PECULIAR BUILDINGS

Beijing CCTV Building
Beijing, China

Beijing’s CCTV headquarters is not only an innovative structure, but one that was actually thought by some to be impossible to build. The 6-million-square-foot mixed-use complex is arranged in a sort of giant, standing loop that rises 768 feet from a low-slung base.Among the main problems posed by the design was the difficulty in building the towers to close enough specifications so that they could be joined without locking in stress differentials. The challenges posed by the earthquake-prone plateau on which Beijing is built also contributed to the complexity of this structure.To get around the former concern, the two sides were joined on an intensely cold night, when the steel in the two towers had been given time to cool to the same low temperature

M.H. de Young Memorial Museum
San Francisco, USA

Built in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park as a replacement for the original museum, which was severely damaged in the 1989 earthquake, the new M.H. de Young Memorial Museum is able to shake itself loose from the ground during a seismic event. The foundation of the main building sits on a complex system of rubber and sliding bearings to accommodate movement. Able to move up to three feet on its foundation, the building is designed to dissipate and store such movements as heat.The building’s most prominent feature is a tall, Y-shaped tower that soars nine stories above the tree canopy of the park. Clad in copper, the building will gradually turn green as it oxidizes, creating an organically shaded outer skin that will blend into the natural surroundings.

Beijing National Aquatics Center
Beijing, China

Beijing used the 2008 Summer Olympics to commission a series of landmark structures for the city, of which one of the most striking was PTW Architects' National Aquatic Center: an 861,000-square-foot facility covered in aqueous-looking, inflatable "bubbles."The building's revolutionary skin, which hangs over a more conventional steel frame, is made possible by a new kind of Teflon called ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene). ETFE is designed to adapt to changing light conditions to create stunning visual effects while capturing energy from the sun and resisting degradation due to UV light and other environmental factors. The Center stores over 90% of the solar energy that enters the building, using it to heat the pools.

30 St Mary Axe
London, UK

Though Londoners may humorously refer to it as the "Gherkin," this 2004 skyscraper designed by Foster + Partners is one of the most radical examples of the type, and provides a truly 21st-century spin on the urban office tower. The building is designed for efficiency, addressing one of the main issues many people have with tall buildings. Gaps in each floor create six shafts that serve as a natural ventilation system for the building, while the external shape limits the "wind-tunnel" effect common in skyscraper districts.