Interesting Facts

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Giant Dragon Skull on beach in Dorset’s Jurassic coast in England

On last Monday morning, locals and holiday makers were surprised to discover what appeared to be a giant skull of a dragon on Charmouth beach in Dorset’s Jurassic coast in England. The spectacular skull the size of a bus appeared to have been washed up on the beach famous for its treasure trove of dinosaur fossils. No need to panic. It’s just a publicity stunt by U.K. streaming video service Blinkbox who knows exactly how to celebrate the arrival of season 3 of the TV series Game of Thrones on their service.

The skull, which measures 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 9 feet tall, took a team of three sculptors over two months to design, construct and paint. The skull was then transported across London and plonked down on Jurassic coast overnight. The choice of location was brilliant. The Jurassic coastline is home to a sequence of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous rock formations spanning 185 million years of the Earth’s history. A large number of fossils has been unearthed in this region. The last major fossil to be found was that of the Ichthyosaur, a dolphin like creature which lived 220-65 million years ago

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Tam Coc - Bich Dong

The Tam Coc (“three caves”) portion is a three-hour excursion by small boat along the Ngô Đồng river,  beginning at the village of Van Lam and proceeding through a scenic landscape dominated by rice fields and karst towers. The route includes floating through three natural caves (Hang Ca, Hang Hai, and Hang Ba), the largest of which is 125m long with its ceiling about 2m high above the water. The boats are typically rowed by one or two local women who also sell embroidered goods.

Bich Dong is a pagoda on nearby Ngu Nhac Mountain dating to 1428, comprising three structures: Ha, Trung, and Thuong Pagodas, in ascending order. Guided tours generally cover historical points and end with a pleasant view from the top. Tam Coc - Bich Dong with Phat Diem Church, Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, Bai Dinh Pagoda, Trang An, Cuc Phuong is the destination of Ninh Binh Province.

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The Tower Al-Bahar — Abu Dhabi

A quick glimpse at the upcoming weather for Abu Dhabi will show a week of intense sunshine, temperatures steadily above 100 degrees Fahrenheit with 0% chance of rain.  In such extreme weather conditions, even architects listing environmental design as their top priority are up against a tough battle.  Never mind that the sand can compromise the structural integrity of the building, the intense heat and glare can render a comfortable indoor environment relatively impossible if not properly addressed.  For Abu Dhabi’s newest pair of towers, Aedas Architects have designed a responsive facade which takes cultural cues from the “mashrabiya”, a traditional Islamic lattice shading device.

Completed in June 2012, the 145 meter towers’ Masharabiya shading system was developed by the computational design team at Aedas.  Using a parametric description for the geometry of the actuated facade panels, the team was able to simulate their operation in response to sun exposure and changing incidence angles during the different days of the year.

The screen opperates as a curtain wall, sitting two meters outside the buildings’ exterior on an independent frame.  Each triangle is coated with fiberglass and programmed to respond to the movement of the sun as a way to reduce solar gain and glare.  In the evening, all the screens will close.

“At night they will all fold, so they will all close, so you’ll see more of the facade.  As the sun rises in the morning in the east, the mashrabiya along the east of the building will all begin to close and as the sun moves round the building, then that whole vertical strip of mashrabiya will move with the sun,” said Peter Oborn, the deputy chairman of Aedas. 

It is estimated that such a screen will reducing solar gain by more than 50 percent, and reduce the building’s need for energy-draining air conditioning.  Plus, the shade’s ability to filter the light has allowed the architects to be more selective in glass finished.  ”It (the screen) allows us to use more naturally tinted glass, which lets more light in so you have better views and less need of artificial light.  It’s using an old technique in a modern way, which also responds to the aspiration of the emirate to take a leadership role in the area of sustainability,” added Oborn.

For the project’s sustainable engineering and sensitive cultural and urban approach, the towers were awarded the 2012 Tall Building Innovation Award by the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

“The façade on Al Bahar, computer-controlled to respond to optimal solar and light conditions, has never been achieved on this scale before. In addition, the expression of this outer skin seems to firmly root the building in its cultural context,” explained Awards Juror Chris Wilkinson of Wilkinson Eyre Architects.

Such an award acknowledges the importance of the necessary integration of architectural form, structure, systems, and sustainable design strategies.

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