Posts Tagged ‘architecture’
If you like architecture, here are some cities for you
Architecture is fascinating, particularly as you make your way around the world and take in the shapes, colors and functions of buildings in different cultures. A great thing to remember as you travel, in fact, is to look up periodically and to absorb the details of the buildings around you. The architecture of our lives [...]
Why the mind needs nature
I just came across an interesting article in the Boston Globe’s Ideas section. The main point of the piece is that our brains benefit from time in nature, which is something that fewer of us get these days because a majority of individuals reside in cities. “The mind is a limited machine,”says Marc Berman, a psychologist at [...]
A moving skyscraper in Dubai
There is a lot of money being thrown around on development projects these days across the Gulf kingdoms of the Arabian Peninsula, and no place is more emblematic of this construction frenzy than is the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Nevertheless, some projects still boggle the mind, like Dubai’s proposed “moving skyscraper” [...]
McDonald’s goes feng shui
A Los Angeles McDonald’s has given itself a face lift. And — in deference to the fast-growing Asian population of the area — the restaurant was redesigned with the help of feng shui consultants, according to this story. On a busy commercial strip in this Los Angeles-area community is a quiet place where the walls are [...]
Redesigning the pilgrimage to Mecca
The annual Islamic pilgrimage to the Saudi cities of Mecca and Medina is a huge and often chaotic event. Several million Muslims from around the world make the annual pilgrimage, and the crush of people has resulted in numerous tragedies and thousands of deaths. So this year the government of Saudi Arabia hired a team [...]
Inca ingenuity
The Inca Empire of South America was known for a few of its architectural achievements, as well as for a remarkable system of roads and bridges that enabled fairly quick communication among communities that were scattered throughout the rugged terrain of the Andes Mountains. The NY Times just ran an interesting article that combined a bit [...]
The lights of Paris
Most people know Paris as the City of Light. Most people don’t know, however, that the city government actually employs people who are solely responsible for designing and lighting Paris’ monuments, bridges and public buildings. The NY Times recently ran a rather interesting profile of Francois Jousse, who is the “chief engineer for doctrine, expertise and technical control” [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
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