What, in your mind, in the past or now, demolished or existent, is the single most beautiful structure ever built in human history?

Eiffel tower...for me :)

Azadi tower tehran

Hi everyone,

It is the famous Petronas Twin Towers, designed by the American with input of ideas from Malaysia, built by the Japanese and Korean, construction workers from more than 30 nations and of course rest on the soil of Kuala Lumpur.

Petronas Twin Towers by day and night .... enjoy!

http://www.kiat.net/towers/images/petronas20.jpg

http://www.kiat.net/towers/images/petronas18.jpg

http://www.kiat.net/towers/images/petronas17.jpg

http://visitpenang.com/petronas.jpg

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Travel/Pix/gallery/2001/01/15/KL2.jpg

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf2/images/klskyline.jpg

There are too many for me to pick one. The only modern one I can think of is
the Chrysler Building; I would say most of the most beautiful ones are older
buildings.

The question, as framed, demands a deeper thought...


So, if I were imprisoned, held as a privileged captive in the top apartments of a fortress, and could only look out on one building for the rest of my days, it would be this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/Bronteboy/taj2.jpg

and of course, that's what happened to Shah Jahan, the creator of the Taj Mahal - the perfect culmination of Mughal architecture.

I am pretty sure I would not wish to look, solely, at a single (or twin) skyscraper for the rest of my days. The Petronas Towers are magnificent, but of a genre, and challenged by others (Burj Dubai, for one of many). Getting parochial, I think Utzon's Sydney Opera House is the most unique building of the past century, but I wouldn't wish to look at it, solely, for the rest of my days, or even many weeks. If it wasn't the Taj, you would have to go back in history for that ...the Parthenon, a Bavarian Castle, a Gothic cathedral, Gaudi's cathedral in Barcelona, a French chateau...but the real answer is probably a small, weathered wood temple-shrine somewhere in Japan, or somewhere else in Asia. I would want to think about it long and hard before I chose that one building, the most beautiful, that I could look out at endlessly :2cents:

One possibility


http://data.greatbuildings.com/gbc/images/cid_1028276295_Bilbao_018.jpg

I also agree with Taj Mahal

The Parthenon is an achievement and gift to ALL of mankind:
http://tinypic.com/igg85l.jpg

People are inspired by it daily. Its stood for 2500 years and has endured bombings, countless earthquakes and the terrible pollution of Athens but it still stands(With help by the Greek Government mind you:D) as a symbol of what Mankind can achieve.

..

http://img278.imageshack.us/img278/9439/33tajmahal0er3ex.jpg

WOW Taj looks mangnificent

An impossible but interesting question. I'd go with the Golden Gate Bridge.

Golden Temple INDIA

http://img84.exs.cx/img84/7050/16vx.jpg

http://img84.exs.cx/img84/8696/22vn1.jpg

For me, at least so far it has to be Santa Maria della Consolazione in Todi
http://images.1-to-x.com/vdj/todiConsolazione2.jpg

For me, it's undoubtedly the Taj Mahal.

St Paul's Cathedral is another personal favourite of mine, as is Salisbury Cathedral.

For skyscrapers it would have to be the Chrysler Building, Bank of China Tower, SwissRe, Burj Al Arab, and the Center (when lit at night).

The Taj is awesome, one of the best for sure.

http://intranet.arc.miami.edu/rjohn/images/Byzantine/Mosque%20Hagia%20Sophia.jpg

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/EEI/MASONRY/09sophia.jpg

http://www.anthroarcheart.org/grfx/z357j.JPG

http://www.bethel.edu/~rascar/StudyTours/IFOP%20Study%20Tour/Turkey%20Images/IstanHSophiDeisis1.JPG

http://intranet.arc.miami.edu/rjohn/images/Byzantine/Virgin%20&%20Jesus%20in%20Hagia%20Sophia.jpg

http://www.patriarchate.org/ecumenical_patriarchate/chapter_4/assets/images/223_275_hagiasophia.jpg

http://www.focusmm.com/civilization/hagia/hagia_9b.jpg

http://cascolytravel.com/images/..%5C2002%5C020517-178.jpg

Huuugeeeee!

Any Cathedral, the Eiffle Tower, The Chryslar Building, and I'm a sucker for Statues!

So many choices I cant pick one. In addition to what everyone has already said,
Golden Gate Bridge also deserves a nomination
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y221/nathanh6686/goldengate2.jpg

Any of these...

Taj Mahal (Agra, India)
Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao)
Saint Basil's Cathedral (Moscow)

Pathenon
Hagia Sophia
Anything of Calatravas!

The Taj Mahal, it's almost like a mirage has a very ethereal look to it, I could stare at it for days on end.

^I agree. Definitely the Taj Mahal.

I'll have to go with the Petronas Towers :-)

I reckon that Taj Mahal could be a serious contender but I didn't see it with my own eyes yet so I reserve my judgement ;-)

http://www.his.com/~roberth/Europe2001/Barcelona/cathedral%20closeup3.jpg

Gaudi. Nothing ever comes close - nothing will, not for a long time.

Though the petronas is certainly a really cool building. It has a compsition which just works for no immediately obvious reason.

I don't like Gaudi, never will, and the Sagrada Familia looks like a novelty Christmas candle that has melted. Horrid structure IMO.

The Taj Mahal.

I'll have to say the main piramid in Tikal. Great building!

http://tikal.bo.astro.it/~zavatti/zaf/tikal.jpg


Good follow-up:
The Chrylser Building.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/cph/3b10000/3b12000/3b12400/3b12479r.jpg

But, hey, i'm an art-deco fan. ;)

Borobudur, the largest buddhist temple in the world

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/yufcrd.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/sdggr.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/rtrtrtr.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/tututu.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/setatw.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/tudeu.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/tttuuu.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/uiytt.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/uiiii.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/ursd.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/uuu8888.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/ytrtrrre.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/cfysrdjx.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/oji.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/nuuyf.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/lloopp.jpg http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/rfyryru.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/gyiyio.jpg

If you can touch the Buddha inside, they believe your wish will come true

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/gutft.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/gugu8.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/ewewewe.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a332/dave_win2/borobudur/ftu7t8.jpg
http://www.borobudur.tv/Library/boro_panoramic_7.gif
http://www.borobudur.tv/Library/boro_panoramic_5.gif

Borobudur
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Borobudur from a distance
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Borobudur from a distance

Borobudur is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Indonesia. It is located at 7°36′29″S, 110°12′14″E, in the province of Central Java, 40 kilometers (25mi) north-west of Yogyakarta. It is a Buddhist stupa related to the Mahayana tradition, and is the largest Buddhist monument on earth. It was built between 750 and 850 CE by the Javanese rulers of the Sailendra dynasties.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Structure
* 2 Rediscovery and recent history
* 3 Restoration and After
* 4 International Recognition
* 5 See also
* 6 External links

[edit]

Structure

Viewed from above, Borobudur takes the form of a giant mandala, symbolically depicting the path of the bodhisattva from samsara to nirvana, through the story of Sudhana described in the Gandavyuha Sutra, a part of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Some scholars think that this massive monument is actually a gigantic textbook of Buddhism to help people to achieve enlightenment. To read this Buddhist textbook in stone requires a walk of more than two miles. The walls of the galleries are adorned with impressive reliefs illustrating the life of Buddha Shakyamuni and the principles of his teaching.

Representing the existence of the universe, Borobudur perfectly reflects the Buddhist cosmology, which divides the universe into three intermingled separate levels. The three levels are Kamadhatu (world of desire), Ruphadhatu (world of forms), and Arupadhatu (world of formlessness). The hidden base of Borobudur was originally the first level, which contains the gallery of Kamadhatu level. It is thought that during construction Borobudur experienced a landfall that threatened the entire building. To prevent the whole monument from collapsing, the Kamadhatu level was closed and made into a new base that holds Borobudur steady. This level of Kamadhatu pictures the world of passion and the inevitable laws of karma. The first 117 panels show various actions leading to one and the same result, while the other remaining 43 panels demonstrate the many results that follow one single effect. At least 160 relief panels were carved around this level, based on the manuscript of Karmavibhangga. What is left of these can be seen in the Southeast corner of this level.

The relief of Rupadhatu level shows the stories based on the manuscripts of Lalitavistara, Jataka-Avadana and Gandavyuha. The Lalitavistara reliefs, consisting of 120 panels, tell us about the life of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha. It starts with a glorious descent of Buddha from the Tushita heaven. Born as Prince Siddhartha, Buddha's childhood was isolated from the outside world's misery. Accidentally witnessing the misery of sickness, decrepitude and death, young Prince Siddhartha decided to escape from the worldly life and commencing his search of freedom from suffering. Siddhartha’s long and painful search finally led him to the highest level of enlightenment and made him Buddha, the Enlightened One. This story ends with Buddha’s sermon in the Deer Park near Benares.

The Jataka is a collection of stories about Buddha's previous reincarnation, chains and virtues. According to the Jataka, Buddha has been born five hundred and four times before being born as Prince Siddhartha either in the forms of god, kings, princes, learned men, thieves, slaves, or a gambler. Many times he was born in the forms of animals such as lion, deer, monkey, swan, big turtle, quail, horse, bird and many others. But the Bodhisattva (title of a being on the path to Buddhahood) was distinguished from all other kings, slaves, or animals among whom he lived. The Bodhisattva is always superior and wiser than any other of his kinds. As to the relief of Avadana, the main figure is not the Buddha himself. All the saintly deeds pictured in this part are attributed to other legendary characters. The stories are compiled in Dvijavadana (Glorious Heavenly Acts) and the Avadana Sataka (The Hundred Avadana). The first 20 frames in the lower series of stories on the first gallery depict the Sudhanakumaravana.

The series of reliefs covering the wall of second gallery is dedicated to Sudhana’s tireless wandering during his search for the highest wisdom. The story is continued on the walls and balustrades of the third and fourth galleries. Most of the 460 panels depict the scenes based on the holy Mahayana text Gandavyuha, while the concluding scenes are derived from the text of Badracari.

On the last three circular uppermost terraces, 72 stupas circle the huge main stupa on the top of this monument. The circular form represents the eternity without beginning and without end, a superlative, tranquil, and pure state of the formless world. There are no reliefs on the three circular terraces.

All but the largest central stupas on the upper levels originally contained a (more or less) life-size statue of the Buddha (kneeling). Many of these statues are missing or damaged. There are also many alcoves along the lower levels which used to contain similar statues. Again, many of these are missing or damaged.

The whole volume of this massive andesite monument reaches the number of 56.000m³ consists of at least 2.000.000 stone blocks. Professor Tartakov writes: 'The entirety is thus one vast Vajrayana mandala, through the building and the subsequent operation of which the user can accomplish a particular goal. The exact ritual involved is lost to us, and so to is the specificity of that goal, but given the general outline of the monument’s iconography we can make a fairly accurate guess. The imagery offers us the metaphysical anatomy of the world. The world mountain here is based in the Kamadhatu, the region of desire. The second level leads through the Buddha’s previous lives and then its historical life up to the first sermon. The rest of the rectangular galleries levels show the perfected lives of Bodhisattvas and the pilgrimage of Sudhana seeking perfection and nirvana. They represent the Rupakaya, realm of seeking nirvana. The upper region of stupas, revealing to those who approach the existence of the Buddha within each stupa, represents the Dharmakaya, the spiritual realm of nirvana beyond the material world.' [1]
[edit]

Rediscovery and recent history

For centuries, Borobodur lay hidden under layers of volcanic ash. The facts behind the desertion of this magnificent monument still remain a mystery. Some scholars believe that famine caused by an eruption of Mount Merapi eruption forced the inhabitants of Central Java to leave their lands and monuments behind in search of a new place to live. When people once again inhabited this area, the glory of Borobudur had already been buried by ash from Mount Merapi. It was rediscovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles who, during his visit in Semarang, received a report indicating the discovery of a hill full of many carved stones. The hill was believed by the local inhabitants to be the site of an ancient monument called budur. Raffles then commissioned a team led by Cornelius to investigate the hill. It was in 1835 that the site was cleared. Some efforts have been made to restore and preserve the colossal monument since then. Unfortunately, in 1896 the Dutch Colonial Government gave away eight containers of Borobudur stones, 30 stones with relief, 5 Buddha statues, 2 lion statues, several kala stones, stairs and gates of Borobudur, as presents for the King of Siam who was visiting Indonesia.
[edit]

Restoration and After

The restoration programme undertaken between 1973 and 1984 during the Suharto era saw considerable of restoration parts of the site.

On January 21, 1985 the temple suffered minor damage due to a bomb attack.

The creation of facilities for domestic and international tourism around the current 'park' has been controversial.

Public comment has even been made by the park authority employees as to whether the stonework can handle the numbers of tourists, as their footware is wearing the stone paths.
[edit]

International Recognition

Borobudur has been listed by UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites.

Interestingly, Buddhist pilgrims from Indonesia and overseas have increased to this location in recent decades, where none had been known earlier. Patronage from Suharto era ministers and generals for the annual ceremonies at Borobudur had probably helped this.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur

http://www.borobudur.tv/Library/boro_panoramic_3.gif
http://www.borobudur.tv/Library/boro_panoramic_4.gif

Taj Mahal and then come pyramids in egypt.

The Taj Mahal. But The temples of Angkor also deserve to be mentioned.

http://www.hausrules.com/pics/angkor%20wat.JPG

http://anaproy.homeip.net/~unilang/albums/cambodia/angkor_wat2.jpg

http://www.zoutenzoetwaterparels.com/travel/Cambodia2004/Angkor%20Thom%20East%20gate.jpg

http://www.dukeweb.co.uk/seasia/cambodia/angkor40021.JPG

http://www.deblok.org/petweb/images/WereldreisLanden/CambodjaLaos/BB-47-Camb-Angkor.jpg

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul:

http://intranet.arc.miami.edu/rjohn/images/Byzantine/Mosque%20Hagia%20Sophia.jpg

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/EEI/MASONRY/09sophia.jpg

http://hal.lamar.edu/~eisensl/sjeslides/63ByzantineHagiaSophia.jpg

ii would go for Hagia Sophia, Istanbul its way better then the taj mahal :)

Gateway arch- St. Louis, Mo.

http://math.feld.cvut.cz/habala/pics/trip13u.jpg
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/moe/pictures/stlouis.jpg

Sydney Opera House - Sydney, Australia

http://tatiana.pevzner.com/arch/australia/Sydney%20Opera%20House,%20by%20Jorn%20Utzon,%20at%20Sydney,%20Australia,%201957%20to%201973.jpg

http://www.redsailing.com.au/images/sydney-opera-house.jpg

Taj Mahal for me

taj mahal would be one of my choices

any oscar niemeyer building would qualify too.


http://www.greatestcities.com/0888pic/872/CP872.jpg/As_torres,_e_o_guardo,_Brasilia.JPG

Many choices:
>Taj Mahal
>Great Wall of China
>The Parthenon
>The Great Pyramids
>The Golden Gate Bridge
>The Petronas
>a lot more.

This:

http://images.google.it/url?q=http://www.romaspqr.it/ROMA/Foto/Colosseo4.jpeg
http://italia.novaroma.org/campusmartius/ita1/13.jpg
http://www.homolaicus.com/storia/antica/roma/images/colosseo.jpg
http://www.amv-lilliput.org/modelli/civili/anfiteatro/a.jpg
http://www.amv-lilliput.org/modelli/civili/anfiteatro/04.jpg
http://www.colosseo.org/media/immagini/Roma%20Antica%20-%2020041201%20-%20Ieri%20e%20Oggi/Roma%20Antica%20-%2020041201%20-%20Colosseo%20oggi-NET.jpg
http://www.colosseo.org/colosseo/images/roma.jpg

Taj Mahal
Woolworth Building
Tribune Tower

Taj Mahal of course :)

Golden Gate bridge

St. Pauls Cathedral
Chrysler Building
Taj Mahal
Sydney Opera House

The ESB is another example.

I've never seen Taj Mahal IRL, but it looks absolutely amazing on the pics I've seen, so I guess my vote goes to it. If we only count Swedish building my vote goes to Turning Torso ;)

I find it hard to believe that both the Brooklyn Br and the Statue of Liberty were both built durring the 19th century.

http://archive.webdev.cascadia.ctc.edu/spring2001/bit112/bit112b/stiles/website_development/images/dome_of_the_rock.jpg

Taj or St peters Bastile.

In my opinion, the Lighthouse of Alexandria (Egypt) built in ancient times and the Procelain Pagoda of Nanjing (China) built in the middle ages are the two most beautiful structures ever built. The Lighthouse was featured on the list of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World while the Procelain Pagoda was on the Seven Wonders of the Medieval Minds. Sadly, both structure were destroyed long ago.

And for the category of "Most beautiful structure ever built in the United States in a self-supporting role", the winner is (envelope opens).....WE HAVE A TIE: The Golden Gate Bridge and the Gateway Arch....."

Burj Dubai or Turning Torso

Burj Dubai isn't even finished yet, how can it be the most beautiful structure?. My vote goes to the Taj.

from the ancient world...there's no other structure but the pyramids...over 3500 years old, over 400 feet tall...most countries dont have structures as tall nowdays! such heavy blocks that even modern machinery can have a hard time to pick up...they're just amazing and there's no other ancient structure clearly as nice as these

modern? i like the Burj Al Arab...the definition of luxury

i also think the bridge built in france is amazing...it stands over 1000 feet above the ground...actually stands at about 1200 feet above the ground

http://www.his.com/~roberth/Europe2001/Barcelona/cathedral%20closeup3.jpg

Gaudi. Nothing ever comes close - nothing will, not for a long time.

Though the petronas is certainly a really cool building. It has a compsition which just works for no immediately obvious reason.

gaudi has better work than that one in my opinion

http://www.dimenzie.sk/2001_03/06skender2.jpg

how bout this one? lol, this is the best statue not structure...

turning torso is also nice

My favorites in order - five+ different styles - take your pick.

1 (Islamic). The Alhambra and the Generalife in Granada (Spain), and the Mezquita in Cordoba (Spain).

2 (Neoclassical). The Royal Scottish Academy and the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh (Scotland).

3 (Gothic and [mostly] Baroque). St. Vitus Cathedral and the Castle, Prague (Czech Republic).

4 (Modern). East Building, National Gallery, Washington DC (USA), and the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico DF (Mexico).

5 (Postmediaeval Scottish). Craigievar Castle, Aberdeenshire (Scotland)

The Angel of the north

http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/angel/images/a7.jpg

A few of my favorites in no particular order:

-- Taj Mahal
-- The Great Pyramids
-- Chrysler Building

One possibility


http://data.greatbuildings.com/gbc/images/cid_1028276295_Bilbao_018.jpg

I also agree with Taj Mahal

:master: :master: :master: :master: :master:



:D

http://archive.webdev.cascadia.ctc.edu/spring2001/bit112/bit112b/stiles/website_development/images/dome_of_the_rock.jpg

Dito to that

Castle Neuschwanstein (Germany), House of Parliament (London), Taj Mahal (India), Sacre Ceour (Paris)

Saint Peter's Basilica, Milan Duomo and THE ENTIRE CITY OF VENICE!

It is impossible to come to a conclusion

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9460/arch22b0zb.jpg
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/310/arch23b3bb.jpg
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/2307/arch24b3kj.jpg

200 feet tall amazing

The question, as framed, demands a deeper thought...


So, if I were imprisoned, held as a privileged captive in the top apartments of a fortress, and could only look out on one building for the rest of my days, it would be this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/Bronteboy/taj2.jpg

and of course, that's what happened to Shah Jahan, the creator of the Taj Mahal - the perfect culmination of Mughal architecture.

I am pretty sure I would not wish to look, solely, at a single (or twin) skyscraper for the rest of my days. The Petronas Towers are magnificent, but of a genre, and challenged by others (Burj Dubai, for one of many). Getting parochial, I think Utzon's Sydney Opera House is the most unique building of the past century, but I wouldn't wish to look at it, solely, for the rest of my days, or even many weeks. If it wasn't the Taj, you would have to go back in history for that ...the Parthenon, a Bavarian Castle, a Gothic cathedral, Gaudi's cathedral in Barcelona, a French chateau...but the real answer is probably a small, weathered wood temple-shrine somewhere in Japan, or somewhere else in Asia. I would want to think about it long and hard before I chose that one building, the most beautiful, that I could look out at endlessly :2cents:


nice post, I also like your avatar:)

interesting question with no wrong anwer just right ones.

I agree completely with the Taj Mahal, lot's of intersting places with unique stories but of all the major icons, this one's built out of love and not just theoretical love for an Idea or God but one man's insanity to create the perfect expression of his love for his wife! Even the name expresses love, I consider this to be the culimination Humanity's Essence in architectural structural form, even it's measurements are without flaw. Perfection achieved.

I think among the modern ones Gehry's work is interesting but looks similar to one another, the Guggenheim in Bilbao is very similar to the Disney Theater in LA, in fact the Disney would have been built earlier if not for the various controversies attached to it's construction.

For skyscrapers, the form of Chrysler Building outweighs the romance of the Empire State Building, even if King Kong did not bother to climb it:)

HOT:
Eiffel Tower , Paris
Empire State Building , NY
Turning Torso, Malmo.
Fukuoka Tower, Fukuoka
Le Grand Arche, Paris - France.
Bank of China Building, Honk Kong



NOT:
Petronas Towers - Kuala Lumpur
Liberation Tower , Kuwait City
Kingdom Centre, Riyadh
Landmark Tower, Yokohama

I would go with the gateway arch in St Louis.

The Egyptian Pyramids of Giza - the tallest stood 481 ft and each block averaged 2.5 tons.. The pyramids are one of the seven wonders of the world at 4600 plus years old and built to 1/100 degree of mathematical perfect, truly remarkable..

After that I would say Liberty One in Philadelphia at 945 ft of Liberty and Classy Architecture..

I'll pick the Taj Mahal, even though I have never been there.

BTW, if I were forced to live out my days as a prisoner on the top floor of the Empire State Building, I would be very happy with my life.

Some people believed that it was aliens that could have built the Stonehenge.

http://www.aboutstonehenge.info/images/education/stonehenge-wallpaper-1.jpg

http://archive.webdev.cascadia.ctc.edu/spring2001/bit112/bit112b/stiles/website_development/images/dome_of_the_rock.jpg

personaly i would peplace it with the third Bais Hamikdash(Temple) any day!! :runaway:
http://www.jewschool.com/FF_144_holyland_a.jpg

(a depiction of what it would look like using a blimp projecting a holographic image of the Temple in the Temple mounds location)

sorry... but no doubt about it...

http://depts.washington.edu/ctltstaf/cc/images/pyramids.jpg
http://www.rpi.edu/~turcoj/Timeline/Art%20History/Pyramids.jpg
http://www.culturefocus.com/pyramids-4small.jpg
http://www.ashmolean.museum/gri/gif-files/gri-98.gif

they have something... I don´t know what... but they have some strange power...

______

^ Strange power, maybe. But... they're not exactly very very beautiful.

eiffel tower for me

One of the most spectacular places that I've seen,









Machu Picchu

http://forumst.free.fr/image.php?image=http://forumst.free.fr/home/Architecture/Gratte-ciel/Img/John_Hancock_Center_3.jpg&adr=http://images.google.com/imgres%3fimgurl=http://www.techno-science.net/illustration/Architecture/Gratte-ciel/Img/John_Hancock_Center_3.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.techno-science.net/forum/viewtopic.php%253Ft%253D180&h=800&w=600&sz=82&tbnid=x0nFYpDAX6_ORM:&tbnh=142&tbnw=106&hl=en&prev=/images%253Fq%253Djohn%252Bhancock%252Bcenter%2526svnum%253D10%2526hl%253Den%2526lr%253D%2526safe%253Doff%2526client%253Dfirefox-a%2526rls%253Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official_s%2526sa%253DG&frame=smal

http://studyrussian.com/kaliningrad/soviets.jpg
Just kidding...

Um, I can't really pick just one. But certainly the Eiffel Tower, the Parthenon, Pantheon, Brunelleschi's dome, and a few of Borromini's churches make my list. Oh, and the hoover dam as well, for its sheer size and its landscape.

Eiffel tower...for me :)

:yes: I second that

Stonehenge

personaly i would peplace it with the third Bais Hamikdash(Temple) any day!! :runaway:
http://www.jewschool.com/FF_144_holyland_a.jpg

(a depiction of what it would look like using a blimp projecting a holographic image of the Temple in the Temple mounds location)

You would replace one of the most beautiful domes and one of the holiest muslim structures with that crap?? Why??

Anyways, i think this has to be the taj mahal. Around sunset that place feels truly magical.

:bash: no one has said the Great Wall of China yet

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1/474454/178756756mttNSl_ph.jpg

Here is a beauty, hang onto your hat:

http://img480.imageshack.us/img480/4342/feb26atqueenstwesti9oo.jpg

Taj mahal is out of this world, magnificent! Especially the idea behind the structure makes you realize that it wasn't just designed, it was given shape by pure love.
For me, this is the most beautiful single structure ever built:bow:

I can't choose just one, but here is a short list:

Taj Mahal
Eiffel Tower
Chrysler Building
Something in Washington, DC (probably the Capitol)
St Paul's Cathedral

The enchanting Taj

old times:
-Parthenon (Athens)
-Koln Cathedral (Koln)
-Taj Mahal (india)
modern times:
-Golden Gate bridge (San Francisco)
-Empire State building (NY)
-2 International Finance Center (HK)
future:
-NY World Trade Center Site Transit Station (Calatrava)
-Fordham Spire (Chicago)
-Burj Dubai (Dubai)

Call me a softy but if I had to stare at one building for the rest of my days it would have to be Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in California.

Sleeping Beauty Castle, July 2005. Recently refurbished for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b221/billybtall/SBCastle05-24profile.jpg

Compare that to what it looked like in the 1960's.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b221/billybtall/Castle1955.jpg

And, in case you didn't know, Walt Disney based his Sleeping Beauty Castle design on Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b221/billybtall/NeuschwansteinCastle.jpg

http://markus.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/jesus_statue_rio_de_janeiro.jpg

Jesus is watching over Rio
Amazing

I like the Liberty statue also

People, please don't only mention buidlings in yor city/country...it's easy beacause you know them best, I understand, but 'don't be nationalistic.
I would say:
Palace on the Dam (former townhall) Amsterdam (hahaha, kidding)

Most things that scream "MARBLE" when you look at them.

another great build is Angkor

http://www.math.jussieu.fr/~ritzenth/photos/angkor.jpg
http://www3.niu.edu/depts/ext_prog/angkor~1.jpg

Living imaginatively in harmony with nature. Wright's masterpiece:

http://arch.ou.edu/arch/2423/Chapter%2027/Fallingwater.jpg
http://photo.bldesign.org/photos/misc/fallingwater.jpg

One problem is that there are so many jaw-dropping-to-pavement, eye-popping gorgeous buildings out there...

I also think it's impossible to pick just one, so I tend to break them down, in no particular order under each category:

Art Deco Skyscrapers
Empire State
Chrysler

Gothic Skyscrapers
Woolworth Building

The Taj Mahal, in a category all by itself....

Churches/Cathedrals:
Byzantine
Hagia Sophia

Gothic
Notre Dame de Rheims
Notre Dame d'Amiens
Notre Dame de Paris
St. Patricks, NYC

Baroque
St. Paul's, London

And that's for starters...

It's very hard to chose the one, most beautiful, building... very, very hard
Finaly: Il Gesu

La Sagrada Familia Temple in Barcelona:
;)
http://danzig.iespana.es/foros/safa02269-.jpg
^^Photo by forumer DANZIG.^^
:wink2:

Cologne Cathedral.......


I could have gone with dozens of others though as well.

You would replace one of the most beautiful domes and one of the holiest muslim structures with that crap?? Why??

Anyways, i think this has to be the taj mahal. Around sunset that place feels truly magical.

yeh i would because the "most beautifull dome in the world" as you claim it to be makes me want to puke :puke: . and as it turns out it was accualy the holiest jewish site in the world a few thousand years even before muslims even came into existance.
its design and beauty is far from crap , its one of the most complex designs. to make a judgement before properly educating youslef on the splendure and grace that this temple stucture eminates then i would prob sooner call you crap than i would call a beautifull building that. :bash:

A couple of candidates from México.

"El Castillo", Chichen Itzá, México

http://www.reisebilder.ch/bilder/me061-700.jpg

http://www.jimcline.com/yucatan2004/el%20castillo%20last%20light011_std.jpg

"Pyramid of the Sun", Teotihuacán, México

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/1608/DSC00030.jpg

http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/students/MBNA/_borders/Piramide_del_sol.jpg

http://www.celebratebig.com/mexico-2/teotihuacancalzadadelosmuertos.jpg

http://people.ex.ac.uk/se02pmrj/photos/page3/PiramideDelSol.jpg

The Vatican. Built by the greatest artists in all of history -Michelangelo, Bernini etc etc. Took hundreds of years to finish. Biggest basilica in the world, and the design speaks for itself!

http://www.stuardtclarkesrome.com/DOME.JPG

http://static.flickr.com/33/100040328_d9ad830577_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/19/88253835_fddcab06e6_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/36/86356047_032334e679_b.jpg

Michelangelo's The Pieta. Simply stunning.
http://static.flickr.com/17/90777076_05d9c535c7_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/14/19598399_7974a19c17_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/8/9645549_d10f19a95d_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/38/86355948_441d6412ce_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/45/105752038_e1c6babc95_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/9/12484504_a2558246d3_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/33/97437455_ae38613ff8_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/7/11286360_95b9f63ee9_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/29/66881155_60987c7094_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/8/10169329_ef7c119462_o.jpg

Well, this structure can't compete with the Taj Mahal or the Eiffel Tower but still I would like to share these pics with you folks. At least it's beautiful enough to be included in UNESCO's World Heritage List.

MIAG-AO CHURCH, Miag-ao, Iloilo Province, Philippines-one of the 4 Philippine Baroque churches included in the Heritage List.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/gedalanga/34_3.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/gedalanga/church7miagao.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/gedalanga/012_miagao_bas_small.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/gedalanga/011_miagao_church_small.jpg

...made of yellow sandstone inside-out. Aside from being a church, this structure also served as a fortress from Muslim raiders.

Locke, your pictures also speak for themselves, and very effectively remind me that St. Peter's has always got to be considered a contender...

Just curious - are you a professional photographer? What kind of camera and lenses did you use? The close ups of the dome are incredible....

Thanks!

yeh i would because the "most beautifull dome in the world" as you claim it to be makes me want to puke :puke: . and as it turns out it was accualy the holiest jewish site in the world a few thousand years even before muslims even came into existance.
its design and beauty is far from crap , its one of the most complex designs. to make a judgement before properly educating youslef on the splendure and grace that this temple stucture eminates then i would prob sooner call you crap than i would call a beautifull building that. :bash:

That temple is anything but graceful. Its design is more brutalist and fortress than anything. And the muslims aren't the ones who destroyed the temple, it was the Romans so don't think its justified getting rid of one of Islams most holiest sites.

And also yes i do find that building crap just as you find the beautiful mosque ugly. Its my opinion and I can have whatever opinion i wish, your no one to dictate what is beautiful and what is not. And also to hate on a beautiful piece of architecture for pretty obvious racist underlying reasons is what i truly find crap, even more than the design of that temple.

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/images/symbols/mountrushmore.jpg

^I like the Crazy Horse Memorial more (still unfinished)

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/280/crazyhorsemonument8kh.jpg
What it will look like:
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/3923/crazyhorsemodel8di.jpg
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/9500/64e52vf.jpg

The scale is amazing

Isn't not supposed to be finished for another 50 years? It will be amazing when finished though.

San Marco Cathedral and Palazzo Ducale in Venice (Italy)
http://download2.paessler.com/samples/venice/Basilica_San_Marco_from_Piazza_San_Marco_2_800.jpg

http://download2.paessler.com/samples/venice/Basilica_San_Marco_from_Piazza_San_Marco_3_800.jpg

http://download2.paessler.com/samples/venice/Basilica_San_Marco_from_Piazza_San_Marco_1_800.jpg

http://www.guideofvenice.com/immagini/bas_san_marco_2big.JPG

http://www.emich.edu/abroad/staff/Benita/interiorsanmarcobg.jpg

http://www.bobschloss.us/images/Basilica_di_San_Marco.jpg

http://img1.travelblog.org/Photos/4110/11706/f/49478-Basilica-San-Marco-0.jpg

http://img1.travelblog.org/Photos/4110/11706/f/49479-Front-Altar-of-San-Marco-0.jpg

http://img1.travelblog.org/Photos/4110/11706/f/49480-Altarpiece-of-San-Marco-0.jpg

http://www.moleiro.com/facsimile_books/Talleres%20de%20Arquitectura%20en%20la%20Edad%20Media%20-Basilica%20di%20San%20Marco,%20vista%20dell’interno%20(1063-1094)-Facsimile_book-394.jpg

http://www.gimcracker.com/archives/Basilica_at_Night.jpg

http://download2.paessler.com/samples/venice/Basilica_San_Marco_from_Piazza_San_Marco_1_800.jpg

http://donnatoo.home.comcast.net/europe/art/mosaic.jpg

The Atlantis Resort, Paridise Island, Bahamas

http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/193/atn2ll.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I think this best represent mankinds achievements, hopes and dreams.

http://smh.com.au/ffximage/2005/07/01/discovery_wideweb__430x289.jpg