The initial design consisted of an open station that would allow passengers to enter from the ticket sales area, located on the upper floor and facing west, through a walkway suspended from the concrete roof by cables to both sides of the station. The location of this entrance allows views to the waiting platform that connects with the entrance area by means of two passenger escalators going up and down. (more…)

After centuries of distrust punctuated by prolonged military confrontations, the French and British were finally united by a mutual dislike of seasickness. The body of water that has separated the United Kingdom and France for the past 8000 years can be very rough, making ferry crossings sometimes unforgettable. But Britain’s unshakable belief in the importance of retaining what amounts to a moat for security reasons forced travellers into the air or kept them hanging over the rails as they crossed one of the world’s busier shipping lanes. (more…)

Seventy in 2004, the designer is not content to bestride the architectural world lie a colossus; rather, he hurls himself across it like a modern-day Mercury as he moved among his offices in London, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, Riyadh and Tokyo. He flies jets, drives a Porsche, and competes in the marathon. On his drawing board, entire city centers are reduced to rubble, and then given new form. He has designed London bridges, Spanish subways, Asian airports, Italian furniture. (more…)

The first English architect of genius was Inigo Jones, also the leading English theatrical designer of the day. When he went to Italy about 1600 and again in 1613, he was influenced by the Baroque stage designs of Giulio Parigi; surprisingly, he returned a disciple of Palladio. In 1615 Jones was appointed Surveyor of the King’s Works, a post he held until 1643. (more…)

Outside the Gherkin, no structure built in London since the millennium is more recognizable than the 440-foot-tall London Eye, a reengineered Ferris wheel located south of the Thames River just across from the Parliament buildings. (more…)

Alfred Waterhouse’s Manchester Town Hall is one of the great public buildings of the 19th century. Its plan occupies an almost triangular site. The Great Hall is paced within the hollow triangle, perpendicular to the west side. The main entrance, below the 87 metres clock tower, faces Albert Square. Other entrances lead to grand staircases and corridors. (more…)