Volkswagen’s Car Towers at Autostadt in Wolfsburg, Germany

The Autostadt is a visitor attraction adjacent to the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, with a prime focus on automobiles. It features a museum, feature pavilions for the principal automobile brands in the Volkswagen Group, a customer centre where customers can pick up new cars, and take a tour through the enormous factory, a guide to the evolution of roads, and cinema in a large sphere. One of the prime attraction at the Autostadt is the two gleaming car parking towers of glass and galvanized steel where cars are automatically moved from the Wolfsburg plant and on to the customer centre where they are collected by their owners.

Each tower is 60 meter tall and houses 400 cars each and are the heart of vehicle delivery at the Autostadt. The two towers are connected to the Volkswagen factory by a 700 metre underground tunnel. A conveyor belt system transports finished cars directly from the adjacent manufacturing plant to the towers' basement. From there they are lifted into position via mechanical arms that rotate and run along a central beam, moving vehicles in and out of their bays at a speed of two meters per second. When a customer purchases a car from Autostadt the car is picked from the silo and transported out to the customer without having driven a single meter, and the odometer is thus on "0".

Visitors can explore the tower via a panoramic glass elevator, and are eventually taken to an observation deck on the twentieth floor, giving a view of the factory, the town of Wolfsburg and the surrounding countryside.

Last year 175,893 new cars were handed over to their new owners. Currently, 37% of new VW buyers from Germany pick up their new vehicle from Wolfsburg, and there is space to build two more high-tech towers should that figure increase.

                                                                         

Trimaran, The Adastra Superyacht

The World's Most Beautiful Trimaran, The Adastra Superyacht

 

The futuristic $14.5 million luxury trimaran yacht Adastra has turned heads during its unveiling ceremony in China. It took five years to plan and build and has been described by boating websites such as Boating International as one of the "world’s most amazing superyachts". At 42m-long and 16m-wide, the fuel-efficient boat weighs in at 52 tonnes.

It has a maximum speed of 22.5 knots and has a range of 4000 nautical miles at 17 knots – which is enough for a trip from the UK to New York. The vessel, designed by John Shuttleworth Yacht Designs and built by McConaghy Boats in Zhu Ha, China, can even be controlled with an Apple iPad within a 50m range

Technical specs:

LOA - 42.5 m

Beam - 16 m

Hull Draft - 1.12 m (1.6m to tip of rudder)

Main engine - 1x Caterpillar C18 -1150 hp @ 2300 rpm

Outrigger engines - 2x Yanmar 110hp @ 3200 rpm

Generators - 2 x 36 kw custom in the outriggers linked to 110 Hp Yanmar engines, and 1x 26 kw Northern lights in Main engine room

Owner and Guests - 9

Crew - 5-6

Tenders - 4.9m stored on the aft deck and a 3.1m stored in the garage

Freshwater Capacity - 2x 800 gph fresh water makers - 2700 litres water

Displacement light - Fully equipped and full stores and crew, no fuel and no water - 49 tonnes

Displacement cruising max - (normal operational load) 15000 litres fuel - 64.8 tonnes

Displacement ocean passage max - (only for occasional long ocean passages) 32000 litres fuel - 77 tonnes

Speed max - 22.5 knots

Range at 17 knots - 4000 miles

Fuel consumption at 13 knots - 90 litres per hour.

Fuel consumption at 17 knots - 120 litres per hour

The Superstructure is carbon fibre with Nomex honeycomb core, the hull is Glass/Kevlar foam sandwich and the interior is light weight oak cabinetry using honeycomb panels. To help reduce weight, virtually every aspect of the boat is custom built. This includes carbon fibre hatches, portlights, ladders and even hinges, which are all built specifically for the vessel.

Weighing in at 52 tons, the vessel has a maximum speed of 22.5 knots and a range of 4000 nautical miles. She can also be controlled from an iPad within a 50-metre range.

Adastra Interior (renderings designed by Jepsen Designs of China):

AGORA GARDEN, LUXURIOUS RESIDENTIAL TOWER

The Agora Tower by Vincent Callebaut Architectures, known for their distinct eco-vision, designed this tower to be placed on the biggest, not to mention last, parcel of land for residential use in Taipei City, Taiwan. The twisting foliage-filled tower allows for a high-density space to exist that will also limit the ecologic footprint of the inhabitants. The aim of this building is to forge a symbiotic relationship between the urban dweller and nature.

TYPE: International Competition - First Prize Winner in November 2010
CLIENT: BES Engineering Corporation, Taipei
CONTRACT LOCATION: XinYin District, Taipei City, Taiwan
PROGRAM: 40 Luxurious Apartments + Facilities
SURFACE AREA: 42.335.34 m²
DELIVERY: 2016
CURRENT PHASE: Construction Documents – Below grade under construction
GREEN CERTIFICATION: LEED Gold
INTERNATIONAL DESIGN ARCHITECT: Vincent Callebaut Architectures, SARL Paris
LOCAL ARCHITECT: LKP Design, Taipei
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: King Le Chang & Associates, Taipei
LOCAL MEP ENGINEERING: Sine & Associates, Taipei
INTERNATIONAL INTERIOR ARCHITECT: Wilson & Associates (WA), Los Angeles
INTERNATIONAL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: SWA, Sausalito, San Francisco
LOCAL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Horizon & Atmosphere (H&A), Taipei
INTERNATIONAL LIGHTING DESIGNER: L'Observatoire International, New-York
LOCAL LIGHTING DESIGNER: Unolai Design, Taipei
GREEN CONSULTANT: Enertek, Taipei
VCA’S TEAM: Emilie Diers, Frederique Beck, Jiao Yang, Florence Mauny,
Volker Erlich, Philippe Steels, Marco Conti Sikic, Benoit Patterlini, Maguy Delrieu, Vincent Callebaut
MODEL MAKER: Patrick Laurent

The helicoidal towers appropriate their form from the structure of DNA, conceptually speaking to the building blocks of life, as well as dynamism and twinning. In a single level, four types of housing units are present, and in the structure as a whole there are 40 luxurious apartments as well as facilities. The act of twisting the form creates the optimization for open-air hanging gardens consisting of tall planted balconies of suspended orchards, organic vegetable gardens and medicinal greenery. Multiplying the transversal views of the overall east-west rhomboidal pyramid is produced by angling the apartments also allowing them to have exceptional views of the city.

Fastest Train In The World

Japan has seen the first successful test of a new high-speed maglev train that should be able to reach speeds as high as 500kmh. It’s to be considered the fastest train in the world


After the successful trials, Central Japan Railway Co. is going ahead with a 5.1 trillion yen ($52 billion) plan to build a 177-mile maglev line between Tokyo and Nagoya. CJR says the trip will take just 40 minutes on the L-Zero.

Maglev trains like the L-Zero rely on magnetic power to float above the ground, allowing the trains to nearly double the speed of the fastest bullet trains. Two other maglev trains are already operating: a train in Shanghai that travels at about 267 mph and a short-distance, low-speed train in Nagoya.

CJR will begin construction in April and is predicted to be finished by 2027, though many doubt it will be finished in time. Bloomberg points out that Tokyo’s skyscrapers and the Japanese Alps present construction obstacles as the track needs to be a straight line to allow for high speeds.

LAKE RETBA, SENEGAL

Barbie would be in her own wonderland frolicking in the princess-pink waters of Lake Retba in Senegal. Evoking Candyland fantasies, the pigmentation in this strawberry smoothie-like lake is actually caused by dunaliella salina, a red or purple micro-algae that thrives in the lake’s hypersaline conditions. Depending on the intensity of the sunlight,this surreal lake changes from shades of mauve, to cotton-candy pink or a bloody red.

Sahara

The Richat Structure, also known as the Eye of the Sahara, is a prominent circular feature in the Sahara desert of west–central Mauritania near Ouadane. Surrounded by thousands of square miles of nearly featureless desert, this 40-50 km in diameter series of concentric circles is readily visible from space. This prominent circular feature in the Sahara desert has attracted attention since the earliest space missions because it looks like a gigantic bull’s-eye.

Wonderful Niagara Falls in Ontario Canada

Niagara Falls is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international borderbetween Canada and the United States;
From largest to smallest, the three waterfalls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls.



   Total height 167 ft (51 m)

      Watercourse Niagara River

   Location:   Border of Ontario, Canada & New York, U.S.A.

                                                                                 

                                                                                        

    

                                                                             

5 Most Beautiful Highways in The World

          Col De Turini ,France

                                                                  

       Los Caracoles Pass (Andes)                  

                                                                                                 

Oberalp Pass (Switzerland)                                                                                               

                                                              

San Bernardino Pass ,Switzerland                                                                                                

                                                                                                

   Trollstigen ,Norway                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                            

    

        

power of wind....!!!!!!!!!!!!

In March 2013, the 36th 3.6 megawatt (MW) Siemens wind turbine was installed to further utilize the substantial offshore wind energy potential available to the country. Now, Denmark has reached a 1 GW power capacity, which is enough to generate electricity for 25% of the nation.

In the future, Denmark plans to increase this percentage to 50% and continue to create a sustainable renewable energy infrastructure through both technology and energy efficient policy

Jantar Mantar - Delhi

The Jantar Mantar of Delhi, is the most popular landmark of Delhi that have historical significance. The Jantar Mantar Astronomical Observatory of delhi made by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur, Rajasthan. The history and facts of Jantar mantar delhi shows the scientific acumen of ancient India and Indian architecture style.

Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway...!!!!!

The Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line also known as the Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway, is a bridge–tunnel combination across Tokyo Bay in Japan. It connects the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture with the city of Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, and forms part of National Route 409. With an overall length of 14 km, it includes a 4.4 km bridge and 9.6 km tunnel underneath the bay—the fourth-longest underwater tunnel in the world. 

Itaipu Dam

Itaipu Dam, located on the border of Brazil and Paraguay, is the world's largest operating hydroelectric facility. Completed in 1984, the nearly five mile-long Itaipu Dam impounds the Parana River and creates the 110 mile-long Itaipu Reservoir. The electricity generated from Itaipu Dam, which is greater than the electricity generated by China's Three Gorges Dam, is shared by Brazil and Paraguay. The dam supplies Paraguay with more than 90% of its electrical needs.

The Panama Canal

The 48 mile-long (77 km) international waterway known as the Panama Canal allows ships to pass between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, saving about 8000 miles (12,875 km) from a journey around the southern tip of South America, Cape Horn. Built from 1904 to 1914, the Panama Canal was once a territory of the United States although today it is part of Panama. It takes approximately fifteen hours to traverse the canal through its three sets of locks (about half the time is spent waiting due to traffic).