Senedd building

The Senedd building () in Cardiff houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms of the Senedd (formerly the National Assembly for Wales). The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006, Saint David's Day, and the total cost was £69.6 million, which included £49.7 million in construction costs. The Senedd building is part of the Senedd estate that includes Tŷ Hywel and the Pierhead Building.
After two selection processes, it was decided that the debating chamber would be on a new site, called Site 1E, at Capital Waterside in Cardiff Bay. The Pritzker Prize-winning architect Lord Rogers of Riverside won an international architectural design competition, managed by RIBA Competitions, to design the building. It was designed to be sustainable with use of renewable technologies and energy efficient. The building was awarded an "Excellent" certification by the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), the highest ever awarded in Wales, and was nominated for the 2006 Stirling Prize.
The Senedd was constructed in two phases, the first in 2001 and the second from August 2003 until it was handed over to the then National Assembly for Wales in February 2006. Between phases, the National Assembly changed contractors and the project's management structure, but retained Lord Rogers of Riverside as the scheme architect. The building was nearly six times over budget and four years and 10 months late, compared to the original estimates of the project in 1997. Total costs rose due to unforeseen security measures after the 11 September attacks, and because the National Assembly did not have an independent cost appraisal of the project until December 2000, three years after the original estimate. Phase 2 costs rose by less than 6% over budget, and that phase was six months late.
Architecture.
The Senedd building is in the former Cardiff Docks, about south of Cardiff Castle. Cardiff Docks had been the largest coal-exporting port in the world, but by the 1980s with the decline of the south Wales coalfield, the area had gradually become derelict. By the 1990s the area was being transformed with the construction of the Cardiff Bay Barrage and was renamed Cardiff Bay.
The building faces south west over Cardiff Bay, it has a glass façade around the entire building and is dominated by a steel roof and wood ceiling. It has three floors; the first and second floors are accessible to the public and the ground floor is a private area for officials. The building was designed to be as open and accessible as possible, the architects, the Richard Rogers Partnership (RRP) said "The building was not to be an insular, closed edifice. Rather it would be a transparent envelope, looking outwards to Cardiff Bay and beyond, making visible the inner workings of the Assembly and encouraging public participation in the democratic process." The main area in the building is the debating chamber, called the Siambr, including a public viewing gallery. Other areas of the building are the Neuadd, which is the main reception area on the first floor and the Oriel on the second floor. The three committee rooms and the Cwrt are on the ground floor.
Environmental features.
The design criteria required sustainability, including a design life of 100 years, the use of local Welsh materials, minimal energy consumption and waste, the use of renewable technologies and for it to be an exemplar in terms of sustainability.
In total, 36% of all materials and labour costs were spent in Wales, with about 1,000 tonnes of Welsh slate used. The environmental features of the building have allowed energy savings of between 30% and 50% compared to buildings without these features. The features include 27 pipes that were drilled 100m below ground, so that during cold spells, water is pumped through the pipes and heated to 14 °C by geothermal energy. The hot water is then pumped back up to the slate floor to warm the building to a constant temperature. In warm spells, the same system helps to keep the building cool. A biomass boiler was installed to use wood chips from recycled waste wood to heat the building, and rainwater is collected from the roof to flush the toilets in the building.
Interior and contents.
Y Siambr ("The Chamber"; ) is a debating chamber, which holds all 60 Members of the Senedds (MSs) in a circular configuration under the cowl. The Siambr can be increased to accommodate 80 MSs in the future, by removing temporary walls. On the level above is the public viewing gallery, which looks down on the debating chamber and is separated by security glass. The public gallery holds 128 people on two rows of seats. The MSs' desks and public gallery seating are made of Welsh oak in a circular configuration so that all MSs can see each other, which, it is claimed, makes debating less confrontational.
In front of the Presiding Officer's desk is the ceremonial mace. Melbourne goldsmith Fortunato Rocca was commissioned by the Parliament of New South Wales in 2002 to design it. The mace took 300 hours to craft and is made from gold, silver and brass. In 2006, it was worth around £10,500 (A$25,000) and was handed over to the National Assembly during the opening ceremony.
All committee meetings are held in three committee rooms. Each can accommodate 24 people, although committee rooms 1 and 2 can both hold 34 when fully opened. Members of the public can access the committee room viewing galleries from the Neuadd, which holds 31 people.
Members of the public enter the building through Y Neuadd ("The Hall" ). This first floor level houses the public reception and information area. The reception desk features a large slate and glass desk and a canopy. Stairs to the left of the desk lead to the Oriel on the second floor.
Yr Oriel ("The Gallery", from ; ) is a public sitting and exhibition area with views down to Y Siambr and committee rooms. The glass flooring, which surrounds a large funnel feature, enables visitors to look down into the Siambr two floors below. The Swan chairs selected for the Neuadd and Oriel areas were from Fritz Hansen, a Danish company, and originally designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958.
"Y Cwrt" ("The Courtyard"; ) is an area on the ground floor with a members' tea room, a media briefing room, and access to the Siambr and committee rooms. It is accessible only to MSs, officials of the Senedd and members of the press.
An undulating ceiling made of Canadian-sourced Western Redcedar timber spans across the various sections of the building. It was manufactured and installed by BCL Timber Projects (sub-contracted by Taylor Woodrow).
Artwork.
Four pieces of art were commissioned by the National Assembly to be both decorative and functional; they cost £300,000 in total. The Swansea-based artist Alexander Beleschenko designed and created the circular and domed "Heart of Wales" for the centre of the "Siambr". It is wide, made out of blue and gold glass, and lit from beneath. Martin Richman designed and created 270 fabric-covered acoustic absorption panels, which were dyed and painted. American sculptor Danny Lane designed and created the wind hedge, "Assembly Field". It has five parallel rows of 32 glass plates and was designed to have the practical use of protecting the public from high winds coming off Cardiff Bay. Devon-born sculptor Richard Harris created "The Meeting Place on the Plinth", which is 45 tonnes of slate machine-cut into 39 slate slabs; the slate was from Cwt y Bugail Quarry in north Wales. It is an informal seating area south of the building. Harris said of the work, "I wanted to create a space that was to the side of the building, that related closely to the building but was very inviting for people to use – somewhere quieter that people could sit and spend some time."
Etymology.
The Welsh word means 'senate' or 'parliament'. The Roman Senate () used the word Senatus in its name, which is derived from the Latin word , meaning 'old man', 'old age', 'elder' or 'council of elders'.
Background and construction.
First site selection process.
Under the Laws in Wales Act 1536 Wales was fully incorporated into England and administered as a single sovereign state (the Kingdom of England) with a single legal system (English law). In 1964 that the Secretary of State for Wales was created as a Cabinet post, which gave some powers to Wales. After the 1997 United Kingdom general election, the Labour Government published a white paper in July 1997, called "A Voice for Wales"; in it, the UK Government proposed that "(the Welsh Assembly) headquarters will be in Cardiff ... (the) setting up (of) the Assembly is likely to cost between £12M and £17M. Additional running costs should be between £15M and £20M a year." On 18 September 1997, Wales voted in favour of a National Assembly for Wales in the Welsh devolution referendum. The Government of Wales Act 1998 was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and was granted Royal Assent on 31 July 1998.
Before the referendum took place, the Welsh Office asked Symonds Facilities Management (later known as Capita Symonds) to investigate possible sites for a new Welsh Assembly. The study was carried out in June 1997, and it considered 20 sites. By August 1997, the Welsh Office and the Property Advisors to the Civil Estate (now part of the Office of Government Commerce) produced a shortlist of five sites for selection: the Cathays Park Building (the existing Welsh Office buildings); the Coal Exchange in Cardiff Bay; a site next to County Hall in Cardiff Bay; the former Glamorgan County Hall, Cathays Park; and Cardiff City Hall, Cathays Park, owned by Cardiff Council. In making their decision they considered the need for a space of that would be ready to use by May 1999. The building was to be of appropriate stature, location and quality, and provide good access for the disabled and good staff accommodation that would avoid disruption to existing staff.
From the five on the shortlist, two sites were selected for further consideration: the Cathays Park Building and Cardiff City Hall. Cardiff City Hall was favoured because the executive and legislative functions would be separated; Cardiff City Hall was more widely recognised by the Welsh public and was a more prestigious building compared with the Cathays Park Building. The move to Cardiff City Hall would have also avoided a disruptive move for Welsh Office staff at the Cathays Park Building. The Welsh Office concluded that Cardiff City Hall would only remain an option if the initial costs were £17M or less, which was the top end of the estimate figure given in the White Paper. This would only be possible if essential works were carried out immediately and the remainder of the work carried out later. Cardiff Council would need to agree a selling price of £5M or less for this to be possible.
There were discussions between the leader of Cardiff Council, Russell Goodway, and the Secretary of State for Wales, Ron Davies MP. The two disagreed on the valuation of the site: Davies offered what was believed to be the market price of £3.5 million; Goodway demanded £14 million for the relocation of Council staff. In October 1997, both the Welsh Office and Cardiff Council agreed to the District Valuer providing an independent assessment of the market value of Cardiff City Hall and the cost of staff relocating to an equivalent standard of accommodation. The District Valuer advised that the open market value of Cardiff City Hall was £3.5 million. There was not enough information available for the District Valuer to make a decision. A bid of £2.5 million was made by the Welsh Office on 14 November 1997, which was rejected on 21 November 1997. A final offer of £3.5 million was made on 24 November and this too was rejected by Cardiff County Council. Davies later announced his decision not to go ahead with the Cardiff City Hall site for the National Assembly.
Second site selection process.
In December 1997, the Welsh Office invited proposals from Wales for the National Assembly building. 24 proposals were received; 14 came from the private sector and government-owned corporations including HTV Group, Grosvenor Waterside (owned by Associated British Ports), Tarmac Developments, Cardiff Bay Development Corporation and Cardiff Airport. Nine local authorities in Wales made proposals including the Guildhall proposed by Swansea Council, Cardiff City Hall by Cardiff Council, Margam Castle by Neath Port Talbot Council, Cyfarthfa Castle by Merthyr Tydfil Council; proposals also came from Wrexham Council, Flintshire County Council who proposed two sites at Ewloe and Mold, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, Powys County Council and five sites from Bridgend Council The Grosvenor Waterside proposal, known as Capital Waterside, included the Pierhead Building, Crickhowell House and Site 1E, which would become the site of the new debating chamber.
All the proposals were reviewed by the Welsh Office, who rejected sites due to poor location, accommodation or cost. A shortlist of ten sites were further reviewed. These were: Capital Waterside (now known as Cardiff Waterside); Cardiff City Hall; a site next to County Hall; Bute Square (now known as Callaghan Square); Prospect Place; Cardiff Gate Business Park; Kingsway and the Coal Exchange all in Cardiff, with the HTV site at Culverhouse Cross, and the Guildhall in Swansea.
Davies announced on 13 March 1998 that the new National Assembly building would be in Cardiff. He said that the Cardiff proposals were "too compelling to resist", because "in making this decision, I am mindful that Wales has invested 40 years in promoting Cardiff as our capital city." The National Assembly building would be either in Bute Square or Capital Waterside. The Welsh Office decided that the Capital Waterside proposal carried less risk and would cost less than the Bute Square proposal. Capital Waterside would cost £43.9M, while Bute Square would cost £52.5M. On 28 April 1998, Davies announced that the site of the National Assembly building would be Capital Waterside. The site was acquired by the National Assembly from Grosvenor Waterside Investments Ltd, which was owned by Associated British Ports. The agreement covered extending the lease of Crickhowell House, later known as Tŷ Hywel, until 2023, renting the Pierhead Building for 15 years and purchasing Site 1E for £1, which would be where the Senedd was built.
Design selection process.
Before deciding on Capital Waterside as the site of the National Assembly, Davies announced on 13 March 1998 that an international competition would be held to select the design of the building for the debating chamber. Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Competitions would oversee the competition and a design panel would recommend a design to the Secretary of State for Wales. The Design Competition Advisory Panel was made up of seven members and was chaired by Lord Callaghan of Cardiff, the former MP for Cardiff South and Penarth and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The chair and four other members were appointed by Davies and the remaining two members were appointed by the RIBA. The competition was advertised in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 13 June 1998.
Davies wanted a building "to capture the imagination of the Welsh people". The criteria of the competition were that the building should have a functional specification and a price tag of no more than £12 million including fees. In total, 55 architects had shown interest in the project: nine came from Wales, 38 from the rest of the UK and the remaining eight from the rest of the world. The Design Competition Advisory Panel selected 12 architects for interview in August 1998; from those a shortlist of six architects were chosen to submit concept designs; they were: Benson & Forsyth; Eric Parry Associates; Niels Torp and Stride Treglown Davies; Richard Rogers Partnership (now known as Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners); Itsuko Hasegawa Atelier and Kajima Design Europe; and MacCormac Jamieson Prichard.
Each architect submitted designs by 5 October 1998; 10 days later the Design Competition Advisory Panel met and unanimously recommended that the Richard Rogers Partnership (RRP) design should be selected. Davies announced RRP as the scheme architects on 16 October 1998. Richard Rogers said, "The idea was that steps rise out of the water and there is a whole public domain where people meet each other and look down on the Assembly Members." Richard Rogers had previously designed the Lloyd's building in London and the Pompidou Centre in Paris with Renzo Piano. 11 days later, Davies resigned as Secretary of State for Wales.
It was planned that the outline design would be completed by June 1999, and the detailed design completed by February 2000. Construction of the building was due to begin in November 2000 and be completed in April 2001. On 1 July 1999, The National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 came into effect: this transferred all powers from the Secretary of State for Wales to the National Assembly for Wales; responsibility for the construction of the debating chamber transferred at the same time. Cardiff Council granted planning permission for the building on 8 November 1999, and by 26 January 2000 the National Assembly voted to progress the project to the next stage.
First phase of construction.
Rhodri Morgan AM replaced Alun Michael AM as the First Secretary (now known as the First Minister) of the National Assembly on 15 February 2000. On 22 March, Morgan stopped all work on the project to carry out a complete review. The decision to stop the project was supported by a vote in the National Assembly on 6 April 2000. The review included the costs and construction risks of the new building, the timetable for the completion of the project and consideration of possible alternatives to the new building.
The review was carried out by the Assembly's Management Services Division, the Property Advisors to the Civil Estate and Symonds Group Ltd. They considered the following options: cancel the project; continue with the existing design; design a building on Site 1E; improve the existing debating chamber; construct a small chamber in the courtyard of Crickhowell House; and relocate to Cardiff City Hall. On 21 June 2000 it was agreed that the original proposal using the RRP design should proceed.
An international competition was held to select the main contractor. It was advertised in the Official Journal of the European Community, and in December 2000 Skanska Ltd was selected as the main contractor. Edwina Hart AM, the Minister for Finance, Local Government and Communities, approved the final project design on 18 January 2001 and by 1 March 2001, the groundbreaking ceremony took place to mark the beginning of construction.
Six months after construction had begun and with only the piling and a temporary road around the site having been completed,
Hart announced on 17 July 2001 that the National Assembly had terminated the contract of RRP. She said that despite the termination of the contract, the debating chamber should still be built to RRP's design. RRP said of the project that "From the outset, RRP has advised that the project could not be built within a construction budget of £13.1M due to client changes, the political requirement to use indigenous materials at any cost and exceptional contractor changes. RRP's advice was consistently ignored. It is plainly untrue for the Finance Minister to assert that RRP underestimated the costs." Hart said she stopped the project because of the "significant underestimates in the cost plan prepared by RRP", and that RRP "had hidden costs from the Assembly".
A legal dispute then arose between RRP claiming £529,000 in fees, and the National Assembly claiming £6.85M in damages. On 10 December 2001 RRP requested an appointment of an adjudicator from the Construction Industry Council to resolve the issue. The adjudication took place in February 2002, and ruled that RRP was entitled to £448,000 of its claim, while the National Assembly was not entitled to any of the damages they had claimed.
Second phase of construction.
In August 2001, the National Assembly appointed Francis Graves Ltd as the project managers, to review the whole project up until the termination of the RRP contract and to propose how the project should progress in the future. They reported that the "lines of accountability were complex and insufficiently clear", that no project costs were obtained by the National Assembly, independent of RRP, until December 2000, and that the project "was highly susceptible to cost over runs". The report recommended that the National Assembly appoint project managers, which they did when they appointed Schal International Management Ltd (part of Carillion) in May 2002. Northcroft Group Ltd were appointed as a subcontractor, responsible for cost management and they reported directly to Schal. Schal had full responsibility to manage the main contractor and subcontractors. Schal reported to a Project Board, who reported to the Minister for Finance, Local Government and Communities. The Project Board was made up of National Assembly and Welsh Government officials and a representative from Schal.
The Welsh Government decided that a design and build fixed-price contract would be used for the second phase of construction, while phase one of construction made time the important factor over cost certainty. The overall aim was to "deliver a landmark building…to time, to an appropriate quality and within budget". On 23 October 2002 an invitation to tender was issued through the Official Journal of the European Community. Eight companies submitted an interest in the tender process, including Taylor Woodrow, David McLean, Laing and Skanska, of these only David McLean and the Taylor Woodrow Strategic Alliance Partnership with RRP as a subcontractor, submitted tenders. David McLean's tender did not comply with the tender requirements, so the Assembly Government negotiated a fixed-price contract with Taylor Woodrow for £48.2M. The contract was signed between Taylor Woodrow and the First Minister on 1 July 2003 and construction began for a second time on 4 August 2003.
The topping out ceremony took place on 25 November 2004 by the Presiding Officer, Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Privy Counsellor (PC), AM, which included the lifting into place of the world's largest free rotating wind driven cowl, which was the tallest point of the building. The cowl sits above the roof line and rotates when the wind changes direction to ventilate the debating chamber. Construction of the Senedd ended on 7 February 2006 when the National Assembly took control of the building. The project was six months late, due to the National Assembly not producing a detailed specification on time. The 10-year ICT contract, known as Merlin, was between the National Assembly and Siemens Business Services Ltd, now known as Siemens IT Solutions and Services. Other subcontractors on the project included Arup (structural engineers), BDSP Partnership and MJN Colston (services engineers), and BCL Timber Projects (timber ceiling).
The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall on 1 March 2006 (St. David's Day). After an address by the Queen, the Parliament of New South Wales presented a ceremonial mace to the National Assembly to recognise the links between Wales and New South Wales. Addresses were later given by John Price MP, the Deputy Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, Morgan and Elis-Thomas. A set of commemorative envelopes and postmarks were issued by the Royal Mail to mark the opening of the Senedd, in the form of a souvenir sheet.
Two years after the opening ceremony in 2008, Taylor Woodrow Construction were fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £71,400, after being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive for breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 at Cardiff Crown Court. The breach contributed to the death of John Walsh, a foreman working for Ferson Construction Services Ltd, a subcontractor of Taylor Woodrow. The accident occurred on 14 March 2004 and was due to a cavity wall that Mr Walsh was filling, collapsing on him, even though Taylor Woodrow Construction had recognised the risks before the contract had begun. Judge Neil Bidder QC said "No-one seriously disputes it was an unsafe construction and Ferson (Construction Services) must share blame for that construction."
Timeline of cost increases and time delays.
The cost of the Senedd increased from £12 million in 1997 to £69.6 million in 2006, an increase of 580%. In a report published in March 2008 by the Wales Audit Office, the reason for the increase was that the original estimate of £12 million was not based on any detailed design of the final requirements of the building. In addition, there were unforeseen security measures after the 11 September attacks in the United States.
After the project was stopped in 2001, the contract for the construction of the second phase of the building used a fixed-price design and build contract, which meant a much tighter control of costs than in the first phase.
In 2008, two years after the Senedd was opened, the cost of repairs to the building had reached £97,709. Repairs have been for windows, doors, plumbing and electrics. A spokesman for the National Assembly said, "The repair figures are not excessive for a public building that has hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The costs are within estimated levels and covered by existing budgets."
Senedd Estate in Cardiff Bay.
The Senedd building is part of the Senedd Estate in Cardiff Bay, along with Tŷ Hywel ("Howell House") and the Grade 1 listed Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay. Tŷ Hywel houses staff of the Senedd Commission, AMs, the First Minister and other ministers. Tŷ Hywel is named after Hywel Dda ("Howell the Good"), King of Deheubarth in South West Wales. On 26 June 2008, the Prince of Wales officially opened Siambr Hywel, the then National Assembly's youth debating chamber and education centre. It is based in the debating chamber that was used by the National Assembly between 1999 and 2006, while the Senedd was being constructed. Two covered link bridges connect the Senedd to Tŷ Hywel. Construction of the link bridges began in September 2004 and they were completed by December 2005.
The Pierhead Building was opened in 1897 and designed by William Frame. It was originally the headquarters of the Bute Dock Company and by 1947 it was the administrative office for the Port of Cardiff. The building was reopened in May 2001 as 'The Assembly at the Pierhead', which was a visitor and education centre for the National Assembly. The exhibition provided visitors with information on the National Assembly. On 1 March 2010, the building was again reopened to the public as a Welsh history museum and exhibition.
In 2008, Elis-Thomas announced that the Pierhead Building would display the history of the black community in Butetown, Cardiff Docks and Welsh devolution.
In popular culture.
The Senedd building was involved in what is called the "Sex and the Senedd" controversy. An episode of "Caerdydd", the S4C Welsh language television programme set in Cardiff, which started when the broadcast of the episode shot a sex scene was filmed in a toilet room of the Senedd, and not in a television studio. The National Assembly for Wales Commission, who approved filming in the Neuadd area, the corridors of the Senedd and for one scene in the baby-changing room, were not made aware of the nature of the scene.
The "Doctor Who" episode "The Lazarus Experiment" was filmed in the Senedd, as was the Doctor Who spin-off programme "Torchwood", which used the Senedd in the episode "Meat", where Gwen Cooper and Rhys Williams sit on the steps of the Senedd building.
In March 2015 it emerged that the makers of "Spectre", the 24th James Bond film, had requested use of the Senedd's debating chamber for the filming of some scenes, but that this had been declined by Senedd officials, who said the debating chamber was "not a drama studio". Several Welsh politicians, including First Minister Carwyn Jones and Welsh Conservatives leader Andrew RT Davies, cited the decision as a missed opportunity that would have boosted tourism for Wales.


Hotel Alfonso XIII

Hotel Alfonso XIII is a historic hotel in Seville, Spain, located on Calle San Fernando, next to the University of Seville. Designed by the architect José Espiau y Muñoz, it was built between 1916 and 1928 especially for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. It officially opened on April 28, 1929, with a sumptuous banquet attended by King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. The hotel is owned by the City of Seville and managed by The Luxury Collection division of Marriott Hotels.
History.
Designed by architect José Espiau y Muñoz, the hotel was built between 1916 and 1928, and officially inaugurated on 28 April 1929, with a celebration preceded by King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia. The reason of the celebration was the wedding of Infanta Isabel with count Juan Zamoyski.
The hotel was a winning project chosen among others after a contest was held under the direction of renowned architect Aníbal González. Espiau reached the award, and built a hotel destined to be the hotel of the Iberoamerican Exposition of 1929.
During the Second Republic, its name was changed to Hotel Andalucía Palace. It later recovered its original name, conserved to date.
Architecture.
The building is in the Neo-Mudéjar style. This style is historicist and, in this case also has an aspect of Andalusian regionalism. Initially designed in 1916, it blends in with the overall aesthetics of the buildings planned for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. Its façade and its overall construction display a significant wealth of decorative elements and details, built from materials that could well be considered as frugal or simple: mostly brick, plaster, wood and ceramics.
The interior puts forth a display of wealth and status: arches and columns, decorated with elaborate coffered hanging lamps and fine carpets from the Royal Tapestry Factory. Ornamented ceramic tiles ("azulejos") decorate walls, ceilings and all manner of structures. The luxurious rooms were designed to accommodate kings, presidents, celebrities and other guests of the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. The floors are marble and wood.
Banqueting halls.
The hotel has six banqueting halls, the largest of which accommodates up to 650 people. The Royal Hall, the largest and most ornate, was originally the hotel's main dining room. It is accessed through a wrought iron gate similar to those that enclose the choirs of several Andalusian cathedrals. Inside, eleven bronze chandeliers hung with Bohemian crystal and plated in gold descend from a palatial coffered ceiling. Large arched doorways inlaid with mahogany and inlaid tiles ("azulejos") lead to a terrace over the garden of the hotel. Other neoclassical banqueting halls or salons—Andalusia, Híspalis and Cartuja—feature arched doors and windows with frames of golden stucco, more Bohemian glass chandeliers and marble floors.
Inner courtyard.
As is typical of the region, the hotel has an inner courtyard or "patio". The original design inspired was for a courtyard modeled on that of Seville's baroque Hospital de los Venerables, but was redesigned at the express request of Alfonso XIII, who disapproved of the original plan.
Rooms.
The building has a total of 147 guest rooms, each unique:
Other.
The building also includes several bars, the San Fernando restaurant, a pool, a gym, a massage center, and several terraces and gardens.
Illustrious guests.
Diplomats representing the Ibero-American countries, as well as King Alfonso and his wife, attended the 1929 exhibition. However, no foreign presidents attended, except the Norwegian President Johan Ludwig Mowinekel, who came for a private visit, and the Portuguese President Fragoso. The hotel housed personalities during the 1992 show, such as the Prince Charles and Diana of Wales. It is common for celebrities visiting the city to stay, such as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise, Cameron Díaz, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen.


Bianjing Drum Tower

The Bianjing Drum Tower, also known as the Bianjing Pavilion and by its Chinese name as the Bianjing Lou, is a drum tower in Shangguan, the seat of Dai County, Xinzhou Prefecture, Shanxi, in the People's Republic of China. It dates to 1476 and is high.
History.
Yanmen Pass was an important defensive choke point for ancient and medieval China. The nearest major town to its south was the seat of what is now Dai County, previously known variously as Guangwu, Yanmen, and Daizhou. The tower was constructed in Hongwu 7 (1374 CE), for the purpose of military observation and signaling by means of drums. That original structure was destroyed by a fire in Chenghua 7 (1471). The present tower was built on the site of the first in Chenghua 12 (1476). It was further restored 4 times under the Qing, as well as in 1957, 1976, and 1986 under the People's Republic. The more recent renovations dealt with water damage on the first floor. The Bianjing Drum Tower was named a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2001.
Structure.
The present drum tower is high. The stone base is about long, wide, and high. The wooden tower faces south. The traditional Chinese units of measurement are 7 jian in length and 5 in width; it has 3 stories and reaches high. Its two large placards read "First Tower of Yanmen" ( "Yànmén Dìyī Lóu") and "Audible in All Directions" ( "Shēng Wén Sì Dá").
Museum.
The tower holds a local museum. One artifact is a -tall stone lantern ( "dēngtái") that was carved into the shape of Mount Wutai in Dongzhang .


Ty Gwyn, Lisvane

Ty Gwyn is a large detached house in the Cardiff suburb of Lisvane. It is set in 5 acres of grounds and is 10,000sq ft in size.
It was built by the builder James E. Turner as his personal residence in 1906 in the Jacobethan style. Turner was the senior partner of the Cardiff building firm E. Turner and Sons. The company built much of the Cathays Park civic centre of Cardiff. The house is constructed of Portland stone; with interior furnishings of wainscot panelling made from Austrian oak. A one-storey extension to the rear of the main house has gothic detailing and dates from 1932. It is Grade II listed. The house was illustrated in the 1929 pamphlet "Superb Buildings" which depicted E. Turner and Sons' projects in Cardiff. The house has been listed Grade II since September 2002.
On 2 and 3 July 1908 a garden fête was held at Ty Gwyn to raise funds for the construction of the Baptist Chapel at Llanishen. The fete was opened by the Liberal MP Alfred Thomas. Entertainment was provided by the artistes of Clara Novello Davies, the Llanishen Brass Band and the Capel Gwilym Choir. The house was purchased by the shipping merchant Doug Smith, of the Reardon Smith Shipping Company in 1937. To survey his ships in the Bristol Channel, Smith constructed an octagonal room on the roof of Ty Gwyn.
Ty Gwyn was bought by the banker and financier Julian Hodge in 1961. It was the site of his charitable foundation, that was named for his mother, Jane.
In 2014 Ty Gwyn was put up for sale for the first time in 50 years, with an asking price of £3 million. It was sold in November 2017 for £2 million. A dayroom, cinema, gym and a garage for four cars was added to the house by Davis Sutton Architects following its sale in 2015. A new entrance to the house was created after the separation of the coach house and gate lodge. The coach house of Ty Gwyn was developed as a private residence in the 2010s. It is believed to have the first vehicle inspection pit in Wales. It has a datestone of 1905 and decorative tiles on the external walls.


Whittier School (Logan, Utah)

The Whittier School in Logan, Utah, at 280 North 400 East, was built in 1908. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
It was designed by Logan architect Joseph Monson. It includes elements of Romanesque and Prairie School architecture.
It was the site of the Emma Eccles Jones' development of the first kindergarten program in Utah; she taught for three years without salary and raised funds for the program, which became the model for future kindergarten programs that went statewide in 1947.
It was a district school for 19 years, then served as a laboratory school for the Utah State Agricultural College, from 1927 on for 30 years. Later it was a community arts center.


St. John Henry Newman Catholic High School

St. John Henry Newman Catholic High School (also known as SJHNCHS, St. John Henry Newman CHS, St. John Henry Newman, colloquially referred to as Newman), formerly known under its original name Cardinal Newman Catholic High School until 2011 and Blessed Cardinal Newman Catholic High School until 2019, is a Roman Catholic high school in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, administered by the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
The school was founded in 1973 when the St. Augustine's Seminary decided to make use of extra classroom space as a result of its own declining student enrolment. The school was named after Saint John Henry Newman, a 19th-century English convert to Catholicism and prolific author. Located on a magnificent 18 hectare campus, St. John Henry Newman Catholic High School overlooks a broad vista that contains both the Scarborough Bluffs and Lake Ontario. The motto for St. John Henry Newman is "Growing in Faith and Truth".
History.
Roman Catholic secondary education in Scarborough started its roots when its first high school, Neil McNeil High School opened its doors in 1958 for boys while Notre Dame, a Catholic school for girls, opened in 1941 in which the pupils were bused to the two schools. However, nearby Scarborough Collegiate Institute was erected in 1922 as Scarborough's main high school at that time. Over the next several years, nearby elementary schools surrounding Newman were opened before and after the dawn of the Metropolitan Separate School Board (now today as the Toronto Catholic District School Board) were erected: St. Theresa Shrine of the Little Flower Separate School in 1952, Immaculate Heart of Mary Separate School in 1959 and St. Agatha Separate School in 1964.
The facility was built in 1962 as the college for St. Augustine's Seminary due to St. Michael's College lacking a downtown campus for St. Augustine's. The eastern residential wing of the college was demolished and was rebuilt as Cardinal Newman, opened on September 4, 1973 with the new building erected in 1976. In contrast with the schools opened by religious orders, Newman became the first co-educational public separate high school in the former city of Scarborough.
From the beginning, Cardinal Newman was staffed by Catholic lay teachers who were teaching exclusively. Cardinal Newman is one of only two high schools in MSSB to focus intently on an integration program for students with special needs. In addition, Cardinal Newman was in the forefront of programs like peer counseling, mediation, electronic keyboarding, and communications technology.
Cardinal Newman was at one time the only non-uniformed Roman Catholic High School in Metro Toronto. This was changed beginning in the late 1980s - early 1990s to conform with other local Catholic High Schools.
The school name was changed to Blessed Cardinal Newman in February 2011 following the beatification of John Henry Newman.
The original address for Newman was 2665 Kingston Road, the address was changed to 100 Brimley Road South in 2003 because the school signage and entrance had moved to the eastern side of the property as well as the driveway. The school's access continued to use the path via the adjacent St. Theresa Shine Catholic School.
In November 2018, the Canonization of Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman was approved. His Canonization took place on October 13, 2019. It was expected that once he gets canonized, the school's name would be promptly readjusted, similar to other schools in the TCDSB such as St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School, St. Mother Teresa Catholic Academy, St. Oscar Romero Catholic Secondary School, St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic School, St. John XXIII Catholic School and St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School.
Replacement school.
St. John Henry Newman is one of the oldest buildings within the Toronto Catholic District School Board that needs massive repairs due to aging infrastructure and harsh weather. The structures built in 1964 and 1976 was originally built to house 666 pupils in capacity and requires some 70% of the building's components to be replaced. Initially, 14 portables with a portapak were scattered across the school to ease perpetual overcrowding with the population doubled its size. In 2008, the portables were realigned to create an extra parking space. Twelve replacement surplus portables came from the Regina Pacis compound and the remaining eight from James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School, which constructed an addition at the time totaling to 20 portables.
On November 9, 2015, The Ontario Government announced to spend $30 million to construct a modern, state-of-the-art school with learning spaces for 1,110 students. It will be built on the neighbouring property of Scarboro Foreign Mission Society, which will be closing their doors sometime in the early 2020s. Demolition will take place thereafter, and construction of the new school is expected to begin shortly afterwards, with completion of the new school in September 2023.
Athletics.
St. John Henry Newman offers a multitude of sport teams to join from, in addition, there are recreational clubs that are offered after-school.
Sports


Herford station

Herford station is a junction station with four platforms and seven platform tracks in the town of Herford in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It lies on the quadruple track, electrified Hamm–Minden railway, a section of the original route of the historic Cologne-Minden Railway Company.
In Herford Station, the line to Altenbeken branches off to the south and the Ravensberg Railway branches off towards the north to Bünde and Rahden with a connection to the Löhne–Rheine railway. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 2 station.
Location.
The station is located in Radewiger Feldmark only about 300 metres from the Herford inner city (Radewig). Just a little further, is the MARTa Herford art and design museum opened in 2005. On the way there is the Herford music school. The district administration, the army recruiting office, the tax office, the "Technisches Rathaus "(a section of the municipal administration dealing with planning and planning approvals), the "GoParc" discothèque and the "Radewig" and "MARTa-Viertel" parking garages are also nearby.
The railway line is elevated so that intersecting streets of the town can run under it. The station is orientated in a largely north–south direction.
History.
Herford was connected by a single-track line built by the Cologne-Minden Railway Company on 15 October 1847. The first provisional station building was built out of brick in 1851. A second track was opened to Bad Oeynhausen in 1853 and to Bielefeld in 1854. The station facilities were rebuilt and the entrance building was extended between 1873 and 1875. A roundhouse with a turntable, water tower and a coal shed were built in 1879 and 1880. The single-track line to Detmold was opened on 31 December 1880. The old station building was replaced by a new building in 1902. The Herford–Kirchlengern line, which has always been single track, was opened on 1 was July 1904.
Construction of two freight tracks between Hamm and Minden started in 1911 and they were taken in operation in stages between 1912 and 1916. The line has had four tracks ever since. In this context, the then ground-level line was placed on an embankment and the level crossings were replaced by bridges.
During the Second World War there was only minor damage that could be repaired relatively quickly. The demolition of the locomotive depot began in 1954.
The main line was electrified in the mid-1960s. The first electrically-hauled train ran through the station on 29 September 1968. This was followed by the electrification of the line to Altenbeken on 27 May 1975 and the connection to Kirchlengern on 20 September 1976.
The wooden roofs on the platforms were replaced with steel roofs and a new freight handling facility was built in 1975/76. In 1987, the station building was heritage-listed. Since 1988, Intercity trains have also stopped in Herford. General freight operations were abandoned in 1997.
Services.
The station is served by two Intercity services:
Herford is the second biggest node for regional services after Bielefeld in Ostwestfalen-Lippe and is served by several Regional-Express and Regionalbahn services.
The station is also served by 12 local and regional bus routes.


Finlandia Hall

The Finlandia Hall is a congress and event venue in the centre of Helsinki on the Töölönlahti Bay, owned by the City of Helsinki. The building, which was designed by architect Alvar Aalto, was completed in 1971. Every detail in the building is designed by Aalto. The designs were completed in 1962, with building taking place between 1967–1971. The Congress Wing was designed in 1970 and built in 1973–1975. In 2011, the building was expanded with new exhibition and meeting facilities. Finlandia Hall is known as the venue for the OSCE Summit (Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe) held in August 1975, attended by 35 world leaders, including the leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, and the President of the United States, Gerald Ford.
The inauguration of the Finlandia Hall was celebrated on 2 December 1971. The inauguration concert included the first performance of Einojuhani Rautavaara's Meren tytär (‘Daughter of the Sea’) and Aulis Sallinen's Symphony (opus 24), as well as Sibelius's violin concerto with Isaac Stern as the violin soloist of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
Architecture.
The Finlandia Hall and its Congress wing was the only part of a plan for a grand new monumental centre for Helsinki around the Töölö Bay area, designed by Alvar Aalto in 1959-1976, to actually be built. The main feature of the Finlandia Hall building is a tower-like section with a sloping roof. Alvar Aalto's idea behind the design was that a high empty space would provide better acoustics. A lattice ceiling hides the space to the audience but it allows the creation of the same deep post-echo as tall church towers. Aalto used Italian Carrara marble in both indoor and outdoor surfaces as a contrast to black granite. For Aalto, the marble was a tie to the Mediterranean culture, which he wanted to bring to Finland.
Finlandia Hall features an optical illusion: the National Museum building on the other side of the street seems to rise from the edge of the Finlandia Hall tower. The effect is created by a black trapezium on the white marble surface of the Finlandia Hall tower. The trapezium has been measured to fit the rising tower of the National Museum when the Finlandia Hall is viewed from the eastern shore of the Töölönlahti Bay. Aalto liked to create optical illusions. Another example of this can be found on the pedestrian path behind the library building of the Helsinki University of Technology (current Aalto University) in Espoo.
The interior design of the building is a tribute to the principle of the Gesamtkunstwerk, that is, the total work of art. The design of each lamp, piece of furniture, panel, flooring material and decorative board is a reflection of Aalto's maturity resulting from his long career as an architect as well as designer of lamps, furniture and fixtures such as door handles. All the materials speak the language of nature, without technically artificial tones. This is because Aalto's basic view was that architecture should create a frame for human beings. In the Finlandia Hall, the focus is not on extraordinary forms or ostentatious interior, but rather on the audience and on the performers. According to Aalto, the audience at the Finlandia Hall need not dress up like people used to in the opera house foyers and gilded concert halls of the old days. What people wear should be as genuine and natural as the environment in the building.
Main building.
The main building houses the Main Auditorium (seats 1700), Helsinki Hall (seats 340), Terrace Hall (seats 250), Elissa Hall (seats 130), Aurora Hall (seats 894), Veranda (seats 1700) and Finlandia Restaurant, as well as Cafe Veranda (open to the public) and Galleria Veranda.
Main Auditorium.
The interior of the Finlandia Hall displays many themes that are typical of Aalto. The Main Auditorium was originally designed as a concert hall, and it is a simplified version of the concert hall in the Aalto Theatre, i.e. the Essen Opera House in Germany.
The Main Auditorium has been a popular venue for meetings, congresses, festivities, concerts and events from the very beginning. The Auditorium seats 1700 people, 1200 in the stalls and 500 in the balcony. The floor is oak parquet and the blue sections of the wall are Finnish birch. The stage is 14 metres wide. It consists of several modular platforms. In the middle, there is an elevator to the storage rooms located on two floors underneath the stage. The curtain is designed by Dora Jung, a Finnish textile designer.
The Main Auditorium has served as a venue for several international summit meetings, for instance for the meeting of the Second Stage of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 1975, which was attended by General Secretary Brezhnev from the Soviet Union and President Ford from the United States. In the meeting, every second seat row was removed to accommodate desks for the participants.
Several other heads of states have also given speeches in the Main Auditorium, e.g. President Ronald Reagan, President George H.W. Bush, General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II and the 14th Dalai Lama.
There has been a lot of discussion about the acoustics of the Main Auditorium. In the beginning, there were problems, mainly because Aalto wanted the space to be like a medieval church in which the acoustics are known to be good. The tower section shown here was fully open. In the reparations that took place later, the ceiling was lowered to its present height, and the height of the stage was increased by half a metre. The doors of the Main Auditorium are covered with material made of horsehair. The organ in the Auditorium, made by the Kangasala Organ Factory, was the first concert hall organ in Finland. The front section of the organ was also designed by Alvar Aalto.
Piazza.
Piazza is a large foyer that has much natural light. The name goes back to Italy, the country that Aalto admired greatly, its market places and squares where people gathered to see each other. The colours are subdued and quiet. The floor or the foyer is covered with high-quality English wool carpeting.
Helsinki hall.
The Helsinki Hall with its 340 seats and pleasant foyer is an excellent venue for various events. The Helsinki Hall has features that resemble the church hall that Aalto designed for Detmerode, Wolfsburg, Germany. Especially the roof is copied from it. The “panels” in the ceiling are American Oregon pine. A closer look at the walls of the Helsinki Hall shows that there is only one sharp angle in the Hall.
Finlandia Restaurant.
The Finlandia Restaurant consists of three dining rooms separated by movable walls. As a single space, the restaurant seats 380 people and accommodates a cocktail party for 650 people. Combining the restaurant and the adjoining foyer allows the arrangement of catering for almost 1300 people and cocktail parties for up to 2500 people.
Congress Wing.
The Congress Wing was completed in 1975. The special feature of the Congress Wing is the “waves” of the facade that give the building unique beauty and vivacity. The outer walls of the Wing are not direct. They curve, following the form of the terrain. On the one hand, Aalto wanted to save most of the trees on the site, but on the other hand, he wanted to avoid the monotony of direct walls. The Congress Wing contains convertible halls A, B and C, as well as several (total 13) smaller meeting rooms.
Veranda.
The Veranda extension of the Finlandia Hall, which was completed in 2011, is a conversion of the covered parking lot and ramp on the Karamzininranta side of the main building. The main idea of the design was a feeling of a covered outdoor space, simple. light and neutral. For example, the original nature and material of the ceiling, wall and floor surfaces were not changed if possible. The construction work was implemented in cooperation with the Finnish National Board of Antiquities. The number of new fixed elements was minimised to allow the use of the space for a large number of different functions, exhibitions, banquets, etc. The hall can be divided into spaces of various sizes by means of movable walls. Veranda's floor area, 2200 m2, provides meeting space for 240–310 people. It allows the arrangement of catering for 1000 people and cocktail parties for 1700 people. The main architect for Veranda is Jyrki Iso-Aho and the interior design is by Jaakko Puro Oy. Apart from design, the leading idea in furnishing is lightness, movability and suitability for various purposes. Veranda also houses Cafe Veranda, which is open to the public, and Galleria Veranda. Both Veranda and Cafe Veranda offer a good view to the Töölönlahti Bay.
Company.
The Finlandia Hall is operated by an independent company. On 1 June 2008, the management organisation of the Finlandia Hall was changed into a limited liability company, Finlandia-talo Oy. The whole share capital of the company is owned by the City of Helsinki. The Managing Director of the company is Johanna Tolonen.


Inverforth House

Inverforth House (formally known as The Hill) is a large detached house at North End Way on the outskirts of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, NW3. Owned by William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme from 1904 to 1925, The Hill was bought by Andrew Weir, 1st Baron Inverforth after Leverhulme's death in 1925, and following was given to Manor House Hospital after Inverforth's death in 1956. Inverforth House was home to the Orthopaedic Society Hospital from the 1950s to the 1980s, and was converted into two houses and seven apartments in the late 1990s.
Rebuilt in the Queen Anne style in 1895 by the architectural firm Grayson and Ould, it is a Grade II listed building. Built from red brick, Inverforth House has a steeply pitched roof. The architectural style of Inverforth House has been described as "Neo-Georgian" with "Queen Anne style wings".
In 2002 English Heritage commemorated Viscount Leverhulme and geneticist and statistician Ronald Fisher, who lived there as a child from 1896 to 1904, with blue plaques.
Location.
Inverforth House is situated on North End Way, between Hampstead and Golders Green. The house and gardens adjoin the West Heath, with Golders Hill Park to the north. Sandy Heath and Hampstead Heath are to the south. Inverforth House is close to Heath House, which at 440 ft above sea level, was the highest point in the County of London.
History.
From 1896–1904, the house was lived in by the auctioneer and fine arts dealer George Fisher, a partner in Robinson & Fisher and his family of five children, including a young Ronald, the future geneticist and statistician Sir Ronald Fisher. Following his wife's death in 1904, George Fisher lost his fortune within 18 months, and the family moved south of the river to Streatham.
The original house on the site was built in 1807, and was rebuilt by the Liverpool architectural firm Grayson and Ould, who greatly altered the house from 1905, their significant alterations included the rebuilding of the central block and the addition of northern and southern wings to the garden front. Grayson and Ould also designed a terrace facing the garden, and a verandah was added to the terrace in 1910 by Thomas Hayton Mawson. A ballroom was added beneath the terrace in 1923 by Leslie Mansfield.
The south wing of the house was extended and remodelled between 1924–25 by Mawson, with a library wing added to the front of the house from 1913–14. The library was built by William and Segar Owen of Warrington, who had designed buildings in Leverhulme's Port Sunlight development.
The interiors of Inverforth House are richly decorated in styles including Jacobean to William and Mary, and a style reminiscent of William Adam. The entrance hall features a carved marble staircase. Inverforth's House interior style has been described by English Heritage as "A rich architectural amalgam reflecting the tastes of a notable patron".
Gardens.
The notable gardens, also designed by Mawson were laid out from 1906. A northern garden was laid out in the 1920s by Leslie Mansfield. The greater part of the gardens are now owned by the City of London Corporation, and open to the public as The Hill Garden.


Aeroport (Moscow Metro)

Aeroport (, "Airport", ) is a Moscow Metro station on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line. Its name, literally meaning "airport", owes to the nearby Khodynka Aerodrome, Moscow's first airport, no longer in operation. Now, there is a bus terminal (Goraerovokzal, "Гораэровокзал") which has regular service to Moscow's principal airports. Opened as part of the second stage on 11 September 1938, the station features a single-vault design. It was built using a cut-and cover method. Concrete segments of the vault were pre-cast and then lowered into the station.
Architects B. Vilensky and V. Yershov applied the aviation theme to this big open station, in what is seen as some of the best examples of Soviet Art Deco architecture. The most noticeable design feature is the network of intersecting ribs that fan out across the vaulted ceiling. These ribs originate from fan-shaped limestone panels spaced at regular intervals along the walls, which are red marble with shell-shaped brown marble insets. The floor is revetted with grey granite. Lighting comes from pyramidal objects which house luminescent lamps, although originally the station had chandeliers with normal tungsten bulbs.
The vestibule to the station is located on the north side of Leningradsky Avenue near the Viktorenko Street, and receives a daily passenger traffic of 59,800.


Hradecky Bridge

The Hradecky Bridge () is one of the first hinged bridges in the world, the first and only preserved cast iron bridge in Slovenia, and one of its most highly valued technical achievements. It spans the Ljubljanica River in Ljubljana. At the time of its construction, it was praised as elegant, very modern, and economical. Because it was later used to transport the dead from the Ljubljana hospital to the mortuary, it was nicknamed the Mortuary Bridge (), but has retained its beauty and technical perfection. Throughout history, both names have persisted.
Since 2011, it has been located at an extension of Hren Street () between the Krakovo Embankment () and the Gruden Embankment (), connecting the Trnovo District and the Prule neighbourhood in the Center District. It has three articulated arches, each of them made of two parts, joined with a bolt by the principle of the charnier arch at the highest point of the arch. Technically, it quite surpasses the Iron Bridge in England. The elements are joined with screws instead of wedges, and reinforcing bars and hollow elements were used instead of full pylons, which has enabled the bridge to be much lighter, but stable.
The Hradecky Bridge was manufactured according to the plans of the senior engineer Johann Hermann from Vienna at the Auersperg iron foundry in Dvor near Žužemberk, and was installed as the first cast iron bridge in Ljubljana in 1867, at the location of today's Cobblers' Bridge. It was named after the former Ljubljana mayor Johann Nepomuk Hradeczky, who had the most merit for its construction. In 1931, when the architect Jože Plečnik planned the new Cobblers' Bridge, he moved the Hradecky Bridge further down the Ljubljanica near the former Ljubljana mortuary in the vicinity of Zalog Street (). The original gas lamps were replaced with decorative facets. In 2004, it was closed to traffic, and in 2009 a footbridge was built next to it. In 2010, it was removed from the location, renovated, and transferred to its current site in 2011. It is now used only by pedestrians and cyclists.


Centaur Theatre

The Centaur Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Montreal, Quebec. It was founded in 1969 by The Centaur Foundation for the Performing Arts with Maurice Podbrey as the Artistic and Executive Director, and Herb Auerbach as Chairman of the Board.
Podbrey retired from the company in 1997, and was succeeded by Gordon McCall. From 2007 to 2017 Roy Surette was the company's third Artistic and Executive Director. In 2017 Eda Holmes was appointed the forth and current Artistic and Executive Director.
The Centaur is the city's main English-language only theatre company.
From 1969 to 1973 the company leased the partially renovated auditorium in the historic building. In 1974 the Centaur purchased the building and spent $1.3 million in renovations under the design of architect Victor Prus.
The building reopened in 1975 with an additional auditorium. The original black box theatre was renamed "C1", and seats approximately 245 people. The newer venue was named "C2" and is a more traditional proscenium stage, seating approximately 425.
Old Stock Exchange Building.
The Centaur Theatre is located in the Old Stock Exchange Building, formerly home to the Montreal Stock Exchange (MSE). It was built in 1903 by American architect George B. Post. The building served as the home of the MSE until 1965.


Trout Lake Tourist Club

The Trout Lake Tourist Club in Trout Lake, Washington, in Klickitat County was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. It has also been known as Amusement Hall, as Trout Lake Hall, and as Thode's Hall.
It is a -story by building with a false front.
The building included a post office which closed in 1936.


San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

The church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (Saint Charles at the Four Fountains), also called , is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, Italy. The church was designed by the architect Francesco Borromini and it was his first independent commission. It is an iconic masterpiece of Baroque architecture, built as part of a complex of monastic buildings on the Quirinal Hill for the Spanish Trinitarians, an order dedicated to the freeing of Christian slaves. He received the commission in 1634, under the patronage of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, whose palace was across the road. However, this financial backing did not last and subsequently the building project suffered various financial difficulties. It is one of at least three churches in Rome dedicated to San Carlo, including San Carlo ai Catinari and San Carlo al Corso.
History.
In the 1630s, the monks of the Trinitarian Order were searching for an architect to build a church connecting their monastery. Francesco Borromini offered to complete the commission free of charge in order to start his career as a solo architect.
The monastic buildings and the cloister were completed first, after which construction of the church took place during the period 1638–1641; in 1646 it was dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo. Although the idea for the serpentine facade must have been conceived fairly early on, probably in the mid-1630s, it was only constructed towards the end of Borromini's life and the upper part was not completed until after the architect's death.
The site for the new church and its monastery was at the southwest corner of the "Quattro Fontane", which refers to the four corner fountains set on the oblique at the intersection of two roads, the Strada Pia and the Strada Felice. Bernini's oval church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale would later be built further along the Strada Pia.
The inscriptions found in San Carlo, a valuable source illustrating the history of the church, have been collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella.
Architect.
Francesco Borromini (1599–1667) came from a lower-class background but quickly built a name for himself by taking on small commissions for churches around Europe. Borromini became known as a father of baroque architecture after completing his first solo project – San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.
Borromini first found his interest in architecture through his travels to Milan, in which his father sent him to observe stonecutting. His interest lead to years of architectural and sculptural training which caused a growing debt to his father. Borromini fled to Rome to avoid his debt and found himself becoming an architectural star pupil under renowned Italian architect Carlo Maderno. Together, Maderno and Borromini worked side by side on numerous architectural giants, St. Peter's Basilica, Palazzo Barberini, Sant’Andrea della Valle, until Maderno died and Borromini found himself working as a solo baroque architect.
Design.
Exterior.
The concave-convex facade of San Carlo undulates in a non-classic way. Tall corinthian columns stand on plinths and bear the main entablatures; these define the main framework of two storeys and the tripartite bay division. Between the columns, smaller columns with their entablatures weave behind the main columns and in turn they frame niches, windows, a variety of sculptures as well as the main door, the central oval aedicule of the upper order and the oval framed medallion borne aloft by angels. The medallion once contained a 1677 fresco by a Pietro Giarguzzi of the Holy Trinity. Above the main entrance, cherubim herms frame the central figure of Saint Charles Borromeo by Antonio Raggi and to either side are statues of St. John of Matha and St. Felix of Valois, the founders of the Trinitarian Order.
The plan and section show the layout of the cramped and difficult site; the church is on the corner with the cloister next to it and both face onto the Via Pia. The monastic buildings straddle the site, beyond which Borromini intended to design a garden. The church itself is only 66 feet wide and 39 feet long – deeming a non-classic plan vital. Before the baroque style became the style of choice in the seventeenth century, the renaissance was full of buildings with very rectangular shapes. The baroque style introduced curves and ovals, which Borromini combined with cubic elements to create a floor plan that fit the awkward site's requirements. Not only did the curves suit the site, but it also enhanced the baroque design by creating movement, playing with lighting and shadows, adding ornament, and extra drama.
Interior.
The rise of baroque architecture prompted Borromini to bring his sculpture background to life by creating unexpected combinations of curves and rectangular forms in his work. Many baroque architects during the seventeenth century focused their design basis to fall in line with proportions of the human body. Borromini was non-classical in the sense that he based his designs on geometric figures.
The church interior is both extraordinary and complex. The three principal parts can be identified vertically as the lower order at ground level, the transition zone of the pendentives and the oval coffered dome with its oval lantern.
In the lower part of the church, the main altar is on the same longitudinal axis as the door and there are two altars on the cross axis. One altar is dedicated to Saint Michael de Sanctis, the other dedicated to Saint John Baptist of the Conception. Between these, and arranged in groups of four, sixteen columns carry a broad and continuous entablature. The arrangement seems to refer to a cross plan but all the altars are visible as the two central columns in each arrangement of four are placed on the oblique with respect to the axial ordering of the space. This creates an undulating movement effect which is enhanced by the variation in treatment of the bays between the columns with niches, mouldings, and doors. Architectural historians have described how the bay structure of this lower order can have different rhythmic readings and the underlying geometric rationale for this complex ground plan, as well as discussing the symbolism of the church and the distinctive architectural drawings of Borromini.
The pendentives are part of the transition area where the undulating almost cross-like form of the lower order is reconciled with the oval opening to the dome. The arches which spring from the diagonally placed columns of the lower wall order to frame the altars and entrance, rise to meet the oval entablature and so define the space of the pendentives in which roundels are set.
The oval entablature to the dome has a 'crown' of foliage and frames a view of deep set interlocking coffering of octagons, crosses and hexagons which diminish in size the higher they rise. Light floods in from windows in the lower dome that are hidden by the oval opening and from windows in the side of the lantern. In a hierarchical structuring of light, the illuminated lantern with its symbol of the Holy Trinity is the most brightly lit, the coffering of the dome is thrown into sharp and deep relief and light gradually filters downwards to the darker lower body of the church.
Flanking the apse of the main altar is a pair of identical doorways. The right door leads to the convent through which the crypts below may be accessed. The door on the left leads to an external chapel known as "Capella Barberini" which contains a shrine to blessed Elisabeth Canori Mora.
Crypt.
The crypt below follows the size and form of the church and has a low pierced vault. Chapels open off this space, including an octagonal chapel on the south-east side where Borromini intended to be buried. It has a major and minor niche arrangement and an undulating cornice.
Cloister.
Next to the church is the cloister, which is a two-story arrangement. The space is longer along the entrance axis than it is wide, but the rectangular ordering is interrupted by cutting the corners so it could also be understood as an elongated octagon. Further complexity is introduced by the variation in the spacing of the twelve columns carrying alternating round and flat headed openings, the curvature of the corners, and the inventive balustrade. Geometrical themes are reinforced by the central octagonal wellhead on an oval base and the octagonal capitals of the upper columns.
Behind the church, the refectory, now the sacristy, has rounded corners, a pierced vault, windows in the garden façade and later alterations.


Joseph Elliston House

The Joseph Elliston House, also known as the Cohen House, is a c. 1817 Federal-style center-hall house in Brentwood, Tennessee.
As of 1988, it had original weatherboard siding, and it has large exterior end limestone chimneys.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. When listed the property included one contributing building, two non-contributing buildings, and one non-contributing structure, on .


Zip-Up House

The Zip-Up House (formally Zip Up Enclosures No. 1 and 2) was designed between 1967 and 1969 by Richard Rogers and his then wife, Su Rogers (née Brumwell) for "The House of Today" competition, which was sponsored by DuPont. The house was never built, although the concept was later used for Richard Rogers' parents (Dr. Nino and Dada Rogers) house at 22 Parkside in Wimbledon, London.
Concept.
The Zip-Up House was designed between 1967 and 1969 for "The House of Today" competition, which was sponsored by DuPont and was exhibited at the 1969 Ideal Home Exhibition in London.
The design was for a factory-built house, quick to assemble (and re-assemble) with cheap insulation panels that are used on refrigeration trucks with rapid construction all at low cost.
Richard Rogers wrote:
The design project never went into production, although the concept was used on his parents’ house (22 Parkside, Wimbledon), and later with the Oxley Woods housing development in Milton Keynes. It was designed to offer a wide range choice of configurations all at a low building cost, with minimum maintenance and running costs so that one 3 kilowatt heater would be sufficient to heat the whole building. The interior of the building could be changed very quickly or the house extended by just adding another section to the house. Adjustable legs were used so that the building could located anywhere and easily moved to a new site, instead of using sold foundations. The concept could also be used for factories, offices or hotels.


Agudath Sholem Synagogue

Congregation Agudath Sholom (CAS) is a historic Jewish synagogue in Stamford, Connecticut. The original synagogue building was later converted into a Christian church building, the Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church.
It's one of multiple synagogues considered in a study of NRHP eligibility.
History.
The Agudath Sholom congregation website states that on September 7, 1889, twenty-two members formally declared themselves as "Agudath Sholom Synagogue"; meaning "knot for peace" or "society for peace". The congregation constructed their first synagogue, the Greyrock Synagogue, from 1904 through 1908. The congregation used the building until February 1932 when the Greyrock Synagogue was destroyed in a fire.
In order to meet the demands of its growing congregation, funds were raised for a new synagogue. A fund raiser for $1.2 million was done to raise the necessary capital; it was announced that $860,000 was made by February 1963.<ref name="http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2229&dat=19630217&id=GFMmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EAEGAAAAIBAJ&pg=2295,2634663"></ref>
In 1965, the congregation completed and dedicated a new synagogue on Strawberry Hill Avenue and Colonial Road. The synagogue currently resides at 301 Strawberry Hill Avenue. The Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church now uses the Grove St synagogue.
Construction.
Located at 29 Grove Street in Stamford, Connecticut, the Agudath Sholom Synagogue was the second synagogue of the congregation. According to the National Register of Historic Places, the ground breaking occurred on September 12, 1933, and the final dedication was on April 27, 1941. According to the congregation's website, the Agudath Sholom Synagogue was completed in 1938 and the "Chanukkat Habayit dedication occurred on the High Holidays". The construction delayed by funding difficulties that resulted from the Great Depression. The synagogue is a rectangular brick building constructed on a high basement. The building features a prominent rose window depicting the Star of David.
Significance.
While it was originally a synagogue, the Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church continues to use the building as a church, but this did not impact the "National Landmark" status bestowed upon the building. For the National Register of Historic Places, it was submitted under Criterion C because it was "Constructed as a Jewish house of worship, located in an urban setting, exhibits integrity of design and workmanship and constructed prior to 1945."


Ffynone Mansion

Ffynone (Welsh: "Ffynnonau") is a mansion and estate near Boncath, Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the parish of Manordeifi. The original Georgian design was by architect John Nash and later remodelled by Inigo Thomas.
History.
The name predates the mansion and its Welsh name, "Ffynnonau" reflects the existence of a number of wells in the district.
The Ffynone estate belonged at one time to the Morgan family of Blaenbwlan, from whom it was purchased by Captain Stephen Colby in 1752. The house, completed in 1799, was repaired in 1828 by W Hoare and Son of Lawrenny. In the 1830s the estate extended to 237 acres in Manordeifi parish with further lands in adjacent parishes. The parkland around the house was some 30 acres. There were many additions and improvements over future years to both house and estate.
The property was passed down the Colby family to John Vaughan Colby, whose wife in 1902 commissioned architect and garden designer Inigo Thomas to remodel the house and lay out the terraced gardens, which was completed in 1907.
John Vaughan died in 1919 and, having no sons, left the estate to his daughter Aline Margaret, who had married Captain Cecil John Herbert Spence-Jones, son of the Dean of Gloucester, in 1908; the marriage was a notable occasion, reported in great detail and an occasion for local celebration, despite there being no guests at the wedding and no reception owing to the bride's mother's state of health. Spence took the additional surname of Colby by royal licence in 1920 and subsequently sold the property in 1927 to a Glamorgan businessman.
The house, in 20 acres of woodland, was bought and restored from 1988 onwards by Owen Lloyd George, 3rd Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor and his wife, who are credited with saving the house. After the death of the 3rd Earl in 2010 the house was put up for sale with an asking price of £2.5 million.
The estate records (to 1919) are held at the National Library of Wales.
Architecture.
John Nash was commissioned to design the house in the early 1790s; construction work began in 1794 and was completed by 1799. Materials included locally quarried stone as well as from other parts of Britain. The house was laid out to a classical Georgian plan. 60,000 trees were sourced from John Mackie, a Norwich nursery man, and hundreds of tons of topsoil were brought in. Inigo Thomas, in contrast, remodelled the house in the style of an Italian palazzo. He added the east and west wings, creating a library, ornate dining room and music room with a cross vaulted tunnel roof.
The mansion itself is a Grade I listed building, while a number of elements on the estate are listed Grade I, II* or II. They are:


Willaston Old Hall

Willaston Old Hall is a former manor house in the village of Willaston, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester, England. The building carries the date 1558, but both the authors of the "Buildings of England" series, and Figueirdo and Treuherz, argue that this date is too early for the architectural style of the house. Figueirdo and Treuherz are of the opinion that it was built in the early 17th century for Hugh Bennet. The house is constructed in red brick and stands on a red sandstone plinth. It has sandstone dressings and quoins, and a slate roof with stone ball finials. The entrance front is symmetrical, and consists of five bays, with three storeys. The central and the outer bays project forward and are gabled. The windows are mullioned and transomed. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.


Monument to the Fallen (Santa Cruz de Tenerife)

The Monument to the Fallen (Spanish: "Monumento a los Caídos") is a monument in Plaza de España, near the sea front of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. It is one of the several erected monuments across the Spanish geography that serve as memorial to the victors in the Spanish Civil War.
History and description.
The idea of the monument was conceived after the 1936–1939 Civil War and promoted by the Captain General of the Canary Islands . It was formulated as a "Monument to the Fallen of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the War of National Liberation" . The architectural project was authored by Tomás Navarro, while the sculptures are the work of Enrique Cejas Zaldívar and Alonso Reyes Barroso, and it consisted of a high cross-like obelisk, a basement and a crypt, while incorporating a series of sculptural features. It has four major sculptural elements: an allegory of the "Fatherland" holding the fallen soldier, a winged female figure representing "Victory", and two soldiers wielding a sword, representing the civic and the military value. The sculptures are either made of bronze or basalt. The monument also features some lateral reliefs by Cejas Zaldívar.
It was unveiled on 17 February 1947 during a ceremony attended by García-Escámez; Domingo Pérez Cáceres; Luis Carrero Blanco and the Mayor of Santa Cruz Cándido Luis García Sanjuán.
The building works reportedly made use of forced labour via political prisoners. According to a study commissioned by the local government in 2019, the monument violates the Law of Historical Memory, and it needs to undergo a "resignification" process.


All Saints Church, Thurgarton

All Saints' Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Thurgarton, Norfolk, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands in an isolated position on a crossroads north of the village, south of Cromer, to the west of the A140 road.
History.
The church dates from the 14th century. The west tower fell in 1882, and was replaced by a vestry at the west end in 1924. The roof was re-thatched in 1984–85.
Architecture.
Exterior.
All Saints' is constructed in flint and has a thatched roof. Its plan consists of a three-bay nave, a south porch, a chancel and a west vestry. In the west wall of the nave are two lancet windows. Along the south wall are three two-light windows dating from the 19th century in Decorated style. On the north side is one similar window and a doorway. In the south wall of the chancel are a two-light window with Y-tracery, a priest's door, and a late medieval two-light window. The east window has three lights and dates from the 19th century. At the southeast corner of the church is a buttress through which is a passage. The south porch has two storeys, with the bell sited in the upper storey.
Interior.
The nave roof is scissor braced, and the chancel roof is a hammerbeam. In the church are the remains of a rood stairway. The interior of the church is notable for its medieval benches with carved ends. The carvings include poppyheads, an elephant, barrels, mythical beasts, a man, a lion, and fighting dogs. On a wall are the remains of painted texts. Also in the church are a 19th-century fretwork screen, and communion rails with balusters. The font is medieval with an 18th-century cover.


Imperial Granum-Joseph Parker Buildings

The Imperial Granum-Joseph Parker Buildings, also known historically as the Del Monico Building, are a pair of conjoined historic commercial buildings at Elm and Orange Streets in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. Built in 1875 and 1877, the two buildings are among the finest examples of the architecture of that period in the city, with one sporting one of the city's only surviving cast iron facades. The buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Description and history.
The Imperial Granum-Joseph Parker Buildings are located one block east of the New Haven Green in downtown New Haven, on the east side of the corner of Elm and Orange Streets. Both buildings are four stories in height, and of masonry construction, with heavily bracketed projecting cornices at the roof line. The Parker Building, which stands at the corner, is built out of red brick. Its ground floor facade is a modern stylistic copy of the Imperial Granum Building, with paneled pilasters at the outer ends, and engaged round columns separating the window and door bays. It has one storefront, with three display windows and a double-door entrance. The main building entrance, which now serves both buildings is located to its right. The upper level windows are set in rectangular openings with peaked stone lintels. The Orange Street facade has similar upper-floor windows, with mostly blinded window bays and a secondary entrance on the ground floor. The Imperial Granum building is slightly narrower, sharing a full party wall with the Parker Building. It is three bays wide, with a single storefront on the ground floor. The upper level windows have more elaborate surrounds, with engaged columns between windows set in segmented-arch openings, pilasters at the ends, and shallow dentillated cornices between the floors.
The Parker Building was built in 1875, and the Imperial Granum in 1877. Both have been attributed to architects working in the office of Henry Austin: the Parker by David R. Brown, and the Imperial Granum by Rufus G. Russell. The latter is noted as having the city's only surviving ground-floor cast iron facade, a feature that was never popular in the city and existed only in small numbers. The Parker Building was built for a paper manufacturer, who used the upper floors as a warehouse. The Imperial Granum gets is name from a patent medicine marketed by its owner, Edward Heaton, and for many years sported an advertisement of that product on its exposed southeastern wall. The buildings came under one owner in 1945, and were joined in their upper floors by breaking through the party wall, and also building a shared, interior staircase. For many years, a hatshop named Del Monico's occupied the ground floor.


Kamenny Island Palace

Kamenny Island Palace (Каменноостровский дворец) is a former imperial palace on the south-western promontory of Kamenny Island in St. Petersburg.
The Neoclassical edifice was commissioned in the 1770s by Catherine II of Russia for her son Paul. It has a portico of six Tuscan columns and a spacious cour d'honneur. The river front of the palace is broken by eight Doric columns. The residence was built under the general supervision of Yury Felten. The interiors were designed by Vincenzo Brenna in imitation of Piranesi's views of Rome. Jean-François Thomas de Thomon was responsible for renovating the garden. Giacomo Quarenghi updated the design after the work resumed.
Emperor Paul presented the palace to the former Polish king, Stanisław August Poniatowski. The palace's most famous tenant was Alexander I of Russia. After his death the estate was inherited by his brother Michael, then by his widow Helen and their daughter Catherine.
Since the early 20th century the palace has fallen into neglect. It remained in use as a convalescence home for soldiers throughout the Soviet period. Along with other imperial palaces in St. Petersburg, the Stone Island Palace is part of the World Heritage site Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. It is currently closed for major repairs in view to house the city's guests.
The park contains the wooden Kamenny Island Theatre which was built in just 40 days. It was Felten who designed the nearby Church of St. John the Baptist, where Alexander Pushkin had two of his children baptised. The 1770s church building is rather unusual for Russia in that it imitates the Gothic architecture of Western Europe.


Rocky Mountain National Park Utility Area Historic District

The Rocky Mountain National Park Utility Area Historic District in Rocky Mountain National Park documents the early administrative core of the park. Beginning in 1920 and continuing into the 1930s, park service and administrative structures were built in the National Park Service Rustic style. Most buildings were built of logs under a policy of blending with the natural landscape. Later construction has respected the materials and scale of the area. Structures include McLaren Hall, designed by landscape architect W.G. Hill, a number of employee residences including the superintendent's residence, equipment sheds, garages and utility buildings. Many of the buildings built in the 1930s were built by Civilian Conservation Corps labor. The Beaver Meadows Visitor Center is individually listed as a National Historic Landmark.


Maltese Baroque architecture

Maltese Baroque architecture is the form of Baroque architecture that developed in Malta during the 17th and 18th centuries, when the islands were under the rule of the Order of St. John. The Baroque style was introduced in Malta in the early 17th century, possibly by the Bolognese engineer Bontadino de Bontadini during the construction of the Wignacourt Aqueduct. The style became popular in the mid to late 17th century, and it reached its peak during the 18th century, when monumental Baroque structures such as Auberge de Castille were constructed.
The Baroque style began to be replaced by neoclassical architecture and other styles in the early 19th century, when Malta was under British rule. Despite this, Baroque elements continued to influence traditional Maltese architecture. Many churches continued to the built in the Baroque style throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and to a lesser extent in the 21st century.
Background.
Prior to the introduction of the Baroque style in Malta, the predominant architectural style on the island was Mannerist architecture, a variant of Renaissance architecture which was popularized in Malta in around the mid-16th century. The most notable Mannerist architect in Malta was Girolamo Cassar, who designed many public, private and religious buildings in the then-newly built capital city Valletta. Cassar's style was somewhat austere, and many of his buildings were reminiscent of military architecture. It took about a century for Mannerism to fall out of favour and replaced by Baroque, and according to James Quentin Hughes it may have been Lorenzo Gafa who ignited the new style.
Seventeenth century.
According to historian Giovanni Bonello, the Baroque style was probably introduced in Malta by the Bolognese architect and engineer Bontadino de Bontadini in the beginning of the 17th century. In July 1612, Bontadini was entrusted with the construction of the Wignacourt Aqueduct, a project which was completed on 21 April 1615. The aqueduct's decorative elements, namely the Wignacourt Arch, three water towers and several fountains, are probably the earliest representations of the Baroque style in Malta.
However, according to Leonard Mahoney, it was Francesco Buonamici who introduced Baroque architecture in Malta. In either case Buonamici is accredited for popularizing Baroque after he designed the Church of the Jesuits in Valletta in 1635. Romano Fortunato Carapecchia has managed to transform Valletta from a mainly Mannerist style to a significant Baroque style. In the subsequent decades, many new Baroque buildings began to be constructed by the Order of St. John, while some existing buildings were redecorated or given new façades. Early examples of Maltese Baroque buildings include Auberge de Provence (renovated 1638) and Hostel de Verdelin ( 1650s). Most Baroque buildings in Malta were influenced by Italian or French Baroque architecture, but a few have characteristics typical of the Spanish Baroque.
From the 1660s onwards, many churches began to be constructed in the Baroque style, and they were characterized by large domes and belfries which dominated the skyline of the towns and villages. One of the most well-known and influential architects of Maltese Baroque was Lorenzo Gafà, who designed many churches between the 1660s and the 1690s. Gafà's masterpiece is St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina, which was rebuilt between 1696 and 1705 after the original medieval cathedral was damaged in the 1693 Sicily earthquake. Other notable Baroque churches designed by Gafà include the Church of St. Lawrence in Birgu (1681–97) and the Cathedral of the Assumption in Victoria, Gozo (1697–1711).
Meanwhile, many existing churches were redecorated in the Baroque style. The interior of Saint John's Co-Cathedral, then the Order's conventual church, was extensively embellished in the 1660s by the Calabrian artist Mattia Preti, although the Mannerist exterior was retained.
Eighteenth century.
The Baroque style was the most popular architectural style in Malta throughout the 18th century. Examples of Baroque buildings from the first half of the century include the Banca Giuratale in Valletta (1721), Fort Manoel in Gżira (1723–33) and Casa Leoni in Santa Venera (1730).
An example of Baroque town planning was Charles François de Mondion's redesign of the former capital city of Mdina in the 1720s. Many medieval buildings within the city had been damaged in the earthquake of 1693, so in 1722 the newly elected Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena initiated a building programme under the direction of Mondion. The fortifications were strengthened and many public buildings were built, and at this point significant French Baroque elements were introduced, including the Main Gate (1724), the portal of Greeks Gate (1724), the Torre dello Standardo (1725), Palazzo Vilhena (1726–28), the Banca Giuratale (1726–28) and the Corte Capitanale (1726–28).
High Baroque was popular throughout the magistracy of Manuel Pinto da Fonseca, and buildings constructed during his reign include Auberge de Castille (1741–45), the Pinto Stores (1752) and the Castellania (1757–60). Auberge de Castille was designed by the Maltese architect Andrea Belli, and it replaced Girolamo Cassar's earlier Mannerist building. The auberge's ornate façade and the steps leading to the doorway were designed to be imposing, and it is regarded as the most monumental Baroque building in Malta.
Nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Neoclassical architecture and other architectural styles were introduced in Malta in the late 18th century, and they were popularized when the island was under British rule in the early decades of the 19th century. Despite the introduction of these new styles, Baroque remained popular for the nobility's palaces, and Baroque features began to appear in traditional Maltese townhouses, such as Casa Nasciaro.
The Baroque style remained the predominant style for most Maltese churches throughout the 19th and most of the 20th centuries. Examples of these include the Mellieħa Parish Church (1881–98) and the Rotunda of Xewkija (1952–78). A few churches built in the 21st century still include significant Baroque elements, such as the Santa Venera Parish Church which was constructed between 1990 and 2005.
Historian Giovanni Bonello ranks Maltese Baroque as one of the three "treasures" of Maltese architecture, along with the megalithic temples and the fortifications.


Lasipalatsi

Lasipalatsi (; meaning literally "glass palace") is a functionalist office building designed in the 1930s, located on Mannerheimintie in the Kamppi district of Helsinki, Finland. Lasipalatsi is one of Helsinki's most notable functionalist buildings.
History.
An earlier building at the same location was the Turku barracks, which was destroyed in the Finnish Civil War in 1918. Lasipalatsi, designed by three young architects Viljo Revell, Heimo Riihimäki and Niilo Kokko, was built on the same site in 1936. Lasipalatsi, containing offices, restaurants and a film theatre, was originally designed as a temporary building, later to be torn down to allow a larger office building to be constructed in its place. The Varuboden grocery, Oy Siemens AB and the HOK ice cream bar were Lasipalatsi's most prominent businesses for decades. At the time of its opening, the film theatre Bio Rex was one of the biggest film theatres in the city, and many formal premieres of Finnish films were shown there.
The original plans to tear down Lasipalatsi were postponed decade after decade, but the building also wasn't renovated, because its final fate was still left open. In the 1980s, large sheets advertising the Ale Pub underlined the shameful state of the worn building. Only when the Board of Construction set a threat fee, the Apartment Bureau renovated the building's outer walls. In summer 1985, the old grayish paint was replaced with through-coloured white mortar. Helsinkians opposed the destruction of the building several times, and the Museum Bureau also supported its protection.
After decades of deterioration, Lasipalatsi was protected and renovated into a culture and media centre in 1998, also containing cafés and many corporations in the media business. The building also hosted Internet services and exhibition halls. The Yleisradio Morning TV used to be broadcast from Lasipalatsi, and next to it was the Yle Shop. The film theatre Bio Rex is specialised in showing non-mainstream cultural films.
Lasipalatsi has been included in the selection of Finnish masterpieces of modernism in architecture by the Docomomo International organization.
The building is undergoing extensive renovations as of October 2016. A new museum, Amos Rex, has been built under the Lasipalatsi square with some parts of the museum residing in Lasipalatsi.