1.
Haeundae District
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Haeundae District is a gu in eastern Busan, South Korea. It has an area of 51.44 km², and a population of about 423,000 and this represents about 11. 6% of the population in Busan. It became a division of Busan in 1976 and attained the status of gu in 1980, Haeundae is an affluent beach front community that attracts tens of thousands of tourists during summer. It has been subject to commercial development in recent decades. The beach is linked to Busan Subway Line 2 and train stations on the Donghae Nambu railway line. Haeundae takes its name from the ninth century Silla scholar and poet Choi Chi-won, a piece of Chois calligraphy, which he engraved on a rock at Haeundae, still exists. Haeundae used to be isolated from the communities in Busan. It remained undeveloped until the late 1970s and early 1980s, a small number of luxury hotels were constructed after the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The area has continued to grow, apart from during the Asian financial crisis of 1997, Haeundae has been a regular host of the annual Busan International Film Festival. Haeundaes Dongbaek Island was the location for the 2005 APEC Conference, Haeundae New Town, a major commercial and residential redevelopment project begun in 1990, is located in the Jwa-dong area. This area lies in the shadow of Jangsan mountain to the north. Another development project, Centum City, has been ongoing since early 2000 and is now a feature of Busan. Its BEXCO has become a venue for international conventions and exhibitions. Marine City, located nearby, is constructed on land reclaimed from the sea, additional apartment blocks are under construction, with water resorts and related facilities, for use by the public, also planned for Marine City. Haeundae’s Dalmaji Hill is touted as Korea’s best area to greet the moon, Busan’s citizens and tourists visiting the place bask in moonlight-drenched scenery while praying for their wishes to come true. Also, Haeundae’s Dalmaji Hill is touted as one of the eight attractions of Busan. Dynamic Busan introduces you to the best locale in the city where you can catch a view of the moon as Korea’s traditional Lunar New Year’s Day, Dalmaji Hill in Haeundae boasts spectacular scenery. It is one of Korea’s most scenic areas and has been loved by our ancestors for generations, for example, Choe Chi-won, an official and poet from the late Unified Silla Dynasty, was so struck by its beauty that he decided to extend his stay there
2.
South Korea
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South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC, with three kingdoms flourishing in the 1st century BC and its rich and vibrant culture left 19 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Annexed into Imperial Japan in 1910, Korea was divided after its surrender in 1945, peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power with the worlds 10th largest defence budget. South Koreas tiger economy soared at an average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful, today, it is the worlds fifth largest exporter with the G20s largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia. It has free trade agreements with 75% of the economy and is the only G20 nation trading freely with China, the US. Since 1988, its constitution guarantees a liberal democracy with high government transparency, high personal freedoms led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama, a phenomenon called the Korean Wave, known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style. Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, South Korea is a leader in low carbon growth, committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC. It is the third least ignorant country in the Index of Ignorance, ranking eighth highest for peaceful tolerance. It is the worlds largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science, the name Korea derives from the name Goryeo. The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, the modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Companys Hendrick Hamel. After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the name for the entire territory. The new official name has its origin in the ancient country of Gojoseon, in 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the official name of the country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk. The name Daehan, which means great Han literally, derives from Samhan, however, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted, there were several groups who fought for independence, the most notable being the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the Republic of Korea was adopted as the name for the new country. Since the government only controlled the part of the Korean Peninsula
3.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP is an American architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings, with a portfolio spanning thousands of projects across 50 countries, SOM is one of the largest architectural firms in the world. Their primary expertise is in commercial buildings, as it was SOM that led the way to the widespread use of the modern international-style or glass box skyscraper. They have designed several of the tallest buildings in the world, including the John Hancock Center, Willis Tower, due to their faithful following of Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohes ideas, Frank Lloyd Wright nicknamed them The Three Blind Mies. Notable SOM architects include, Edward Charles Bassett, Natalie de Blois, Gordon Bunshaft, David Childs, Myron Goldsmith, Bruce Graham, Gertrude Kerbis, Fazlur Rahman Khan. Lucien Lagrange, Walter Netsch, Larry Oltmanns, Brigitte Peterhans, Adrian Smith, indeed, Khan is responsible for developing the algorithms that made the Hancock building and many subsequent skyscrapers possible. Another notable SOM engineer is Bill Baker, who is best known as the engineer of Burj Khalifa, to support the towers record heights and slim footprint, he developed the buttressed core structural system, consisting of a hexagonal core reinforced by three buttresses that form a Y shape. Davis Allen, a pioneer in corporate interior design, had a tenure at SOM. Throughout its history, SOM has been recognized more than 1,700 awards for quality. More than 900 of these awards have received since 1998. In 1996 and 1962, SOM received the Architecture Firm Award from the American Institute of Architects, SOM is the only firm to have received this honor twic13 R+D Awards from Architect Magazine. In addition, a collaboration between SOM and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, The Center for Architecture, Science and Ecology, was honored with a fifth award. SOM has completed over 10,000 projects around the United States and in more than 50 other countries around the world, london, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Abu Dhabi. Smaller field offices supplement these in such as the Philippines. Burj Khalifa is the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 829.8 m, construction began on 21 September 2004, and the building officially opened on 4 January 2010. The towers architect and engineer was Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, george J. Efstathiou was the Managing Partner for the project. Bill Baker, the Chief Structural Engineer for the project, invented the buttressed core structural system in order to enable the tower to achieve such heights economically, Adrian Smith, who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill until 2006, was the Consulting Design Partner. The primary builder is a joint venture of South Korean Samsung C&T, one World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, is located in Manhattan, New York City, and is 1,776 ft high, making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere
4.
Skyscraper
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A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building having multiple floors. When the term was used in the 1880s it described a building of 10 to 20 floors. Mostly designed for office, commercial and residential uses, a skyscraper can also be called a high-rise, for buildings above a height of 300 m, the term supertall can be used, while skyscrapers reaching beyond 600 m are classified as megatall. One common feature of skyscrapers is having a steel framework that supports curtain walls and these curtain walls either bear on the framework below or are suspended from the framework above, rather than resting on load-bearing walls of conventional construction. Some early skyscrapers have a frame that enables the construction of load-bearing walls taller than of those made of reinforced concrete. Modern skyscrapers walls are not load-bearing, and most skyscrapers are characterized by surface areas of windows made possible by steel frames. However, skyscrapers can have curtain walls that mimic conventional walls with a surface area of windows. Modern skyscrapers often have a structure, and are designed to act like a hollow cylinder to resist wind, seismic. To appear more slender, allow less wind exposure, and transmit more daylight to the ground, many skyscrapers have a design with setbacks, a relatively big building may be considered a skyscraper if it protrudes well above its built environment and changes the overall skyline. The maximum height of structures has progressed historically with building methods and technologies, the Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest building in the world. High-rise buildings are considered shorter than skyscrapers, the first steel-frame skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, Illinois in 1885. Even the scholars making the argument find it to be purely academic and this definition was based on the steel skeleton—as opposed to constructions of load-bearing masonry, which passed their practical limit in 1891 with Chicagos Monadnock Building. What is the characteristic of the tall office building. The force and power of altitude must be in it, the glory and it must be every inch a proud and soaring thing, rising in sheer exaltation that from bottom to top it is a unit without a single dissenting line. Some structural engineers define a highrise as any vertical construction for which wind is a significant load factor than earthquake or weight. Note that this criterion fits not only high-rises but some other tall structures, the word skyscraper often carries a connotation of pride and achievement. A loose convention of some in the United States and Europe draws the limit of a skyscraper at 150 m or 490 ft. The tallest building in ancient times was the 146 m Great Pyramid of Giza in ancient Egypt and it was not surpassed in height for thousands of years, the 14th century AD Lincoln Cathedral being conjectured by many to have exceeded it
5.
Shopping mall
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A shopping arcade is a specific form serving the same purpose. Many early shopping arcades such as the Burlington Arcade in London, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, however, many smaller arcades have been demolished, replaced with large centers or malls, often accessible by vehicle. Technical innovations such as lighting and escalators were introduced from the late 19th century. From the late 20th century, entertainment venues such as movie theaters, as a single built structure, early shopping centers were often architecturally significant constructions, enabling wealthier patrons to buy goods in spaces protected from the weather. In places around the world, the shopping centre is used, especially in Europe, Australia. Mall is a term used predominantly in North America, outside of North America, shopping precinct and shopping arcade are also used. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, malls are commonly referred to as shopping centres, the majority of British shopping centres are located in city centres, usually found in old and historic shopping districts and surrounded by subsidiary open air shopping streets. Large examples include West Quay in Southampton, Manchester Arndale, Bullring Birmingham, Liverpool One, Trinity Leeds, Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow and these centres were built in the 1980s and 1990s, but planning regulations prohibit the construction of any more. Out-of-town shopping developments in the UK are now focused on retail parks, planning policy prioritizes the development of existing town centres, although with patchy success. Bullring, Birmingham is the busiest shopping centre in the UK welcoming over 36.5 million shoppers in its opening year, there are a reported 222 malls in Europe. In 2014, these malls had combined sales of $12.47 billion and this represented a 10% bump in revenues from the prior year. One of the earliest examples of public shopping areas comes from ancient Rome, One of the earliest public shopping centers is Trajans Market in Rome located in Trajans Forum. Trajans Market was probably built around 100-110 CE by Apollodorus of Damascus, the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul was built in the 15th century and is still one of the largest covered shopping centers in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops. Numerous other covered shopping arcades, such as the 19th-century Al-Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus, Syria, isfahans Grand Bazaar, which is largely covered, dates from the 10th century. The 10-kilometer-long, covered Tehrans Grand Bazaar also has a lengthy history, the oldest continuously occupied shopping mall in the world is likely to be the Chester Rows. Dating back at least to the 13th century, these covered walkways housed shops, with storage, different rows specialized in different goods, such as Bakers Row or Fleshmongers Row. The Marché des Enfants Rouges in Paris opened in 1628 and still runs today, the Oxford Covered Market in Oxford, England opened in 1774 and still runs today. The Passage du Caire was opened in Paris in 1798, the Burlington Arcade in London was opened in 1819
6.
Spa
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A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneotherapy. The belief in the powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been worldwide, but are especially widespread in Europe. Day spas are also popular, and offer various personal care treatments. The word spa itself denotes fountain, some experts also suggest that the word spa originated from the name of the Belgian town named Spa where a curative natural spring was discovered in the 14th century. Since medieval times, illnesses caused by iron deficiency were treated by drinking chalybeate spring water and it is commonly claimed, in a commercial context, that the word is an acronym of various Latin phrases such as Salus Per Aquam or Sanitas Per Aquam meaning health through water. Spa therapies have existed since the times when taking bath with water was considered as a popular means to treat illnesses. The practice of traveling to hot or cold springs in hopes of effecting a cure of some ailment dates back to pre-historic times, archaeological investigations near hot springs in France and Czech Republic revealed Bronze Age weapons and offerings. In Great Britain, ancient legend credited early Celtic kings with the discovery of the hot springs in Bath, many people around the world believed that bathing in a particular spring, well, or river resulted in physical and spiritual purification. Forms of ritual purification existed among the Native Americans, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, today, ritual purification through water can be found in the religious ceremonies of Jews, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus. These ceremonies reflect the ancient belief in the healing and purifying properties of water, complex bathing rituals were also practiced in ancient Egypt, in pre-historic cities of the Indus Valley, and in Aegean civilizations. Most often these ancient people did little building construction around the water, some of the earliest descriptions of western bathing practices came from Greece. The Greeks began bathing regimens that formed the foundation for modern spa procedures and these Aegean people utilized small bathtubs, wash basins, and foot baths for personal cleanliness. The earliest such findings are the baths in the complex at Knossos, Crete. They established public baths and showers within their gymnasium complexes for relaxation, Greek mythology specified that certain natural springs or tidal pools were blessed by the gods to cure disease. Around these sacred pools, Greeks established bathing facilities for those desiring healing, supplicants left offerings to the gods for healing at these sites and bathed themselves in hopes of a cure. The Spartans developed a primitive vapor bath, at Serangeum, an early Greek balneum, bathing chambers were cut into the hillside from which the hot springs issued
7.
Water park
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Water parks in more current states of development may also be equipped with some type of artificial surfing or bodyboarding environment such as a wave pool or FlowRider. Water parks have grown in popularity since their introduction in the late 1940s, the United States has the largest and most concentrated water park market, with over a thousand water parks and dozens of new parks opening each year. Major organizations are IAAPA and WWA, which is the trade association. Water parks which emerge from spas tend to closely resemble mountain resorts. For example, Splash Universe Water Park Resort, a member of the WWA, is themed to match the community in which it is located, the theme is intended to enhance the communitys destination appeal. Therefore, the amusement and leisure-time industry is becoming more concentrated, a process of concentration can be observed in the hybrid versions of theme-, amusement-, and water parks. Some water parks are more spa-oriented, for example, SchwabenQuellen, a member of European Waterpark Association, has no water slides, it has instead many saunas, steam rooms, adventure showers, and relaxation-oriented water play areas. In the 2000s, an effort was made to reduce long waiting lines by introducing conveyor belts to lift passengers or use water jets, an unusual feature at a water park is ice skating. Deep River Water Park in northwestern Indiana features ice skating, made possible by cooling pipes installed under their massive plaza during a recent expansion. The first-ever indoor water park was built in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, World Waterpark is the worlds second largest indoor water park, at over 225,000 sq ft in size. It includes the worlds largest indoor pool, water slides of varying degrees, tube rides, bungee jumping. Tropical Islands Resort, with an area of 710,000 sq ft, is currently the largest indoor water park in the world, with five indoor water parks, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, is recognized as the Water Park Capital of the World. It showcases several of Americas largest indoor and outdoor water parks, indoor water parks in Wisconsin Dells debuted in 1994 after the Polynesian Resort Hotel built the first one in the U. S. Success in extending the tourist season and turning water park resorts into vacation destinations has resulted in tremendous industry growth, usually, resort hotels featuring massive indoor water parks have been reserved for overnight guests. Companies like Great Wolf Resorts/Great Wolf Lodge and Kalahari Resorts have branched out from their origin in Wisconsin Dells to open new locations around the country, mt. Olympus Theme and Water Park is another huge water park in the Dells. The largest indoor water park in the UK is Sandcastle Water Park in Blackpool, England, there are many water parks in southern Europe where the climate suits a long season. For example, in Portugal on the Algarve there are three main parks - Aqualand, Aquashow, and Slide and Splash. Water play areas are similar to parks and include urban beaches, splash pads
8.
Convention center
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A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to several thousand attendees. Very large venues, suitable for trade shows, are sometimes known as exhibition centres. Convention centers typically have at least one auditorium and may also contain concert halls, lecture halls, meeting rooms, some large resort area hotels include a convention center
9.
Observatory
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An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed, historically, observatories were as simple as containing an astronomical sextant or Stonehenge. Astronomical observatories are mainly divided into four categories, space based, airborne, ground based, ground-based observatories, located on the surface of Earth, are used to make observations in the radio and visible light portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Most optical telescopes are housed within a dome or similar structure, Telescope domes have a slit or other opening in the roof that can be opened during observing, and closed when the telescope is not in use. In most cases, the upper portion of the telescope dome can be rotated to allow the instrument to observe different sections of the night sky. Radio telescopes usually do not have domes, for optical telescopes, most ground-based observatories are located far from major centers of population, to avoid the effects of light pollution. The ideal locations for modern observatories are sites that have dark skies, a percentage of clear nights per year, dry air. At high elevations, the Earths atmosphere is thinner, thereby minimizing the effects of atmospheric turbulence, sites that meet the above criteria for modern observatories include the southwestern United States, Hawaii, Canary Islands, the Andes, and high mountains in Mexico such as Sierra Negra. Major optical observatories include Mauna Kea Observatory and Kitt Peak National Observatory in the USA, Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in Spain, and Paranal Observatory in Chile. Specific research study performed in 2009 shows that the best possible location for ground-based observatory on Earth is Ridge A — a place in the part of Eastern Antarctica. This location provides the least atmospheric disturbances and best visibility, beginning in 1930s, radio telescopes have been built for use in the field of radio astronomy to observe the Universe in the radio portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Since the mid-20th century, a number of observatories have been constructed at very high altitudes, above 4. The largest and most notable of these is the Mauna Kea Observatory, the Chacaltaya Astrophysical Observatory in Bolivia, at 5,230 m, was the worlds highest permanent astronomical observatory from the time of its construction during the 1940s until 2009. It has now surpassed by the new University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory. As a result, the resolution of space telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope is often much smaller than a ground-based telescope with a similar aperture. However, all these advantages do come with a price, Space telescopes are much more expensive to build than ground-based telescopes. Due to their location, space telescopes are also difficult to maintain. The Hubble Space Telescope was serviced by the Space Shuttle while many other space telescopes cannot be serviced at all, Airborne observatories have the advantage of height over ground installations, putting them above most of the Earths atmosphere
10.
3 World Trade Center
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3 World Trade Center is a skyscraper under construction as part of the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The project lies on the east side of Greenwich Street, across the street from the location of the Twin Towers. Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Rogers, of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, was awarded the contract to design the building, as of August 2016, the buildings concrete core is topped out to maximum height, with the perimeter steel structure topped out on October 6,2016. The building is scheduled to be completed in 2018, Marriott World Trade Center was previously located at the address until its destruction in 2001. It was a 22-story steel-frame hotel with 825 rooms and it had a roof height of 242 feet. Construction began in 1979 and it opened in July 1981 as the Vista International Hotel, the Marriott World Trade Center was a 22-story steel-framed hotel building with 825 rooms. It had a height of 73.7 m and was designed by Skidmore. Its structural engineer was Leslie E. Robertson Associates with Tishman Construction serving as the main contractor and it opened in July 1981 as the Vista International Hotel and was located at 3 World Trade Center in New York City. 3 World Trade Center was originally planned for a podium of seven stories for trading floors, the diamond braces initially planned for the front and rear faces of the building have been dropped from the design and the tower is to be built without them. However, the diagonal bracing on the sides will remain, the total floor space of the building is planned to include 2,000,000 sq ft of office and retail space. The buildings groundbreaking took place in January 2008, and at time it was scheduled to be completed by 2014. Unusually for a high-rise, the concrete core would be built before the rest of the structure was completed. The structural engineer for the building is WSP, in November 2010, three PureCell fuel cells were delivered at the World Trade Center site which together will provide about 30% of the tower’s power. On May 11,2009, it was announced that the Port Authority of New York, the agency cited the recession and disagreements with developer Larry Silverstein as reasons for the proposed reduction. Silverstein opposed the plan, filing a notice of dispute on July 7,2009, Silverstein Properties, which has paid the Port Authority over US$2.75 billion in financing, noted the organization’s inability to meet construction obligations in its official complaint. If Silverstein Properties meets those triggers, then the Port Authority, City of New York, Silverstein Properties also needs to provide financing for the remaining cost of the tower before it can be completed. The existing foundation of the tower was entirely with insurance proceeds. The agreement also implemented a cash trap to make sure that public investments are paid off before Silverstein Properties makes any profits from the tower, the tower portion of 3 World Trade Center will be fully built after meeting the requirements
11.
432 Park Avenue
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432 Park Avenue is a residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City that overlooks Central Park. Originally proposed to be 1,300 feet in 2011, the structure topped out at 1,396 ft and it was developed by CIM Group and features 104 condominium apartments. Construction began in 2012 and was completed on December 23,2015, the building required the demolition of the 495-room Drake Hotel. Built in 1926, it was purchased for $440 million in 2006 by developer Harry Macklowe and its footprint became one of New Yorks most valuable development sites due to its location, between East 56th and 57th Streets on the west side of Park Avenue. As completed,432 Park Avenue is the third tallest building in the United States, and it is the second-tallest building in New York City, behind One World Trade Center, and ahead of the Empire State Building. 432 Park Avenue is the second-tallest building in New York City, by mid-2018,217 West 57th Street and 111 West 57th Street will be at a similar height. The tower has a footprint of approximately 30,000 square feet and has 12.5 foot ceilings, the building was officially topped out on October 10,2014, making it the highest rooftop in the city. The building has one of the highest height-to-width ratios of any skyscraper in the world, the design of the structure was conceived by architect Rafael Viñoly who was inspired by a trash can designed in 1905 by an Austrian designer. The tower has eighty-four 8, 255-square-foot stories, each with six 100-square-foot windows per face, interiors are designed by Deborah Berke and the firm Bentel & Bentel, which also designed Eleven Madison Park and the Gramercy Tavern. To support its thin orthogonal frame, the structure features larger columns at its base than on the upper floors, the buildings amenities include 12-foot golf training facilities and private dining and screening rooms. The first sale of apartment #35B was reported in January 2016 for $18.116 million, ten additional apartments were available at the time ranging from $17.4 to $44.25 million. #35B covers 4,000 square feet, one half of the 35th floor of the tower, each face has six 10 by 10 ft windows, which for #35B, face south and west with views of Central Park. The structure of the tower is composed of a 30 ft square reinforced concrete core with 30 in thick walls and this core houses the elevator shafts and all the building mechanical services. The outer structural skin is composed of a grid of 3 ft 8 in wide columns, the columns begin with a depth of 5 ft 4 in at the bottom of the tower, to as little as 20 in at the top. This layout permits all of the space on each floor to remain fully open for the complete 27 feet span between the core and shell. These floors also contain modularized mechanical services for the six floors above, in addition two tuned mass dampers are located at the top of the tower and in the outriggers of some of the mechanical floors to help damp the motion. Despite its success, the skyscraper has received mixed reviews from professionals and laymen alike since not everyone agreed with the artistic value of the building. The building has been maligned by some city residents since they believe it represents New Yorks increasing cost of living and ostentatious wealth
12.
Aon Center (Chicago)
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With 83 floors and a height of 1,136 feet, it is the third tallest building in Chicago, surpassed in height by the Willis Tower and the Trump International Hotel and Tower. The building is managed by Jones Lang LaSalle, which is headquartered in the building. Aon Center formerly had the headquarters of Aon and Amoco, Aons US operations are headquartered here. The Standard Oil Building was constructed as the new headquarters of the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, when it was completed in 1974 it was the tallest building in Chicago and the fourth-tallest in the world, earning it the nickname Big Stan. The building employs a tubular steel-framed structural system with V-shaped perimeter columns to resist earthquakes, reduce sway, minimize column bending and this construction method was also used for the former World Trade Center towers in New York City. When completed, it was the worlds tallest marble-clad building, being sheathed entirely with 43,000 slabs of Italian Carrara marble, the marble used was thinner than previously attempted in cladding a building, this quickly proved to be a mistake. On December 25,1973, during construction a 350-pound marble slab detached from the façade, in 1985, inspection found numerous cracks and bowing in the marble cladding of the building. To alleviate the problem, stainless steel straps were added to hold the marble in place, later, from 1990 to 1992, the entire building was refaced with Mount Airy white granite at an estimated cost of over $80 million. The buildings facade now somewhat resembles that of the former World Trade Center due to the flow of the columns. The Standard Oil Building was renamed the Amoco Building when the company changed names in 1985, in 1998, Amoco sold the building to The Blackstone Group for an undisclosed amount, estimated to be between $430 and $440 million. It was renamed as the Aon Center on December 30,1999, in May 2003, Wells Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. acquired the building for between $465 and $475 million. In recent years, the top floors of the building have been lit at night with colors to reflect a particular season or holiday, orange is used for Thanksgiving, green or red for Christmas, and pink during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The lighting commonly matches the nighttime lighting on the antenna of Willis Tower, the John Hancock Center, in the plaza, there is a sounding sculpture by Harry Bertoia
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