Iconic Architecture: The Latest Architecture and News

Doha, the capital of Qatar, is the residence of more than 90% of the country's population, which amounts to about 1.7 million people, with over 80% being professional expatriates. In its historical past, Doha was primarily a fishing and pearl diving town, characterized by numerous traditional individual houses until the mid-1960s. Modernizing the city occurred mainly during the 1970s, although its pace slowed in the 1980s and early 1990s. However, Qatar has recently emerged as one of the world's fastest-growing economies, lending significant geostrategic importance to Doha.

The country's development vision revolves around reducing dependence on natural resources and embracing a knowledge-based economy encompassing international universities, high-tech industries, IT services, and advanced producer services. Much of the coastline, including the corniche, has been artificially constructed. Several notable areas contribute significantly to the evolving character of the city. The city’s contemporary architecture has been captured through the lens of photographer Pygmalion Karatzas.

+ 38

The Danish Architecture Center (DAC) has announced that the first permanent exhibition on Danish Architecture will open on March 24, 2023, in Copenhagen. The exhibition titled “So Danish!” tells the story of the evolution of architecture in the country, starting from the Viking Age and continuing to the present day. By presenting this history, it aims to help visitors understand the role and influence of architecture in the Danish democratic society.

+ 17

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Shortly after the millennium, Vanity Fair, a magazine that purports to follow every kind of cultural milestone, asked a select group of 52 “experts” to pick the five best buildings since 1980. The selections were bizarre; almost every building was by one of the chosen architects, which made up the vast majority of those asked for their picks. Few choices received more than five votes.

Architecture has been historically deployed as a tool to construct and concretize legacies. Whereas only a few built edifices have left a large enough impact on the world, or have been around long enough, to enter into the canon of architectural legend, the seven wonders of the ancient world have achieved both. With only one—the Great Pyramid of Giza—still standing, the others have all taken a unique position in the architectural imagination, with representations over the years of structures such as the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria changing according to the whims of artists of the time. Nevertheless, the spectacular stories behind each of these lost landmarks is worth revisiting – which is exactly what travel company Expedia has done in this series of illustrations.

+ 4