Building
A building, or edifice, is a structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes and functions, have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, aesthetic reasons. To better understand the term building compare the list of nonbuilding structures. Buildings serve several societal needs – as shelter from weather, living space, privacy, to store belongings, to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the outside. Since the first cave paintings, buildings have become objects or canvasses of much artistic expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practices has become an intentional part of the design process of many new buildings; the word building is the act of making it. As a noun, a building is'a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place'.
In the broadest interpretation a fence or wall is a building. However, the word structure is used more broadly than building including natural and man-made formations and does not have walls. Structure is more to be used for a fence. Sturgis' Dictionary included that " differs from architecture in excluding all idea of artistic treatment; as a verb, building is the act of construction. Structural height in technical usage is the height to the highest architectural detail on building from street-level. Depending on how they are classified and masts may or may not be included in this height. Spires and masts used as antennas are not included; the definition of a low-rise vs. a high-rise building is a matter of debate, but three storeys or less is considered low-rise. A report by Shinichi Fujimura of a shelter built 500 000 years ago is doubtful since Fujimura was found to have faked many of his findings. Supposed remains of huts found at the Terra Amata site in Nice purportedly dating from 200 000 to 400 000 years ago have been called into question.
There is clear evidence of homebuilding from around 18 000 BC. Buildings became common during the Neolithic. Single-family residential buildings are most called houses or homes. Multi-family residential buildings containing more than one dwelling unit are called a duplex or an apartment building. A condominium is an apartment rather than rents. Houses may be built in pairs, in terraces where all but two of the houses have others either side. Houses which were built as a single dwelling may be divided into apartments or bedsitters. Building types may range from huts to multimillion-dollar high-rise apartment blocks able to house thousands of people. Increasing settlement density in buildings is a response to high ground prices resulting from many people wanting to live close to work or similar attractors. Other common building materials are concrete or combinations of either of these with stone. Residential buildings have different names for their use depending if they are seasonal include holiday cottage or timeshare.
If the residents are in need of special care such as a nursing home, orphanage or prison. Many people lived in communal buildings called longhouses, smaller dwellings called pit-houses and houses combined with barns sometimes called housebarns. Buildings are defined to be substantial, permanent structures so other dwelling forms such as houseboats and motorhomes are dwellings but not buildings. Sometimes a group of inter-related builds are referred to as a complex – for example a housing complex, educational complex, hospital complex, etc; the practice of designing and operating buildings is most a collective effort of different groups of professionals and trades. Depending on the size and purpose of a particular building project, the project team may include: A real estate developer who secures funding for the project. Other possible design Engineer specialists may be involved such as Fire, facade engineers, building physics, Telecomms, AV (Audio V
Topping out
In building construction, topping out is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is parlayed into a media event for public relations purposes, it has since come to mean more finishing the structure of the building, whether there is a ceremony or not. The practice of "topping out" a new building can be traced to the ancient Scandinavian religious rite of placing a tree atop a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits displaced in its construction. Long an important component of timber frame building, it migrated to England and Northern Europe, thence to the Americas. A tree or leafy branch is placed on the topmost wood or iron beam with flags and streamers tied to it. A toast is drunk and sometimes workers are treated to a meal. In masonry construction the rite celebrates the bedding of the last brick. In some cases a topping out event is held at an intermediate point, such as when the roof is dried-in, which means the roof can provide at least semi-permanent protection from the elements.
The practice remains common in the United Kingdom and assorted Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada as well as Germany, Slovenia, Chile, Czech Republic, Poland, the Baltic States, the United States, where the last beam of a skyscraper is painted white and signed by all the workers involved. In New Zealand, completion of the roof to a water-proof state is celebrated through a "roof shout", where workers are treated to cake and beer; the tradition of "pannenbier" is popular in the Netherlands and Flanders, where a national, regional or city flag is hung once the highest point of a building is reached. It stays in place until the building's owner provides free beer to the workers, after which it is lowered, it is considered greedy. Groundbreaking John V. Robinson. "The'topping out' traditions of the high-steel ironworkers". Western Folklore, Fall 2001. "Topping Off!". Archived from the original on 2 June 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2008.. Carpenter Magazine, Sep/Oct 2001. Https://web.archive.org/web/20070311032321/http://www.stp.uh.edu/vol68/160/news/news4.html Tree symbolizes campus' growth.
"Topping Off". Archived from the original on September 28, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2008.. National Review, December 23, 2003 Richtfest.info A German language site about the topping out ceremonies. Topping out Roberts Pavilion Topping out the new athletic building at Claremont McKenna College
Los Angeles
Los Angeles the City of Los Angeles and known by its initials L. A. is the most populous city in California, the second most populous city in the United States, after New York City, the third most populous city in North America. With an estimated population of four million, Los Angeles is the cultural and commercial center of Southern California; the city is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity and the entertainment industry, its sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles is the largest city on the West Coast of North America. Los Angeles is in a large basin bounded by the Pacific Ocean on one side and by mountains as high as 10,000 feet on the other; the city proper, which covers about 469 square miles, is the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the country. Los Angeles is the principal city of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second largest in the United States after that of New York City, with a population of 13.1 million. It is part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach combined statistical area the nation's second most populous area with a 2015 estimated population of 18.7 million.
Los Angeles is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States, with a diverse economy in a broad range of professional and cultural fields. Los Angeles is famous as the home of Hollywood, a major center of the world entertainment industry. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index and 9th in the Global Economic Power Index; the Los Angeles metropolitan area has a gross metropolitan product of $1.044 trillion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. Los Angeles hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics and will host the event for a third time in 2028; the city hosted the Miss Universe pageant twice, in 1990 and 2006, was one of 9 American cities to host the 1994 FIFA men's soccer World Cup and one of 8 to host the 1999 FIFA women's soccer World Cup, hosting the final match for both tournaments. Home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California.
The city was founded on September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood; the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California assured the city's continued rapid growth; the Los Angeles coastal area was settled by the Chumash tribes. A Gabrieleño settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning "poison oak place". Maritime explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the area of southern California for the Spanish Empire in 1542 while on an official military exploring expedition moving north along the Pacific coast from earlier colonizing bases of New Spain in Central and South America.
Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2, 1769. In 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. On September 4, 1781, a group of forty-four settlers known as "Los Pobladores" founded the pueblo they called El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles,'The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels'; the present-day city has the largest Roman Catholic Archdiocese in the United States. Two-thirds of the Mexican or settlers were mestizo or mulatto, a mixture of African and European ancestry; the settlement remained a small ranch town for decades, but by 1820, the population had increased to about 650 residents. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the historic district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street, the oldest part of Los Angeles. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, the pueblo continued as a part of Mexico.
During Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta California's regional capital. Mexican rule ended during the Mexican–American War: Americans took control from the Californios after a series of battles, culminating with the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga on January 13, 1847. Railroads arrived with the completion of the transcontinental Southern Pacific line to Los Angeles in 1876 and the Santa Fe Railroad in 1885. Petroleum was discovered in the city and surrounding area in 1892, by 1923, the discoveries had helped California become the country's largest oil producer, accounting for about one-quarter of the world's petroleum output. By 1900, the population had grown to more than 102,000; the completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, under the supervision of William Mulholland, assured the continued growth of the city. Due to clauses in the city's charter that prevented the City of Los Angeles from selling or providing water from the aqueduct to any area outside its borders, many adjacent city and communities became compelled to annex themselves into Los Angeles.
Los Angeles created the first municipal zoning ordinance in the United States. On September 14, 1908, the Los Angeles City Council promulgated residential and industrial land use zones; the new ordinance established three residential zones of a single type, where industrial uses were
Hunts Point Cooperative Market
The Hunts Point Cooperative Market, a 24/7 wholesale food market located on 60 acres in Hunts Point, in the Bronx, New York City, is the largest food distribution center of its kind in the world. Its revenues exceed $2 billion annually. Located at the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, which houses the Fulton Fish Market and a produce market, the Hunts Point Cooperative Market is the source for 50 percent of the New York region’s meat. More than 50 independent wholesale food businesses located at the Market supply food to over 22 million people in the New York metropolitan area. Built in 1962 as a 40-acre facility with six buildings, the Market now consists of seven large refrigerated/freezer buildings on 60 acres, with a total refrigerated space of 700,000 square feet, is governed by the United States Department of Agriculture. In 2011, the City of New York and the New York City Economic Development Corporation made significant headway in their ongoing efforts to support the Hunts Point Market in the South Bronx.
In June, they reached an agreement with the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative to extend its lease for another three years, while the Cooperative and NYCEDC work together to develop a long-term plan for a larger, modernized facility in the Bronx. To this end, the City and State have each agreed to contribute capital resources and to work with the Cooperative to secure additional third-party sources of funding; the market can be accessed from other boroughs via Interstates 278 and 895. It gets around 2700 cars per year. In 2012 the market received a $10 million federal grant to improve rail operations. Rail cars and trucks share unloading docks, causing conflicts; the rail improvements are part of a $332.5 million major renovation to the market, under negotiation. In 2015, Mayor de Blasio announced that New York would spend $150 million over 12 years to modernize the market. Hunts Point Cooperative Market
Cornerstone
The cornerstone is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or replica, set in a prominent location on the outside of a building, with an inscription on the stone indicating the construction dates of the building and the names of architect and other significant individuals; the rite of laying a cornerstone is an important cultural component of eastern architecture and metaphorically in sacred architecture generally. Some cornerstones include time capsules from, or engravings commemorating, the time a particular building was built; the ceremony involved the placing of offerings of grain and oil on or under the stone. These were the people of the land and the means of their subsistence; this in turn derived from the practice in still more ancient times of making an animal or human sacrifice, laid in the foundations.
Frazer in The Golden Bough charts the various propitiary sacrifices and effigy substitution such as the shadow, states that: Nowhere does the equivalence of the shadow to the life or soul come out more than in some customs practised to this day in South-eastern Europe. In modern Greece, when the foundation of a new building is being laid, it is the custom to kill a cock, a ram, or a lamb, to let its blood flow on the foundation-stone, under which the animal is afterwards buried; the object of the sacrifice is to give stability to the building. But sometimes, instead of killing an animal, the builder entices a man to the foundation-stone, secretly measures his body, or a part of it, or his shadow, buries the measure under the foundation-stone, it is believed. The Roumanians of Transylvania think that he whose shadow is thus immured will die within forty days. Not long ago there were still shadow-traders whose business it was to provide architects with the shadows necessary for securing their walls.
In these cases the measure of the shadow is looked on as equivalent to the shadow itself, to bury it is to bury the life or soul of the man, deprived of it, must die. Thus the custom is a substitute for the old practice of immuring a living person in the walls, or crushing him under the foundation-stone of a new building, in order to give strength and durability to the structure, or more in order that the angry ghost may haunt the place and guard it against the intrusion of enemies. Ancient Japan legends talk about Hitobashira, in which maidens were buried alive at the base or near some constructions as a prayer to ensure the buildings against disasters or enemy attacks. A VIP of the organization, or a local celebrity or community leader, will be invited to conduct the ceremony of figuratively beginning the foundations of the building, with the person's name and official position and the date being recorded on the stone; this person is asked to place their hand on the stone or otherwise signify its laying.
Still, until the 1970s, most ceremonies involved the use of a specially manufactured and engraved trowel that had a formal use in laying mortar under the stone. A special hammer was used to ceremonially tap the stone into place; the foundation stone has a cavity into, placed a time capsule containing newspapers of the day or week of the ceremony plus other artifacts that are typical of the period of the construction: coins of the year may be immured in the cavity or time capsule. Freemasons sometimes perform the public cornerstone laying ceremony for notable buildings; this ceremony was described by The Cork Examiner of 13 January 1865 as follows:... The Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Munster, applying the golden square and level to the stone said. After this, Bishop Gregg spread cement over the stone with a trowel specially made for the occasion by John Hawkesworth, a silversmith and a jeweller, he gave the stone three knocks with a mallet and declared the stone to be'duly and laid'. The Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Munster poured offerings of corn and wine over the stone after Bishop Gregg had declared it to be'duly and laid'.
The Provincial Grand Chaplain of the Masonic Order in Munster read out the following prayer:'May the Great Architect of the universe enable us as to carry out and finish this work. May He protect the workmen from danger and accident, long preserve the structure from decay. So mote it be.' The choir and congregation sang the Hundredth Psalm. In Freemasonry, which grew from the practice of stonemasons, the initiate is placed in the north-east corner of the Lodge as a figurative foundation stone; this is intended to signify the unity of the North associated with darkness and the East associated with light. A cornerstone will sometimes be referred to as a "foundation-stone", is symbolic of Christ, whom the Apostle Paul referred to as the "head of the corner" and is the "Chief Cornerstone of the Church". A chief or head cornerstone is placed above two wall
Business
Business is the activity of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products. Put, it is "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit, it does not mean it is a company, a corporation, partnership, or have any such formal organization, but it can range from a street peddler to General Motors."Having a business name does not separate the business entity from the owner, which means that the owner of the business is responsible and liable for debts incurred by the business. If the business acquires debts, the creditors can go after the owner's personal possessions. A business structure does not allow for corporate tax rates; the proprietor is taxed on all income from the business. The term is often used colloquially to refer to a company. A company, on the other hand, is a separate legal entity and provides for limited liability, as well as corporate tax rates. A company structure is more complicated and expensive to set up, but offers more protection and benefits for the owner.
Forms of business ownership vary by jurisdiction, but several common entities exist: Sole proprietorship: A sole proprietorship known as a sole trader, is owned by one person and operates for their benefit. The owner may hire employees. A sole proprietor has unlimited liability for all obligations incurred by the business, whether from operating costs or judgments against the business. All assets of the business belong to a sole proprietor, for example, a computer infrastructure, any inventory, manufacturing equipment, or retail fixtures, as well as any real property owned by the sole proprietor. Partnership: A partnership is a business owned by two or more people. In most forms of partnerships, each partner has unlimited liability for the debts incurred by the business; the three most prevalent types of for-profit partnerships are general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships. Corporation: The owners of a corporation have limited liability and the business has a separate legal personality from its owners.
Corporations can be either government-owned or owned, they can organize either for profit or as nonprofit organizations. A owned, for-profit corporation is owned by its shareholders, who elect a board of directors to direct the corporation and hire its managerial staff. A owned, for-profit corporation can be either held by a small group of individuals, or publicly held, with publicly traded shares listed on a stock exchange. Cooperative: Often referred to as a "co-op", a cooperative is a limited-liability business that can organize as for-profit or not-for-profit. A cooperative differs from a corporation in that it has members, not shareholders, they share decision-making authority. Cooperatives are classified as either consumer cooperatives or worker cooperatives. Cooperatives are fundamental to the ideology of economic democracy. Limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, other specific types of business organization protect their owners or shareholders from business failure by doing business under a separate legal entity with certain legal protections.
In contrast, unincorporated businesses or persons working on their own are not as protected. Franchises: A franchise is a system in which entrepreneurs purchase the rights to open and run a business from a larger corporation. Franchising in the United States is widespread and is a major economic powerhouse. One out of twelve retail businesses in the United States are franchised and 8 million people are employed in a franchised business. A company limited by guarantee: Commonly used where companies are formed for non-commercial purposes, such as clubs or charities; the members guarantee the payment of certain amounts if the company goes into insolvent liquidation, but otherwise, they have no economic rights in relation to the company. This type of company is common in England. A company limited by guarantee may be without having share capital. A company limited by shares: The most common form of the company used for business ventures. A limited company is a "company in which the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount individually invested" with corporations being "the most common example of a limited company."
This type of company is common in many English-speaking countries. A company limited by shares may be a publicly traded company or a held company A company limited by guarantee with a share capital: A hybrid entity used where the company is formed for non-commercial purposes, but the activities of the company are funded by investors who expect a return; this type of company may no longer be formed in the UK, although provisions still exist in law for them to exist. A limited liability company: "A company—statutorily authorized in certain states—that is characterized by limited liability, management by members or managers, limitations on ownership transfer", i.e. L. L. C. LLC structure has been called "hybrid" in that it "combines the characteristics of a corporation and of a partnership or sole proprietorship". Like a corporation, it has limited liability for members of the company, like a partnership, it has "flow-through taxation to the members" and must be "dissolved upon the death or bankruptcy of a member".
An unlimited company with or without a share capital: A hybrid entity, a company where the liability of members or shareholders for the debts of the company are not limited. In this case, the doctrine of a veil of incorporation does not apply. Less common types of companies are: Companies formed by letters patent: Most corpor
Groundbreaking ceremony in Los Angeles, California (1933), featuring a steam shovel
Media related to Ground-breaking ceremonies at Wikimedia Commons
