10 Buildings You Need To See Before You Die
These 10 buildings you definitely need to see before you die should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Not to mention, you need to capture them in photographs.
Ealuxe has made a top 10 list showing the beauty and fortitude of some of the world’s greatest architectural achievements.
If you don’t have pictures of these 10 buildings on your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter before you die, consider your life not well lived.
Don’t forget to make a photo album. After all, bragging off a bit won’t kill anybody. Let’s get straight to business!
10The Chrysler Building, New York City, New York
How many times have you walked past this imposing building?
Located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area, the Chrysler building is perhaps the world’s most famous Art Deco building.
Also considered by many contemporary architects one of the finest buildings in New York City, The Chrysler was the tallest building in the world for 11 months (1.046 feet), before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building.
It currently features an impressive number of 3.862 windows on its facade and 4 banks of 8 elevators designed by the Otis Elevator Corporation. In 1976, it was declared a National Historic Landmark.
It’s hard to miss The Chrysler building. Not to mention, with its majestic crown, it’s even harder not to take a picture.
9The Guggenheim Museum, Abando, Bilbao, Spain
We take a plane to Spain, in Bilbao, Basque Country, to visit the Guggenheim Museum, a museum of modern and contemporary art.
At first sights, the Guggenheim Museum appears to be nothing more than a random assortment of curves. However, each curve was designed to catch natural light at an optimal level.
Designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, the museum was inaugurated on October 18, 1997 and became one of the world’s famous buildings, because it represents ‘one of those rare moments when critics, academics, and the general public were all completely united about something’.
Have you ever heard of the so-called ‘Bilbao effect’? The term refers to how this unique museum transformed the city.
The Guggenheim sits on the shores of the Nervion river, providing some of the best landscapes photographs can capture.
8The Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai, China
You definitely have to see The Oriental Pearl Tower, at least once in this life time.
The most famous TV tower in the world, the Oriental Pearl opened in 1994 and features 11 spheres, big and small. Those 11 spheres are linked by 3 columns, sitting on the shores of Shanghai.
Its structure has quite an interesting meaning. Few people know about the Chinese symbolism in the design. It is said to be based on a verse of the Tang Dynasty poem ‘Pipa Song’ by Bai Juyi.
The Oriental Pearl Tower is one of the most photographed buildings in the world, especially in 2007, when the building was host to the Chinese Live Earth concert.
7The Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong, China
The Bank of China Tower was the tallest tower in Asia for more than 4 years in the late 1980s and it was also the tallest structure outside the Unites States and the first to break 1.000 feet.
One of the most recognizable skyscrapers in Admiralty, Hong Kong, the BOC Tower was designed by I.M. Pei and L.C Pei of I. M. Pei and Partners and measures 1.033.5 feet in height.
BOC was featured in multiples movies, such as ‘Battleship’, where it is torn in half by a crashing alien spaceship and its spire falls into the streets of Hong Kong killing many people.
It was also featured in ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’, where Bumblebee and Dinobot Strafe make their final stand against the Decepticon drone, Stinger, and in the movie ‘Star Trek: Voyager’, where it is used as the exterior of Starfleet Communications Research Center.
The BOC Tower is one of the most important buildings in all of Asia and represents growing bamboo shoots, an expression of ‘livelihood and prosperity’.
6City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia, Spain
Don’t go anywhere! We’ll stay here for a while in Spain.
First, you’re about to visit an entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex in the city of Valencia.
And it’s the most important modern tourist destination in Valencia. Yes, we’re talking about the City of Arts and Sciences.
Designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, this ‘city’ was inaugurated in April 16, 1998, with the opening of L’Hemisferic, which is an IMAX cinema and planetarium, followed by an open-air oceanographic park, L’Oceanografic, an opera house (El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia), a suspension bridge (El Pont de l’Assut de I’Or), a covered plaza for concerts and sporting events (L’Agora), and forming part of a project of the construction of three skyscrapers of 308, 266 and 220 meters (Torres de Valencia).
The real deal here is the IMAX cinema, designed in the shape of the human eye.
Pack your bags! Next stop, Barcelona!
5Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia
It is well known the fact that over 1.500 shows are played at the Sydney Opera House each year and over 1.2 million people are attending those events. If you’re not one of them, then we have a problem.
Among those commemorative events are included the 2000 Summer Olympics, as well as the International Fleet Review, where the Sydney Opera House formed a graphic projection-screen in a lightshow.
On New Year’s Eve, 2013, the venue’s 40th anniversary year, a New Year firework display was mounted for the first time in a decade.
On June 28, 2007, the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Built on the shores of Sydney, Australia, this expressionist building remains one of the most photographed buildings in the world.
4La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
Did you know that La Sagrada Familia cathedral is one of the most expensive European monuments? Yes, we have an article to prove that: 6. La Sagrada Familia.
Construction on this Antoni Gaudi-designed Roman Catholic basilica began in 1882 but was halted in the early 1900s during the Spanish Civil War.
And although it is still in construction and you’ll see many workers there, in itself is interesting.
The cathedral is one of the world’s most photogenic buildings and something definitely worth seeing.
Visitors can access the Nave, Crypt, Museum, Shop, and the Passion and Nativity towers.
3The Gherkin, London, England
At 30 Street Mary Axe, London, you’ll find The Gherkin, previously known as the Swiss Re Building.
The commercial skyscraper features 41 storeys and has become an iconic symbol of London, and not to mention, one of the city’s most widely recognized examples of contemporary architecture.
Completed in 2004, The Gherkin is 180 meters tall and is the second tallest building in the City of London.
Its fully glazed double-skinned facade is cooled by extracted air from the offices, thus reducing the overall heat load.
There are some things you probably don’t know about The Gherkin. Do you want to find out? Here are 13 interesting facts about the building: The Gherkin.
2The Louvre Museum, Paris, France
Actually, we are more interested in that mesmerizing pyramid. Designed by I.M. Pei, the pyramid is a landmark in a beautiful city known for its wonderful structures.
The large glass and metal pyramid is surrounded by 3 smaller pyramids, located in the main courtyard of the Louvre Palace.
You know this structure is worth visiting, when you know that several other museum have duplicated this concept and most notably is the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Another reason why the pyramid should get your complete attention is the urban legend of 666 panes.
It is said that the glass panes in the pyramid number exactly 666, also known as the ‘number of the beast’, associated with Satan.
This legend originated in the 1980s, when the official brochure published during construction did indeed cite this number.
And the myth resurfaced in 2003, when when Dan Brown incorporated it in his best-selling novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’, in which the protagonist reflects that ‘this pyramid, at President Mitterrand’s explicit demand, had been constructed of exactly 666 panes of glass – a bizarre request that had always been a hot topic among conspiracy buffs who claimed 666 was the number of Satan‘.
1Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
We end our journey in Dubai, where 2 of the best known buildings are located, Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab.
We have a wide list of articles about Dubai and the things you can do here and its imposing structures. We’ve talked about the 10 Outrageous Expensive Things in Dubai and you already know so much about the Burj Al Arab hotel.
With an impressive number of 163 floors plus 46 maintenance levels in the spire and 2 parking levels in the basement, Burj Khalifa holds numerous awards, including the 2011 ‘Project of the Year’ from MEED, 2011 ‘Outstanding Structure’ Award from International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering, 2011 ‘Interior Architecture’ Award, 2011 ‘Design Excellence Award : Special Function Room’ and 2010 ‘Best Structural Design of the Year’ from LEAF Award.
Everyone heard of Burj Khalifa, everyone saw it in pictures, few saw it live! The 2.722 feet tall building is the #1 from our top list!
These are the 10 Buildings You Need To See Before You Die!
Cover Image from: theurbandeveloper.com
We hope you enjoyed our article and we want to know your opinion about this top 10 list, so make sure you leave it in the comment section below!
Also, don’t forget to check out Stunning Temples to Visit in Southeast Asia, Oldest Church Structures Still Standing | Top 10 and Most Sacred Places in the World.
Stay tuned for more to come!
