The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty (“Liberty Enlightening the World”) is a 225-ton, steel-reinforced copper female figure, 151 ft 1 in. (46.05 m) in height, facing the ocean from Liberty Island1 in New York Harbor. The right hand holds aloft a torch, and the left hand carries a tablet upon which is inscribed: “July IV MDCCLXXVI.”
The statue was designed by Fredéric Auguste Bartholdi of Alsace as a gift to the United States from the people of France to memorialize the alliance of the two countries in the American Revolution and their abiding friendship. The French people contributed the $250,000 cost.
The 150-foot pedestal was designed by Richard M. Hunt and built by Gen. Charles P. Stone, both Americans. It contains steel underpinnings designed by Alexander Eiffel of France to support the statue. The $270,000 cost was borne by popular subscription in this country. President Grover Cleveland accepted the statue for the United States on Oct. 28, 1886.
The Statue of Liberty was designated a National Monument in 1924 and a World Heritage Site in 1984.
On Sept. 26, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon dedicated the American Museum of Immigration, housed in structural additions to the base of the statue. In 1984 scaffolding went up for a major restoration and the torch was extinguished on July 4. It was relit with much ceremony July 4, 1986, to mark its centennial.

The White House

The White House, the official residence of the president, is at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC 20500. The site, covering about 18 acres, was selected by President Washington and city planner Pierre Charles L'Enfant, and the architect was James Hoban. The design appears to have been influenced by Leinster House, Dublin, and James Gibb's Book of Architecture. The cornerstone was laid Oct. 13, 1792, and the first residents were President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams in Nov. 1800.
The White House has a fascinating history. The main building was burned by the British in 1814 during the War of 1812. Afterward, when the building was being restored, the smoke-stained gray stone walls were painted white. The name “White House,” however, was not used officially until President Theodore Roosevelt had it engraved on his stationery in 1901. Prior to that, the building was known variously as the “President's Palace,” the “President's House,” and the “Executive Mansion.”
Over the years, there have been several additions made to the main building, including the west wing (1902), the east wing (1942), and a penthouse and a bomb shelter (1952). The west wing, which contains the president's oval office and the offices of his staff, is the center of activity at the White House. During Harry Truman's presidency, from Dec. 1948 to March 1952, the interior of the White House was rebuilt, and the outer walls were strengthened. Nevertheless, the exterior stone walls are the same ones that were first put in place when the White House was constructed two centuries ago.
The rooms for public functions are on the first floor; the second and third floors are used as the residence of the president and first family. The most celebrated public room is the East Room, where formal receptions take place. Other public rooms are the Red Room, the Green Room, and the Blue Room. The State Dining Room is used for formal dinners. In all, there are 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases, and 3 elevators.

Kuiwen Pavilion

Confucius Temple (Kong Miao), Qufu
The Confucius Temple is located on the grounds of the Kong family estate. Due to the unique importance of Confucius (Kong Qiu, 551-479 BC) to Chinese history and culture, his memorial temple has grown, over the past 2,000 years, into a compound rivaled only by the Forbidden City in dignity and honor. See: Qufu, in Wikipedia, with a plan of the temple.
The building seen here is the Kuiwen Pavilion, a 7-bay library hall that was first built in 1018 (Song dynasty), rebuilt in 1191 (Jin dynasty), and rebuilt again in 1500 (Ming dynasty). In its present (Ming dynasty) form it is a 7-bay, three-storey hall with a surrounding porch, hidden mezzanine, and a double-eaved roof.

Fuji television building (Tokyo, Japan)

Fuji Television Network Inc. was founded on November 18, 1957, and started broadcasting on March 1, 1959. In June of that year, Fuji TV formed a network with Tokai TV, Kansai TV, and Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting. In October 1966, a news network of exchanging news with local stations with the name of FNN (Fuji News Network) was formed.
On April 1, 1986, Fuji TV changed their corporate logo from the old "Channel 8" logo, to the "Medama" logo used by the Fujisankei Communications Group. On March 10, 1997, Fuji TV moved from their old headquarters in Kawadacho, Shinjuku, into a new building in Odaiba, Minato designed by Kenzo Tange.
Since 2002, Fuji TV has co-sponsored the Clarion Girl contest, held annually to select a representative for Clarion who will represent Clarion's car audio products in television and print advertising campaigns during the following year.
On March 3, 2006, Fuji Television Network Inc. consolidated "Nippon Broadcasting Holdings, Inc." the broadcasting business of which was took over by Nippon Broadcasting System, Inc. 2 days before. On October 1, 2008, Fuji Television Network Inc. was renamed "Fuji Media Holdings, Inc." (株式会社フジ・メディア・ホールディングス, Kabushiki gaisha Fuji Medhia Hōrudhingusu?) and the broadcasting business of which was taken over by "Fuji Television Network Inc." (newly founded on the same day).
Fuji T.V., which broadcasts Formula One in Japan since 1987, is the only media sponsor of a Formula One Grand Prix in the world. Fuji T.V. has also licensed numerous Formula One video games including Human Grand Prix IV: F1 Dream Battle.

Hang Nga Guesthouse a.k.a Crazy House (Vietnam)

The house is owned by the daughter of the ex-president of Vietnam, who studied architecture in Moscow.
It does not comply with any convention about house building, has unexpected twists and turns, roofs and rooms. It looks like a fairy tale castle, it has enormous “animals” like a giraffe and a spider, no window is rectangular or round, and it can be visited like a museum.

Cubic Houses (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

Cubic Houses (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

The original idea of these cubic houses came about in the 1970s. Piet Blom has developed a couple of these cubic houses that were built in Helmond.
The city of Rotterdam asked him to design housing on top of a pedestrian bridge and he decided to use the cubic houses idea. The concept behind these houses is that he tries to create a forest by each cube representing an abstract tree; therefore the whole village becomes a forest.

Habitat 67 (Montreal, Canada)

Expo 67, one of the world’s largest universal expositions was held in Montreal. Housing was one of the main themes of Expo 67.
The cube is the base, the mean and the finality of Habitat 67. In its material sense, the cube is a symbol of stability. As for its mystic meaning, the cube is symbol of wisdom, truth, moral perfection, at the origin itself of our civilization.
354 cubes of a magnificent grey-beige build up one on the other to form 146 residences nestled between sky and earth, between city and river, between greenery and light.