Reviews

=Reviews =


 * ** Big Buildings of Beijing **

Jeremy Goldkorn talks to us abour how architecture in China has been growing very quickly. He talks about four of the greatest buildings currently being built. The first one is the CCTV Building, nicknamed "The Big Boxers", and was designed by Rem Koolhaas. The Olympic Stadium, nicknamed "The Bird's Nest", designed by Herzog & de Meuron. The third one is the National Swimming Center, nicknamed "The Water Cube", and designed by PTW. And last, the National Theater, nicknamed "The Egg", designed by Paul Andreu.

My favorite of the four is the National Swimming Center. Nicknamed "The Water Cube" because it literally looks like a water cube, it was made of teflon panels and designed to withstand earthquakes and isolate it from Beijing's extreme climate. It's my favorite because the design is pretty awesome and it really seems like water is standing there in cubic form.


 * ** 7 Wonders of the Ancient World **

The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World are seven structures, chosen by Philon of Byzantium, in 200 B.C. They were the most wonderful man-made structures at that time. Up to this day, only one of them still exist, the Pyramid of Giza, yet we still remember them as the magnificent buildings they where.

Two of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World are: The Pharos of Alexandria and The Statue of Zeus.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the Ancient 7 Wonders of the World, chosen by Philon of Byzantium in 200 B.C. It was built in the 3rd century, to guide ships through the labyrinth of sandbars that were very dangerous for merchants trying to reach the port of Alexandria in Egypt. It was financed by the Greek Merchant Sostratus, who wanted to ensure the safety of the shipping traffic. It was the tallest man-made building for many centuries and was made up of 3 stages: a lower square with a central core, a middle octagonal section, and, at the top, a circular section. It's light could be seen up to 56 km. from the shore. The tower stood relatively intact until a series of earthquakes in the 14th century andgradual deterioration from natural elements caused the structure to collapse

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Ancient 7 Wonders of the World, chosen by Philon of Byzantium in 200 B.C. It was made by the Athenian sculptor Phidias and was constructed inside the Parthenon, at around the 438 B.C to show respect to Zeus, the ruler and most powerful of the Olympian Gods. It was about 12 meters tall and was carved from ivory, then plated in gold. Zeus was seated in a cedarwood throne, inlaid with ivory, gold, ebony and precious stones. In Zeus' right hand, he held a small statue of Nike, the goddess of victory, and in his left hand, a shining scepter on which an eagle rested.

The statue of Zeus was destroyed later. Some think that it perished with the temple, while others think that it was carried to Constantinople and then destroyed in the great fire of Luseion.

What i learned about the 7 Wonders is that: The Great Pyramid of Giza doesn't actually look like the biggest because the one in the middle, The Pyramid of Khafre, was built over a hill, so it looks bigger, and the smaller of the three is called the Pyramid of Menkaure. I learned that the Pharos Lighthouse was the tallest man-made building of the ancient world and it was the only one of the 7 Wonders to serve a practical purpose. The Statue of Zeus, was the most inspiring of the 7 Wonders, according to Philon of Byzantium, who said that "Whereas we greatly admire the other six wonders, we kneel in front of this one in reverence”

Also, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon weren’t actually “hanging” but “overhanging”, coming from an inexact translation of the Greek word “kremastos” or the Latin word “pensilis”. The Temple of Artemis was the greatest temple of the ancient world, it was destroyed by a fire 200 years after it’s construction, rebuilt under the supervision of Alexander the Great and later destroyed bit by bit and now only one solitary column remains. The Colossus of Rhodes, a statue for the Sun God Helios was so admired that, even after collapsing, the statue was left lying on the ground for people to come see it. Finally, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was the tomb dedicated to Mausolus, a Persian ruler, by his grieving wife, Queen Artemisia II of Caria, it was destroyed because it was an example of pagan art. This one is my favorite, because, even if it doesn´t exist now, the name of Mausoleum is still used to name the tombs of important characters around the world media type="file" key="Podcast7WoMWGrey.wma" width="300" height="45"


 * ** 7 Wonders of the Modern World **

“Christ the Redeemer”, in Rio de Janeiro, is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. It was built in the year 1922 and the construction took nine years. The statue stands almost 40 meters tall and is located at the Peak of Cordovado Mountain, overlooking the city. The statue was built with reinforced concrete and the outer layers were made of soapstone, because of its enduring qualities and ease of use. The design represents the Christian Cross, with Christ standing over a pedestal with open arms. On its 75th Aniversary, in October 2006, a chapel was consecrated under the statue, named for the patron saint of Brazil, Nossa Senhora Aparecida. It allowed Catholics to hold Baptisms and Weddings there. It is my favorite of the New World 7 Wonders because, of all seven, this one isn’t an actual building, but a statue, in other words, it’s the only one that wasn’t meant to have a practical purpose, but to be admired as a monument.It’s also my favorite because it’s a representation of Catholic Art and, by the position it was built in, it looks as if the “Christ the Redeemer” were protecting the whole city.

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