There are architectural structures that we can describe as the contribution of human hands to nature. These structures, which give us goosebumps with their designs, fascinate us with their magnificence. Combining several technical designs, these structures emerge as a work of art. We bring together these iconic works of art around the world in our list of iconic architectural structures .
1) Lotus Temple – New Delhi / India
Popularly known as the Lotus Temple , the temple is actually the last of the Baha’i Temples found in various parts of the world. Known as the Lotus Temple due to its bird’s eye view, this temple was built in 1986 and its doors are open to anyone who agrees to be quiet. It is not allowed to make any noise in the temple, or anything that could disrupt the energy released during meditation.
The reason why the lotus flower was inspired by the temple designed by the famous Iranian architect Fariborz Sahba is that the lotus flower represents purity and holiness in Hinduism. The architectural structure, which can accommodate 2500 people, covers an area of 105,000 square meters. More than 70 million people have visited the temple so far. This figure means the third most visited structure after the Eiffel Tower and Taj Mahal.
2) Empire State Building – New York / USA
The Empire State is one of the first things that come to mind when it comes to iconic architectural structures. The 102-story, 443.2-meter-long Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world until the Twin Towers in America were built. To understand the length of the building, let’s give the following information; Some days in winter, it was seen that while it was raining at the level of the lower floors of the building, it was snowing on the top floor. In a year like 1930, its construction took only 20 months. For Americans, the place of this building is quite special.
The Empire State Building was built in 1931 during the Great Depression, one of the worst economic crises in US history. Despite the economic crisis, this building has become an important trade center, bringing together thousands of employees. For this reason, the Empire State is seen as a monument of courage for the nation of America. Although it was designed with an Art Deco influence, the Empire States Building has a very plain and unadorned architecture.
Today, the building is one of New York’s most important and most visited architectural landmarks. But the building got its share from the Great Depression when it was built. In the first years of the building’s completion, many offices were left empty. For this reason, the architectural structure was called the “Empty State Building”. With the end of the economic depression in the country, the Empire State Building started to get the attention it deserved and the building turned into a symbol that hosts 15,000 workers a day. Today, the 86th floor of the building. The viewing terrace on the ground floor welcomes thousands of visitors.
3) St. Mark’s Basilica – Venice / Italy
Continuing to be the most important church in the city since it was built to preserve the bones of San Marco, one of the 12 apostles, St. Mark’s Basilica is located in San Marco square and resembles the churches in Istanbul rather than an Italian church. The basilica was built on the model of the Church of the Holy Apostles in Istanbul. Today, you might think that such a church does not exist.
After the conquest of Istanbul, it was converted into a mosque – Fatih Mosque. The famous St. Mark’s Basilica is a copy of the Fatih Mosque, which used to be a church. The building, whose construction was completed in 1094, was built in the shape of a Greek Cross. But this is a detail that can only be noticed inside the building. The basilica has five domes. There are gilded Byzantine mosaics on the dome. Inside the basilica, there are museums , gold sculptures, and glass works. The statue of four horsemen at the entrance of the church depicts the “four horsemen of the apocalypse”. Undoubtedly, San Marco has a very important place among architectural structures based on the Christian religion.
4) Taj Mahal – Agra / India
We can say that Taj Mahal, one of the new 7 wonders of the world and the first architectural structure that comes to mind when India is mentioned, is a monument dedicated to love at a height of 73 meters. Taj Mahal is a tomb built by the Mughal king Cihan for his beloved wife Ercümend Banu-Begüm Mümtaz Mahal. The Shah spent more than $1 billion in today’s money to build this shrine. When considered as a building, it is clearly seen that it was inspired by the irem gardens of Iran with its reflection pools and landscape design.
Its construction was completed in 22 years with more than 20,000 workers and more than 1000 elephants. In the section where Mumtaz Mahal’s tomb is located, there are inscriptions praising him and inscriptions with good wishes attributed to him. Surah Yasin, bearing the signature of important calligraphers of the period, is the most striking part of the tomb structure. The architectural structure, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983, hosts 4 million visitors a year.
5) Dancing House – Prague / Czech Republic
Designed by Frank Gehry in the city center of Prague, the House was completed between 1992-1996. The Dancing House , because it resembles Hollywood’s famous dancing couple Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the 1930s, has an important place among postmodern architectural structures. The Dancing House consists of two bodies. The first body has the appearance of a glass tower supported by inclined columns. The second body, on the other hand, has a wavy structure that runs parallel to the river.
This undulating shape of the columns and the asymmetrical alignment of the windows give the building a certain sense of movement. There are cafes on the ground floor of the building, which is directly connected to the river and the square in front of it. There are offices from the second floor to the seventh floor of the building. On the top floor, there is a restaurant with a panoramic view of the city. The building has such a modern look that it feels as if you are in New York, not Prague.
6) Atomium – Brussels / Belgium
Atomium , one of the symbolic works of Brussels, is an extraordinary building designed by Andre Waterkeyn for the EXPO 58 fair in 1958. Atomium, showing the smallest cell structure of the iron atom magnified 165 billion times; It consists of nine steel spheres with a diameter of eighteen meters, connected by twelve pipes. Although the exterior of the building resembles an atom, its interior is a completely different world.
At the top of the Atomium, which is 102 meters high, there is a restaurant. The building, where the transition between the spheres is provided by stairs, once had the fastest elevator in the world. This interesting work also hosts exhibitions and cultural events that reveal the technological progress of the world. The Atomium, where the panoramic view of Brussels can be easily observed, is a visiting point for those who want to take a closer look at the beauties of the city.
7) Guggenheim Bilbao Museum – Bilboa / Spain
The Guggenheim Bilbao Museum is one of the pioneering designs of modern architecture and deconstructionist architecture identified with Frank Gehry. One of the strangest entries in our list of architectural structures, the Guggenheim; Inclined surfaces produced using titanium, glass and limestone form the architectural identity of the building. Curved titanium surfaces were designed and implemented in a computer environment. The museum is built on an area of 32,500 square meters on the river bank. This structure, which also interferes with the walking path, has managed to become a frequent destination for tourists and locals.
The Guggenheim Bilbao Museum has an exhibition space of 11,000 square meters and consists of 19 galleries. Located by the river with its eye-catching design, this architectural structure hosts more than one million visitors a year.
8) Burj Khalifa – Dubai / UAE
Burj Khalifa , located in the United Arab Emirates and breaking many records, including the tallest building in the world, challenges the world with its height of 828 meters. Under normal conditions, it is impossible for such a tall building to survive with a normal architecture, due to the soft ground of the desert, the accelerating winds as it rises, and the scorching effect of the desert heat. Architect Bill Baker covers the building with a 3-sided Y-shaped floor that sits on this slippery floor. This three-pronged floor, with 194 deeply buried iron bars, creates a platform for the Burj Khalifa of unmatched stability. The friction force of these metal rods manages to keep this incredible structure healthy. The force of the desert wind is absorbed in Burj Khalifa.
Important records broken by Burj Khalifa:
- The building with the most floors in the world: 163 floors
- World’s tallest building: 828 meters
- The world’s highest elevator and also the fastest elevator: 64 km per hour
- World’s tallest mosque: 158. on the floor
9) Westminster Church – London / England
Located on the west side of the Palace of Westminster, which is considered one of the most important religious buildings in the United Kingdom, its original name is St. Peter’s Church, has a symbolic place in British history as it has hosted coronations and funerals throughout history.
The monastery, where more than 3,300 people were buried throughout history, including 16 kings and queens, 8 prime ministers, award-winning poets, writers, actors, scientists (such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin), and military leaders, is one of the most important points of the country even with its cemetery section. is accepted as The history of the building, which is a Gothic monastery, is 7. Although it dates back to the 16th century, the present state of the monastery dates back to 1245. King III. The monastery, which was started to be built by the order of Henry, appears in a gothic style.
The length of the two bell towers on the front of the monastery is 69 meters. Queen Elizabeth did not want the building to be either a cathedral or a monastery. For this reason, it gave the building the status of a religious building directly subordinate to the British monarchs. Since then, many British monarchs have been crowned or married here.
10) Sancaklar Mosque – Istanbul / Turkey
In the last item, I took the initiative and wanted to include a building that is not yet iconic architecture in our list of architectural structures, but that I think may be in the near future. Sancaklar Mosque aims to address the main problematics of designing the mosque by moving away from the current architectural structure discussions based on ‘form’ and focusing only on the essence of a religious space. Resembling a simple cave in interior design, the mosque aims to provide one-on-one with God in a dramatic and awe-inspiring way.
The slits along the qibla wall strengthen the orientation of the prayer area and allow the sun’s rays to filter into the interior. One of the most important aspects of Sancaklar Mosque in terms of Turkish Architecture is that it has simplified the mosque architecture by using some metaphors and stylized elements.
A year later, Sancaklar Mosque, which became a finalist in the Design of the Year Selection organized by the London Design Museum in 2015, is among the top 40 buildings in the Mies Van Der Rohe European Awards in the same year. It also received the Best Religious Building of the Year Award by WAC (World Architecture Association) in 2016. In addition, the British Institute of Architects (RIBA) was among the top 20 new buildings among the applications for the RIBA International Architecture Award in 2018 and was awarded the Excellence Award.
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