10 Cities With The Best Architecture

As someone who has been bitten by the travel bug, one of my favourite things to do is admire the architecture of an unfamiliar city. To me, architecture is an expression which is defied by a monument or building. And these wonderful architectural achievements would not be possible without the construction sector. Now the world has some amazing cities brimmed with some awe-inspiring architecture. And I have been lucky enough to visit a few of them. So without further a do, here are 10 cities with the best architecture:

1. London, UK

an image of st paul's cathedral As one of the busiest city, the "Big Smoke" does have some lovely architecture. You can admire tall buildings, like the Shard and the Gherkin. And there are also buildings which represent heritage with the likes of St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey and of course, Buckingham Palace. What is unique about London is that it does not have a primary architectural style. But there are areas within the city that have very strong urban qualities which has influenced urban planning right across the globe.

2. Rome, Italy

an image of colosseum, rome, italy Some of the architecture in Rome dates back to Roman times, in particular the Coliseum (pictured above). But if you ever take a trip to the Vatican, then this is some something else. The Vatican, recognised as a separate country within Rome, has some of the most beautiful buildings. These include St. Peter's Basillica, Sistine Chapel (which holds the most famous ceiling painting: The Last Judgement) and the Apostolic Palace. Most of the buildings in Rome follow baroque-style of architecture. This basically means the buildings have been designed to be awe-inspiring. And this was a common trend during the Renaissance in Rome.

3. New York, USA

an image of new york from rockefeller centre Affectionately called the "Big Apple" or even the "Concrete Jungle", New York is famous for its many tall sky scrapers. Buildings like the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building are known all over the world. And let's not forget the One World Trade Centre, it is tallest building in the Western hemisphere. You can take an amazing photo of the New York skyline when you go up the Rockerfella Centre (pictured above).

4. Paris, France

an image of louvre, paris Paris (Or France I should say) is the birth place of gothic-style architecture. Following a similar style from the Renaissance, Gothic architecture has been characterised by it is pointed-arch and ribbed vaults. Famous landmarks of Paris include Eiffel Towel, Notre-Dame and Arc de Triomphe. There's also the Louvre (pictured above) as well. The Louvre is the world's largest art museum. Opened in 10 August 1793, The Louvre has undergone many extensions and refurbishments. In 1989, the outer glass pyramid was completed. The inverted section of the pyramid was then completed in 1993. Figures from 2002, show that the number of visitors to the Lourve had doubled since then.

5. Dubai, UAE

an image of dubai Dubai is a city that seems to be growing year after year. When the Burj Khalifa was built, it was hailed as the world's tallest building. But then, in October 2016 an annoucement was made to say that an even taller building is going to be built. This new building is going to be called the Dubai Creek Tower. It is going to be completed by 2020 and it will cost US $1 billion to build. The proposed Dubai Creek Tower is expected to stand at 928m (the Burj Khalifa currently stands at 828m). It won't be long before Dubai becomes the first city to have a building standing at over 1km in height.

6. Chicago, USA

an image of chicago The Windy City is heavily populated by tourist thanks to the city's rich history and multi-cultural heritage. The city's concrete landscape features a whole host of prominent buildings of a diverse range of architectural styles. Chicago is also the home to architectural great, Frank Lloyd Wright. You can even take a tour of his home and architectural laboratory, where he experimented with different concepts and ideas.

7. Shanghai, China

an image of shaghai skyline Shanghai is known to be the most populous city in the world, with a population of more than 24 million (as of 2017). Since the 1990s, the city under went economic reforms and attracted a great deal of investment which resulted in intense redevelopment of the city. It is amazing to see how this city grew during China's economic boom as you admire the Lujaizui skyline (pictured above). The city has a mixture of distinctive and eccentric architectural styles. Buildings to look out for are Jin Mao Tower, The Shanghai Tower and Oriental Pearl Tower.

8. Athens, Greece

an image of pathaneon, athens, greece If you want to know what life was really like during ancient times, then look no further than Athens. It is the home of classical architecture. Athens is one of the world's oldest cities and is known as the birth place of democracy. It has a recorded history spanning over 3,400 years. Much of ruins from ancient Greek times still stand to this day. Notable examples are the Temple of Hephaestus, Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Parthenon (pictured above).

9. Barcelona, Spain

an image of La Sagrada Família Barcelona is a city rich in history, culture and architectural gems. Taking the inspiration from gothic and oriental styles, 19th century Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi had a vision of a city with natural urban spaces. Today, you can see Gaudi's worked throughout the city which include the Park Guell, a multi-tiled wonderland, and his unfinished masterpiece in La Sagrada Familia (pictured above).

10. Brasilia, Brazil

an image of Brasilia For a glimpse into the future then you need to look at the capital of Brazil. Founded in April 1960, it is a young capital city. The idea for a new capital came about back in 1956 when the country's president at the time, Juscelino Kubitschek, had a dream of building a new capital city in place of then-capital city Rio de Janeiro in the barren centre of the country. Kubiteschek hired Oscar Niemeyer to do the job. Niemeyer went on to design a new city which is defined by what is known as futurism. Brasilia has a sharp contrast of glass and concrete, a signature trait of the futurism archietural style. Buildings to look out for are Cathedral of Brasilia and the Three Powers Plaza.

Interested to Work in the Construction Sector?

As you can see, none of these cities would have existed if it weren't for the construction sector. If you would like to work in  construction, there are a number of paths you can take. You can either pursue a career in engineering or architecture. These career paths requires a university degree and a further professional qualification. Or you can work on-site as a construction labourer and work your way up to become a site manager or supervisor. You can even choose to specialise in a specific skill (i.e. joinery, stonemasonry etc.). For the latter, you will need to get a green CSCS card, which will allow you work as a construction labourer. Thanks for reading. What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you know of any other cities that has amazing architecture? Please let us know in the comments section below.
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