Down the lane of the noughties (Edifices) [1/10]

As we come toward the end of the first decade of the 21st century and the 3nd millennium, the world has seen many new horizons, humanity has taken several leaps and several groovy landmarks have been concreted to mark the face of the globe.

Let's take a walk down the road of edifices laid by man during the years 2000-2010.

1. The Millennium Dome/02

The Millennium Dome, Greenwich

As the Millennium Dome, it was a $74 million joke. A barely finished, unusable space that sat in a difficult location for public transport and, with a diameter of 365 meters (almost 1,120ft), was virtually impossible to fill. Then came rebirth. Bought by the British mobile telephone company o2, the dome was gutted and became an entertainment district including an indoor arena, a music club, a cinema, an exhibition space, bars and restaurants. Designed by Richard Rogers Partnership and Structural Engineer Buro Happold.


Facts:

• The entire roof structure weighs less than the air contained within the building. Although referred to as a dome it is not strictly one as it is not self-supporting, but is a mast-supported, dome-shaped cable network.
• The dome is the largest of its type in the world. Externally, it appears as a large white marquee with twelve 100 m-high yellow support towers, one for each month of the year, or each hour of the clock face, representing the role played by Greenwich Mean Time.
• In plan view it is circular, 365 m in diameter — one metre for each day of the year — with scalloped edges. It has become one of the United Kingdom's most recognisable landmarks.
• The canopy is made of PTFE-coated glass fibre fabric, a durable and weather-resistant plastic, and is 52 m high in the middle - one metre for each week of the year.

An Aerial View

[More to Continue]