The Empire State Building has become an iconic part of the New York City skyline. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb and Harmon and completed in 1931. Constructed of steel and stone, this Art Deco-style skyscraper reaches 1,252 feet into the air. Tourists flock to the Empire State Building to see views of the city and the surrounding area from the 86th and 102nd floor observatories.
Notre-Dame Cathedral, located in Paris, France, is a breathtaking structure and historical site. The bishop of Paris from 1160 to 1196, Maurice de Sully, was responsible for the design and building of the cathedral. Construction on the building began in 1163. While the majority of the structure was completed by 1250, work on the building carried on into the late 13th and early 14th century. In 1845, Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc began a prolific restoration project of Notre-Dame. The restoration, which continued through the rest of his life, included reviving the pulpit, altars, baptismal fonts and chandeliers. Viollet-le-Duc also dedicated great attention to the revival of the Gothic architectural features of the cathedral. This Catholic cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, continues to showcase the typical Gothic style, and is constructed out of stone and masonry.
This famous opera house positioned along the harbor of Sydney, Australia, is a well-known sight. The Sydney Opera House was designed by Jorn Utzon, a Danish architect, and was under construction from 1957 to 1973. The opera house was designed in an Expressionist Modern style, and is made of precast concrete and white tile-clad concrete. The white jagged curves of the building's unique design jut out against the still water of the harbor and bring to mind the image of a sea shell. Utzon, who was born in 1918 and died in 2008, was inspired by the work of fellow architects Alvar Aalto and Frank Lloyd Wright. Utzon was known for his careful consideration of each building's site, and his blend of structure's usability and strength with sculptural beauty.
The Petronas Towers, built in 1998, have been featured in movies such as the action flick "Entrapment" that featured Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones. The two towers, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, taper toward the top and are designed in a geometrical polygonal design which has heavy Islamic influences. The building is 1,483 feet tall and was the tallest building in the world at the date of its completion (although Chicago's Willis Tower has the highest occupied building floor). Architect, Cesar Pelli was born in Argentina in 1926 and immigrated to the United States in 1952. He was the dean of Yale University's School of Architecture from 1977 to 1984 and received the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 1995.