Photo Shop Blog

The photos in this post made by photographer Jim Richardson are of the Hebrides islands in Scotland. Somewhere between the lakes and rivers, the mountains, the sea caverns, the meadows, and the misty landscape is a kind of tranquil beauty that makes one truly appreciate the wild.

Construction has reached the half way point for 'Capital Gate' tower designed by New York firm RMJM architects. located in Abu Dhabi the slanted tower will consist of a large internal atrium including a tea lounge and swimming pool suspended 263 feet above the ground. due to its posture, the 35-story capital gate is being constructed on top of a 7-foot-deep concrete base with a dense mesh of reinforced steel. The steel exoskeleton known as the diagrid sits above an extensive distribution of 490 piles that have been drilled 100 feet underground to accommodate the gravitational, wind and seismic pressures caused by the lean of the building. The iconic tower will be the centerpiece of the capital centre development, a 2.2 billion USD business and residential micro city being constructed around the thriving Abu Dhabi national exhibition centre.

The world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, gave fashion designer Georgio Armani ten levels to create a modern hotel filled with upscale design. This includes walls decorated with handmade Florentine leather, Japanese tatami on the floors and bathrooms featuring green Brazilian marble. In fact, every physical detail of the hotel was designed by Armani himself. Playing their part, the hotel staff wears Armani suits and dresses. There's even an Armani/Dolci chocolate and sweet store, flowers at the Armani/Fiori florist, and an upscale nghtclub called Armani/Prive. The hotel has 160 rooms that range in price from $760 a night to more than $2,500 for some suites. There's definitely an understated elegance to the design of the hotel. You'll find no Versace bling-bling gaudiness here. As Armani states, "I wanted something very important, something to be remembered. Something not just for the present, but beyond." Adding to the air of exclusivity, there ...