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Posts Tagged ‘Subterranean’

Salt Mines Converted to Stunning Subterranean Museum

06 Dec

[ By Steph in Global & Travel & Places. ]

Salt Mine Subterranean Museum Romania 1

Between the eerie glowing lights, the otherworldly cavernous spaces and the long strange trip it takes to get there, this subterranean museum feels like it could be located on an alien planet. The Salina Turda Salt Mines of Romania have been converted to the world’s largest salt mining museum, but this is no dry historical tour – there’s weird wooden architecture, a playground and even a ferris wheel.

Salt Mines Subterranean Museum 2

Salt Mine Subterranean Museum Romania 3

All of the LED lights sticking out of those unusual architectural shapes at the center of the museum make it quite a sight from far above, when looking down into the mine plunging 120 meters (393 feet) into the earth. Visitors take elevators to each of the three museum chambers at various depths to see the restored equipment.

Salt Mines Subterranean Museum Romania 4

The sports arena, amphitheater, mini golf course and bowling lanes are reason enough to take a trip to the mine, but the caverns themselves are the main attraction. Uplighting shows off the amazing natural patterns on the excavated walls. There’s even a small subterranean lake with boats for rent.

Salt Mine Subterranean Museum Romania 5

The mines were first excavated in the 17th century and provided a vast wealth of salt for the Romans. The interior is totally free of allergens and almost entirely devoid of bacteria, and maintains a temperature of about 52 degrees with 80% humidity.

 

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Salt Sculptures: 12 Stunning Artworks by Motoi Yamamoto

Japanese artist Motoi Yamamoto uses salt’s symoblic role in Japanese culture to create amazingly complex and emotional salt sculptures and drawings.
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Hair Today: Turkey’s Bizarre Subterranean Hair Museum

Cappadocia’s cave homes have made it famous, but there is another, less well-known attraction there: a weird museum with 16,000 samples of human hair.
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Deserted Industry: 7 Abandoned Factories, Mills and Mines

Our factories and other industrial buildings tend to outlive their primary use. What happens then? These 7 factories, mills and mines were left to crumble.
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Surreal Subterranean Space: Hand-Carved Cave for Sale

03 Dec

[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

Hand Carved Caves for Sale 1

If you’ve always dreamed about having your very own network of cathedral-like hand-carved caves (who hasn’t?) you’re in luck – such a dreamscape can be yours for less than the average cost of a single-family home in San Francisco. Artist Ra Paulette has spent the last 25 years carving a network of 14 caves beneath the desert of Northern New Mexico with little more than a pick axe and a wheelbarrow, and one of the most impressive of them is now on the market.

Hand Carved Caves for Sale 2

Hand Carved Caves for Sale 3

Paulette’s endeavors were the subject of a documentary called Cave Digger, directed by Jeffery Karoff and shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination. The carvings have been called the Eighth Wonder of the World, each one incredibly detailed with shell-like relief sculptures. Paulette was commissioned to create the caves by private property owners near Taos. Unfortunately, creative differences between the sculptor and the patrons have prevented most of them from being entirely finished.

Hand Carved Caves for Sale 4

Hand Carved Caves for Sale 5

Until now, Paulette’s work has gone largely unrecognized. But ‘Tree of Human Kindness,’ a whopping 208-acre cave, has been listed by Sante Fe Properties for $ 995,000, with subdivided lots available for just $ 49,000 each. Underground power and telephone is available at the lot line. The caves have previously been used for meditation and concerts.

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Don’t Burn Rubber: Hand-Carved, Recycled-Tire Art

Used tires get a new lease on life in the talented hands of artist Wim Delvoye. These intricate hand-carved tires are surprisingly delicate.
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From Cappadocia to Missouri: Over 30 Gorgeous Cave Houses

Stone houses invoke thoughts of dark, cold, and damp places full of creepy creatures. Cave homes now have all the warmth and amenities of any modern household.
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Incredibly Intricate 2.5 Ton Carved Marble Manhattan

The island of Manhattan is a fascinating place on its own, but one artist has given it new life. This marble recreation of Manhattan is full of amazing details.
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Subterranean Quarry Hotel to Extend 328 Feet Underground

19 Feb

[ By Steph in Boutique & Art Hotels & Global. ]

Songjiang Quarry Hotel Construction 1

Construction has begun on an incredible 19-story, 5-star hotel that will be located deep within a 100-meter (328-foot) abandoned quarry near the base of Tianmashan Mountain in the Songjiang District of Shanghai. The 380-room Shimao Intercontinental Hotel seemed almost too wild to be true, and though its initial estimated opening date of May 2009 has long past, photos show progress at the quarry.

Songjiang Quarry Hotel Construction 2
Designed by British engineering firm Atkins Global, the Shimao Hotel mimics a waterfall with a glass atrium that extends from the ground-level roof all the way down into the quarry. Three of the floors will be above-ground, with the rest extending into the pit. Instead of pumping the water out of the flooded quarry, the designers aim to turn it into a man-made lake.

Songjiang Quarry Hotel Construction 3

Activities will take advantage of the unique landscape, including rock climbing, bungee jumping and water-based sports, and the hotel will also have its own cafes, restaurants, swimming pools, shopping and sporting facilities. Several of the public areas will be underwater, with others facing a 10-meter-deep aquarium.

Songjiang Quarry Hotel Construction 4

Songjiang Intercontinental Hotel will be powered with geothermal energy, and above-ground structures will have green roofs for insulation and to help them blend in with the surrounding scenery. Rooms are expected to start at $ 320 per night, and the hotel is scheduled to open in late 2014 to early 2015.

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Subterranean Quarry Hotel to Extend 328 Feet Underground

13 Feb

[ By Steph in Boutique & Art Hotels & Global. ]

Songjiang Quarry Hotel Construction 1

Construction has begun on an incredible 19-story, 5-star hotel that will be located deep within a 100-meter (328-foot) abandoned quarry near the base of Tianmashan Mountain in the Songjiang District of Shanghai. The 380-room Shimao Intercontinental Hotel seemed almost too wild to be true, and though its initial estimated opening date of May 2009 has long past, photos show progress at the quarry.

Songjiang Quarry Hotel Construction 2
Designed by British engineering firm Atkins Global, the Shimao Hotel mimics a waterfall with a glass atrium that extends from the ground-level roof all the way down into the quarry. Three of the floors will be above-ground, with the rest extending into the pit. Instead of pumping the water out of the flooded quarry, the designers aim to turn it into a man-made lake.

Songjiang Quarry Hotel Construction 3

Activities will take advantage of the unique landscape, including rock climbing, bungee jumping and water-based sports, and the hotel will also have its own cafes, restaurants, swimming pools, shopping and sporting facilities. Several of the public areas will be underwater, with others facing a 10-meter-deep aquarium.

Songjiang Quarry Hotel Construction 4

Songjiang Intercontinental Hotel will be powered with geothermal energy, and above-ground structures will have green roofs for insulation and to help them blend in with the surrounding scenery. Rooms are expected to start at $ 320 per night, and the hotel is scheduled to open in late 2014 to early 2015.

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9 Over-the-Top Luxury Swimming Pools

Swimming in the lap of luxury, these private pool owners have managed to buy a piece of fantasy not for sale to most of us with less than luxurious means.
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Incredible: 10 New Images of Dubai Underwater Hotel Design

A stunning new underwater hotel is planned for Dubai, complete with glass-walled guest rooms that give guests unparalleled views of marine life from their beds.
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5M SF of Sleek: World’s Largest Subterranean Rail Station

24 Jan

[ By Steph in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

World's Largest Underground Rail 1

The largest underground high-speed rail station in the world will connect Hong Kong to Beijing, and measure an incredible 4,628,481 square feet. Designed by Andrew Bromberg of architecture firm Aedas, the Express Rail Link West Kowloon Terminus is scheduled for completion in 2015 and will have 15 tracks for high-speed trains that are capable of reaching speeds of 124 miles per hour.

World's Largest Underground Rail 2

Express Rail Link West Kowloon Terminus is designed to make a smooth transition between the station and the city of Hong Kong, expression the character of the urban setting. Aedas designed the station with an undulating shape that focuses views to the Kong Kong Central skyline and Victoria Peak. The West Kowloon Cultural District is ‘invited into’ the site with a flowing green park and civic plaza with its own outdoor performance amphitheater.

World's Largest Underground Rail 3

On the green roof is a vegetated sculpture garden and an observation deck with a view of the journey into Hong Kong. Say the architects, “The station may be visible below as a reminder of where one came from, but the future paths of discovery present themselves invitingly beyond.”

World's Largest Underground Rail 4

The terminus will function more like an international airport than a rail station, meaning it will need to have both custom and immigration controls for departing and arriving passengers. It will connect Hong Kong to mainland China with both regional shuttle trains and long-haul high speed trains.

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Subterranean History: Beautiful Abandoned NYC Subway Station

Beneath NYC’s City Hall sits an abandoned wonder: the opulent City Hall Station, which has sat in disuse since 1945. Now passengers can finally ride through.
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20 Amazing Airport, Train & Bus Station Designs

Planes, trains and buses are all part of the daily grind. Travel’s not trivial, however, thanks to architects the world over who add excitement to the journey with truly dynamic designs. Roll ’em!
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