Gateshead Millennium Bridge

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne in England between Gateshead's Quays arts quarter on the south bank, and the Quayside of Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank. The award-winning structure was conceived and designed by architects Wilkinson Eyre and structural engineers Gifford. The bridge is sometimes referred to as the 'Blinking Eye Bridge' or the 'Winking Eye Bridge' due to its shape and its tilting method. In terms of height, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge is slightly shorter than the neighbouring Tyne Bridge, and stands as the sixteenth tallest structure in the city.

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Design — The bridge was lifted into place in one piece by the Asian Hercules II, one of the world's largest floating cranes, on 20 November 2000. It was opened to the public on 17 September 2001, and was dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II on 7 May 2002. The bridge, which cost £22m to build, was part funded by the Millennium Commission and European Regional Development Fund. It was built by Volker Stevin.

Six 45 cm (18 in) diameter Hydraulic rams (three on each side, each powered by a 55 kW electric motor) rotate the bridge back on large bearings to allow small ships and boats (up to 25 m (82 ft) tall) to pass underneath. The bridge takes as little as 4.5 minutes to rotate through the full 40° from closed to open, depending on wind speed. Its appearance during this manoeuvre has led to it being nicknamed the "Blinking Eye Bridge". 13 more images after the break...

Pamban Bridge — India

The Pamban Bridge  is a cantilever bridge on the Palk Strait connects Rameswaram on Pamban Island to mainland India. It refers to both the road bridge and the cantilever railway bridge, though primarily it means the latter. It was India's first sea bridge. It is the second longest sea bridge in India (after Bandra-Worli Sea Link) at a length of about 2.3 km. The rail bridge is for the most part, a conventional bridge resting on concrete piers, but has a double leaf bascule section midway, which can be raised to let ships and barges pass through. The railway bridge is 6,776 ft (2,065 m) and was opened for traffic in 1914. The railroad bridge is a still-functioning double-leaf bascule bridge section that can be raised to let ships pass under the bridge.

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The railway bridge historically carried metre-gauge trains on it, but Indian Railways upgraded the bridge to carry broad-gauge trains in a project that finished Aug. 12, 2007. Until recently, the two leaves of the bridge were opened manually using levers by workers. About 10 ships — cargo carriers, coast guard ships, fishing vessels and oil tankers — pass through the bridge every month. From the elevated two-lane road bridge, adjoining islands and the parallel rail bridge below can be viewed.

After completion of bridge metre-gauge lines were laid by them from Mandapam up to Pamban Station, from here the railway lines bifurcated into two directions one towards Rameshwaram about 6.25 miles (10.06 km) up and another branch line of 15 miles (24 km) terminating at Dhanushkodi. The section was opened to traffic in 1914. 09 more images after the break...

Top 10 Most Walkable Cities in the United States

10. Portland, OR

Population: 2.14 million
% commute by walking: 2.8%
% commute by mass transit: 5.9%
Average commute: 25.3 minutes
Number of parks: 39.5

09 Cities more after the break...

Hotelicopter - Flying Hotel

Wow, the flying hotel and largest helicopter in the world, Cool! The Hotelicopter is modeled on the Soviet-made Mil V-12, of which there were only two prototypes ever made. The Hotelicopter Company purchased one of these prototypes from the Mikhail Leontyevich Mil helicopter plant in Panki-Tomilino, Russia in 2004 and have been engineering the world's first flying hotel ever since."The Hotelicopter features 18 luxuriously-appointed rooms for adrenaline junkies seeking a truly unique and memorable travel experience. More after the break...

The Enigmatic Moray Agricultural Terraces of the Incas

One of the most visually stunning Inca ruins is at Moray, an archaeological site in Peru approximately 50 km northwest of Cuzco and just west of the village of Maras. In a large bowl-like depression, is constructed a series of concentric terraces that looks like an ancient Greek amphitheater. The largest of these terraces are at the center – they are enormous in size, and descend to a depth of approximately 150 meter, leading to a circular bottom so well drained that it never completely floods, no matter how plentiful the rain.

The concentric terraces are split by multiple staircases that extend upward like spokes of a wheel and enable people to walk from the top to the bottom of the bowl. Six more terraces, in connected ellipses rather than perfect circles, surround the concentric heart of Moray, and eight terraced steps that cover only a fraction of the perimeter overlook the site. The purpose of these depressions is uncertain, but the most widely agreed theory is they used to serve as ‘agricultural research station’.

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One of the most remarkable feature of the site is the vast difference in temperature that exist between the top and the bottom reaches of the structure, which can be as much as 15°C. This large temperature difference created micro climates, similar to what is achieved in greenhouses in modern times, that was possibly used by the Inca to study the effects of different climatic conditions on crops.

It is no coincidence that the temperature difference corresponds to the natural difference between coastal sea level farmland and Andean farming terraces 1,000 meters about sea level. Furthermore, pollen studies indicate that soils from different regions of the Inca empire was imported to each of the large circular terraces. It is now believed that the Moray terraces were used by Incan priest-scientists to experiment with vegetable crops to determine which should be disseminated for domestic production to farmers with fields all over the Andean region.

Another enigma is the way how drainage for water flowing through the aqueducts worked. The lowest level is perfectly drained and never gets flooded even after incessant rains. It is suggested that there must be underground channels built by the depressions' bottom allowing water to drain. It is also argued that the bottom is over a very porous natural rock formation that enables water filtering toward the earth's interior.

We might never know why Moray was constructed, but the agricultural research station is a very likely possibility. Perhaps it is not surprising, since about 60 percent of the world’s food crops originated in the Andes, including hundreds of varieties of maize and thousands of potato varieties. 16 more images after the break...

Bicycle with Sidecar

 

This is not a movie "about the Germans and not the old Soviet great - this vehicle is built not on an industrial scale and in the backyard or in the garage. This cool bike with a sidecar collected Briton Steve Bodiley his own hands. 14 more images after the break...

Water Bridge Over River — Magdeburg Water Bridge

Magdeburg water bridge can rightfully claim to be a revolutionary breakthrough in bridge construction. The idea to build a navigable bridge that would connect Berlin with the ports on the Rhine River, originated in the distant 1870s. Prior to the creation of a specific project it came only in 1920. 04 more images after the break...

House dutch hill

An interesting project is a Dutch design studio Denieuwegeneratie – Dutch Mountain House. This is a half-underground house, which is located in the Dutch nature reserve. In addition to the unusual architecture of the house and the original furniture – a bookcase from the “Jaguar” or the legs of the kitchen table of the bin.

Elegant Yacht Concept - Cronos

This elegant yacht concept called Cronos was designed by Simone Madella and Lorenzo Berselli, Italian students who are currently studying BYT (bike, yacht and train) class at the European Institute of Design. Cronos Yacht Design concept has received a special mention in the “Young Professional” category during the Millenium Yacht Design Award (MYDA) with special quote “interesting experimentation in expressive language applied to interior architecture, with particular to the value of wood and its use forms”. Stunningly intricate woodwork seems to grow from within the opulent interior and extend across spacious decks before pouring over into the water. Minimal and at the same time futuristic interior and exterior make this luxurious yacht an ideal for traveling.

 

 

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The iPhone

Black Apple wallpaper with a Touchscreen iPhone

Light Apple wallpaper with iPhones in black and white

Blue sky, clouds and an iPhone with many Apps

An Amazing Underground Hotel in Songjiang Begins

Some years ago, a British engineering firm Atkins proposed an extravagant design for a five-star hotel located deep within
a 100-meter, abandoned and half flooded pit near the base of Tianmashan
Mountain in the Songjiang District of Shanghai. Construction on the
19-story, 380-room Shimao Intercontinental Hotel finally is already
underway. Initially the hotel was expected to be completed by May, 2009,
but construction commenced only in March early this year.
The innovative design of the luxury resort hotel stands two levels higher than the rock face of the 100 meter deep quarry and includes underwater
public areas and guestrooms. Instead of draining what water there is in
the quarry, it will be flooded to become a sunken artificial
lake. Two of the hotels floors housing guest rooms and a restaurant are
to be situated underwater. An artificial waterfall will plunge down in
front of the hotel's facade and into the quarry, at least, according to
the concept images. Curved wings of the main body of the guestrooms
enclose a naturally lit internal atrium, which uses the existing rock
face with its waterfalls and green vegetation. There will also be sports
facilities and a ten-meter deep aquarium. Among other things, the hotel
will feature an extreme sports center for activities like rock climbing
and bungee jumping will be cantilevered over the quarry.



The entire hotel is to be covered in a green roof, while the building will use geothermal energy for it’s electrical supply and heating. The
quarry will also provide a good source of heat control and shelter from
the environment.
“We drew our inspiration from the quarry setting itself, adopting the image of a green hill cascading down the natural rock face as a series
of terraced landscaped hanging gardens.” said Martin Jochman.
The Shanghai Shimao Property Group has so far invested US$555 million into the entire resort, and hotel rooms are expected to start at $320
per night. The hotel is scheduled to open in late 2014 to early 2015.








View of the pit where a five-star hotel will be built in Tianmashan, Songjiang, Shanghai, China, 13 March 2012.

Auckland Wallpapers

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Amazing Digital Art

 

Digital Art is a general term for representing a range of artistic works and some practices which use digital technology as an necessary part of the creative work. Digital art is placed under the term called new media art, Since 1970 different names have been given to this process like computer art and multimedia art. In an expanded sense, “digital art” is a term applied to modern art that uses the methods of mass production or digital media.

 

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History and Wallpapers Of Muscle Cars

It was 1963 when a firm Pontiac released a new model “Pontiac Tempest GTO”, they looking for a way to promote this model. There is a small magazine “Car and driver” at that time, they need an interesting article to enhance their sales. They give an idea of article “new Pontiac Tempest V/S Ferrari GTO”. They just tested Tempest and compared it with Ferrari. This article become so popular and it helps in enhancing sales of Pontiac, Then Muscle cars get growth by passage of time.More Image..............

Stunning Architecture of the World

Architecture means, The art of designing buildings and other physical structures. So an architect provide services in connection with the design and construction of a building or many buildings at a time. Architecture is a general term to describe physical structures and other buildings. It is a style of developing designs of buildings. More image..........

A Mercedes Benz

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Top 15 Most Beautiful Roads in the World

The greatest driving roads in the world should have a perfect mixture between challenging and complicated bends, long fast straights, little to no traffic and especially breathtaking views!
These roads might have enough twists and turns to give you a headache but you’ll feel incredible after you’ve conquered them and you’ll surely want to try it again and again and again.
Here is a list with the 15 Most Beautiful Roads in the World to drive on and another five honorable mentions that you’ll surely like. Enjoy!

Strange-statues-around-world

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Towers Around The World

Highest Towers - of the World

Location : Paris

Height : 318 Meters

Floors :

Built : 1887


11 More after the break...

Ark Hotel – World’s New Most Unique Hotel

The Ark project was designed by Russian firm Remistudio with the assistance of the International Union of Architects’ program Architecture for Disasters Relief. The dome-shaped hotel is constructed with wooden arches, steel cables and a “self-cleaning” plastic layer instead of glass. The slinky-like Ark hotel can be adapted to suit both land and water. It is built to stay afloat in the event of floods or rising seas. The 14,000 square metre shell-like construction of arches and cables distributes the weight evenly, meaning it can withstand earthquakes. Daylight is filtered through to internal rooms due to the hotel’s see-through structure, reducing the need for lighting. 09 More images after the break...