10 Spectacular Buildings Which Are The Largest Of Their Type In The World

This list includes a variety of buildings which are the largest of their type. The term "building" used by this list refers to single structures that are suitable for continuous human occupancy, with some exceptions.

 

The Largest Administrative Building - Palace of the Parliament

Floor area: 365,000 m² (3.93 million sq ft) / Volume: 2.55 million m³ (90 million cu ft)

image source

The Palace of the Parliament is the seat of the Parliament of Romania. Located on Dealul Arsenalului in central Bucharest, it is the largest administrative building in the world (for civilian use). With a height of 84 m, an area of 365,000 m2 and having a volume of 2,550,000 m3, it is also the fourth biggest building in the world, after the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Temple of the Feathered Serpent in Teotihuacan, Mexico, and the Pentagon. In terms of weight, the Palace of the Parliament is the heaviest building in the world, weighing in at around 4,098,500,000 kg.

image source

image source

 

The Largest Department Store - Shinsegae Centum City

Floor area: 509,810 m² (5,487,500 sq ft)

image source

Located in Busan, a port city and the second largest city of Korea, Shinsegae Centum City is a super large-scale shopping space that also offers leisure and cultural facilities including a spa, a skating rink and a multiplex theater. Centum City is listed as the world’s largest department store in the guinness word records.

image source

 

The Largest Industrial Building - Boeing Everett Factory

Floor area: 398,000 m² (4.3 million sq ft) / Volume: 13.3 million m³ (472 million cubic ft)

image source

The Boeing Everett Factory, in Everett, Washington, is an airplane assembly building owned by Boeing. Located on the northeast corner of Paine Field, it is the largest building in the world by volume at 13,385,378 m3 (472,370,319 cu ft) and covers 399,480 m2 (98.7 acres). This is the factory where the wide-body Boeing 747, 767, 777, and 787 are assembled.

image source

image source

 

The Largest Bus Depot - Millennium Park Bus Depot

Floor area: 305,265 m² (3.6 million sq ft)

image source

The Millennium Park Bus Depot is a major bus station located in Delhi, India. It is currently the largest bus depot in the world. Constructed primarily by the city's Public Works Department, the depot was inaugurated on 17 September 2010. The depot occupies an area of 243,000 m2 (60 acres), and has the capacity to park up to 1,000 buses at a time under shed, constituting 14% of the total parking capacity of all DTC depots combined (7,000 buses).

image source

Though initially used exclusively for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the depot has been used as a regular bus station operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation post the Games. While the benefits of the depot were well-recognized, the depot was also the center of much controversy and criticism especially regarding its "temporary" nature and the violation of environmental norms.

 

The Largest Courthouse - Istanbul Çağlayan Justice Palace

Floor area: 300,000 m² (3.0 million sq ft)

image source

The Istanbul Çağlayan Justice Palace is a courthouse in the Şişli district of Istanbul, Turkey. Inaugurated in July 2011, it is the largest courthouse in the World, with an area of over 300,000 square metres. It was built by the VARYAP construction subsidiary of the Varlıbaş Group.

image source

 

The Largest Bus Terminal - Tel Aviv Central Bus Station

Floor area: 230,000 m2 (2.5 million sq ft)

image source

Tel Aviv Central Bus Station, known as the New Central Bus Station, is the main bus station of Tel Aviv, Israel. Located in the south of the city, it was opened on August 18, 1993. It is the largest bus station in the world from its opening date. The station covers 230,000 m2 and a total area of 44,000 m2.

image source

 

The Largest Museum - Louvre Museum (Louvre Palace)

Floor area: 210,000 m² (2,260,421 sq ft)

The Louvre or the Louvre Museum (French: Musée du Louvre) is the world's largest museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement (district or ward). Approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 72,735 square metres (782,910 square feet). The Louvre is the world's second most visited museum, receiving 7.4 million visitors in 2016.

image source

image source

 

The Largest Current Royal Residence - Istana Nurul Iman

Floor area: 200,000 m² (2,152,782 sq ft)

image source

The Istana Nurul Iman (English: The Light of Faith Palace) is the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, and the seat of the Brunei government. The palace is located on a leafy, riverside sprawl of hills on the banks of the Brunei River, a few kilometers south of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei's capital city. The palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality.

image source

 

The Largest Shipbuilding Hall - Meyer Werft Dockhalle 2

Floor area: 63,000 m² (678,000 sq ft) / Volume: 4.72 million m³ (167 million cu ft)

image source

The Meyer Werft GmbH is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is one of world's leading builders of luxury passenger ships. Altogether about 700 ships of different types have been built at the yard. Its "Dockhalle 2" is the largest shipbuilding hall and the building with the fifth largest usable space in the world.

image source

 

The Largest Hemispherical Building - Ericsson Globe

Volume: 600,000 m³ (21 million cu ft)

image source

Ericsson Globe (originally known as Stockholm Globe Arena, commonly referred to in Swedish simply as Globen (The Globe)) is an indoor arena located in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov district of Stockholm, Sweden. The Ericsson Globe is the largest hemispherical building on Earth and took two and a half years to build. Shaped like a large white ball, it has a diameter of 110 metres (361 feet) and an inner height of 85 metres (279 feet). The volume of the building is 605,000 cubic metres (21,188,800 cubic feet). It has a seating capacity of 16,000 spectators for shows and concerts, and 13,850 for ice hockey.

image source

image source

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Read More

8 Unique UFO Shaped Buildings

We have collected some earthly buildings that are shaped like UFO by inspiration.

 

The Flying Saucer House - Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

 image source

This home was built by the late Curtis W. King in 1970, around the time the original Star Trek series ended. It sits on a road leading to Chattanooga's Signal Mountain and features a retractable staircase, like any good UFO should. The three-bedroom, two-bath house was sold in 2008 for $130,900, after Cleveland, Tennessee's Crye-Leike Auctions posted it for sale on eBay. [link]

 image source

image source

 

The Circus - Astana, Kazakhstan

 image source

In the late 2005 Astana was the landing site of a UFO in the shape of a huge “flying saucer”. But soon it became clear that it was not a visit of an extraterrestrial civilization but the new capital circus. Thanks to its space-like architecture the building stands out against the urban background. The building is adjoined by the hotel complex, the administration premises, the arena, pens and other circus related building.

 image source

The circus can seat 2,000 spectators. In the center there is a classic 13-m arena, which is equipped with modern machinery for the different acts: flights, ice shows, arena, etc. [link]

 image source

 

Sanzhi UFO houses - New Taipei City, Taiwan

The Sanzhi UFO houses, also known as the Sanzhi pod houses or Sanzhi Pod City, were a set of abandoned pod-shaped buildings in Sanzhi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

 image source

The UFO houses were constructed beginning in 1978. They were intended as a vacation resort in a part of the northern coast adjacent to Tamsui, and were marketed towards U.S. military officers coming from their East Asian postings. However, the project was abandoned in 1980 due to investment losses and several car accident deaths during construction, which is said to have been caused by the unfortuitous act of bisecting the Chinese dragon sculpture located near the resort gates for widening the road to the buildings. Other stories indicated that the site was the former burial ground for Dutch soldiers.

 image source

The pod-like buildings became a minor tourist attraction due in part to their unusual architecture. The structures have since been subject of a film, used as a location by MTV for cinematography, photographed by people, and become a subject in online discussions, described as a ghost town or "ruins of the future"

 image source

As of 2010, all UFO houses have been demolished and the site is in the process of being converted to a commercial seaside resort and water-park. [link]

 image source

 

Pensacola Beach’s Spaceship House – Florida, USA

 image source

The so-called Spaceship House is currently the Pensacola Beach Preservation and Historical Society’s headquarters. Having survived Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Dennis with nary a scratch, the southern Florida Futuro house sits atop a more traditional blockhouse structure with a permanent ramp to ground level. [link]

 image source

 image source

 

Universum Science Center - Bremen, Germany

 image source

The Universum Bremen opened in September 2000 near to the University of Bremen, Germany. Covering over 4,000 m² the exhibition contains exhibits related to one of the three topics: mankind, earth and the cosmos. The science center building, with its 40,000 stainless steel scales, resembles a mixture between a whale and mussel. It was designed by the Bremen architect Thomas Klumpp. [link]

 image source

 image source

 

Chemosphere House - Los Angeles, California, USA

The Chemosphere, designed by American architect John Lautner in 1960, is an innovative Modernist octagon house in Los Angeles, California.

 image source

The building stands on the San Fernando Valley side of the Hollywood Hills, just off of Mulholland Drive. It is a one story octagon with around 2200 square feet (200m2) of living space. Most distinctively, the house is perched atop a 5-foot-wide concrete pole nearly thirty feet high. This innovative design was Lautner's solution to a site that, with a slope of 45 degrees, was thought to be practically unbuildable. Because of a concrete pedestal, almost 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter, buried under the earth and supporting the post, the house has survived earthquakes and heavy rains. The house is reached by a funicular. Chemosphere is bisected by a central, exposed brick wall with a fireplace, abutted by subdued seating, in the middle. [link]

 image source

 image source

 

The Buzludzha Monument – Bulgaria

 image source

Buzludzha (Turkish: Buzluca - lit. meaning "glacially/icy") is a historical peak in the Central Stara Planina, Bulgaria and is 1441 metres high. In 1868 it was the place of the final battle between Bulgarian rebels led by Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha and the Turks.

 image source

 image source

 

Niterói Contemporary Art Museum - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 image source

This flying saucer building was designed by Oscar Niemeyer, with the assistance of structural engineer Bruno Contarini. It is 16 meters high and the cupola has a diameter of 50 meters. It is set on a cliff, with offering views of Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, and Sugarloaf Mountain. Completed in 1996, the modernist structure is one of the city’s main landmarks. [link]

 image source

 image source

Read More

The Coolest Earth Houses around the World

An earth house (also known as an earth berm or an earth sheltered home) is an architectural style characterized by the use of natural terrain to help form the walls of a house. An earth house is usually set partially into the ground and covered with thin growth. Modern earth houses are built with concrete walls and insulation. Earth houses are some of the most energy efficient.

 

Earth House Estate Lättenstrasse, Switzerland

Earth House Estate Lättenstrasse is a project designed by Peter Vetsch, located in Dietikon, Switzerland.

This settlement finds itself in contrast to the surrounding of traditional single houses. To the south of the lot, there is free agricultural land. The earth- covered houses are grouped centered around a small artificial lake with the entrance well hidden and integrated at the side of the settlement. That not just serves the completion of the form, but also guarantees the secondary access of the particular houses through the subterranean parking lot.

The residential settlement consists of nine houses, three 3 bedroom, a 4 bedroom, a 5 bedroom, three 6 bedroom and a 7 bedroom house. The daytime areas are situated towards the south, the nighttime area towards the north. In the middle, you find the bathrooms and the connecting stairs to the basement. All the bathrooms get natural light through rooftop windows. Situated on both lateral sides of the houses are outdoor living spaces divided through the remainings of the rising of the building. The basement, as well as the parking lot is built with conventional techniques, not so the ground floor, which is constructed with the typical earthhome construction principle of sprayed concrete. The isolation consists of recycled glass, an absolute environment friendly product. The water protection is added directly on the sprayed concrete. On top of the isolation is a protective layer with natural earth, which can be used to grow grass or plants on the rooftop. [link]

images source: VΕΤSCΗ ΑRCΗΙΤΕΚΤUR

image source

 

Cooper Point House, United States

image source

Mickey Muennig has been building green-roof architecture for the past 30 years. One of his latest eco friendly buildings is the one on copper point where the roof is covered in a blanket of thick wild grass. He is a long time practitioner in eco-architecture and still remains an unsung hero of the green movement even at the age of 74. The copper point house is built into the landscape and has concrete walls on two sides with all-glass walls in between. The roof above is a continuation of the landscape which has thick covering of grass making the house more fireproof and also providing insulation at the same time. It is an ultra efficient house sporting solar panels grids.

image source

The total area of the house is 2745 square feet and has 3 bedrooms. The interiors sports Douglas fir beams with a large skylight to let in natural light. Well this is what they mean by living in harmony with nature. [link]

image source

 

Hebridean Earth House, Scotland

image source

On the picturesque Scottish Isle of South Uist lies this modern version of a Stone Age building. The rental cottage is secluded and underground, yet also seems very modern. Its earthen top gives it a low profile and a cozy appearance, while the huge modern windows on the front of the building give it a decidedly contemporary feeling. [link]

image source

The design of the house incorporates solatubes which ensure that it is bright and sunny, not dark as a cave, the name by which some people call the house.

image source

 

Malator Underground House, Wales

Malator blends so seamlessly with Wales’ lush landscape that you can easily miss it if you’re not looking for it. Little more than the front window of the home reveals its location, as the roof is entirely covered in local grasses and the bulk of the home closely imitates the swelling hills all around it. [link]

images source

 

Self-Heating Ecological House, Serbia

image source

Veljko Milkovic is an inventor and, as such, has created designs for an eco-house along with many other energy-saving devices. His self-heating eco-house – or Eko Kuca - building concept saves up to 85 percent on heating, 100 percent on cooling, 30 percent on lighting and about 20 to 40 percent on building materials, based on monitoring.

image source

Using passive solar design principles and earth-shelter techniques, he also employs reflective surfaces that unfold to capture and amplify solar gain into the home through the glazing. Milkovic says this design achieves the highest energy savings with a minimum investment. The Eko Kuca is covered with a sod roof that sweeps up over the earth-bermed house to provide additional insulation for an energy-efficient envelope. [link]

image source

image source

 

Unique Buried Home, Switzerland

image source

In a location as picturesque as Vals, Switzerland, it’s difficult to imagine any new construction that wouldn’t impose on the beautiful landscape. So when the rare opportunity was granted to construct a new dwelling just a stone’s throw away from the famed Vals thermal baths, it was of paramount importance to not disturb the tranquil site. Designed by the architects of SeArch and Christian Müller, this underground house exemplifies the notion that thoughtfully constructed buildings can live in harmony with their surrounding environs.

image source

Situated in the Swiss village of Vals deep in the mountains, the house is almost undetectable. Set below ground, the concrete structure features a wide oval opening that one arrives at via a set of stones steps embedded in the steep incline. At the top of the stairs a central patio is surrounded by a wide spanning façade formed of large window openings, which provide luminous reflections of the Alpine vista on the opposite side of the narrow valley. [link]

image source

image source

image source

 

Hotel Sidi Driss, Tunisia

image source

The Hotel Sidi Driss in Matmata, Tunisia was used in 1976 as a filming location for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in which it featured as the home of Luke Skywalker, his Aunt Beru Lars and Uncle Owen Lars on the planet Tatooine. The hotel is designed as a traditional Berber troglodyte underground building. It featured again in the 2002 prequel film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

image source

One of Call of Duty 2's missions and multiplayer maps takes place in Matmâta as part of North African Campaign.

Matmâta is also set to star in the upcoming film La soif noire, an adaptation of the book from Swiss author Hans Ruesch starring Antonio Banderas and Freida Pinto.

image source

 

How to build a cheap Earth House

Building a house is of course very expensive but you should know that you can build an earth house with little money.

A young couple in Wales with an annual income of just $10,000 built their own cheap earth house mostly out of materials from “a rubbish pile somewhere.”

The couple even have a website where they show us details of their plans, pictures and how you can really built an Earth House for under $5000.

images source

Read More