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The end of the XXth century was marked with the architectural boom. Grand erections similar to ancient constructions classified as the wonders of the world began to arise one by one all over the globe. Many of them became the places of tourist pilgrimage even while not being completed. Ten of such projects have already gained the worldwide fame.
Great Egyptian museum in Giza.
Great Egyptian museum in Giza is about the same architectural wonder as the Giza pyramids themselves. As a matter of fact, it is the basis of architectural development of modern civilization. It is a massive row of chambers enfolding the scenery, with triangular roofs like in pyramids. The space of the largest archaeological museum in the world exceeds thousands of square meters.
The Tate Modern art gallery in London.
The Tate Modern art gallery in London is the largest-scale gallery in the world. And now the construction of the second 11-story glass building with 23 thousand square meters of space has been started. It is planned to complete the construction in time for the 2012 Olympics. The use of new areas will allow to solve the problem of over-crowding of the gallery that was visited by 4.9 million people in the year 2006.
The cost of the project, designed by Swiss architects, is 215 million pound sterling. The expenses for extension to gallery are expected to be comparable to the main construction bill.
Burj Dubai.
The skyscraper in United Arab Emirates pretends to be the tallest building in the world.
There will be the fastest elevators and the "highest" communications. When the construction is completed the final height of Burj Dubai will be more than 700 meters, it will have more than 160 floors. Now the builders work at 484.1 meters height. Interestingly: the weight of concrete used in building construction equals approximately the summarized weight of 100 thousand elephants.
Simon Wiesenthal Museum in Jerusalem.
Simon Wiesenthal Center suggested an idea to create the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem in the year 2002. Famous American architect Frank Gehry developed the model of museum complex. It is situated on the plot of land between "Gan Ha'atzmaut" park and Nahlat Shiva in the West Jerusalem. 120 million dollars were invested in this construction. The museum that is officially called " Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem" occupies the territory of 14 thousand square meters. It has been built from Hierosolymitan stone with the insertions of titanium allays that is Gehry's favourite construction material.
The third terminal of the Capital International Airport in Peking.
The country that builds the biggest dam, the longest bridge and the greatest shopping mall just ought to have the most immense construction plot while erecting the largest airport terminal in the hugest airport. The future third terminal will occupy 17 tiers, will stretch for nearly 4 kilometres, will require 35 thousand builders and will be capable of handling 53 million passengers in a year.
Olympic stadium in Peking.
Huge complex will be constructed by the year 2008. Its sizes are impressive: 330 metres lengthwise, 220 metres widthwise, with 62 meters in height, it will hold a 100 thousand persons. Though it is still unclear whether there will be as many lavatories there as for example in the famous Wembley stadium.
Ground Zero Memorial in New York.
Ground Zero is the memorial on the site of the former World Trade Center towers destroyed during terrorist attacks on the 11th of September. The huge construction with the slabs on which all the witnesses and sympathizers sign, now yields in size only to Holocaust memorial. The Tower of Freedom will be as tall as 1776 foots - 541 meters.
MAXXI - National Museum for Contemporary Art in Rome.
Zaha Hadid, the only one lady-architect in the world who won the Pritzker Prize, has designed MAXXI - the Roman Centre for Contemporary Art, it is a sophisticated concrete erection that simultaneously impresses with extravagance and monumentality. It is impossible to measure the length of the building since it has an extremely odd shape; it is even compared to spaghetti.
CCTV - the Chinese Television building in Peking.
CCTV - the Chinese Central Television building - is to be completed by the year 2008. This building - the skyscraper - is impressive due to its unusual shape. Chinese television head quarter will have 500.000 square meters of total space and will become one of the 300 skyscrapers that are to be constructed in the down town of Peking. The estimated cost of the project is 600.000.000 euros. Its infrastructure includes restaurants, hotels and theatres.
The Bishopsgate Tower in London.
It is another skyscraper of unusual configuration. Today it is the largest construction in London's history. Its height is going to be 288 meters - it was originally proposed to be 307, but civil aviation authority prohibited such height. The tower will become one of the tallest buildings in the whole Europe. Recently the project was renamed The Pinnacle. The date of the construction first phase is planned for the beginning of the year 2008. The building will also be ecological - it will be covered with the solar cell panels.
