reduce solar gain and glare.  In the evening, all the screens will close.

“At night they will all fold, so they will all close, so you’ll see more of the facade.  As the sun rises in the morning in the east, the mashrabiya along the east of the building will all begin to close and as the sun moves round the building, then that whole vertical strip of mashrabiya will move with the sun,” said Peter Oborn, the deputy chairman of Aedas.

It is estimated that such a screen will reducing solar gain by more than 50 percent, and reduce the building’s need for energy-draining air conditioning.  Plus, the shade’s ability to filter the light has allowed the architects to be more selective in glass finished.  ”It (the screen) allows us to use more naturally tinted glass, which lets more light in so you have better views and less need of artificial light.  It’s using an old technique in a modern way, which also responds to the aspiration of the emirate to take a leadership role in the area of sustainability,” added Oborn.

For the project’s sustainable engineering and sensitive cultural and urban approach, the towers were awarded the 2012 Tall Building Innovation Award by the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

“The façade on Al Bahar, computer-controlled to respond to optimal solar and light conditions, has never been achieved on this scale before. In addition, the expression of this outer skin seems to firmly root the building in its cultural context,” explained Awards Juror Chris Wilkinson of Wilkinson Eyre Architects.

Such an award acknowledges the importance of the necessary integration of architectural form, structure, systems, and sustainable design strategies.

Via — Link Photos — Link

Read more »

Metropol Parasol — World's Largest Wooden Structure

Metropol Parasol is a wooden structure located at La Encarnación square, in the old quarter of Seville, Spain. Designed by German architect Jürgen Mayer-Hermann, the structure resembles a grove of prefabricated wooden trees soaring 26 meters into the air. It has dimensions of 150 by 70 metres and claims to be the largest wooden structure in the world. The building is popularly known as Las Setas de la Encarnación (Incarnación's mushrooms). The Metropol Parasol actually is a device for revitalising the Plaza de la Encarnación, which was used as a parking lot for years and seen as a dead spot between more popular tourist destinations in the city. 

The structure consists of six parasols in the form of giant mushrooms, whose design is inspired by the vaults of the Cathedral of Seville and the ficus trees in nearby Plaza de Cristo de Burgos. The Parasol contains a market, shops, and a podium for concerts and events. In the basement is an Antiquarium, where Roman and Moorish remains discovered on-site are displayed in a museum. On the roof there is an open-air public plaza, shaded by the wooden parasols above and designed for public events. There are panoramic terraces, including a restaurant, offering one of the best views of the city centre. 

 

Read more »

The Agora Tower — Taipei, Taiwan

On the last and biggest parcel of land available for residential use in taipei city, vincent callebaut 's twisting, foliage-filled 'agora tower' will preside over the rest of the urban xinyin district. the architect, known for his distinct eco-vision, has designed a high-density space that aims at limiting the ecologic footprint of its inhabitants by forging a symbiotic relationship
between the urban dweller and nature. tall planted balconies of suspended orchards, organic vegetable gardens and and medicinal greenery will take root in the high-performance building. in true cradle-to-cradle fashion, even the construction process transforms itself; industrial waste will be returned as a 'technical nutrient' to be indefinitely recycled. the helicoidal towers appropriate their form from the structure of DNA, conceptually speaking to the building blocks of life, as well as dynamism and twinning. four types of housing units form a full level allowing their twisting forms to optimize space for open-air hanging gardens. the angled apartments additionally offer exceptional views of the bustling city by multiplying the transversal views of the overall east-west rhomboidal pyramid. corbelled floors provide structure and privacy.

Project Info:

• Type: competition, first prize winner in november 2010
• Client: bes engineering corporation, taipeicontract location: xinyin district, taipei city, taiwan
• Program: 40 luxurious apartments + facilities
• Surface area: 42.335.34 square meters
• Delivery: 2016
• Current phase: construction documents – below grade under construction green certification: LEED gold
• international design architect: vincent callebaut architectures, sarl paris
• Local architect: lkp design, taipei
• Local structure engineering: king le chang & associates, taipei
• Local mep engineering: sine & associates, taipei international interior architect: wilson & associates (wa), los angeles
• International landscape architect: swa, sausalito, san francisco 
• Local landscape architect: horizon & atmosphere (h&a), taipei
• International lighting designer: l'observatoire international, new york
• Local lighting designer: unolai design, taipei
• Green consultant: enertek, taipei
• Vca’s team: emilie diers, frederique beck, jiao yang, florence mauny, volker erlich, philippe steels, marco conti sikic, benoit patterlini, maguy delrieu, vincent callebaut
• Model maker: Patrick Laurent.

Via — Link

Read more »