Is that what I think it is? Fans notice Qatari World Cup stadium 'resembles female genitalia' private parts - something that was almost certainly unintentional. The design, topped with a structure resembling the sails of a dhow, is meant to tackle the Qatari searing heat and also includes a spectator area outside the ground that will be temperature controlled at 30C to 32C. The plan gave no specific details how the cooling system would work, other than saying it would incorporate 'shading, aerodynamic and mechanical cooling components'. The question of the heat during a summer tournament has been a one of several controversies since Qatar was announced as the winner of the bid in December 2010. Qatar's summer, even if air conditioning is installed in the stadiums. Qatar's building projects have also been hit by allegations of migrant construction workers not being given enough food or water, as well as accusations of corruption over the voting procedure to win the bid. Officials have denied the accusations. 'Al-Wakrah is the first of six stadiums already in the latter stages of the design process, our committee has issued 10 major tenders to the market encompassing project and design managers and stadium-operation consultants,' Hassan al-Thawadi, the general secretary of the 2022 committee told reporters. He said the stadium, with a capacity of 40,000 people, would be completed by 2018, but declined to comment on the cost. Overall, the tiny gas-rich state plans to spend about $140 billion on a rail system, a new airport, a seaport, and hundreds of kilometers of new roads for the tournament, in addition to the stadiums that will host the matches. Asked how the committee plans to limit any risk of abuse to workers, al-Thawadi said the committee was dedicated to applying all clauses in its workers' charter to make sure the rights of the workers were going to be respected and upheld. 'If there are any deaths above zero that would be unacceptable for us,' he said. The Al-Wakrah, whichwill be built 12 miles south of Doha, is not the only building to have been attracted attention for that reason. In Chicagothe Crain Communications Building, which was completed in 1983 with a prominent vertical slit in the front, has been dubbed the Vagina Building.
0 Comments
Antilia – World’s Most Expensive House This may look like a normal skyscraper but its actually a personal home. This twenty-seven story house, which is named Antilia, cost owner Mukesh Ambani $1 billion dollars to build. But with an estimated worth of $27 billion, he can easily afford it. Features include at least one swimming pool, a spa, a fitness center, a 50-seat movie theater, nine elevators, a ballroom, and tons of guest rooms. There are also three helipads, a 6 story parking garage large enough to fit 150 cars, and a staff of 600 that keep things running smoothly. Basically its the dopest house ever built, and the most expensive. But although the building has been completed for over a year Antilia remains vacant. According to Ambani the tower has “fallen foul of vastu shastra – an obscure Hindu version of feng shui” due to a lack of enough eastern facing windows. Mukesh has not yet moved in for fear that the house would bring bad luck on his family. When It Comes to the Stoop, Size Does Matter In some ways, this batch of six new townhouses on Lexington between Franklin and Bedford isn’t so bad–the bay windows and the cornice are a nice touch and the brick choice is unoffensive. But the proportion of the stoops is throws the whole thing off. (Check out the close-up photo on the jump.) Instead of setting the ground floor a couple of feet below grade in the style of older brownstones, it’s right at street level. This means that the stoop has to be that much higher and, therefore, deeper (which perhaps has something to do with why the houses are set back several feet from the adjacent facades). The result is a stoop that is massive in proportion to the three-story house. Does anyone know if there’s some kind of building code that results in a decision like this or is it just bad design? |
By: Yahya Al-saeed
|