15 Fun Facts about Architecture
This year the team at Eco Design Consultants are celebrating our 15th anniversary since we started in 2008. So, to celebrate this milestone we have collected 15 of the most fun facts in the world of architecture, 1 for every year. Are there anymore that you want to share with us?
1. Origins of the word
The word Architect comes from the Greek ‘Arkhitekton’ meaning Chief Builder or Director of Works.
2. The Big Duck
In 1931 Martin Maurer commissioned a 10-ton building in the shape of a duck to sell eggs from his duck farm. As a result, its unusual shape served as inspiration for “Duck Architecture” (buildings that represent what happens within them). The Big Duck can still be found on Long Island in New York; however, it no longer sells any eggs.
3. Puente de Piedra
Speaking of eggs, Puente de Piedra (Bridge of Stone) is a bridge found in Lima, Peru with a very eggy history. Built in 1608 it gets its name from the unusual stone masonry mortar. They replaced the water with 10,000 egg whites! They believed that eggs from sea birds could improve the consistency.
4. Cornell Tech’s House
Cornell Tech in New York is home to the biggest Passivhaus in the world. Standing at 26 stories it measures 25,084m2.
5. The Aurora Ice hotel
This Alaskan Ice hotel was made famous for making everything out of ice. From the walls and the floors to the beds and the doors. However, it was closed down by the fire marshal for having insufficient smoke detectors.
6. The Knap of Howar
The Knap of Howar is one of the best preserved neolithic houses, and the oldest building in the world that is still standing (mostly). Built on the island of Papa Westray in Orkney, it is around 5,600 years old, although Historians are unsure when exactly it was built.
7. Lego
For a short time between 1963 and 1965 Lego produced a new type of brick called Modulex. It was aimed exclusively at architects because of their smaller and more scalic proportions. Modulex is now an independent company, however they no longer produce any Lego pieces.
8. Le Palais idéal
French postman Ferdinand Cheval started collecting rocks on his daily round, and over the next 33 years he used them to build Le Palais idéal (The Ideal Palace). It is widely considered an extraordinary example of naïve architecture.
9. The Olympics
From 1912 to 1948 the Olympic games hosted competitions in architectural design, sculpture, painting, literature, and music, with 151 gold medals awarded between them. Winners included the 1928 Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam by Jan Wils.
10. The Hoover Dam
The Hoover Dam stands proudly at 221.4m tall. It’s so big that the rock excavated during construction was enough to build the Great Wall of China.
11. Construction of the Notre-Dame Cathedral
Paris’ Cathedral Notre-Dame took more than 1,000 carpenters, masons, metalsmiths and labourers 182 years to complete. Construction had to be halted several times due to financial issues and war, resulting in a delay in completion of 152 years. Talk about being behind schedule.
12. The Great Wall
The Great Wall of China took even longer to build. In fact, you could build nearly 11 Notre-Dame Cathedrals during the 2,000 years it took to complete the wall.
13. The original Architect
Historians believe that the first identified architect was Imhotep, living in around 2600 BCE he is credited with the first Egyptian pyramids, the world’s first recorded extensive stone structure.
14. The smallest house in Britain
Built in the 16th century the Quay House has a floor area of just 3.05 by 1.8m, making it the smallest house in Great Britain. Though, until 1900 the tenant was a 6-foot 3 (1.9m) fisherman called Robert Jones who must have been bumping his head a lot. The house is now a tourist location found in Conway in Wales.
15. Gate Tower, Osaka
Between floors 5 and 7 of the Gate Tower Building in Osaka Japan runs the cities motorway. They even charge rent for the space at just over £40,000 a month.
