13 Game-Changing Pieces Of Construction

Construction always stays on its toes.

1. Clyde Auditorium: Glasgow, Scotland

Flickr/O Palsson (CC BY 2.0) / Via Flickr: opalsson

Boasting not just 3,000 seats, spectacular design (by renowned British architects Foster and Partners) throughout, and an adorable nickname ("The Armadillo"), the Clyde Auditorium also boasts its own four-star hotel. Not bad, Glasgow. Not bad.

2. Gateshead Millennium Bridge: Gateshead, England

Flickr/Kevan (CC BY 2.0) / Via Flickr: kevandotorg

A spectacularly designed bridge over the River Tyne in England's northeast, Gateshead Millennium Bridge was the brainchild of architect Wilkinson Eyre. Also known as the "Blinking Eye Bridge" it can "tilt" from fully closed to open in as little as four-and-a-half minutes to allow boats to pass under its arches.

3. Dongdaemun Design Plaza: Seoul, South Korea

Ken Eckert/Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) / Via en.wikipedia.org

Designed by legendary Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and Samoo Architects & Engineers, the Seoul construction has become a much loved part of the city's skyline. With its spacey neo-futuristic design, it is the centre of Seoul's fashion and design hubs, boasts a public park on its roof, and was one of the key factors in winning the city's designation as World Design Capital in 2010.

4. Milwaukee Art Museum: Milwaukee, USA

Matthew Juzenas/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0) / Via Flickr: kesta

The Milwaukee Art Museum is home to over 30,000 works of art, with each wing designed by a different architect, the most standout of which is the Quadracci Pavilion by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The wing contains a movable brise-soleil that opens up during the day to its full 217 feet wingspan and folds back over at night or in inclement weather.

5. The Rolling Bridge: London, England

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/blahflowers/5001565121/sizes/l

Straight from the mind of British designer Thomas Heatherwick, Paddington Basin's The Rolling Bridge acts as a regular bridge during the day, only to curl up and form a pleasingly neat octagonal structure at night.

6. Washington Canal Park: Washington, D.C., USA

Daquella Manera/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) / Via Flickr: daquellamanera

Born from the district's Anacostia Waterfront Initiative in Washington, D.C., the Canal Park is a three-acre park built on a former car park that "presents a model of sustainability, a social gathering place, and an economic trigger for the surrounding neighborhood,” according to the Urban Land Institute, and also has an integrated stormwater system, which saves the city around 1.5 million gallons of water a year.

7. Lærdal Tunnel: Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Roman Koenigshofer/Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0) / Via Flickr: rawmeyn

Not content with it already being the longest tunnel in the world at 15.2 miles, the tunnel between Lærdal and Aurland in Norway also has a bunch of special mood lighting to keep things interesting. It was also the first tunnel in the world to have its own air treatment plant which removes both dust and nitrogen dioxide from the tunnel to render it high in air quality.

8. Trellick Tower: London, England

Edwardx/Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) / Via en.wikipedia.org

Regarded as a landmark in brutalism on these shores, the northwest London tower was erected in 1972 by legendary architect Erno Goldfinger. Commissioned after his earlier construction, Poplar's Balfron Tower, the building's separate lift and service tower became instantly iconic and turned modern urban architecture in London into a tourist attraction.

9. 1 Bligh Street: Sydney, Austrailia

Sardaka/Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) / Via en.wikipedia.org

An office building in Sydney's central business district, 1 Bligh Street was designed in a collaboration between Architectus and Ingenhoven Architects, and was awarded six-star Green Status for its ecological sustainability. The country's first major high-rise to use a full double-skin facade (an advancement that lessens glare from Sydney's strong sunlight and conserves energy) and its atrium (above) is a sight to behold.

10. Huf Haus: Various, Germany

Grap/Creative Common (CC BY-SA 3.0) / Via en.wikipedia.org

Based in Germany, Huf Haus are masters of glass-heavy, prefabricated architecture. Steeped in the clean, angular tradition of the early 20th century Bauhaus tradition, the company's buildings are typically – despite the amount of glass on display – extremely energy efficient, with many newer builds utilising triple-glazing and insulated wood.

11. The Great Glasshouse: Carmarthenshire, Wales

Flickr/Col & Tasha (CC BY 2.0) / Via Flickr: col_and_tasha

The largest of its kind when it when it opened at the National Botanic Garden of Wales in 2000, this huge glass greenhouse looks like a giant raindrop and houses some of the most endangered plants on the planet.

12. Bahrain World Trade Centre: Manama, Bahrain

Siddiqi/Public Domain / Via Flickr: siddiqi

The first skyscraper in the world to integrate wind turbine technology into its construction, the Bahrain World Trade Centre, built by British architecture firm Atkins, has won several awards for its sustainability. Plus, you know, it looks like it's from outer space.

13. Hovenring: Eindhoven, Netherlands

Edwin Hoek/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) / Via Flickr: edwin-hoek

Roundabouts have been dangerous for cyclists for too long, and now the Hovenring in Eindhoven, Netherlands, has a separate LED-lit platform that hovers about the busy motorway beneath. Safe, efficient, and it looks like a UFO. That's a tick, another tick, and one more big tick from us.

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