10 wonders of modern buildings

On this page - 10 of the most grandiose buildings of the 20-21st century.
The choice of objects is quite subjective; it reflects not only the objects of the last decade, but rather the furor that this object caused in its time.

The skyscraper was erected in 1931 in New York City. The height of the building is 381 meters from the base. Until 1972, when the first World Trade Center tower was built, this building remained the tallest in the world. After the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, the building again became the tallest in New York.

Built by Brazil and Paraguay, the dam (Itaipu) is the world's largest operating hydroelectric power station. Construction ended in 1991. Construction of the dam lasted 16 years, the total length of the dam was 7,744 m.

CN Tower

From 1976 to 2007, this television tower was the tallest structure in the world. The tower is located in Toronto, Canada and is a symbol and landmark of the city. The height of the tower from the base is 553 meters. At a level of 342 meters there is Observation deck. It is also noteworthy that the structure was erected in record time: from February 12, 1973 to April 2, 1975.

The canal took 34 years to build, the length of the canal is 81.6 km. The canal is the most expensive construction in American history. It should be noted that more than 80,000 people died during the construction of the canal, mostly from disease.

The English Channel Tunnel connects France and England. The total length of the tunnel is 51 km, of which 31 km is located directly under the English Channel. The tunnel came into operation in 1994.

North Sea Protection Works

Since the Netherlands is located below sea level, a series of dams and locks were built to prevent flooding during storms.
The most most of structures under the name: Netherlands North Sea Protection Works, was mobile and long, amounted to 1800 meters. Construction of the dam began in 1923 and was completed in 1984.

Golden Gate Bridge ( Golden Gate Bridge)

Bridge from the city of San Francisco and Marin County, built in 1937, many years. Until 1964, the structure was the largest suspension bridge in the world. The length of the bridge is 1.9 km.
The bridge is suspended on special ropes that hang from a steel cable stretched between the two towers. The total length of all cables is 128,747 kilometers.
The thickness of the steel ropes between the towers is 92.7 cm, which is a record today.

Tower - Burj Khalifa building

Located in Dubai, built (opened) in January 2010. It is currently the tallest building in the world. The height of the structure is 828 meters, the number of floors is 163. To be fair, it must be said that the topmost floor is located at an altitude of 624 meters - the remaining 204 meters are the spire.

The longest bridge in the world was built in Hangzhou, China. Construction of the bridge began in 2003 and was completed in 2008. The bridge was opened to traffic in 2009. The length of the bridge is 36 km.

Hydroelectric power station "Three Gorges"

Construction began in 1992. In 2010, the first stage of the Three Gorges hydroelectric power station was launched, located on the Yangtze River, China. The power plant includes a concrete dam with a volume of 27 million m 3, a hydroelectric power station building - 26 units. The spillway volume at the dam is approximately 116,000 m 3 /s. Before construction began, 1,000,000 people were resettled. The design capacity of the hydroelectric power station is 18,200 MW - it is the most powerful hydroelectric power station in the world.

2017 promises to be rich in amazing construction and engineering projects. Some of them are already nearing completion, while others are just beginning. Here are the seven most expensive construction projects in the world at the moment

The complexity and functionality of engineering projects today are increasingly associated with the level of development of society as a whole. That is why such construction projects most often become a matter of national and sometimes global scale. Their implementation requires the efforts of millions of people and fabulous investments.

Al Maktoum International Airport

A country: UAE

Project cost:$82 billion

This airport in Dubai will be fully operational in 2018. It will become the largest in the world in several respects: area, infrastructure complexity and throughput.

The first stage of construction of the largest aviation hub was commissioned in 2010. At the same time, the airport received its first passengers. In seven years, the territory of Al-Maktoum has increased tenfold.

Photo: Caren Firouz/Reuters

By the time it is fully commissioned, it will house five runways, four full-fledged air terminal buildings with several terminals in each and a separate cargo terminal, which will become the world's largest transport hub in terms of cargo turnover. The airport will be able to serve about 160 million passengers annually, simultaneously receive about 200 aircraft, and also handle more than 400 thousand tons of cargo through its terminals.

The turn of Chinese rivers to the north

A country: China

Project cost:$78 billion

The idea of ​​turning the waters of Chinese rivers from south to north is attributed to Mao Zedong himself. In 1952, he made such a proposal, focusing on his party comrades from the USSR, where they also hatched plans for the great turn of the Siberian rivers for the needs of Central Asia.

The grandiose project will allow the northern regions of China to be irrigated using the country's largest rivers. According to the plan, three water arteries will be built, each about 1,300 kilometers long. Due to this, excess water that harms southeast China will be redirected to the dry areas of the north.

Construction of the canals began in 2002. The work plan, designed to last almost half a century, involves the unification of the basins of the four largest large rivers China - Yangtze, Yellow River, Haihe and Huaihe. Strictly speaking, there will be no turning of the rivers: excess water from the deep southern arteries will feed the northern rivers, at the same time connecting them into a convenient transport network. In addition, the canals will supply water supplies to the largest reservoirs in northern China.

The construction process will use the infrastructure of one of the largest engineering projects of antiquity - the Grand Canal. It was created over the course of two thousand years by many generations of Chinese emperors (VI century BC - XIII century AD). The canal connected the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, which were the main waterways of Ancient China.

This article contains 20 engineering wonders of the world.

The Large Hadron Collider, abbreviated TANK(English) Large Hadron Collider, abbreviated LHC) is an accelerator of charged particles using colliding beams, designed to accelerate protons and heavy ions (lead ions) and study the products of their collisions. The collider was built in CERN e (European Council nuclear research), located near Geneva, on the border of Switzerland and France. TANK is the largest experimental setup in the world. More than 10 thousand scientists and engineers from more than 100 countries participated and are participating in construction and research.

It is named large because of its size: the length of the main accelerator ring is 26,659 m; hadronic - due to the fact that it accelerates hadrons, that is, heavy particles consisting of quarks; collider (eng. collider - pusher) - due to the fact that particle beams are accelerated in opposite directions and collide at special collision points.

Abbr. ISS(English) International Space Station, abbr. ISS) is a manned orbital station used as a multi-purpose space research complex. ISS- a joint international project in which 15 countries participate (in alphabetical order): Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, USA, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan.

Control ISS carried out: by the Russian segment - from the Control Center space flights in Korolev, the American segment - from the Mission Control Center in Houston. There is a daily exchange of information between the Centers.

Three Gorges- the world's largest operating hydroelectric power station, built in China on the Yangtze River, the third longest river in the world. Located near Sandouping City in Yichang City, Hubei Province. The world's largest power plant in terms of installed capacity. The gravity concrete dam of this reservoir is one of the largest in the world. When the reservoir was filled, 1.3 million people were displaced.

Petronas— 88-story skyscraper. Height - 451.9 meters. Located in the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. The Prime Minister of Malaysia participated in the design of the skyscraper Mahathir Mohamad , who proposed building buildings in the “Islamic” style. Therefore, in plan the complex consists of two eight-pointed stars, and the architect added semicircular protrusions for stability.

6 years were allotted for construction (1992-1998). The towers were built by two different companies to create competition and increase productivity. During geological surveys, it turned out that the proposed construction site is located in one part on the edge of rock, and the other on soft limestone. After such heavy towers were built on this site, one of them would inevitably sag. As a result, the buildings were completely transferred to soft ground, shifted by 60 meters, and piles were driven to a depth of more than 100 meters. This is currently the largest concrete foundation in the world.

It is distinguished not only by its colossal size, but also by the complexity of its design. The area of ​​all premises of the building is 213,750 m2, which corresponds to the area of ​​48 football fields. The towers themselves occupy 40 hectares in the city. The Petronas Towers houses offices, exhibition and conference rooms, and an art gallery.

Space X-ray Observatory "Chandra"(space telescope "Chandra", English Chandra) - space observatory launched NASA July 23, 1999 (via shuttle "Colombia") for space exploration in the X-ray range. Named after the American physicist and astrophysicist of Indian origin Chandrasekhara , who taught at the University of Chicago from 1937 until his death in 1995 and was known mainly for his work on white dwarfs.

Chandra— the third observatory of four launched NASA at the end of the 20th beginning of the 21st century. The first was a telescope Hubble, second Compton and fourth Spitzer.

The observatory was conceived and proposed NASA in 1976 Riccardo Giacconi And Harvey Tananbaum as a development of the observatory launched at that time HEAO-2(Einstein). In 1992, due to decreased funding, the design of the observatory was significantly changed - 4 of the 12 planned X-ray mirrors and 2 of the 6 planned focal instruments were removed.

Take-off weight AXAF/Chandra was 22,753 kg, which is an absolute record for the mass ever launched into space by the space shuttle. The bulk of the complex "Chandra" was a rocket that made it possible to launch a satellite into orbit, the apogee of which is approximately a third of the distance to the Moon.

The station was designed for an operating period of 5 years, but on September 4, 2001, NASA It was decided to extend the service life by 10 years due to the outstanding performance results.

6. Palm Deira - artificial island in Dubai

The Palm Islands are an archipelago of artificial islands. Located in the United Arab Emirates, in the emirate of Dubai. The archipelago includes three large islands, each shaped like a palm tree:

• Palm Jumeirah,
• Palm Jebel Ali,
• Palm Deira.

Between the islands there are also artificial archipelagos “World” and “Universe” made up of small islands.

The Siduhe Bridge is a suspension bridge across the Siduhe River valley in Hubei Province, China. The maximum height above ground level is 496 meters, making it the highest bridge in the world. The bridge is part of the G50 highway connecting Shanghai and Chongqing. The bridge has 4 working lanes for traffic and 2 reserve lanes.

Beijing National Stadium, also known as " bird's Nest"is a multifunctional sports complex created for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing (China), located next to the swimming complex. In addition to hosting sports competitions, this stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games. Construction of the stadium began in December 2003 according to the design of the bureau Herzog and de Meuron . The stadium opened in March 2008.

The cost of construction of the stadium is estimated at 3.5 billion yuan, which is approximately 325 million euros.

9. Five-star JW Marriott Marquis hotel in Dubai

JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is a high-rise hotel complex in Dubai, UAE, at the moment, according to Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat , which is the tallest hotel in the world. It consists of two buildings with a height of 355 meters.

Initially the company The Emirates Group planned to build only one 77-story tower 350 meters high. Construction was expected to be completed in 2008. However, then the architecture of the building underwent significant changes. New project Twin towers were approved in 2006. At first it was planned to build towers with a height of 395 meters, then changes were made to the project, and the planned height of the buildings was reduced to 355 meters.

The opening of the hotel was timed to coincide with the visit of the delegation of the International Exhibition Bureau to Dubai: the UAE has submitted an application to host the World Universal Exhibition Expo in Dubai in 2020.

The cost of the project was approximately 1.8 billion UAE dirhams (approximately $432 million).

The hotel complex includes 1,608 rooms and 15 restaurants, as well as a business center, conference rooms, meeting rooms, a spa center and a shopping complex. In addition, on the 7th floor of one of the buildings there is a 32-meter bowl-pool with associated infrastructure.

Kingda Ka- an attraction, the tallest and second fastest roller coaster in the world. Located in the park "Six Flags", New Jersey, USA.

The trolley, using a hydraulic mechanism, accelerates to 206 km/h in 3.5 seconds. The train rises to the top of the tower, reaching a height of 139 meters, and then rolls down under its own weight.

May Day Stadium- stadium located in Pyongyang (DPRK). It is the largest stadium in the world in terms of capacity, designed for 150,000 spectators, built in 1989 to host the XIII Festival of Youth and Students. Design Features "May Day Stadium" There are sixteen arches forming a ring, because of this the stadium is shaped like a magnolia flower. The arena is used for home matches of the DPRK national team, but its main purpose is the Arirang mass festival.

12. Akashi Kaikyo - the longest suspension bridge

The Akashi Kaikyo is a suspension bridge in Japan that crosses the Akashi Strait and connects the city of Kobe on the island of Honshu with the city of Awaji on the island of Awaji. It is part of one of the three highways connecting Honshu and Shikoku.

The bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world: its total length is 3911 m, the central span is 1991 m long, and the side spans are 960 m long. The height of the pylons is 298 m.

The length of the main span was originally planned to be 1990 m, but it was increased by one meter after the Kobe earthquake on January 17, 1995.

The bridge design has a system of double-hinged stiffening beams that allows it to withstand wind speeds of up to 80 m/s, earthquakes of magnitude up to 8.5 and resist strong sea currents. To reduce the loads acting on the bridge, there is also a system of pendulums operating at the resonant frequency of the bridge structure.

13. Mead - the largest reservoir in the USA

Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It is located on the Colorado River 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, on the Nevada-Arizona border. Formed by the construction of the Hoover Dam, it extends 110 miles (180 km) beyond the dam. The total volume of water is 35 km 3 . The water stored in the reservoir is transported through aqueducts to settlements in southern California and Nevada.

14. Project Genesis - the world's largest cruise ship

Luxury ship of the company Royal Caribbean entitled "Project Genesis" is the largest cruise ship the world has ever known, costing $1.24 billion.

The ship is 1,180 feet long (16 decks) and can accommodate 5,400 passengers in 2,700 cabins. The finished vessel houses Central Park (just like one of the parks in New York), luxury hotels, restaurants “150 Central Park”, “Central Park Cafe”, “Giovanni’s Table”, bars “Canopy Bar”, “Rising Tide”, wine library Vintages, public areas, picnic areas. In Central Park, similar to a city center, guests will be provided with balcony rooms - great places for social gatherings throughout the day and night. The liner also has six other sections.

The Hangzhou Bay Bridge, or the Great Transoceanic Hangzhou Bay Bridge, is a cable-stayed bridge in Hangzhou Bay off the east coast of China. Connects the cities of Shanghai and Ningbo (Zhejiang Province) and is the longest transoceanic bridge in the world.

Opened to traffic on May 1, 2008, although it was assumed that the bridge would only be completed by Expo 2010. Construction of the bridge began on June 8, 2003 and continued until 2007, after which closed testing of the bridge was carried out for several months.

The length of the bridge is about 36 km, traffic is carried out on three lanes in each direction. This is the third longest bridge across water spaces. The design speed of the bridge is 100 km/h, service life is more than 100 years. The total cost of investment in construction was 11.8 billion yuan (about 1.4 billion US dollars at the December 2004 exchange rate). 35% of the investment was made by private enterprises in Ningbo, keen on quick access to the financial center and the country's largest port in Shanghai. Another 59% are loans provided by China's central and regional banks.

Eurotunnel, Channel Tunnel (French tunnel sous la Manche, English Channel Tunnel, also sometimes simply Euro Tunnel) is a double-track railway tunnel, about 51 km long, of which 39 km is under the English Channel. Connects continental Europe with the UK by rail. Thanks to the tunnel, it became possible to visit London from Paris in just 2 hours 15 minutes; In the tunnel itself, trains take from 20 to 35 minutes. It was inaugurated on May 6, 1994.

The Singapore Flyer is a giant Ferris wheel located in Singapore, built in 2005-2008. It reaches the height of a 55-story building, with a total height of 165 m (541 ft), making it the largest high wheel Ferris wheel in the world, 5 m (16 ft) higher than the Nanchang Star and 30 m (98 ft) higher than the London Eye.

Each of the 28 air-conditioned capsules can accommodate 28 passengers. A full revolution of the wheel takes about 30 minutes. The wheel initially rotated in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from Maritime Center, but its direction of rotation was changed on August 4, 2008 on the advice of feng shui experts.

Pan-STARRS(English) Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System- system of panoramic survey and rapid response telescopes) is a feasible automatic system of 4 telescopes that will see objects a hundred times less bright (up to 24th magnitude) than those that are available to today's automatic surveys. This will make it possible to detect 99% of asteroids crossing the Earth's orbit with a diameter of over 300 m.

Telescope system Pan-STARRS will be located on top of the Mauna Kea volcano on the island of Hawaii. It will have access to 3/4 of the entire sky, or 30,000 square degrees. The entire accessible area of ​​the sky will be scanned three times a month. A single frame will have a shutter speed of 30 seconds. The same area of ​​the sky will be repeatedly imaged at intervals of several tens of minutes. After each scan, several terabytes of data will be received for analysis: from the variety of astronomical objects, those that move or change their brightness will be selected.

Telescopes Pan-STARRS will have a large viewing angle (large field of view) - 7 square degrees (a square with a side of 2.6°), which will allow covering the sky with a relatively small number of images.

The project includes four telescopes with mirrors each 1.8 m in diameter and 1.4 gigapixel CCD cameras.

This program is the most important telescope project at the University of Hawaii in the last 30 years.

19. Tianhe-2 (MilkyWay-2) - the most powerful computer in the world

Tianhe-2(literally: "Milky Way 2") is a supercomputer designed Defense Science and Technology University People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China and company Inspur .

While the supercomputer is in Defense Science and Technology University PLA, but later it will be installed in National Supercomputer Center in Guangzhou. The project was initially planned to be completed in 2015, but it was launched ahead of schedule. Expected that Tianhe-2 will be fully deployed by the end of 2013.

Tianhe-2 consists of 16 thousand nodes, each of which includes 2 processors Intel Xeon E5-2692 on architecture Ivy Bridge with 12 cores each (2.2 GHz frequency) and 3 dedicated coprocessors Intel Xeon Phi 31S1P(on architecture Intel MIC, 57 cores per accelerator, frequency 1.1 GHz, passive cooling). Each node has 64 GB of DDR3 ECC memory (16 modules) and an additional 8 GB of GDDR5 each Xeon Phi(total 88 GB). In total, the total number of computing cores reaches 3.12 million (384 thousand Ivy Bridge and 2736 thousand Xeon Phi), which is the largest public installation of such processors.

20. Alfonso del Mar - the largest artificial reservoir in the world

Private hotel pool San Alfonso del Mar in Chile is 1 km long and covers an area of ​​8 hectares. The maximum depth is 35 m. It contains 250,000,000 liters of water, which is filtered and pumped from the Pacific Ocean.

The publication was prepared by staff CompMechLab® based on website materials

Old or new, with complex or simple structures, these buildings are undoubtedly the most incredible in the world. There are attractive ones, there are unusual ones, and there are just crazy buildings that are unlike anything else. Sometimes it can even be difficult to immediately understand what is in front of you - a house or something else?

Lotus Temple

(Delhi, India)

The main Bahai temple of India and neighboring countries, built in 1986. Located in New Delhi, the capital of India. A huge building made of snow-white Pentelic marble in the shape of a blooming lotus flower is one of the most popular attractions among tourists in Delhi. Known as the main temple of the Indian subcontinent and the main attraction of the city.

The Lotus Temple has won several architectural awards and has been featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles. In 1921, the young Bombay Baha'i community asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá for permission to build a Baha'i temple in Bombay, to which the answer was allegedly given: "By the will of God, in the future a majestic temple of worship will be erected in one of the central cities of India," that is, in Delhi .

"Khan Shatyr"

(Astana, Kazakhstan)

A large shopping and entertainment center in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana (architect - Norman Foster). Opened on July 6, 2010, it is considered the largest tent in the world. The total area of ​​“Khan Shatyr” is 127,000 m2. It houses retail, shopping and entertainment complexes, including a supermarket, a family park, cafes and restaurants, cinemas, Sport halls, a water park with an artificial beach and pools with wave effect, service and office premises, parking for 700 spaces and much more.

The highlight of “Khan Shatyr” is a beach resort with a tropical climate, plants and a temperature of +35°C all year round. The resort's sandy beaches are equipped with a heating system that creates the feeling of a real beach, and the sand is imported from the Maldives. The building is a giant 150 m high tent (spire), constructed from a network of steel cables, on which a transparent ETFE polymer coating is fixed. Thanks to special chemical composition it protects the internal space of the complex from sudden temperature changes and creates a comfortable microclimate inside the complex. “Khan Shatyr” entered the top ten world eco-buildings according to Forbes Style magazine, becoming the only building from the entire CIS that the publication decided to include in its hit parade.

The opening of the Khan Shatyr shopping and entertainment center took place as part of the celebration of Astana Day with the participation of the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. During the opening ceremony, a concert by world performer, Italian tenor of classical music Andrea Bocelli took place. The most interesting thing about this amazing place Any Tyumen resident can visit: Astana is only a nine-hour drive.

Guggenheim Museum

(Bilbao, Spain)

Designed by American architect Frank Gehry, the Guggenheim Museum is a magnificent example of the most innovative ideas in 20th century architecture. Constructed from titanium, it is decorated with wavy lines that change color under the sun's rays. The total area is 24,000 m2, 11,000 of which are dedicated to exhibitions.

The Guggenheim Museum is a true architectural landmark, a showcase of daring configurations and innovative design that provides a seductive backdrop to the artworks housed within. This building changed the world's view of modern architecture and museums and became a symbol of the rebirth of the industrial city of Bilbao.

National Library

(Minsk, Belarus)

The history of the National Library of Belarus begins on September 15, 1922. On this day, by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR, the Belarusian State and University Library was founded. The number of readers was constantly increasing. Over the course of its history, the library has replaced several buildings, and soon the need arose to build a new large and functional library building.

Back in 1989, a competition for designs for a new library building was held at the republican level. The “glass diamond” by architects Mikhail Vinogradov and Viktor Kramarenko was recognized as the best. On May 19, 1992, by Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Belarusian state library received national status. On March 7, 2002, the President of the Republic signed a decree on the construction of the building of the state institution “National Library of Belarus”. But its construction began only in November 2002.

The opening ceremony of the “Belarusian diamond” took place on June 16, 2006. President of Belarus Alexander Grigorievich Lukashenko (who, by the way, received library card No. 1) noted at the opening ceremony that “this unique building combines the strict beauty of modern architecture and the latest scientific and technical solutions.” Indeed, the National Library of Belarus is a unique architectural, construction, software and hardware complex, built in accordance with the latest scientific and technical developments and aimed at meeting the information and sociocultural needs of society.

The new library building houses 20 reading rooms, which can accommodate 2,000 users. All rooms are equipped with electronic departments for issuing documents, modern equipment that allows scanning and copying documents, printing from electronic copies. The halls have computerized workstations, workstations for visually impaired and blind users, equipped with special equipment.

crooked house

(Sopot, Poland)

In the Polish city of Sopot, on the Heroes of Monte Cassino Street, there is one of the most unusual houses on the planet - the Crooked House (in Polish - Krzywy Domek). It seems that it either melted in the sun, or it is an optical illusion, and this is not the house itself, but only its reflection in a huge crooked mirror.

A crooked house is truly crooked and does not contain a single flat place or corner. It was built in 2004 according to the design of two Polish architects – Szotinski and Zalewski – who were impressed by the drawings of artists Jan Marcin Schanzer and Per Oskar Dahlberg. The main task authors to the customer, who became shopping mall“Resident” was the creation of such an appearance of the building that would attract as many visitors as possible. A variety of materials are used in the design of the facade: from glass to stone, and the roof made of enamel plates resembles the back of a dragon. The doors and windows are just as asymmetrical and intricately curved, giving the house the appearance of some kind of fairy-tale hut.

The Crooked House is open 24 hours a day. During the day there is a shopping center, cafes and other establishments, and in the evening there are pubs and clubs. In the dark the house becomes even more beautiful. In 2009, the building was recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the Tricity, which includes the cities of Gdynia, Gdansk and Sopot. According to a recent survey by The Village of Joy, Crooked House topped the list of the fifty most unusual buildings in the world.

teapot building

(Jiangsu, China)

In China, the construction of the cultural and exhibition center Wuxi Wanda Exhibition Center, made in the form of a clay teapot, is being completed. This building has already officially entered the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest teapot in the world. The choice of this form is not accidental: clay teapots have been considered symbols of the Celestial Empire since the 15th century. They are still produced in Jiangsu province, where the Wuxi Wanda Exhibition Center is located. In addition to making clay teapots, China is also famous for its elite varieties of tea.

Developer The Wanda Group announced that 40 billion yuan ($6.4 billion) were spent on the construction of the cultural and exhibition center. The result was a structure with an area of ​​3.4 million m2, a height of 38.8 m and a diameter of 50 m. The outside of the building is sheathed with aluminum sheets, which provide the necessary curvature of the frame. Besides them there are many important role stained glass windows of different sizes play.

The center of Wuxi Wanda will feature exhibition halls, a water park, a roller coaster, and a Ferris wheel. In addition, each of the three floors of the building will be able to rotate on its own axis. The cultural and exhibition center is part of the Tourism City shopping and entertainment complex, the construction of which is planned to be completed by 2017.

"Habitat 67"

(Montreal, Canada)

The unusual residential complex in Montreal was designed by architect Moshe Safdie in 1966–1967. The complex was built for the start of Expo 67, one of the largest world exhibitions of that time, the theme of which was houses and residential construction.

The basis of the structure is 354 cubes, built on top of each other. It was they who made it possible to create this gray building with 146 apartments, where families live who exchanged a quiet house in a residential area for such a non-standard house. Most apartments have a private garden on the roof of the neighbor below.

The building style is considered brutalism. Habitat 67 was built more than 45 years ago, but still amazes with its scale. This is, without a doubt, one of the few modern utopias that not only came to life, but also became very popular and was even considered elite.

Dancing building

(Prague, Czech Republic)

An office building in Prague in the deconstructivist style consists of two cylindrical towers: a conventional one and a destructive one. The Dancing House, jokingly called "Ginger and Fred", is an architectural metaphor for the dancing couple Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. One of the two cylindrical parts, which expands upward, symbolizes a male figure (Fred), and the second visually resembles a female figure with a thin waist and a fluttering skirt (Ginger).

Like many deconstructivist buildings, the building contrasts sharply with its neighbor - an integral architectural complex of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The office center, which houses several international companies, is located in Prague 2, on the corner of Resslova Street and the embankment. On the roof there is a French restaurant overlooking Prague, La Perle de Prague.

Forest spiral building

(Darmstadt, Germany)

The Austrian genius Friedensreich Hundertwasser donated a unique building to the German city of Darmstadt in 2000. Painted in different colors, a magic house from a children's fairy tale with floating lines of a curved facade, it looks out onto the world with 1048 windows of non-repeating shapes, sizes and decor. Real trees grow from some of the windows.

This original structure in the form of a horseshoe spiraling upward is called “an unusual house among the usual monotony.” It was built in a “biomorphic” style, although, in fact, it is a real 12-story residential complex, or rather, a kind of fairy-tale green village. It includes not only a house with 105 comfortable apartments, but also a quiet courtyard with artificial lakes, shaped bridges and paths trodden right in the grass; artistically designed children's playgrounds; closed parking lots; shops; pharmacy and other elements of developed infrastructure.

Upside Down House

(Szymbark, Poland)

The unique house, which sits on the roof, is decorated in the socialist style of the 1970s. An upside-down house evokes strange sensations: the entrance is on the roof, everyone enters through the window, and guests walk on the ceiling. The interior is decorated in the style of socialist realism: there is a lounge room with a TV and a chest of drawers. There is also a table made from the longest solid board in the world - 36.83 m. Of course, the Guinness Book of Records did not ignore it.

The building took more time and money to construct than a conventional house of the same size. The foundation required 200 m³ of concrete. The author of the project was asked many times whether his project was related to commercial goals. The answer was always a stubborn “no.” However, the upside-down house turned out to be a commercial success.

Not only Poles, but also foreign tourists come to test their strength and look at the interesting structure. Through the attic window you can enter the house and, carefully maneuvering between the chandeliers, walk around the rooms. Some sources claim that the developer intended to use the new building as his own home. Whether this is so is unknown, but the upside-down house in Szymbark never became residential.

However, there is nothing to complain about: the line of tourists wanting to walk around inside does not dry out, so there would be no question of any quiet life. A few years ago, in the vicinity of the house, there was even a kind of gathering of local Santa Clauses, who not only discussed their problems, but also practiced getting inside the house through a pipe, since, fortunately for them, it rests on the ground.

Wat Rong Khun

(Chiang Rai, Thailand)

Wat Rong Khun, better known as the White Temple, is considered one of the most recognizable temples in Thailand and undoubtedly one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. The temple is located outside the city of Chiang Rai and attracts a large number of visitors, Thai and foreign. This is one of the most visited attractions in Chiang Rai and the most unusual Buddhist temple.

Wat Rong Khun looks like an ice house. Because of its color, the building is noticeable from afar, and it sparkles in the sun thanks to the inclusions of glass pieces in the plaster. White color signifies the purity of the Buddha, while the glass symbolizes the wisdom of the Buddha and the Dharma, Buddhist teachings. They say the best time to visit the White Temple is at sunrise or sunset, when it reflects beautifully in the sun's rays.

Construction of the temple began in 1997 and is still ongoing. It is being built by Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat with his own funds, proceeds from the sale of paintings. The artist refused sponsors: he wants to make the temple the way only he wants.

Basket building

(Ohio, USA)

The basket building was built in 1997. The weight of the structure is approximately 8500 tons, the weight of the supporting supports is 150 tons. Almost 8,000 m3 of reinforced concrete was used during construction. The usable area of ​​the building is 180,000 square feet. The basket is located on an area of ​​about 20,000 square feet (approximately 2200 m2) and completely copies one of its owner's trademarks.

When the project architect Nikolina Georgievsha found out what was in store for her, she exclaimed: “Wow! I’ve never done anything like this before!” Indeed, this building cannot be called standard. Unlike other buildings, it expands upward. This made it possible to significantly increase the working space of the offices: the building is designed for a staff of 500 employees. Not bad, considering that the building also has a seven-story atrium with an area of ​​3,300 m2, around which the offices are located. In addition, the ground floor is occupied by a theater-like auditorium with 142 seats. The building aspires to a certain pomp: the design takes into account two plates attached to the building with the owner’s trademark, coated with 23-karat gold.

(Sanji, Taiwan)

The strange and wonderful town of Sanji in Taiwan is an abandoned resort complex. The houses in it were shaped like a flying saucer, so they were called UFO houses. The city was purchased as a resort for American military personnel serving in East Asia.

The original idea for building such houses belonged to the owner of the Sanjhih Township plastics company, Mr. Yu-Ko Chow. The first construction license was issued in 1978. The design was developed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen. But construction was stopped in 1980 when Yu-Chou declared bankruptcy. All efforts to resume work came to nothing. In addition, several serious accidents occurred during construction due to the allegedly disturbed spirit of the mythical Chinese dragon (as superstitious people claimed). Many believed that the place was haunted. As a result, the village was abandoned and soon became known as a ghost town.

Stone house

(Fafe, Portugal)

The Casa do Penedo house in the mountains of Portugal, built between four boulders, resembles a Stone Age dwelling. The isolated hut was built in 1974 by Vitor Rodriguez and was intended for relaxation away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The desire for simplicity did not make the Rodriguez family hermits, but brought them closer to a natural lifestyle without excesses. Electricity was never installed in the house; Candles are still used for lighting here. The room is heated using a fireplace carved into one of the boulders. The stone walls serve as a continuation of the interior decoration: even the steps leading to the second floor are carved directly into the stones.

The stone hut, reminiscent of the home of the characters in the American animated series “The Flintstones,” blended so organically into the surrounding landscape that it aroused great interest among architects and tourists. The curiosity of local residents and passing travelers forced the Rodriguez family to leave the house. Now no one lives in the hut, but the owners sometimes visit their unusual home. Only in this case there is a chance to see unusual interiors; at other times it is impossible to get inside Casa do Penedo.

central Library

(Kansas City, Missouri, USA)

Located in the heart of Kansas City, it is one of the first projects aimed at revitalizing the city and its historical and tourism value. Residents were asked to remember the most famous books that were somehow connected with the name of Kansas City, and over the course of two years they selected twenty fiction books. The appearance of these publications was incorporated into the innovative design of the Central City Library to encourage visitation.

The library building looks like a bookshelf on which giant books are laid out. Each of them reaches seven meters in height and about two meters in width. Now the library has at its disposal not only the most modern technologies and excellent quality of service, but also conference rooms, a cafe, an examination room and much more. The Kansas City Public Library has unique architecture that is stunning. Today it is the pride of the residents of the city of Kansas. Its construction became one of the most significant events in the transformation of a provincial town into a thriving metropolis. The library has ten branches, the main one of which is the largest and has special collections. The library's arsenal is 2.5 million books, attendance is more than 2.4 million clients per year.

The history of the library begins in 1873, when it opened its doors to readers and immediately became not only a source of resources for education, but also an excellent alternative to other entertainment establishments of the time. The public library has moved many times, and in 1999 it was moved to the former First National Bank building. The century-old building was a true masterpiece of craftsmanship: marble columns, bronze doors and walls richly decorated with stucco. But still it required reconstruction. With the help of public-private cooperation, funds collected from the state and municipal budgets, as well as sponsorship, the doors of the Kansas Public Library were opened in 2004 in the form in which it is now.

Solar oven

(Odelio, France)

A stunning structure that looks like a furnace and is essentially one, the Solar Oven in France is designed to generate and concentrate high temperatures required for various processes. This happens by trapping the sun's rays and concentrating their energy in one place.

The structure is covered with curved mirrors, their radiance is so great that it is impossible to look at them. The structure was erected in 1970, and the Eastern Pyrenees was chosen as the most suitable location. To this day, the Furnace remains the largest in the world. The array of mirrors functions as a parabolic reflector, and the high temperature regime at the focus itself can reach up to 3500°C. You can regulate the temperature by changing the angles of the mirrors.

Using a natural resource such as sunlight,The solar oven is considered indispensable for obtaining high temperatures. And they, in turn, are used for a variety of processes. Thus, the production of hydrogen requires a temperature of 1400°C. Test modes spacecraft And nuclear reactors provide a temperature of 2500°C, and without a temperature of 3500°C it is impossible to create nanomaterials. In short, the Solar Furnace is not just an amazing building, but also vital and efficient. At the same time, it is considered an environmentally friendly and relatively cheap way to obtain high temperatures.

"Robert Ripley's House"

(Niagara Falls, Canada)

"Ripley's House" in Orlando is an illustration of the theme not of technological revolution, but of natural disasters. This house was built in memory of the magnitude 8 earthquake that happened here in 1812.

Today, the allegedly cracked building is recognized as one of the most photographed buildings in the world. "Believe it or not!" (Ripley's Believe It or Not!) is a patented network of so-called Ripley Auditoriums (museums of strange and incredible things), of which there are more than 30 in the world.

The idea came from Robert Ripley (1890–1949), an American cartoonist, entrepreneur and anthropologist. The first traveling collection, Ripley's Auditorium, was presented in Chicago in 1933 during the World's Fair. On a permanent basis, the first museum “Believe it or not!” was opened after Ripley's death, in 1950 in Florida, in the city of St. Augustine. The Canadian museum of the same name was founded in 1963 in the city of Niagara Falls (Niagara Falls, Ontario) and still has a reputation as the best museum in the city. The Auditorium building is built in the shape of the falling Empire State Building (New York) with King Kong standing on the roof.

Boot House

(Pennsylvania, USA)

The shoe house in Pennsylvania (York County) was conceived by a very successful businessman, Colonel Mahlon N. Heintz. At that time, he owned a thriving shoe company, which included about 40 shoe stores. At that time, Heinz was already 73 years old, but he loved his business so much that he commissioned an architect to create an unusual structure in the shape of a boot. This was in 1948. Already in 1949, the dream of a shoe businessman was realized, and the restless Mahlon N. Heinz was able not only to admire the extraordinary building, but also to live there.

The length of this house is 12 m, height – 8. Its facade was made as follows: first, a wooden frame was created, which was then filled with cement. Surprisingly, even the mailbox of this house is made in the shape of a shoe. There is a boot in the bars on the windows and doors. Near the house there is a dog kennel, which was also made in the shape of a shoe. And even the sign located on the road has shoes. But in fact, the shoe house has such an orientation only from the outside. Inside, this is a completely comfortable home, quite cozy and spacious. An external staircase (most likely a fire staircase) is mounted on the side of the house, allowing access to all five tiers of the unusual building.

Dome house

(Florida, USA)

After a series of destructive hurricanes and tropical storms in the state of Florida (USA), as a result of which Mark and Valeria Sigler were left without a roof over their heads each time, they decided to build a house that could withstand the pressure of the elements and at the same time be beautiful and comfortable. The result of their work was a house with an unusually strong structure and a unique design.

For people living in coastal areas, it is very important that they have somewhere to return to after a storm. Ordinary houses are very often destroyed to the ground, while the “Dome House” can stand as if nothing had happened even under a wind rushing at a speed of 450 km/h. At the same time, the Sigler house fits perfectly into the surrounding landscape: the dome perfectly suits the surroundings of dunes, ponds and vegetation. The structure of the building is made of modern environmentally friendly materials that can last for several centuries.

Cube buildings

(Rotterdam, Netherlands)

A number of unusual houses were built in Rotterdam and Helmond according to the innovative design of the architect Piet Blom in 1984. Blom's radical decision was that he rotated the parallelepiped of the house by 45 degrees and placed it at an angle on a hexagonal pylon. There are 38 of these houses in Rotterdam and two more super-cubes, all of which are articulated with each other. From a bird's eye view, the complex has an intricate appearance, resembling an impossible triangle.

The houses consist of three floors:
● Ground floor – entrance.
● The first is a living room with a kitchen.
● Second – two bedrooms with a bathroom.
● Upper – sometimes a small garden is planted here.

The walls and windows are inclined at an angle of 54.7 degrees in relation to the floor. The total area of ​​the apartment is about 100 m2, but about a quarter of the space is unusable due to the walls, which are at an angle.

Burj Al Arab Hotel

(Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Luxury hotel in Dubai itself big city United Arab Emirates. The building stands in the sea at a distance of 280 m from the shore on an artificial island connected to the land by a bridge. With a height of 321 m, the hotel was considered the tallest hotel in the world until another Dubai hotel, the 333 m tall Rose Tower, opened in April 2008.

Construction of the hotel began in 1994, and it opened to visitors on December 1, 1999. The hotel was built in the shape of the sail of a dhow, an Arabian ship. Closer to the top there is a helipad, and on the other side is the El Muntaha restaurant (from Arabic - “the highest”). Both are supported by cantilever beams.

Absolute Towers

Just like any other booming suburb North America, Mississauga is looking for its new architectural identity. The Absolute Towers represent a new opportunity to respond to the needs of an ever-expanding city, to create a residential landmark that will claim to be more than just efficient housing. They can create a permanent emotional connection for residents with their hometown. Such a structure can easily be included in the list of the most beautiful skyscrapers in the world.

Instead of the simple, functional logic of modernism, the design of the towers expresses complex, multiple needs modern society. These buildings are much more than just multifunctional machines. It is something beautiful, human and alive. The towers play an important role as a gateway to the city, located at the intersection of two main city streets.

Despite the special status of these towers as a significant landmark, the emphasis in the design was not on their height, as is the case with most of the tallest buildings in the world. The design features continuous balconies that surround the entire building, eliminating the vertical barriers traditionally used in high-rise architecture. The Absolute Towers rotate in different projections at different levels, blending with the surrounding landscapes. The designers' goal was to provide a clear 360-degree view from anywhere in the building, as well as to connect residents with natural elements, awakening in them a reverent attitude towards nature. The height of Tower A with 56 floors is 170 m, and Tower B with 50 floors is 150 m.

Pabellon de Aragon

(Zaragoza, Spain)

The building, which looks like a wicker basket, appeared in Zaragoza in 2008. The construction was timed to coincide with the full-scale exhibition Expo 2008, dedicated to the problems of water shortage on the planet. The Aragon Pavilion, literally woven from glass and steel, is crowned with strange-looking structures placed on the roof.

According to its creators, the structure reflects the deep imprint that five ancient civilizations left on the territory of Zaragoza. In addition, inside the building you can learn about the history of water and how man learned to control it. water resources on the planet.

(Graz, Austria)

This museum and gallery of contemporary art was opened as part of the European Capital of Culture program in 2003. The building concept was developed by London architects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier. The facade of the museum was made by realities:united using BIX technology as a media installation with an area of ​​900 m2, consisting of luminous elements that can be programmed using a computer. It allows the museum to communicate with the surrounding urban space.

The installation won a number of awards. The BIX façade was conceived when the rest of the building was already being worked out. In addition to the late deadlines, it was difficult to integrate into the concepts of other authors. In addition, the facade, without a doubt, became the dominant element of the architectural image. The architect-authors accepted the facade design because it was based on their original ideas about a large luminous surface.

Concert hall

(Canary Islands, Spain)

One of the most famous and recognizable buildings in Spain, the symbol of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, one of the most significant works of modern architecture and one of the main attractions of the Canary Islands. The opera was built according to a design by Santiago Calatrava in 2003.

The Auditorio de Tenerife building is located in the city center, close to the Cesar Manrique Marine Park, the city port and the Twin Towers of Torres de Santa Cruz. There is a tram station nearby. You can enter the opera hall from both sides of the building. The Auditorio de Tenerife has two terraces overlooking the sea.

Coin building

(Guangzhou, China)

In the Chinese city of Guangzhou there is a unique building in the shape of a huge disk with a hole inside. It will house the Guangdong Plastics Exchange. The final cosmetic work is currently underway here.

The coin building, 33 floors and 138 meters high, has an opening with a diameter of almost 50 meters, which has a functional, as well as a design, meaning. The main shopping area will be located around it. It is obvious that the building has already become one of the main attractions of Guangdong province. However, opinions are divided regarding its symbolic meaning.

The Italian company that developed the project claims that the shape is based on jade discs that were owned by ancient Chinese rulers and nobility. They symbolized the high moral qualities of a person. In addition, together with its reflection in the Pearl River, on which the building stands, it forms the number 8. According to the Chinese, it brings good luck. However, many citizens of Guangzhou saw in this building a Chinese coin, symbolizing the desire for material wealth, and the people already nicknamed this building “the disk of the wasteful rich.” It has not yet been announced when the building will be open to visitors.

"Stone Cave"

(Barcelona, ​​Spain)

Construction began in 1906, and by 1910 the five-story building had already become one of the most famous buildings in Barcelona. Locals They dubbed it “La Pedrera” - a stone cave. And indeed, the house resembled a real cave. When creating it, Gaudi basically abandoned straight lines. The five-story residential building was built without a single corner. The architect made the load-bearing structures not walls, but columns and vaults, which gave him unlimited scope in the layout of rooms, the heights of which were different.

In order for a sufficient amount of light to penetrate into each room with such a complex layout, Gaudi had to make several courtyards with light ovals. Thanks to these numerous ovals, windows and undulating balconies, the house looks like a block of solidified lava. Or on a cliff with caves.

Music building

(Huainan, China)

Piano House consists of two parts depicting two instruments: a transparent violin rests on a translucent piano. The unique building was built for music lovers, but has nothing to do with music. In the violin there is an escalator, and in the piano there is an exhibition complex in which plans of streets and districts of the city are presented to visitors. The facility was created at the suggestion of local authorities.

The unusual building seeks to attract the attention of Chinese residents and numerous tourists to the new developing area, in which it has become the most iconic object. Thanks to the continuous glazing of the facades with transparent and tinted glass, the premises of the complex receive the maximum possible natural light. And at night, the body of the object disappears in the darkness, leaving only the neon contours of the silhouettes of giant “tools” visible. Despite its popularity, the building is often criticized as a kind of postmodern kitsch and a typical student project, in which there is much more outrageousness than art and functionality.

CCTV Headquarters

(Beijing, China)

CCTV headquarters is a skyscraper in Beijing. The building will house the headquarters of China Central Television. Construction work began on September 22, 2004, and was completed in 2009. The architects of the building are Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren (OMA company).

The skyscraper is 234 m high and consists of 44 floors. The main building is built in an unusual style and is a ring-shaped structure of five horizontal and vertical sections forming an irregular lattice on the building's façade with an empty center. The total floor area is 473,000 m².

The construction of the building was considered a difficult task, especially considering its location in a seismic zone. Because of its unusual shape, it has already acquired the nickname “pants.” The second building, the Television Cultural Centre, will house the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, a visitor centre, a large public theater and exhibition space.

Ferrari World Amusement Park

(Yas Island, Abu Dhabi)

Ferrari Theme Park is housed under a 200,000 m² roof and is the world's largest indoor theme park. Ferrari World officially opened on November 4, 2010. It is also home to the world's fastest pneumatic roller coaster, Formula Rossa.

The symbolic roof of Ferrari World was designed by Benoy architects. It was designed based on the profile of the Ferrari GT. Ramboll provided structural engineering, integrated planning and urban design, engineering geology and design of the building facade. The total roof area is 200,000 m² with a perimeter of 2,200 m, the park area is 86,000 m², making it the largest theme park in the world.

The roof of the building is decorated with the Ferrari logo measuring 65 by 48.5 m. This is the largest company logo ever created. 12,370 tons of steel were used to support the roof. In its center there is a hundred-meter glass funnel.

Innovative residential complex Reversible-Destiny Lofts

(Tokyo, Japan)

According to the architect's plan, the apartments in the complex he created are designed in such a way that their inhabitants are always on alert. Uneven multi-level floors, concave and convex walls, doors that you can only enter by bending over, rosettes on the ceiling - in a word, not life, but a complete adventure. It is impossible to relax in such conditions.

Man constantly struggles with environment, so there’s simply no time left to mope or think about illnesses. Whether this is shock therapy or a joyful game is still unclear. But the Japanese, reserved and subservient to traditions and taste, are willing to pay twice as much for uncomfortable apartments as for comfortable and familiar ones located in the same area. It’s interesting that all the “apartments” are rented and are not sold as property. Moreover, the 83-year-old Buddhist nun and popular writer Jakute Setouchi, who was the first to settle in the new house, claims that since the move she began to feel younger and much better.

"Thin House"

(London, Great Britain)

The unusual residential building, also known as the Thin House, is located near the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London. This house became famous throughout the world thanks to its wedge-shaped shape, or rather, the width of one of the sides of the building - a little more than a meter.

At first glance, the incredibly narrow structure of the building is just an optical illusion. Despite this, The Thin House has become very popular among Londoners and tourists. The reason for this architectural idea is not accidental. The South Kensington underground train line runs directly behind the house.

Due to the unusual design of the house, the apartments do not have a standard rectangular shape, but a trapezoid shape. For narrow rooms it is necessary to select non-standard furniture. In any case, despite a number of disadvantages, apartments in “thin” buildings are very popular among those wishing to acquire new housing.

Air Force Academy Chapel

(Colorado, USA)

Startling appearance The Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel in Colorado Springs caused some controversy when it was completed in 1963, but is now considered one of the finest examples of modern American architecture.

Made from steel, aluminum and glass, the Cadet Chapel has 17 pointed spiers reminiscent of fighter jets taking to the skies. Inside there are two main levels and one basement. There is a Protestant chapel with 1,200 seats, a 500-seat Catholic chapel and a 100-seat Jewish chapel. Each chapel has a separate entrance, so sermons can be held simultaneously without interfering with each other.

The Protestant chapel, which occupies the upper level, has stained glass windows between the tetrahedral walls. The colors of the windows range from dark to light, representing God coming from darkness into light. The altar is made of a smooth marble slab 15 feet long, shaped like a ship, symbolizing the church. Church pews are designed in such a way that the end of each pew resembles the propeller of a World War I aircraft. Their backs are topped with a strip of aluminum, like the leading edge of a fighter plane's wing. The walls of the chapel are decorated with paintings, which are divided into three groups: brotherhood, flight (in honor of the Air Force) and justice.

On the lower level there are multi-faith rooms, defined as places of worship for cadets of other religious groups. They are left without religious symbolism so that they can be used by many people.

Ground Zero reconstruction

LOCATION

New York, USA

opening date

2017

Price

$25 billion

International Space Station

LOCATION

Earth's orbit

opening date

2024

Price

$150 billion

The most expensive international science project: Since its launch in 1998, $150 billion has already been spent on the assembly and maintenance of the ISS. Consisting of 14 modules, the station is a hundred meters long and can accommodate 6 astronauts. This is not the last configuration of the ISS: in the coming years, two more research modules should be attached to it. It recently became known that Russia will not participate in the project until 2024, as was previously assumed: instead, Roscosmos will focus on new projects.

Masdar city

LOCATION

Abu Dhabi, UAE

opening date

2020

Price

$20 billion

Science parks connecting business and cutting-edge research are being built around the world - high technology can become the economic backbone for developing countries. However, even among the laggards there are already clear winners: the rich countries of the Persian Gulf, investing windfall profits from the sale of hydrocarbons in the creation of future infrastructure. Such, for example, is the Masdar project in Abu Dhabi - not a technopark, but an entire city worth $20 billion, designed by the bureau of the British Norman Foster. Jobs in a post-industrial city of 50,000 people will be built around a new Institute of Science and Technology, working closely with MIT. The first scientific research buildings in Masdar appeared back in 2010, and by the time of its completion in 2020, the city will become the embodiment of all modern technologies. The city will implement an innovative system of personal automatic transport, and all the necessary energy will come from renewable sources.

Dubailand Amusement Park

LOCATION

Dubai, UAE

opening date

2015

Price

$65 billion

The Winter Olympics in Sochi cost $51 billion - the most expensive sports games in history, but hardly the largest entertainment megaproject. In just a year, the Dubailand complex is due to open in the UAE: an area of ​​300 square kilometers will house 45 theme parks, sports complexes, shopping and leisure centers and hotels. Dubailand will be twice the size of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and will be the largest entertainment destination on the planet.

Songdo City

LOCATION

South Korea

opening date

2015

Price

$40 billion

Founded just ten years ago, South Korean Songdo is both an analogue of the Al-Maktoum aeropolis and the scientific city of Masdar. This is a compact business city located near Incheon International Airport and connected to it by a spectacular suspension bridge. In a couple of years, about 65 thousand people will live here - mostly entrepreneurs and scientists working at one of the four local universities. Songdo was created from scratch as a “green” and “smart” city. It will become a platform for experiments in the field of Internet of things.