VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY, VANCOUVER, CANADA

The Vancouver Public Library was part of a project called "Library Square" which was designed by Moshe Safdie. It was completed in 1995 and consists of the library, an attached office tower, retail shops, restaurants and underground parking.

The library itself is a rectangular building in the centre of the project that is surrounded by the free standing, elliptical, colonnaded wall which features reading areas. The structure has often been compared to the Roman Colosseum in Rome.Bridges span the skylit well to connect different parts of the square.

LELLO BOOKSTORE, PORTO, PORTUGAL

The Lello Bookstore opened in Porto, Portugal, in 1906. The exterior is distinctly Gothic, some would say neo-Gothic. The interior is often referred to as being of the “second eclecticism” style made popular in Portugal, others consider it a part of the "art nouveau" movement. In truth, it is both.Perhaps the most stunning part of the store is the beautiful stained-glass ceiling which both adds light to the shop and a beauty you would be hard put to find in any building of its day. The spectacular stair case that leads up to the galleries has stopped more than one visitor in his or her tracks. The store sells books in both Portugeuse and English, fiction and non fiction. Don't you wish you had a shop like this in your town?

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: TERMINAL 3

Terminal 3 of the Dubai International Airport was completed in October, 2008. The original airport handles 40 million passengers a year. The new Terminal 3 will add an additional 20 million passengers a year.
Dubai is the largest city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The airport is already the 20th busiest airport in the world and 11th in cargo shipping. That is expected to grow with the addition of Terminal 3 and the planned Terminal 4. The architecture of the building echoes the body of an airplane with sweeping wing like galleries, some of which mimic the engines of large passenger planes. Stunningly beautiful, the interior of the terminal is both ornate and grand in design.

Opulence is everywhere from the restaurants, shopping arcades and overnight rooms. There are hints of grandeur from lost empires with the columns and wide open spaces.

THE NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER, TOYKO, JAPAN, 1972

The Nakagin Capsule Tower was built in the Ginza district of Toyko, Japan. Designed by the late architect Kisho Kurokawa, it was completed in 1972. It is thirteen or fourteen floors high (depending on how you count them) and is made up of a 140 prefabricated modules or capsules. It is a mixed used residential tower combined with offices. As of this writing there are plans to tear it down due to concerns about asbestos used in the construction of the capsules and also worries about the building's ability to withstand an earthquake but there is a growing movement to preserve the building for the architectural gem that it is.

You can read more here:

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

http://pingmag.jp/2008/12/22/nakagin/

It is one of the few remaining buildings of the Metabolist movement of architecture.

View of Kisho Kurokawa's interior designs for an apartment capsule.

Another interior view of an apartment capsule.

However, it invites comparisons with Moshie Safdie's modular apartment complex called Habitat '67 which was built for the 1967 Montreal World Fair. Habitat predates the Nakagin tower by five years. Compare the two buildings for yourself.

Canadian architect Moshie Safdie's 1967 modular apartment complex called Habitat '67 constructed for the 1967 Montreal World Fair. There are similarities with Safdie's design and that of the Nakagin Capsule Tower designed by Kurokawa Kisho.

COASTAL RESORT ON THE MEDITERRANEAN

A stuuning coastal resort on the
Mediterranean.

MONT SAINT-MICHEL, NORMANDY FRANCE

The Abbey sits on a tiny, tidal island
on the coast of Normandy, France.

Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site ,

the Abbey's origins date back to 708.

The Norman architecture was financed

by the Duke of Normandy.

There are hints of Moorish influence.

ANARA TOWER, DUBAI

The Anara Tower is just the lastest
architectural marvel planned to grace
the skyline of Dubai city.
Dubai is one of the seven emirates that
make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

At 125 floors, it will be one of the tallest
buildings in the world. It will stand
approximately 2,150 feet high (700 meters),
house 300 aprtment/penthouses, a 250 room
luxury hotel and contain a retail section with
high end shops.

Alas, the turbine like top of the tower
is only ornamental. It does not spin.

The glass like capsule in the centre
will be a classy restaurant.

The tower wil maximize water and energy
efficiency and plans include renewable
sources of energy.

Called "Katimavik" the upside
down pyramid was Canada's
entry in the 1967 World's Fair,
better known as Expo 67, held
in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Huge by any standard, it was one of
the main centre pieces to the Fair.
Reportedly, the shape came about
when the designers tried to glue
together the pieces of a previous
design by putting an upside down
ashtray on it for weight! The lights
went on and the rest is history.
Which is all very ironic considering
that Canada was one of the first
countries to implement a smoking
ban in most public places years
later.