TRAVEL | Sydney Opera House Open Day

8 days and counting down. There is a build up of excitement in me especially looking forward to participate in the Sydney Opera House Open Day next Sunday where we'll get a free tour inside the House and get a glimpse of some of the behind-the-scenes. Also what I look forward to is the 'Please step quietly everyone can hear you' exhibition features photographs by a Magnum photographer Trent Parke.  I think Sunday 25 October 2009 will be a great experience.

ARCHITECTURE | Auckland Architecture Awards 2009

Ironbank by RTA Studio. Recognised in the urban design , sustainable architecture, commercial architecture and Resene colour categories.

Hillcrest Road Bridge by Jasmax Limited. Recognised in the Resene colour and urban design categories.

AUT Lecture Theatre & Conference Centre by RTA Studio. Recognised in the public architecture category.

NZI Centre by Jasmax Limited. Recognised in the commercial architecture category.

TRAVEL | Sydney Opera House

In just a little more than two weeks I will be in Sydney and I was thinking how exciting it will be to visit the Sydney Opera House on its Open Day on Sunday the 25th October. It is a free event running from 10am to 4pm, raining or not. Just a little bit about the House, it was designed by a Denmark architect Jorn Utzon. In June 2007 it was inscribed in the World Heritage List.

TRAVEL | Eureka Tower

Eureka Tower is a 300-metre skyscraper located in Southbank, Melbourne, the world's tallest residential tower when measured to its highest floor. However, Q1 located on the Gold Coast is officially the world's tallest residential building because of its spire adding to its total height.

I really like the design of this tower. Apparently, the building was named after Eureka Stockade, a rebellion during the Victorian gold rush in 1854. The building's gold crown represents the gold rush and a red stripe on the side of the tower represents the blood spilt during the revolt. The blue glass cladding that covers most of the building represents the blue background of the stockade's flag and the white lines also represent the eureka stockade flag.

The observation deck, known as the Eureka Skydeck 88, occupies the entire 88th floor of the Eureka Tower and is the highest public vantage point in a building in the Southern Hemisphere at 285 m.

Do you see the blood?

TRAVEL | Robot Building

Another building we must check out while we're in Bangkok is the Robot Building, which was originally built for the Bank of Asia but now owned by the United Overseas Bank. This building is best viewed on the platform at the Surasak Sky Train platform.

Built by the Thai architect Sumet Jumsai during the 80's, the building is one of the last examples of modern architecture in Bangkok.

ARCHITECTURE | Observatory in Netherlands

 

This is the Observatory in the Netherlands, designed by artist Robert Morris in 1971.