#complex architecture

[arch0nesia-ag]

Picture this: A bridge, an Occult Bridge, stretches across a chasm that defies earthly logic. Its arches curve like the ribs of a cosmic serpent, and upon its surface, Fractal Geometric Patterns dance—a symphony of sacred geometry. These patterns ripple and twist, tearing the fabric of reality itself. Step upon this bridge, and you tread upon the threshold of other dimensions.

[alwayswonderingandwandering]

housing complex

[zegalba]

Spomenik Borcima Kosmajskog Odreda (1966) Monument in Koraćica, Serbia

[quotesfrommyreading]

In his 1956 book The Marlinspike Sailor, marine illustrator Hervey Garrett Smith wrote that rope is “probably the most remarkable product known to mankind.” On its own, a stray thread cannot accomplish much. But when several fibers are twisted into yarn, and yarn into strands, and strands into string or rope, a once feeble thing becomes both strong and flexible—a hybrid material of limitless possibility. A string can cut, choke, and trip; it can also link, bandage, and reel. String makes it possible to sew, to shoot an arrow, to strum a chord. It’s difficult to think of an aspect of human culture that is not laced through with some form of string or rope; it has helped us develop shelter, clothing, agriculture, weaponry, art, mathematics, and oral hygiene. Without string, our ancestors could not have domesticated horses and cattle or efficiently plowed the earth to grow crops. If not for rope, the great stone monuments of the world—Stonehenge, the Pyramids at Giza, the moai of Easter Island—would still be recumbent. In a fiberless world, the age of naval exploration would never have happened; early light bulbs would have lacked suitable filaments; the pendulum would never have inspired advances in physics and timekeeping; and there would be no Golden Gate Bridge, no tennis shoes, no Beethoven’s fifth symphony.

“Everybody knows about fire and the wheel, but string is one of the most powerful tools and really the most overlooked,” says Saskia Wolsak, an ethnobotanist at the University of British Columbia who recently began a PhD on the cultural history of string. “It’s relatively invisible until you start looking for it. Then you see it everywhere.”

 —   The Long, Knotty, World-Spanning Story of String

[x-heesy]

𝙻 𝚘 𝚅 𝚎

National Historical and Archaeological Museum Complex Sulayman, Osh. Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 (1949)

#Travelingwithoutmoving 🧭🧳

#architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #architectureporn #architecturedesign #architecturelover #architecturephoto #architecturedaily #architecture_hunter #architecturedetail #architecturephotos #architecturedose #architectureanddesign #architecturelife #architecturegram #architecturelove #architecturephotograpy #architectures #architectureinspiration #architecture_view #architektur #architekturfotografie #architekturfotograf #architektur_erleben #architekturliebe #architekturporn #architekturelovers

What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong 🎧

[arcadebroke]

[speedilydeepruins]

Dendera Temple Complex : Egypt My mother had made the decision to travel to Israel, Jordan and Egypt. It has been a life long pilgrimage for mum. She was soo disappointed when this opportunity came up, COVID hit. Eureka this time the trip went off without a hitch. So of course I asked to share some of her photos of the trip. Some not so clear as they taken on her iPhone

[thererisesaredstar]

Sci-Tech Complex science center in Pyongyang

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Vardzia, a Medieval Cave City in Georgia (South Caucasus), c.1150-1200 CE: Vardzia was built as a fortress/monastery, and it was accessible only through hidden passageways; it contained more than 6,000 caves, 15 chapels, 25 wine cellars, an apothecary, a forge, a bakery, farming terraces, and an irrigation system

The monastic caves at Vardzia cover an area of about 500 meters. They are carved into the cliffs along the Erusheti mountains, which are located in Javakheti (a southern province near the borders between Georgia, Turkey, and Armenia).

Vardzia was originally meant to serve as a fortress, particularly in the event of a Mongol Invasion. It was protected by defensive walls, and the cave system itself was largely concealed within the mountain (though much of it is now exposed); it also contained a secret escape tunnel and several dead-end tunnels that were designed to delay/confuse enemy forces. The cave city could only be accessed through a series of hidden passageways that began near the banks of the Mtkvari River (which runs through the valley below the cave complex). Water was supplied through an irrigation system that was connected to the river, providing the inhabitants with both drinking water and agricultural irrigation, as the site contained its own terraced farmland.

The cave complex also functioned as a monastery, with a large collection of manuscripts and relics ultimately being housed at the site.

In its prime, the complex at Vardzia was inhabited by tens of thousands of residents.

Unfortunately, most of the original structures at Vardzia were destroyed by an earthquake that struck the region in 1283 CE, just a century after its construction; the earthquake sheared away the outer layer of the cliffside, exposed many of the caves, and demolished almost two-thirds of the site. The surviving structures represent only a fraction of the cave complex that once existed at Vardzia, with only about 500 caves still intact.

When the earthquake tore through the site in 1283, much of the fortress and many of its defenses were also destroyed, and Vardzia lost most of its military/defensive purposes. Still, it continued to operate as a Georgian Orthodox monastery for several hundred years after that. It narrowly escaped the Mongol Invasions of the 1290s, but it was raided by the Persians during the 16th century; the invading forces burned many of the manuscripts, relics, and other items that were stored within the cave system, leaving permanent scorch marks along the walls of the inner chambers. The site was abandoned shortly thereafter.

Medieval portrait of Queen/King Tamar: this portrait is one of the Medieval frescoes that still decorate the inner chambers of Vardzia; Tamar was the first queen regnant to rule over Georgia, meaning that she possessed the same power/authority as a king and, as a result, some Medieval sources even refer to her as "King Tamar"

Vardzia is often associated with the reign of Queen Tamar the Great, who ruled over the Kingdom of Georgia from 1184 to 1213 CE, during a particularly successful period that is often known as the "Golden Age" of Georgian history. Queen Tamar was also recognized as the Georgian King, with Medieval sources often referring to her as King Tamar. She possessed the powers of a sovereign leader/queen regnant, and was the first female monarch to be given that title in Georgia.

The initial phases of construction at Vardzia began under the command of King George III, but most of the complex was later built at the behest of his daughter, Queen Tamar, who owned several dedicated rooms at Vardzia and frequently visited the cave city. Due to her relationship with the cave complex at Vardzia, Queen Tamar is sometimes also referred to as the "Mountain Queen."

Despite the damage that the site has sustained throughout its history, many of the caves, tunnels, frescoes, and other structures have survived. The site currently functions as a monastery once more, with Georgian monks living in various chambers throughout the cave system.

I visited Vardzia back in 2011, during my first trip to Georgia. It's an incredible site, though some of the tunnels are very narrow, very dark, and very steep, which can get a bit claustrophobic.

Sources & More Info:

Atlas Obscura: Vardzia Cave Monastery

CNN: Exploring Vardzia, Georgia's Mysterious Rock-Hewed Cave City

Lonely Planet: Vardzia

Globonaut: 5 Facts about Vardzia, Georgia's Hidden Cave City

Wander Lush: Vardzia Cave Monastery (complete visitor's guide)

[subtilitas]

Studio Rijsel - Dance school, Phalempin 2020. Photos (C) Séverin Malaud.

[germanpostwarmodern]

Karl-Wrba-Hof (1979-83) in Vienna, Austria, by Rupert Falkner, Ernst Irsigler, Matthäus Jiszda, Franz Kaminsky, Stefan Karabiberoff, Werner Schröfl, Helmut Schultmeyer, Hedy Wachberger & Gunter Wratzfeld

[kvetch19]

[mothmiso]

Andalusien - Alhambra (2) (3) (4) by tombomba2

[sheltiechicago]

The Aul Residential Complex, Tole Bi 286/1, Almaty, Kazakhstan Built In Stages Between 1986-2002 Architects: B. Voronin, L. Andreyeva, Yu. Ratushnyi, V. Lepeshov, V. Ve, M.rakhimbayev

Revitalizing The Heritage Of Socialist Modernism: BACU’s Online Initiative To Protect Central And Eastern European Architecture

Preserving the monumental yet decaying structures of central and eastern Europe erected between 1955-91 is the mission of the online initiative, Socialist Modernism, created by the Bureau for Art and Urban Research (BACU). With an aim to revitalize this heritage, BACU believes in the significance of these elements which managed to defy some of the ideological requirements of their time, giving the urban space a distinct flavor characteristic of the socialist period.

Bas Relief Sculptural Frieze On The Facade Of The Institute Of Communications. Yerevan, Armenia. (70s)

Military Medical Academy Complex, Banjica, Belgrade, Serbia, Designed In 1973, Built In 1981

House Of Fashion, Belarus, Minsk, Built In 60’s-70’s

[x-heesy]

𝙴𝚡-𝚈𝚞𝚐𝚘𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚊 🇲🇰

𝚂𝚔𝚘𝚙𝚓𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚡 𝚋𝚢 𝙺𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚘 𝚃𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚝 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 1963 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝙼𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚊 *𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚇 @sabine-eee

#Travelingwithoutmoving

#architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #architectureporn #architecturedesign #architecturelover #architecturephoto #architecturedaily #architecture_hunter #architecturedetail #architecturephotos #architecturedose #architectureanddesign #architecturelife #architecturegram #architecturelove #architecturephotograpy #architectures #architectureinspiration #architecture_view #architektur #architekturfotografie #architekturfotograf #architektur_erleben #architekturliebe #architekturporn #architekturelovers

[velaraffricate]

worldbuilding can honestly be so slow and exhausting sometimes, i gotta figure out how like 50 interlocking systems work in detail before i can even start to think about writing my story