Whims and Views

Steel buildings

Part II: Famous Metal Buildings in the World

Posted by Edsie on May 5, 2012 Building

May 052012

Here is a part two of my featured steel buildings. These are buildings can be found from different parts of the world.

1. Gateway Arch, Missouri
It is the tallest man-made monument in the United states built to commemorate the westward expansion of the United States. It is found at the left side of the Mississippi river in 1764. It is also considered as the tallest steel monument in the world to date.

2. Seagram Building, Manhattan
This building is a scyscraper that can be seen in the midtown of Manhattan, New York. Like all large buildings, this was built of a steel frame and used bronze beams to hold the structure. At the time it was built, it was the most expensive skyscraper since it used tons of bronzes and marbles.

3. Petronas Towers, Malaysia
This twin tower in Malaysia is considered the tallest twin buildings to date, though Taipei 101 surpassed the height of a single tower. It has 88 floors and are constructed using concrete, steel and glass.

4. The Taipei 101 Tower, Taiwan
This tower in Taiwan was the world’s tallest building before 2010 when the Burj Khalifa in Dubai was constructed. Taipei 101 comprises of 101 floors and 5 floors underground. The tower was designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes since these are common in the Pacific area.

5. US Steel Tower, Pittsburgh
This tower can be seen in Pittsburgh’s skyline being the tallest skyscraper there and fourth in Pennyslvania. The structure of the US Steel tower is famous for its triangular shape.

Famous Metal Buildings in the World

Posted by Edsie on October 23, 2011 Building, Misc

Oct 232011

Here are some of the famous metal buildings in the world.

1. Eiffel Tower, Paris France
This famous steel building stands 1,063 feet and is one of the worlds tallest building. The eiffel tower attracts millions of tourists each year. Just as it is famous as a tourist spot, it is also a suicide place for a number of people. Suicide rate of jumping off the tower goes at 1 per month.

2. Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles USA
The building’s exterior is designed in stainless steel with matter finish. The building was completed in 2003 and costs $274 million. With the original design, neighboring communities complained about the glare that it is exuding when touch by the sun. Because of this, they modified the panels and had it in matte finish.

3. Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydney, Australia
The harbour bridge is a steel arch bridge across Sydney Harbour. It has a nice view of the harbour and the Sydney Opera House. It is the tallest steel arch bridge. 79% of the steel used in the construction of this bridge was imported from England.

4. Brooklyn Bridge, New York USA
The Brooklyn Bridge which connects Manhattan to Brooklyn, was designed by John Roebling in 1865 and quoted that steel will be the metal of the future. The bridge was completed in 1883.

5. Sears Tower, Chicago Illinois USA
The Willis tower (formerly named as Sears tower) is a 108-story building surpassing the World Trade Center towers in New York. The design for the tower is a nine steel-unit square tubes in a 3 tube by 3 tube arrangement. This design is to enable adding extra height to the tower if needed.

Basilica of San Sebastian, Manila

Posted by Edsie on August 21, 2011 Misc

Aug 212011

I just remembered one of the churches we visited when we did the Visita Iglesia last April. It was the Basilica of San Sebastian or more known to many as San Sebastian Church. It is found in Quiapo, Manila.

This church struck me as different from other churches I’ve visited and seen before. It’s because of the materials used to build the church. On researching about this basilica, I learned that it is the only church in Asia made of all-steel. The original church was made of wood but burned down in 1651. It was rebuilt many times using brick but were still destroyed by calamities such as fire and earthquakes.

Because of this numerous rebuilding, the parish priest back then worked with a Spanish architect to build a more stable and concrete building. This resulted to constructing the church using steel. steel buildings are more durable in terms of strength and less labor cost. Plus it is weather resistant thus giving the church more stability in times of calamities.

San Sebastian Church was declared a National Historical Landmark by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1973. On 2006, the church was included in the possible designation as a World heritage site because of its architectural and historical heritage.

More Steel Buildings Please

Posted by Edsie on July 23, 2011 Building

Jul 232011

Industrial sites such as airports, carports, huge buildings, warehouses, aircraft hangars and storage buildings are usually made of steel building. With this kind of material, it provides maximum security in whatever it houses. It incurs less damage when caught in fire or there’s an earthquake or any natural disasters. Plus, it costs less to manufacture than using conrete, but yields the same level of stability and durability.

Here in the Philippines, there’s a lot of Steel manufacturers in the industry. But what I don’t know is if those steel buildings they manufacture here are as good as let’s say those steel buildings in canada. Their industry I think is way better than ours though. But of course, I don’t want to degrade the capability of the Filipinos to produce world class buildings such as this. Maybe I just want to see more of these steel buildings being used here in the Philippines, not only in the industrial world, but even for commercial or residential areas as well. I hope the government sees the importance of producing such, as it will surely improve the Philippines, in one way or another.