Paris Opera by Charles Garnier

France not only famous with The Eiffel Tower but France especially Paris full of wonderful architectural building. One of them is The Paris Opera, also known as Palais Garnier, is the most famous auditorium in the world. This auditorium has 2,200 seats capacity and designed by Charles Garnier is admired as one of the most prominent architectural masterpieces of its time. As a part of the great Parisian reconstruction, the Paris Opera was designed. This project was initiated by Emperor Napolean III of the Second Empire. Baron Haussmann was chosen directly by the emperor as the supervisor for this project and he started to prepare 12,000 square meters of land to built Paris Opera. This would be the second theater for the world renowned Parisian Opera and Ballet companies. An open competition was announced in 1861, which was won by Charles Garnier who was an unknown 32-year-old architect at the time.

Palais Garnier is of the Neo-Baroque style, a term used to describe architecture that encompasses the key characteristics of Baroque style although built after the proper time period. The monumental style can also be classified as Beaux-Arts, with its use of axial symmetry in plan, and its exterior ornamentation. One of the major urban implications of the Paris Opera is it’s location at the northern end of Avenue de l’Opera in France. It’s role as the terminal axial point suggests that as a public space, it should hold much importance in the community.

The audience sits centered around a hanging chandelier, weighing over six tons, and the large stage was built to accommodate up to 450 artists. It is opulently decorated with marble friezes, columns, and statuary, many of which are used to portray deities from Greek mythology. The Paris Opera was meant to be a social gathering space for the people, which is reflected in the interweaving corridors, stairwells, landings and alcoves which allow movement of large masses of people while also permitting socializing during intermission.

Palais Garnier became an influential architectural prototype for many theaters built around the world.

Source : Archdaily

Songdo International Business District by Kohn Pederson Fox

Located on 1,500 acres of reclaimed land on the West Coast of Incheon, Korea, Songdo International Business District become important business center in Korea. Designed by famous architects, Kohn Pederson Fox, Songdo International Business District will be very friendly for pedestrian due to the availability of walkable streets and an urban density that allows for an active street life.This district features the New Songdo City First World Towers, Northeast Asia Trade Tower, the 100-arce Songdo Central Park, and the Songdo City International School.

New Songdo City First World Towers is purposed for residential development. This tower consist of 2,545 units of apartment and projected to accommodate 65,000 residents. This tower also features live/work spaces, health club, day care center and senior's center.

Northeast Asia Trade Tower designed to be a skyline landmark of Songdo International Business District. This tower is a mixed-use development that combines office, hotel, and service apartment components, each with its own entrance lobby. The 1,010-foot-tall (308-meter-tall) tower offers views of the Yellow Sea, the city of Incheon, and the surrounding mountains.


Songdo Central Park serves to connect to various civic and cultural destinations and the waterfront via a series of man-made seawater canals accessed by water taxi. The combination of these natural and man-made elements makes this park the cultural and recreational heart of Songdo IBD. Within the park, a series of pedestrian bridges have been designed over the canal system, serving as focal points within the landscape and making for unique destination points.

Songdo International School can accommodate more than 2,000 students that facilitates diverse learning ang teaching styles. The design gives a unique material to each school community identity. Layers of stepped sections and sunken gardens separate these areas without creating barriers, invoking the interplay of solid and void that underlies traditional Korean design.