The cultural variety of the United States can best be looked at through its varied architecture – from the inventive to the modern, from the traditional to the eclectic, the country is home to gorgeous and stunning architecture. The old saying goes that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder – while opinion may differ, here we showcase what we consider to be the top architectural wonders in the USA.
Alabama State Capitol, Montgomery
Finished in 1851 after the original structure burned down, the Greek Revival–style Alabama State Capitol briefly served as the Confederate capitol building in 1861. Architect Barachias Holt designed the structure, and African-American engineer Horace King finished the building’s iconic spiral staircase.
MIRA
MIRA is a 400-foot-tall tower that advances San Francisco’s classic bay window, reimagining it in a high-rise environment. It was designed to accommodates a wide variety of units, with 40 percent designated below market rate, and respond to the requirement for dense housing in San Francisco.
Empire State Building
The name of the legendary Empire State Building has been derived from the nickname of the city of New York – the Empire State. Designed by William Lamb, who was an architect at the Shreve, Lamb & Harmon firm. This historic monument can be found on Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th streets located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
The roof of this 102-story building stands at the height of 1250 or 381 metres and its total height in addition to its antenna spire is 1454 or 443 metres. Although it has now lost its number one rank to other higher structures in the world, it was the highest building when it was constructed in the early 30s and kept this status for almost four decades since its completion until its supremacy was usurped by the World Trade Center’s North Tower in 1970. At the moment, the Empire State Building is the fifth-tallest finished skyscraper in the United States as well as the 25th tallest in the world.
The University of Alaska Museum of the North, Fairbanks
Architect Joan Soranno, who belonged to GDM/HGA, designed this modernist museum building in 2005 at a time when online Sri Lanka casino were starting to emerge and the world was shifting in so many technologically influenced ways. It is home to a set of more than 1.5 million objects that are associated with the cultural and biological history of the area.
Dulles International Airport
Eero Saarinen was responsible for bringing visitors’ eyes to the sky with his 1947 design for the St Louis Gateway Arch. That love for the sky effort then gave Americans the 1962-opened TWA terminal at JFK International Airport in New York City.
However where Saarinen really came to embrace modern, wing-inspired design the most came in the narrow form of Dulles International Airport in Virginia. This airport was named after John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), who was the 52nd US Secretary of State who worked under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
After extensive research to study passenger movements, Saarinen detailed a long, narrow terminal, with exterior architecture which serves as a gateway itself, a design that is long copied at airports the world over.