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The Dallas County Courthouse was constructed in 1892 in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. It is on the National Register of Historic Places #76002019.
A modern high-rise stands tall against a backdrop of endless forest, its sharp lines and vivid green facade contrasting with the softer tones of trees and suburban houses below. The glass balconies reflect fragments of life, while the grid-like design adds order to the vertical rise. Between city and nature, this building becomes a striking marker of human presence in the landscape — a geometric statement reaching above the treetops.
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Tbilisi is the capital and largest city of Georgia, situated in the eastern part of the country on the banks of the Kura River. With a rich history spanning over 1,500 years, Tbilisi has been shaped by numerous cultures and civilizations over the centuries. The old part of Tbilisi, known for its charming architecture and unique atmosphere, is one of the most captivating areas of the city. In contrast, the Peace Bridge is a strikingly modern architectural marvel and one of Tbilisi’s most recognizable landmarks. Completed in 2010, the bridge was designed by Italian architect Michele de Lucchi, with lighting by French designer Philippe Martinaud. It spans the Kura River, connecting the old town with the newer districts, and serves as an important pedestrian route and a symbol of the city. The bridge’s design is particularly remarkable, featuring a glass canopy that curves gracefully over the walkway. Often compared to a giant glass wave or a sea creature, the canopy is made of steel and glass and is illuminated at night by thousands of LED lights. These lights create a breathtaking visual display and are programmed to transmit messages in Morse code, conveying universal symbols of life and peace. The Bridge of Peace is not only a functional structure but also a symbolic monument. It embodies the connection between the old and modern parts of Tbilisi and serves as a metaphor for the city’s progress toward peace and unity. The bridge is a popular spot for both locals and tourists, offering stunning views of the city, including the nearby Narikala Fortress and the Presidential Palace.
The Peace Bridge in Tbilisi, Georgia, is located in the heart of the city, spanning the Kura River. Its futuristic design stands in sharp contrast to the surrounding historic architecture, making it a powerful symbol of Tbilisi’s dynamic blend of tradition and modernity.
Tbilisi is de hoofdstad en grootste stad van Georgië, gelegen in het oosten van het land aan de oevers van de rivier de Koera. De stad heeft een rijke geschiedenis die meer dan 1.500 jaar teruggaat en heeft door de eeuwen heen vele invloeden ondergaan van diverse culturen en beschavingen. Het oude gedeelte van Tbilisi, bekend om zijn charmante architectuur en unieke sfeer, is een van de meest fascinerende delen van de stad. De Vredesbrug is daar in tegen erg modern. Een modern architectonisch wonder en een van de meest herkenbare bezienswaardigheden van de stad. De brug, voltooid in 2010, is ontworpen door de Italiaanse architect Michele de Lucchi, met de verlichting ontworpen door de Franse lichtontwerper Philippe Martinaud. De brug overspant de rivier de Kura en verbindt de oude stad met de nieuwere wijken. Het is een voetgangersbrug en dient als een belangrijk symbool voor de stad. Het ontwerp van de brug is bijzonder opvallend, met een glazen overkapping die sierlijk over het wandelpad buigt. Deze overkapping, die vaak wordt vergeleken met een gigantische glazen golf of een zeewezen, is gemaakt van staal en glas en wordt 's nachts verlicht door duizenden LED-lichten. Deze verlichting creëert een adembenemend visueel spektakel en is zo geprogrammeerd dat het boodschappen in morsecode uitzendt, waarbij universele symbolen van leven en vrede worden weergegeven. De Vredesbrug is niet alleen een functioneel bouwwerk, maar ook een symbolisch monument. Het staat voor de verbinding tussen het oude en het moderne deel van Tbilisi en is een metafoor voor de vooruitgang van de stad naar vrede en eenheid. De brug is een populaire plek voor zowel de lokale bevolking als toeristen en biedt prachtige uitzichten over de stad, waaronder het nabijgelegen Narikala-fort en het presidentiële paleis. Het futuristische ontwerp van de brug contrasteert sterk met de historische architectuur eromheen, waardoor het een symbool is van Tbilisi's dynamische mix van traditie en moderniteit.
A quiet cobblestone alley in the heart of Trondheim, framed by the contrast of green wooden facades and red brick walls. Once bustling with trade and local life, these narrow backstreets now offer a glimpse into the city’s layered history and architectural heritage.
Fun fact:
Many of Trondheim’s old alleys, known locally as smug, were originally built for easy access between the busy waterfront and merchant houses. Some of them still follow the same paths laid out in the Middle Ages.
Weekly Theme: Architecture
Week 26
Taken July 3, 2016
Title: Architectural Contrasts
Notes: Well, last week I did not get a chance to post as Peter was of greater concern. Now he is still of great concern, but finally on the mend! :-) So as I like to do, I explored my surroundings a bit today in search of a subject. My favorite shot was of this tall obelisk of steel in a courtyard of the Abington Memorial Hospital. Tall and modern it rose in stark contrast to the old colonial cupola atop the oldest part of the hospital (circa 1913).
The modern - expressionist style of Number One The Avenue (The Armani Exchange) contrasted against the Victorian Neo-Gothic style of the John Ryland's library.
Number One The Avenue was designed by Sheppard Robson and is located along Deansgate in Manchester, England.
Focusing on the details, this photograph raises the question of visual appeal: the sleek, modern façade of the Tour Paradis stands in stark contrast to the curved lines and textured charm of the art deco apartment block in front of it. Whether harmonious or jarring, this juxtaposition is a striking example of how old and new coexist in the urban fabric of Liège – Belgium.
The Chicago Federal Center is a complex of buildings designed from 1959 onwards and completed in 1974. They were designed by Mies van der Rohe among other architectes. The 42-story John C. Kluczynski Federal Building is on the bottom of the photos. To the top is the Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root designed Monadnock Building from 1893. The Chicago Federal Center is on the National Register of Historic Places #08001165. The Monadnock Building is on the National Register of Historic Places #70000236 and part of a National Historic Landmark district.
The More London complex framing the Shard, London's tallest building. The Shard was designed by Renzo Piano.
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Itsukushima Shrine features the iconic Torii gate in water. Two wooden buildings frame the scene. Cultural heritage and tranquil reflection converge in this picturesque shot.
The old Maricopa County Courthouse was constructed in 1925 and was designed by Lescher and Mahoney. The Maricopa County Courthouse is on the National Register #88003237.
Jingan temple, one of Shanghai's most famous landmarks, rises impressively against a backdrop of modern skyscrapers. The intricate traditional architecture is adorned with golden accents, contrasting beautifully with the steel and glass structures surrounding it. A busy street is visible in the foreground, filled with cars and bustling activity, illustrating the vibrancy of city life.
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Rising quietly along Eddy Street in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, the Joan San-Jule Apartments are a fading but still-striking example of Victorian Italianate architecture—a style that once dominated the city’s streetscape before the devastation of the 1906 earthquake and fire. This image captures a dramatic upward angle of the building’s ornate façade, highlighting its detailed cornices, fluted pilasters, and recessed windows with scrollwork brackets—all hallmarks of a bygone era in San Francisco housing.
Though partially boarded and weathered with time, the structure remains deeply expressive. Painted a soft cream color, its wood siding and classical ornamentation stand in stark contrast to the more austere and modern buildings surrounding it. The shadows cast by projecting bays, dentil molding beneath the cornice line, and egg-and-dart details suggest a care in craftsmanship not often seen in contemporary urban development.
The small sign identifying the building as the “Joan San-Jule Apartments” suggests a late-20th-century renaming—perhaps by a landlord, a preservationist, or someone commemorating a family name. Its placement in the center of the narrow façade draws the viewer’s eye up into the symmetrical verticality of the building, where light dances on glass and texture.
San Francisco’s Tenderloin is one of the most architecturally overlooked neighborhoods in the city. While often associated with social services and dense housing, it also hosts a remarkable number of surviving Victorian and Edwardian-era buildings, especially on the quieter blocks just a few steps from Van Ness Avenue. The Joan San-Jule Apartments stand as a rare survivor—a structure that likely dates to the late 1800s and speaks to the city’s past in wood, glass, and paint.
Captured in a sharply vertical composition, this photograph emphasizes the contrast between preservation and decay. Wavy windowpanes, bird netting stretched across the cornice, and the texture of aging paint all reinforce the passage of time. The boarded windows, while unfortunate, add a documentary truth to the image: many such buildings teeter between renovation and ruin.
Yet even in this in-between state, the Joan San-Jule Apartments tell a rich story. They remind viewers that not all history is enshrined in museums—some of it lingers quietly in residential architecture, holding onto its dignity despite the chaos and change that surround it. For urban explorers, architecture enthusiasts, or San Franciscans eager to look past the surface, this building is a modest masterpiece waiting to be noticed.
Boldly curving lines and stark concrete dominate this striking architectural photo of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The image centers on the museum’s inner courtyard and iconic fountain—now empty, exposing its deep mechanical structure like the gears of a machine—set within the circular embrace of Gordon Bunshaft’s modernist building.
Opened in 1974 and named after financier and art collector Joseph H. Hirshhorn, the museum is known for its radical departure from the neoclassical architecture of the National Mall. Designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the cylindrical building’s clean curves and minimalist windows suggest an almost otherworldly presence—a concrete drum that defies convention. The brutalist aesthetic is unmistakable, yet softened here by the organic circularity of the space.
The symmetry in this photo draws the eye inward, emphasizing the sculptural fountain at the center. Radiating ribs in the surrounding stone direct visual flow to the middle, while the upper stories of repeating rectangular windows offer a rigid contrast to the radial lines below. The yellow “WELCOME” banner to the left and the bold “HIRSHHORN” text to the right add bursts of color and contemporary branding, anchoring the institution’s identity amid the concrete.
Visitors appear through the glass corridor behind the fountain—some pausing, some in motion—offering a scale reference and a reminder that this is a living museum. Their presence breathes life into an otherwise monolithic setting, illustrating the museum’s role not only as a home for modern art, but as a vital public gathering space in the heart of D.C.
From the moment it opened, the Hirshhorn Museum has challenged assumptions about what an art museum should be. Its architecture alone is a sculptural work of art—often drawing comparisons to a spacecraft, a fortress, or even a giant doughnut. The building’s shape allows for an uninterrupted gallery loop, with exhibitions wrapping around the perimeter and views periodically opening into the sky-lit courtyard.
The sculpture garden below street level further expands the museum’s reach, offering works by artists such as Rodin, Henry Moore, and Yoko Ono. The museum’s curatorial focus on postwar contemporary art makes it one of the premier destinations for avant-garde, boundary-pushing visual expression in the United States.
This image captures more than just a moment of architecture—it distills the very ethos of the Hirshhorn: forward-thinking, visually striking, and unapologetically modern. It’s a place where art meets infrastructure, where design becomes the experience, and where Washington’s powerfully traditional architecture gives way to fearless experimentation.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Tower at PNC Plaza (2015) on the left and the Gulf Tower (1932) on the right.
The modern atrium of the Liverpool Central library looking up towards the large skylight. The library is located in a historic building which was completed in 1860. The modern interior was refurbished in 2013.
The old Tudor houses at the tower of London house the Yeomen Warders. The Yeomen Warders are ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. In principle they are responsible for looking after any prisoners in the Tower and safeguarding the British crown jewels, but in practice they act as tour guides and are a tourist attraction in their own right.
Jonathan Williams began construction of Castle Williams in 1807 and was completed in 1811 - It's a three level 100 gun casemate. It was the first casemated fort in North America. It was part of a larger system of forts such as Fort Wood, Fort Hamilton,and Castle Clinton protecting New York Harbor and New York City.
The northern half of Governor's Island is a National Register historic district #85002435. It's also a National Historic Landmark. The National Park Service runs Castle Williams and Fort Jay as a National Monument.
The Los Angeles Public Library was designed by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and opened in 1926. It's in an Egyptian Revival style with sphinxes, snakes, mosaics, and of course the pyramid on top of the building. There is a huge globe chandelier in the dome under the pyramid. The Central Library was heavily damaged in 1986 due to an arson fire. It was restored and expanded by Norman Pfeiffer, and reopened to the public in 1993.
The Los Angeles Public Library is on the National Register #70000136 and probably should also be a National Historic Landmark.
One of the many examples of modern, contemporary architecture in the Rotterman Quarter in Tallinn, Estonia. The area is one of the most attractive quarters in the city, where old industrial buildings that have been given new functions stand next to modern architecture.
The Fisher Building was designed by Charles B. Atwood of D.H. Burnham & Company and opened in 1896. It is the last building left from the early skyscraper period in Chicago that has not been demolished. The Fisher Building is on the National Register of Historic Places #7600069. The Harold Washington Central Library was designed by Hammond, Beeby and Babka and opened in 1991.
The Smithsonian Arts and Industries building was the second building completed for the Smithsonian. It was designed by Adolf Cluss and Paul Schulze and opened in 1881. It is on the National Register of Historic Places #71000994 and is also a National Historic Landmark.
The modern - expressionist style of Number One The Avenue (The Armani Exchange) complimented by the architecture of the adjacent building
Number One The Avenue was designed by Sheppard Robson and is located along Deansgate in Manchester, England.
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The modern stucture of the Metropol Parasol frames the grand, old buildings in Seville.
Metropol Parasol is a wooden structure located at La Encarnación square, in the old quarter of Seville, Spain. It was designed by the German architect Jürgen Mayer-Hermann and completed in April 2011.