Liceul Mihai ViteazulIneu

Lucrare de atestat la limba englez

American Architecture

Profesor coordonator: Candidat:

Cleopatra Ardelean .................

Ineu 2014
Liceul Mihai ViteazulIneu
 Lucrare de atestat la limba englez

American Architecture

Profesor coordonator: Candidat:

Cleopatra Ardelean .................

Ineu 2014

Table of contents

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1. Introduction.......................................................... 4

2. American Architecture.5

3. Home Insurance Building7

4. Empire State Building..8

5. Willis Tower.9

6. Rockefeller Center10

7. World Trade Center.11

8. Shopping Malls..12

9. Conclusions.............................................................13

10. Bibliography..14

Introduction

My paper is entitled American Architecture and consists of eight chapters.

In the first chapter I presented the origins and influences of American
architecture, and the structure of modern American architecture which is dominated

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by complexes of skyscrapers.
The second chapter deals with Home Insurance Building from Chicago, Illinois,
which was considered the first skyscraper in the world.
The third chapter describes Empire State Building which was the first building
in the world to have more than 100 stories.
In the fourth chapter I offered details about Willis Tower which is the tallest
building in the United States of America these days.
The fifth part of my paper offers an outline of the Rockefeller Center which is a
complex of 19 buildings located in the center Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
In the sixth chapter I spoke about World Trade Center which was a complex of
seven skyscrapers in New York City. On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked
American planes destroying the towers killing 2,752 people.
In the seventh chapter of my paper I presented the shopping mall industry. A mall
is a complex of buildings which houses more stores. Malls developed in the United
States of America in the 1920s. I also wrote a few lines about the fast food industry
which offers a large variety of cuisine. McDonalds is the largest restaurant
company in the world and operates in 127 countries.
In the eighth chapter of my paper I offered a well-rounded conclusion of my
paper.
I chose to write about American Architecture as I was always fascinated by
skyscrapers, and I tried to understand life in the United States of America.

American Architecture
America was discovered by Christopher Columbus on October 12, 1492.
Virginia was the first colony which was founded by England. The British colonists
built their houses and churches in the British styles.

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 In the South, the plantation mansions were built in Georgian style
characterized by red brick walls and white stone columns of the gabled porticos.
The buildings in the North were less spacious, but with striking and pompous
porticos. Thomas Jeffersons admiration for the Roman Republic made him
approve the Roman style for official buildings in the United States.

Georgian style in the South Georgian style in the North

The fast expansion of the cities created a need for quickly built and
inexpressive structures. Moreover, the land was at a premium which forced the
architects find new ways of construction. As a result, the skyscrapers were born. A
skyscraper is a multi-story building of great height, typically using a steel frame
and curtain wall construction, the floors being accessed via high-speed lifts. The
term was first used in the United States at the end of the 20th century.
Modern American architecture is outlined by skyscrapers. The first skyscrapers
were built in Chicago and New York City. The 10-story Home Insurance Building
(42m), built in Chicago in 1885, is regarded as the worlds first skyscraper.
Eliel Saarinen (1873-1950), Ludwig Mies von der Rohe (1886-1969), Walter
Gropius (1883-1969), Louis Sullivan (1856-1924) and Frank Lloyd Wright
(1867-1959) were the greatest American architects in the first half of the 20 th
century. The Guggenheim Museum in New York City is Wrights masterpiece.
Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC (1915), Woolworth Building in New
York City (1916), the Chicago Tribune Building (1922) are the most notable
examples of modern American architecture of the 1920s.

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Lincoln Memorial,Washington DC Guggenheim Museum,NY Woolworth Building

Nowadays, American cities came to be dominated by impressive complexes of

skyscrapers such as: American Commerce Center (460m), in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; Trans National Place (351m), in Boston, Massachusetts; Empire
World Towers (312m), in Miami, Florida; Waterview Tower (319), in Chicago,
Illinois; Museum Plaza (214m), in Louisville, Kentucky; Willis Tower (442m), in
Chicago, Illinois; Empire State Building (381m), in New York City, New York;
Rockefeller Center (259m), in New York City, New York; Trump International
Hotel and Tower (442m), in Chicago, Illinois; JPMorgan Chase Tower (305m) in
Houston, Texas; Columbia Center (284) in Seattle, Washington; Aon Center
(262) in Los Angeles, California; Transamerica Pyramid (260) in San Francisco,
California; One Atlantic Center (260) in Atlanta, Georgia; One Worlwide Plaza
(260m) in New York City, New York; John Hancock Center (344m) in
Chicago,Illinois.

American bridges are other special achievements of American building

industry.

Brooklyn Bridge,NY Golden Gate Bridge,S.Francisco George Washinton Bridge,NY

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 Home Insurance Building

Home Insurance Building,Chicago Field Building,Chicago

Home Insurance Building was built in Chicago, Illinois in 1884. It

was the first building in the United States to use steel structure.
William Le Baron Jenney (1832-1907) was the designer of the
building.
Home Insurance Building was considered to be the first skyscraper in
the world. It had ten stories and reached 42 meters.
The building was pulled down in 1931 to make way for the Field
Building, an art deco office building. Graham Anderson was the architect
of the building. The profile of the building makes it one of the citys
most distinctive buildings.

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 Empire State Building

Empire State Building, New York City Empire State Building, NYC

Empire State Building was built in New York City in 1931. It was designed by
William F. Lamb (1883-1952) and it is situated in Midtown Manhattan. The
building has 102 stories and was the tallest one in the world from 1931 to 1973
with a height of 443m. It was the first building in the world to have more than 100
stories.
Empire State Building is New Yorks best-loved and most enduring landmark.
Its construction lasted for only two years and most of the buildings income came
from tourists visiting for the views. The observation level is on the 86 th floor where
visitors get in less than one minute.
In 1945, a plane crashed into the 79th story killing 14 people.
The lobby of the Empire State Building houses displays on different record-
breaking achievements.
After September 11, 2001, Empire State Building remained the tallest building
in New York City.

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 Willis Tower
Chicago (Illinois) has a population of 7 million people and is the capital of the
Middle West. Chicago is an important industrial city and the main United States
grain market. It contains the leading farm machinery concern-McCormick
harvesters. Chicago plays an important part in the cultural life of the West. It is a
great publishing centre and contains several large universities, excellent theatres,
art galleries, and museums.

Willis Tower was built in Chicago in 1974. It has 110 stories and reaches 442
meters. Willis Tower is the tallest building in the United States of America.
Skidmore, Owings&Merrill SOM designed the tower. The architects were
commissioned by Sears, Roebuck&Co., the largest retailer in the world. Sears sold
the Tower to Willis Insurance Co. in 1994.
The Skydeck is located on the 103rd floor and offers unforgettable views.
Elevators take the tourists to the top in 60 seconds.
Ferris Buellers Day Off is one of the many numerous films in which the
building appeared. The Tower was also featured in television shows such as Late
Night with Conan OBrien, and in TV series Monk and Kenan and Kel.

Willis Tower, Chicago, Illinois Willis Tower, Chicago, Illinois

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 Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 buildings located in the center Midtown

Manhattan. The Center was built in 1939 by the Rockefeller family, a political
family of German ancestry who made a fortune in the oil business. The Center was
the greatest building project in modern times made by Wallace Harrison (1865-
1981) who was the family architect.
The outdoor ice rink is the Centers trademark which becomes an open-air caf
in summer. In December the plaza is decorated with a huge Christmas tree.
Rockefeller Center houses lots of well-known corporations and organizations in
different buildings: Radio City Music Hall which is Americas largest indoor
theater, GE Building that forms the center of the Rockefeller Center, Bank of
America, Time-Life Building, Exxon Building, and McGraw-Hill Building.
There are about 200 flagpoles in the main square of the Rockefeller Center.
Various flags are displayed on various occasions: the flags of the United Nations
member countries or seasonal flags. Each flagpole sustains the Flag of the United
States of America during American holidays.

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GE Building Christmas tree Radio City Music Hall

World Trade Center

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 World Trade Center,2001 World Trade Center,2001

The World Trade Center was a complex of seven skyscrapers in New York City,
the United States of America. The Twin Towers of the complex were designed by
Minoru Yamasaki (1912-1986), an American architect of Japanese ancestry.
The Twin Towers (415m) of the World Trade Center were the tallest buildings
in the world from 1972 to 1973. The towers were preceded by the Empire State
Building, built in New York City in 1931, and surpassed by the Willis Tower, built
in Chicago in 1973. The towers were only eight stories taller than the Empire State
Building, but their sheer sides made them seem far higher. The towers were situated
in Lower Manhattan. Over a million visitors visited the two skyscrapers every year
for the views from the observation deck, which was the worlds highest outdoor
observation platform. The elevator sped to the 107th floor in 58 seconds.
In February 1993, the Center was the target of a terrorist attack that killed six
people and caused damage to the area.
50,000 people worked in the seven-building complex and the street contained
more than 60 stores, restaurants, a skating rink and the New York Vista hotel.
On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked American planes destroying the
towers and killing 2,752 people.
The authorities have worked around the clock for eight months in order to
clean up the area. They are also planning to rebuild the towers.
The National September 11 Memorial&Museum are under construction on the
former location of the Twin Towers. The museum will be inaugurated in 2011.

Shopping Malls
A shopping mall or simply mall is a complex of buildings which houses more

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stores. Malls developed in the United States of America in the 1920s.
Most stores are open long hours every day and some never close. People usually
drive to malls.
Malls are important to many Americans. Young people meet their friends there,
go to the movie theaters or just go for a walk in the mall. Malls often have special
activities for kids such as shows or games for children. In large malls people have
the chance to do some sports: bowling, swimming etc. They can get their groceries
there.
Fast food restaurants offer a large variety of cuisine: Mexican, Italian, Thai, and
Japanese. McDonalds, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken-KFC, Pizza Hut, and
Taco Bell are the most popular food establishments in malls. McDonalds is the
largest restaurant company in the world and operates in 127 countries.

The biggest mall is the Mall of America-MOA in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It

has more than 500 stores and more than 12,000 employees. Mall of America
housed a lot of television shows and it has been visited by numerous celebrities.
King of Prussia in Pennsylvania,South Coast Plaza in California, Millcreek
Mall in Pennsylvania, Aventura Mall in Florida, Roosevelt Field in New York
City, Lloyd Center in Oregon are just a few names of other large American malls.

Mall of America,Minneapolis Mall of America,Minneapolis

Conclusions
American Architecture is the result of the cosmopolitanism of the United States
and expresses the different ways in which Americans think of themselves, their
place in the United States and their relations with one another.

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 Architecture in the United States is as diverse as its multicultural society and has
been shaped by many internal and external factors and regional distinctions. As a
whole it represents a rich eclectic and innovative tradition.

Most houses in the US are wood. Most houses have three or more bedrooms and
two bathrooms. An average house costs $150,000. Houses and apartments are more
expensive in some cities-San Francisco is the most expensive city in the country.

Most people around the world know something about American life. They see
movies on television. Sometimes they listen to American music on the radio.
Sometimes they ear in American fast food restaurants.

Of course, Americans are not all the same. The United States of America is a big
country, with more than 275,000,000 people. There are many different ways of life.
New York City is one of the most exciting cities in the world, but life there is not
the same as life in a small American town. Some rich Americans live in small
towns with walls around them. Police watch these towns because the people in the
towns pay them.

No matter what the country looks like, I strongly believe that it is worth visiting.

Bibliography

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1.Hamburg,J. New York on $10&$15 a Day, Arthur Frommer, Inc.,
New York, 1972

2.Lore,M. USA, The Most Up-To-Date Guide to the Best of Everything

All 50 States, Fodors Travel Publications, Inc.,
New York, 1998

3.Low,D. New York City,The Complete Guide to the Big Apple

Fodors Travel Publications, Inc., New York, 1997

4.Sinclair,M. Exploring New York City, Fodors Travel Publications,

Inc., New York, 1996

5. Crystal, D. The Cambridge Paperback Encyclopedia, Cambridge

University Press, UK, 1999

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