Archive for the 'Architecture' Category

The New 7 Wonders of the World

Published at July 7, 2007 in Architecture, Archaeology and Current Events. 6 Comments

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The New Seven Wonders of the World were announced today in Lisbon, Portugal. (Today’s date being, appropriately enough, 7/7/07). The New7Wonders were selected by worldwide popular vote from 21 candidates chosen from the top 77 different nominees. Here is the list unranked, as they are all considered equal:

The New 7 Wonders of the World

  • Chichen Itza - Mexico

    • Chichen Itza - Mexico

  • The Great Wall of China - China

    • The Great Wall of China - China

  • Machu Picchu - Peru

    • Machu Picchu - Peru

  • Petra - Jordan

    • Petra - Jordan

  • The Roman Colosseum - Italy

    • The Colosseum - Italy

  • The Statue of Christ Redeemer - Brazil

    • The Statue of Christ Redeemer - Brazil

  • The Taj Mahal - India

    • The Taj Mahal - India

And here are the remaining candidates that were not selected:

  • The Acropolis - Greece

    • The Acropolis - Greece

  • The Alhambra - Spain

    • The Alhambra - Spain

  • Angkor - Cambodia

    • Angkor - Cambodia

  • The Easter Island Statues - Chile

    • The Easter Island Statues - Chile

  • The Eiffel Tower - France

    • The Eiffel Tower - France

  • Hagia Sophia - Turkey

    • Hagia Sophia - Turkey

  • Kiyomizu Temple - Japan

    • Kiyomizu Temple - Japan

  • The Kremlin - St. Basil’s

    • The Kremlin - St. Basil’s

  • Neuschwanstein Castle - Germany

    • Neuschwanstein Castle - Germany

  • The Statue of Liberty - U.S.A.

    • The Statue of Liberty - U.S.A.

  • Stonehenge - United Kingdom

    • Stonehenge - United Kingdom

  • The Sydney Opera House - Australia

    • The Sydney Opera House - Australia

  • Timbuktu - Mali

    • Timbuktu - Mali

The Great Pyramids of Giza

  • The Great Pyramids of Giza - Egypt

    • The Pyramids of Giza - Egypt

  • The Great Pyramids of Giza were part of the final 21 candidates for the New7Wonders but were removed from competition out of respect for Egypt. They are the only remaining structures from the original list of Seven Wonders of the World. Thus, they will be listed together with the New7Wonders as the Eight Wonders of the World.

So, have you ever visited any of these sites? Which are your favorites?

Note: The New7Wonders Project is sponsored by The New7Wonders Foundation. The N7W Foundation was created in 2001 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber, with a mission to protect humankind’s heritage across the globe. Fifty percent of all net revenue raised by the New7Wonders Project is to be used to fund restoration efforts of important monuments around the world.

Additional Note: Here is the original list of Seven Wonders of the World:

  • The Colossus of Rhodes
  • The Great Pyramids of Giza
  • The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
  • The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
  • The Pharos Lighthouse off Alexandria
  • The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
  • The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

This traditional list was derived from various lists compiled by ancient Greek observers. The Pyramids of Giza are the only surviving structures from the original list. The rest no longer exist.

Tour Bible Times with UCLA’s Visualization Portal

Published at June 4, 2007 in Architecture, Archaeology, Technology and Bible. 0 Comments

Well, it’s not quite the Holodeck, but it still sounds pretty interesting. Has anyone ever heard about the Visualization Portal at UCLA before? I came across this in some reading this weekend.

A 40-seat theater with up-to-date virtual reality technologies located on the 5th floor of the Math Science Building, the facility is literally a portal into other times, places, and experiences. The Portal is used for both instruction and research, and has particular foci on Historical Architectural Monuments, Scientific Visualizations and Digital Technologies for the Performance Arts …

The historical architectural models shown in the Portal are an experiment in using virtual reality to recreate a place and time that no longer exist. Used both for research and instruction, there are currently 42 models under development to improve the understanding of the original historical site and to develop new applications that will ultimately heighten the research and instruction experiences.

Rhett Smith shares about his experience touring the Second Temple in the Visualizaton Portal. (The Second Temple was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BC and 70 AD. Solomon’s Temple, also known as the First Temple, was destroyed in 586 BC.)

Bel Air Presbyterian attender and UCLA Chair for the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Bill Schniedewind was our host, as he walked us through the Second Temple. In just that short time the Bible was brought to life for me in ways that I could not have imagined. I have been to Israel, Syria and Jordan before, but even being there in person didn’t compare to walking through the Second Temple in practical “virtual reality.” Dr. Schniedewind also walked us through Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls which was also very, very fascinating.

You can view a sample video of the Portal here. The video takes you on a brief virtual reality tour of the Second Temple, the Coliseum, Port Royal, the Roman Forum, and of course a virtual UCLA campus. The video also includes samples from some of the scientific visualizations such as simulations of the creation of the universe, weather models, antibodies, etc. This sounds like a fascinating project and well worth a visit if you are ever in the area.