India Gate

            The India Gate is the national monument of India. Situated in the heart of New Delhi, India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Originally known as All India War Memorial, it is a prominent landmark in Delhi and commemorates the 90,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who lost their lives while fighting for the British Indian Empire, or more correctly the British Raj in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. It is composed of red sand stone and granite.

          Originally, a Statue of King George V had stood under the now-vacant canopy in front of the India Gate, and was removed to Coronation Parkwith other statues. Following India's independence, India Gate became the site of the Indian Army's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, known as theAmar Jawan Jyoti (The flame of the immortal soldier).

           The 42-metre tall India Gate is situated such that many important roads spread out from it. Traffic passing around India Gate used to be continuous until the roads were closed to the public due to terrorist threats.

           The lawns around Rajpath throng with people during the evening, when the India Gate is lit up. Ice cream and street food vendors come out during this time and it becomes a popular picnic venue for families.

           The India Gate hexagon complex covers approximately 306000m² in area with a diameter of about 625m.

             The Republic Day Parade starts from Rashtrapati Bhavan and passes through India Gate to reach Red Fort.

           Burning in a shrine under the arch of India Gate since 1971 is the Amar Jawan Jyoti (the flame of the immortal soldier) which marks the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The shrine itself is a black marble cenotaph with a rifle placed on its barrel, crested by a soldier's helmet. Each face of the cenotaph has inscribed in gold the words "Amar Jawan" (Immortal Warrior).

           This cenotaph is itself placed on an edifice which has on its four corners four torches that are perpetually kept alive. It was unveiled in 1971. After the Indo-Pak war of 1971, The then Prime Minister of india Mrs. Indira Gandhi paid homage on behalf of the whole nation on the eve of 23rd republic day (26th january 1972).

           Today, it is customary for the President and the Prime Minister, as well as visiting Guests of State, to pay homage at the site on occasions of State ceremonies.

           And specially on each Republic Day, 26 January, the Prime Minister pays homage to the soldiers along with Heads of Armed Forces, before joining the annual parade at the Rajpath, It is noteworthy here that the President of India with the chief guest do not get involved in this ceremony on this day.

The flags represent the 3 Indian military forces (Army, Navy, and Air Force), and a soldier from each force guards the gate and tomb for 24 hours, alternating forces every day.

The Gateway Of India

           The Gateway of India is a monument in Mumbai, (formerly Bombay) India. Located on the waterfront in Apollo Bunder area inSouth Mumbai, the Gateway is a basalt arch 26 metres (85 ft) high. It was a crude jetty used by fisher folks and was later renovated and used as a landing place for British governors and other distinguished personages. In earlier times, the Gateway was the monument that visitors arriving by boat would have first seen in the city of Bombay.

          Its design is a combination of both Hindu and Muslim architectural styles, the arch is in Muslim style while the decorations are in Hindu style. The Gateway is built from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete. The stone was locally obtained, and the perforated screens were brought from Gwalior.      

The Gateway of India in 1911

    The central dome is 15 metres (49 ft) in diameter and is 26 metres (85 ft) above ground at its highest point. The whole harbour front was realigned in order to come in line with a planned esplanade which would sweep down to the centre of the town. The cost of the construction was Rs. 21 lakhs(2,100,000), borne mainly by the Government of India. Due to lack of funds, the approach road was never built, and so the Gateway stands at an angle to the road leading up to it.

          The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay, prior to the Delhi Durbar, in December 1911. The foundation stone was laid on 31 March 1911, by the Governor of Bombay Sir George Sydenham Clarke, with the final design of George Wittet sanctioned in August 1914. Between 1915 and 1919 work proceeded on reclamations at Apollo Bundar (Port) for the land on which the gateway and the new sea wall would be built. The foundations were completed in 1920, and construction was finished in 1924. The Gateway was opened on 4 December 1924, by the Viceroy, the Earl of Reading. The well-known Jewish business family, the Sassoon's, were one of the great contributors to Mumbai, and offered the largest donation for the construction effort, contributing 10 Lakhs of Rupees for the construction. Out of the total expenses,Gammon India claims that it did India's first pre-cast reinforced concrete job for the foundation of the Gateway of India.

          The last British troops to leave India, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, passed through the Gateway in a ceremony on 28 February 1948.

          From here people can visit Elephanta Caves by ferry boats. There are luxury boats which take visitors around the harbour for a couple of hours. Opposite the Gateway stands the Royal Taj Mahal Hotel and Taj Towers. In front of the Gateway, there is a statue of Chatrapati Shivaji.

General information

Architectural style : Indo-Saracenic

Location : Mumbai (Bombay), India

Coordinates : 18.921836°N 72.834705°E

Elevation : 10 m (33 ft)

Construction started : 31 March 1911

Completed : 1924

Inaugurated : 4 December 1924

Cost : 2.1 million (1911)

Height : 26 m (85 ft)

Design and construction

Client : India

Owner : Archaeological Survey of India

Architect : George Wittet

Taj Mahal - Traditional Persian Architect

Taj Mahal

          In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity, was grief-stricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their 14th child, Gauhara Begum.Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632. The court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrate the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal. The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later.
         The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian architecture and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including; the Gur-e Amir (the tomb of Timur, progenitor of the Mughal dynasty, in Samarkand), Humayun's Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb (sometimes called the Baby Taj), and Shah Jahan's own Jama Masjid in Delhi. While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, and buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement.
The tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. This large, white marble structure stands on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan (an arch-shaped doorway) topped by a large dome and finial. Like most Mughal tombs, the basic elements are Persian in origin.

             The base structure is essentially a large, multi-chambered cube with chamfered corners, forming an unequal octagon that is approximately 55 metres (180 ft) on each of the four long sides. On each of these sides, a huge pishtaq, or vaulted archway, frames the iwan with two similarly shaped, arched balconies stacked on either side. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all sides of the building. Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth facing the chamfered corners. The main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan; the actual graves are at a lower level.
           The exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among the finest in Mughal architecture.[citation needed] As the surface area changes the decorations are refined proportionally. The decorative elements were created by applying paint, stucco, stone inlays, or carvings. In line with the Islamic prohibition against the use of anthropomorphic forms, the decorative elements can be grouped into either calligraphy, abstract forms or vegetative motifs.
            The interior chamber of the Taj Mahal steps far beyond traditional decorative elements. Here, the inlay work is not pietra dura, but a lapidary of precious and semiprecious gemstones. The inner chamber is an octagon with the design allowing for entry from each face, although only the door facing the garden to the south is used.
            The Taj Mahal complex is bounded on three sides by crenellated red sandstone walls, with the river-facing side left open. Outside the walls are several additional mausoleums, including those of Shah Jahan's other wives, and a larger tomb for Mumtaz's favourite servant. These structures, composed primarily of red sandstone, are typical of the smaller Mughal tombs of the era. The garden-facing inner sides of the wall are fronted by columned arcades, a feature typical of Hindu temples which was later incorporated into Mughal mosques. The wall is interspersed with domed chattris, and small buildings that may have been viewing areas or watch towers like the Music House, which is now used as a museum.
           The main gateway (darwaza) is a monumental structure built primarily of marble which is reminiscent of Mughal architecture of earlier emperors. Its archways mirror the shape of tomb's archways, and its pishtaq arches incorporate the calligraphy that decorates the tomb. It utilises bas-relief and pietra dura inlaid decorations with floral motifs. The vaulted ceilings and walls have elaborate geometric designs, like those found in the other sandstone buildings of the complex.

              Taj Mahal mosque or masjid,At the far end of the complex, there are two grand red sandstone buildings that are open to the sides of the tomb. Their backs parallel the western and eastern walls, and the two buildings are precise mirror images of each other. The western building is a mosque and the other is the jawab (answer), whose primary purpose was architectural balance, although it may have been used as a guesthouse. The distinctions between these two buildings include the lack of mihrab (a niche in a mosque's wall facing Mecca) in the jawab and that the floors of jawab have a geometric design, while the mosque floor was laid with outlines of 569 prayer rugs in black marble. The mosque's basic design of a long hall surmounted by three domes is similar to others built by Shah Jahan, particularly to his Masjid-Jahan Numa, or Jama Masjid, Delhi. The Mughal mosques of this period divide the sanctuary hall into three areas, with a main sanctuary and slightly smaller sanctuaries on either side. At the Taj Mahal, each sanctuary opens onto an enormous vaulting dome. These outlying buildings were completed in 1643.
                   The Taj Mahal was built on a parcel of land to the south of the walled city of Agra. Shah Jahan presented Maharajah Jai Singh with a large palace in the center of Agra in exchange for the land. An area of roughly three acres was excavated, filled with dirt to reduce seepage, and levelled at 50 metres (160 ft) above riverbank. In the tomb area, wells were dug and filled with stone and rubble to form the footings of the tomb. Instead of lashed bamboo, workmen constructed a colossal brick scaffold that mirrored the tomb. The scaffold was so enormous that foremen estimated it would take years to dismantle. According to the legend, Shah Jahan decreed that anyone could keep the bricks taken from the scaffold, and thus it was dismantled by peasants overnight. A fifteen kilometre (9.3 mi) tamped-earth ramp was built to transport marble and materials to the construction site and teams of twenty or thirty oxen pulled the blocks on specially constructed wagons. An elaborate post-and-beam pulley system was used to raise the blocks into desired position. Water was drawn from the river by a series of purs, an animal-powered rope and bucket mechanism, into a large storage tank and raised to a large distribution tank. It was passed into three subsidiary tanks, from which it was piped to the complex.
               The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete. The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years and were completed in order of minarets, mosque and jawab, and gateway. Since the complex was built in stages, discrepancies exist in completion dates due to differing opinions on "completion". For example, the mausoleum itself was essentially complete by 1643, but work continued on the rest of the complex. Estimates of the cost of construction vary due to difficulties in estimating costs across time. The total cost has been estimated to be about 32 million Rupees at that time
               The Taj Mahal attracts between 2 million and 4 million visitors annually, including more than 200,000 from overseas. A dual- pricing system is in place, with a significantly lower entrance fee for Indian citizens than for foreigners. Most tourists visit in the cooler months of October, November and February. Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex and tourists must either walk from parking lots or catch an electric bus. The Khawasspuras (northern courtyards) are currently being restored for use as a new visitor center.

Some technical imformation 

Location:    Agra, India
Coordinates:    27.174799°N 78.042111°E
Elevation:    171 m (561 ft)
Built:    1632–1653[citation needed]
Architect:    Ustad Ahmad Lahauri
Architectural style(s):    Mughal
Visitation:    More than 3 million (in 2003)
Type:    Cultural
Designated:    1983 (7th session)
State Party:     India
Region:    Asia-Pacific

Shanghai World Finance Center - Supertall Skyscraper

          The Shanghai World Financial Center                                                                                  is a supertall skyscraper in Pudong, Shanghai, China, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. It is a mixed use skyscraper which consists of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks, and shopping malls on the ground floors. Park Hyatt Shanghai is the hotel component containing 174 rooms and suites. Occupying the 79th to the 93rd floors, it is the second highest hotel in the world, surpassing the Grand Hyatt Shanghai on the 53rd to 87th floors of the neighboring Jin Mao Tower.

               On 14 September 2007 the skyscraper was topped out at 492.0 meters (1,614.2 ft) and became the second-tallest building in the world; as well as the tallest structure in the People's Republic of China, including Hong Kong. It also had the highest occupied floor and the highest height to roof, two categories used to determine the title of "The World’s Tallest Building".

             On 28 August 2008, the SWFC officially opened for business and two days later, the world's tallest observation deck opened with a view from three levels. The highest view is at 474 m (1,555 ft) above ground level. It continues to have the tallest observation deck in the world.

             Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the 101-story tower was originally planned for construction in 1997, but work was temporarily interrupted by the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s and later to accommodate design changes by the developer. The building of the tower is financed by several multinational firms, including Chinese, Japanese, and Hong Kong banks, as well as by the Japanese developer and as-yet unnamed American and European investors. American investment bank Morgan Stanley is coordinating the financing for Mori Building.

            The foundation stone was laid on 27 August 1997. In the late 1990s the Pierre de Smet Building Corporation had a fund shortage caused by the Asian financial crisis in 1997 to 1998, which halted the project after the foundations were completed. On 13 February 2003, the Mori Group increased the building's height to 492 m and 101 stories from the initial plans for a 460 m (1,509 ft), 94-story building. The new building would use the foundation of the original design. The building construction resumed on 16 November 2003.

            The building reached its total height of 492 m on 14 September 2007 after installation of the final steel girder. The final cladding panels were installed in mid June 2008, and elevator installation was finished in mid July 2008. On 17 July 2008 The Shanghai World Financial Center was completed and on 28 August 2008, the SWFC officially opened for business. On 30 August 2008, the observation floors were opened to the public.

             Shanghai World Financial Center was named by architects as the best skyscraper completed in 2008 receiving both the Best Tall Building Overall and Asia & Australasia awards from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).

The Shanghai World Financial Center towers

Status : Complete[1]

Type : Office, hotel, museum, observation, parking garage, retail

Location :100 Century Avenue, Pudong, Shanghai, China

Coordinates : 31°14′12″N 121°30′10″ECoordinates: 31°14′12″N 121°30′10″E

Construction started : 1997

Completed : 2008

Opening : August 28, 2008

Cost :  RMB ¥ 8.17 billion

            (USD $ 1.20 billion)

Height

Antenna spire :  494.4 m (1,622.0 ft) / 492.0 m (1,614.2 ft)

Roof : 487.4 m (1,599.1 ft)[2]

Top floor : 474.0 m (1,555.1 ft)

Technical details

Floor count : 101

Floor area : 381,600 m2 (4,107,500 sq ft)

Elevator count : 91

Design and construction

Main contractor : China State Construction Engineering Corp and Shanghai Construction (Group)     General Co.

Architect : Kohn Pedersen Fox

Developer : Mori Building Co.

Structural engineer : Leslie E. Robertson Associates RLLP

Eiffel Tower - tallest between 1889 to 1930

The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron (a very pure form of structural iron), using two and a half million rivets, in a structural design by Maurice Koechlin. Eiffel was assisted in the design by engineers Émile Nouguier and Maurice Koechlin and architect Stephen Sauvestre. The risk of accident was great as, unlike modern skyscrapers, the tower is an open frame without any intermediate floors except the two platforms. However, because Eiffel took safety precautions, including the use of movable stagings, guard-rails and screens, only one man died. The tower was inaugurated on 31 March 1889, and opened on 6 May.

          The pig iron structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes while the entire structure, including non-metal components, is approximately 10,000 tonnes. As a demonstration of the economy of design, if the 7,300 tonnes of the metal structure were melted down it would fill the 125 metre square base to a depth of only 6 cm (2.36 in), assuming the density of the metal to be 7.8 tonnes per cubic metre. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7.1 in) because of thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun.

          The tower has two restaurants: Altitude 95, on the first floor 311 ft (95 m) above sea level; and the Jules Verne, an expensive gastronomical restaurant on the second floor, with a private lift. This restaurant has one star in the Michelin Red Guide. In January 2007, the multi-Michelin star chef Alain Ducasse was brought in to run Jules Verne.

         Since the beginning of the 20th century, the tower has been used for radio transmission. Until the 1950s, an occasionally modified set of antenna wires ran from the summit to anchors on the Avenue de Suffren and Champ de Mars. They were connected to long-wave transmitters in small bunkers; in 1909, a permanent underground radio centre was built near the south pillar and still exists today. On 20 November 1913, the Paris Observatory, using the Eiffel Tower as an antenna, exchanged sustained wireless signals with the United States Naval Observatory which used an antenna in Arlington, Virginia. The object of the transmissions was to measure the difference in longitude between Paris and Washington, D.C.Today, both radio and television stations broadcast their signals from the top of the Eiffel.

Eiffel Tower under construction in July 1888

The Eiffel Tower 

Record height
Tallest in the world from 1889 to 1930
General information
Type : Observation tower,
           Radio broadcasting tower
Location : Paris, France
Coordinates : 48.8583°N 2.2945°ECoordinates: 48.8583°N 2.2945°E
Construction started :1887
Completed :1889
Opening :31 March 1889
Height
Antenna spire :324.00 m (1,063 ft)
Roof :300.65 m (986 ft)
Top floor :273.00 m (896 ft)
Technical details
Floor count : 3
Elevator count : 9
Design and construction
Owner : France City of Paris, France (100%)
Management : Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE)
Main contractor : Gustave Eiffel & Cie
Architect : Stephen Sauvestre
Structural engineer : Maurice Koechlin,
                                   Émile Nouguier

Empire State - Landmark in New York

         The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark in New York City, United States, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It is 1,250 ft (381 meters) tall.Its name is derived from the nickname for New York, the Empire State. It stood as the world's tallest building for 40 years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower was completed in 1972. Following the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building once again became the tallest building in New York City.

The Empire State Building under construction, 1931

          The site of the Empire State Building was first developed as the John Thompson Farm in the late 18th century. At the time, a stream ran across the site, emptying into Sunfish Pond, located a block away. Beginning in the late 19th century the block was occupied by the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, frequented by The Four Hundred, the social elite of New York.

          The building's opening coincided with the Great Depression in the United States, and as a result much of its office space went without being rented. The building's vacancy was exacerbated by its poor location on 34th Street, which placed it relatively far from public transportation, as Grand Central Terminal, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and Penn Station are all several blocks away. Other more successful skyscrapers, such as the Chrysler Building, did not have this problem. In its first year of operation, the observation deck took in approximately 2 million dollars, as much money as its owners made in rent that year. The lack of renters led New Yorkers to deride the building as the "Empty State Building". The building would not become profitable until 1950. The famous 1951 sale of The Empire State Building to Roger L. Stevens and his business partners was brokered by the prominent upper Manhattan real-estate firm Charles F. Noyes & Company for a record $51 million. At the time, that was the highest price ever paid for a single structure in real-estate history.

     

A worker bolts beams during construction; the Chrysler Building can be seen in the background.

   The Empire State Building has one of the most popular outdoor observatories in the world, having been visited by over 110 million people. The 86th-floor observation deck offers impressive 360-degree views of the city. There is a second observation deck on the 102nd floor that is open to the public. It was closed in 1999, but reopened in November 2005. It is completely enclosed and much smaller than the first one; it may be closed on high-traffic days. Tourists may pay to visit the observation deck on the 86th floor and an additional amount for the 102nd floor.The lines to enter the observation decks, according to the building's website, are "as legendary as the building itself:" there are five of them: the sidewalk line, the lobby elevator line, the ticket purchase line, the second elevator line, and the line to get off the elevator and onto the observation deck.For an extra fee tourists can skip to the front of the line.

              New York City is the largest media market in the United States. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, nearly all of the city's commercial broadcast stations (both television and FM radio) have transmitted from the top of the Empire State Building, although a few FM stations are located at the nearby Condé Nast Building. Most New York City AM stations broadcast from just across the Hudson River in New Jersey.

Record height

Tallest in the world from 1931 to 1971

Preceded by : Chrysler Building (in the background of the picture)

Surpassed by : World Trade Center (until 2001); currently unsurpassed in New York City

General information

Type : Office, observation

Location : 350 Fifth Avenue

                  Manhattan, New York 10118

Coordinates : 40°44′54.36″N 73°59′08.36″WCoordinates: 40°44′54.36″N 73°59′08.36″W[2]

Construction started : 1929

Completed : 1931

Cost : $40,948,900[4]

Height

Antenna spire :1,454 ft (443.2 m)

Roof :1,250 ft (381.0 m)

Top floor : 1,224 ft (373.2 m)

Technical details

Floor count :102

Floor area : 2,768,591 sq ft (257,211 m2)

Design and construction

Management : W&H Properties

Main contractor : Starrett Brothers and Eken

Architect : Shreve, Lamb and Harmon

Q1 (building)

 

             Q1 (meaning Queensland Number One) is a supertall skyscraper located in Surfers Paradise, on the Gold Coast. It is the world's second tallest residential tower after the 348 metre building The Marina Torch in Dubai won formal recognition as the tallest residential building in the World on the 29 April 2011 by the Emporis Standards Committee and the Council on Tall Building and Urban Habitat. It is the tallest building in Australia and theSouthern Hemisphere when measured to the top of its spire (2nd tallest building behind Eureka Tower in Melbourne, when measured to roof and highest habitable floor) and the second-tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, behind Auckland's Sky Tower. Q1 was opened in November 2005.

          The landmark building was recognised as one of Queensland's icons during the state's 150th birthday celebrations. Q1 has been identified as a potential terrorism target for the region. For a short period of time, an apartment in the building, which was bought for A$9 million by a Japanese restaurateur, was the most expensive ever paid for in Queensland.

          At 322.5 m (1,058 ft) and with a roof height of 275 m (902 ft), Q1 qualifies as the world's second tallest all-residential building when measured to the top of its structural point (spire), but is the world's third tallest behind The Torch at 348 metres in Dubai and Melbourne's Eureka Tower (roof height of 297.3 metres, 975 ft) when measured to its roof height and highest inhabitable floor. However, according to the ranking system developed by the US-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the main criterion by which heights are ranked is the height of the top of the spire, qualifying Q1 as the taller.

          When completed, Q1 overtook the 21st Century Tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates to become the world's tallest residential tower. It is currently in the top 50 tallest buildings in the world when measured to its structural point, dwarfing the Gold Coast skyline with the closest buildings to Q1's height being the 220 m (720 ft) North Tower of Circle on Cavill and the under construction 250 m (820 ft) Soul building.

            SkyPoint (formerly QDeck), the observation deck at levels 77 and 78 is Australia's only beachside observation deck, and has room enough for 400 people. It towers 230 metres above the Surfers Paradise beach, giving viewers a 360 degree view of Brisbane to the North, The Gold Coast Hinterland to the west, Byron Bay to the South and the Pacific Ocean to the east. The express elevator to the observation deck travels the 77 floors in 43 seconds.

The 2nd world's tallest residential building

General information

Type : Residential

Location : Gold Coast, Australia

Coordinates : 28°00′22″S 153°25′46″ECoordinates: 28°00′22″S 153°25′46″E

Construction started : 2002

Completed : 2005

Height

Antenna spire : 323 m (1,060 ft)

Roof : 275 m (902 ft)

Technical details

Floor count : 80

Design and construction

Main contractor : Sunland

Developer : Sunland