The Getty Center

The Getty Center, sometimes referred to as a campus, is comprised of six buildings: the Auditorium, North and East Buildings at the north and east sides, the Museum, Cafe and Research Institute on the south and western sides of the site. (See map on this official Getty Center site.) It is also sometimes called a modern "Acropolis" since it is spectacularly located on a 110-acre hilltop with a view south over Santa Monica and the basin of Los Angeles and west to the Pacific Ocean. Curvilinear forms extending from essentially rectilinear structures echo contours of the site as well as more distant elements--the San Diego freeway below or the Pacific Ocean. Because of height restrictions, much of the Getty Center is underground and the six buildings are linked to each other at basement levels.
蓋提中心的鎮管之寶:梵谷　紫鳶尾花.
蓋提中心簡介:http://www.usard.com/La/Getty.html(中文)

建築欣賞-The Getty Center

The Chateau, New Zealand

The Mount Ruapehu Bayview Chateau Tongariro is one of the most luxurious hotels in New Zealand. Whether you are here to Ski Mt Ruapehu or to enjoy fully guided walks through the Dual World Heritage Tongariro National Park, our luxury Chateau accommodation is New Zealand's perfect resort hotel, wedding and conference venue. Bayview Chateau Tongariro, nestled at the foot of Mount Ruapehu, was completed in 1929 and still retains many of its original features. It is one of New Zealand's few hotels located in a World Heritage Park. This hotel is within easy reach of the country's two largest cities, Auckland and Wellington. Renowned for its classical styling and grandeur, Bayview Chateau Tongariro is one of New Zealand's most famous buildings. Over the years, its facilities have been constantly updated to enhance many of its most endearing original features. The Chateau旅館是登Ruapehu山與滑雪的基地,它是法國式建築旅館,前是紐西蘭海拔最高的高爾夫球場(9-hole). Mt. Ruapehu是活火山其滑雪場是紐西蘭全島最大的滑雪勝地.

克諾索斯皇宮Palace of Knossos,Crete

克里特島(Crete)位於地中海與愛琴海交界處，控制著歐、亞、非三大陸塊的經貿樞紐，在還沒成為希臘城邦之前，曾經是航海發達、不可一世的強權古國，勢力範圍遍及當時的地中海域. 希臘是歐洲古文明的發源地，克里特島的米諾安文明是最輝煌的時期，比起邁錫尼文明還要早數百年。克里特島上的克諾索斯皇宮，是目前出土足以代表米諾安文明光環的遺址，二十世紀初由英國考古學家亞瑟·伊凡斯從克里特島首府伊拉克裏翁東南方五公里處挖掘出來。依山傍河的克諾索斯皇宮，經證實建於西元前二零零零年，從開挖之初，目前還在陸續復建中。 克諾索斯皇宮又有“牛怪迷宮”之稱，原來相傳統治著愛琴海的克裏特島的國王米諾斯，為鞏固海上霸權，曾經允諾送給海神波塞冬一頭公牛，後來卻因為公牛長相太美而反悔，波塞冬一怒之下，讓米諾斯王妃愛上公牛，並產下人身牛頭的牛怪米諾陶勒斯，米諾斯知道後非常憤怒，還在皇宮裏建造了迷宮關住牛怪。 說起來複雜的神話故事，卻讓克諾索斯皇宮變得更有可看性，透過已經傾倒的石柱廢墟，仍可想像迷宮般的建築和皇宮當年的輝煌燦爛。由於米諾安文明在建築藝術上有非常獨特的品位及修養，遊逛其中，益發有趣。 皇宮入口處墻上有一副赤裸上身、卷髮大眼的美男子“百合王子”像，其他值得走訪的焦點，還有國王房間墻面上的獅身鳥頭壁畫，以及皇后房間的海豚壁畫、貴賓室的花卉植物壁畫。目前，這些壁畫真跡都移至克裏特島上的伊拉克裏翁的考古博物館，但是現場細心複雜的倣古畫作，仍然讓人有身臨其境之感。

Spiral ramp of Vatican Museum

梵蒂岡美術館入口--1932年由 Giuseppe Momo 所設計。這不只是旋轉梯，還是交錯式的，一邊往上攀升至美術館，一邊則導引您下降至出口，非常特別；可能會在雜誌媒體上常常看到跟這張類似的照片。
This magnificent spiral ramp, designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932, transports you from the street level up to the floor of the Museums. The ramp consists of two intertwined spirals; one leads up and another leads down. In the picture on the left you can see that people are entering the Museum on the left. While the right hand side of the ramp (the exit) is empty. (現疏散遊客關係只下不上)