Tech and Amusing Stuff

Via deputydog

The Taipei 101 has been the world’s tallest completed building since 2004, it stands as an icon of Taipei and Taiwan as a whole. The building contains 101 floors above ground and 5 floors underground.

To withstand strong winds the Taipei 101 utilizes a tuned mass damper, this is a device mounted in structures to prevent discomfort, damage or outright structural failure by vibration. The pendulum sways to offset movements in the building caused by strong gusts and it can reduce up to 40% of the tower’s movements.

Watch how a Base jumper manages to jump off the tallest building in the world.

Burj Al Arab Hotel

Via Crooked Brains

Via Flickr

Via Flickr

$75 million

The Portabello Estate

Corona del Mar, Calif.

The triple oceanfront lot along the Pacific Ocean in Southern California is only part of what makes the Portabello Estate so pricey. The unique design resembles a nautilus shell, with a dramatic grotto surrounded by “chambers.” Built in 2002, the home has eight bedrooms and 10 full baths in nearly 30,000 square feet of ultramodern space.

$80 million

Southampton, N.Y.

The interior space of 13,500 square feet across four stories contains nine bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, four powder rooms and a movie theater. That’s enough to catch anyone’s eye, but what’s really unique about this property is the waterfront. The home is situated between a pond and the ocean, and there is 1,000 feet of shorefront and 1,000 feet of pond front.

$85 million

Bel Air, Calif.

One of the last homes designed by famed California architect Wallace Neff, this estate rests on seven acres of land in the Holby Hills area of Bel Air. Lawns, walking paths and gardens surround the 12-bedroom, 10-bathroom main house, and there’s also a hardcourt tennis court and pool. Inside, the home bends around a giant central atrium with curving hallways and overlooks.

$88 million

BootJack Ranch

Pagosa Springs, Colo.

We included the BootJack Ranch on our list because, while the price includes 3,100 acres of land, it’s a luxury property more than a working ranch. The main house is 13,800 square feet and has four bedrooms and four bathrooms. Outlying guest cabins and lodges can host up to 50 people and bring the total interior space up to 77,000 square feet. In addition, there’s a 12,000-square-foot spa and aquatic center.

$95 million

Hillandale

Stamford, Conn.

With its stone construction, hedged gardens, grass tennis court, manicured gardens and distinctive chimneys, Hillandale has all the markings of an English country manor. The 20,000-square-foot residence has eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. It’s so big that the property straddles the New York-Connecticut border. The grounds also include four guest and staff residences and two barns, all connected by five miles of private roads.

$100 million

Maison de L’Amitié

Palm Beach, Fla.

In 2004 Donald Trump bought former health care executive Abe Gosman’s palace, Maison de L’Amitié, center, at a bankruptcy auction for $41.25 million. The refurbished version comes complete with a ballroom, conservatory, 100-foot-long ballroom and 475 feet of oceanfront.

$100 million

Tranquility

Lake Tahoe, Nev.

Conveniently located on the tax-free Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, this 210-acre property is owned by Joel Horowitz, co-founder of Tommy Hilfiger. The 20,000-square-foot main house is modeled after a Northern European mountain home and has a 3,500-bottle wine cellar. An indoor swimming pool and atrium, as well as a 19-seat movie theater, ensure constant entertainment, even if you’re snowed in.

$125 million

Dunnellen Hall

Greenwich, Conn.

On 40 acres of rolling hills, with lawns and meadows broken up by tree lines that provide privacy, this Jacobean manor has 21,897 square feet, 14 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms. Vaulted ceilings, travertine marble floors, bay windows, limestone walls and wood paneling are notable interior features, as is a 52-foot-long indoor swimming pool.

$125 million

Fleur de Lys

Beverly Hills, Calif.

The latest addition to the $100 million-plus club, Suzanne Saperstein’s gem is aptly called the Fleur de Lys. Modeled after Louis XIV’s palace at Versailles, the 45,000-square-foot home took five years to build following Saperstein’s accumulation of five acres in Holmby Hills during the 1990s. Should strolling the grounds bore you, there is a 50-seat screening room and a library filled with first-edition books. Auto collectors will salivate over the nine-car garage.

$165 million

Beverly Hills, Calif.

Once the home of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, this 6.5-acre mega-mansion in Beverly Hills was built in 1926 and was featured in the film The Godfather. The compound comprises six buildings that have a total of 29 bedrooms. There are three swimming pools and a movie theater.

Via Forbes

Via Crooked Brains

Via Crooked Brains

Via RGS

Crooked Brains quoted:

“Hotel Everland, the creation of Swiss artists Sabina Lang & Daniel Baumann, on the roof of Palais de Tokyo is an art consisting of an actual one-room hotel. It offers 1970’s-style glamour, a turquoise-tiled bathroom, a record player with a collection of vinyl discs, & a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower but remember no TV.
If you are interested in the room in the hotel, you can actually stay in it & is offered at a price of 333 Euros per night during weekdays & 444 Euros at weekends. But do remember it will remain atop the Palais de Tokyo until the end of 2008 only.”

Via Crooked Brains

Via Design Crack

“FLARE is a modular system to create a dynamic hull for facades or any building or wall surface. Acting like a living skin, it allows a building to express, communicate and interact with its environment.”

This is an amazing technology and it offers a cool illusion.

How it works….