This thread is devoted to showing examples of interesting and beautiful architecture from around the world.

I thought I'd start out with something fun.  This is a photo of carved panels of a sculpture used in the Parswanatha Temple in Khajurabo, India.

The more things change, the more they stay the same....

The Vishvanath Temple built in AD 1002 in Khajurabo, India.

The carved figures on the Lakshmana Temple in Khajurabo, India.

The creations of Gaudi always stir my emotions and fire my imagination- I think his work is thrilling. 

Here's a detail from the Caso Batllo (the Dragon House).  It was designed and built in 1905–1907. The local name for the building is Casa dels Ossos (house of bones) for its skeletal organic quality. It was originally designed for a middle-class family and situated in a now prosperous district of Barcelona, Spain.

Alpha, that is absolutely the most amazing thing I've ever seen.  I love it!  Thanks for posting.  That just got made my desktop.

Oh, i'm so glad to hear that you were moved by this!  Definitely make time to google "Gaudi" images; what you'll discover is nothing short of breathtaking.  Most of his buildings are in Barcelona, but he did an incredible cathedral in Mallorca that's worth seeing too. 

I think if a morel fungus got made into a building, this is what it would look like.  Not a stunning endorsement, but I think it's great!

I love Gaudi buildings too.  They remind me of strange architecture one would find in a Star Wars movie, a Lord of the Rings city, or even a Tim Burton film.  They are whimsical and unique.

Here's a link to some of his buildings:

http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Antonio_Gaudi.html

Here's a photo of Gaudi's Casa Mila:

Some of Gaudi's other work in Barcelona:

















Probably Gaudi's most famous work is Cathedral Sagrada Familia.





Gaudi building proposed for New York City:

Sagrada Familia Cathedral



Park Guell













Gaudi snail gargoyles.



Gaudi chimneys.



Gaudi tile.



Casa Botine in Leon.

Gaudi's Magic Square.



A Gaudi wall.



Gaudi  double-screen doors.

Great images, thank you for the early birthday present! 

I went to Barcelona in December and I have to tell you the Gaudi stuff is amazing in person. La Sagrada Familia is pretty unbelievable. It's already gigantic and the plans call for it to be even bigger. Parc Guell is probably my favorite place I've ever been.

Arcosanti, an urban laboratory in the Sonoran Desert near Cordes Junction and Mayer, Arizona. 

Arcosanti in Phoenix is designed according to the concept of arcology (architecture + ecology), developed by Italian architect Paolo Soleri. In arcology, many systems work together, with efficient circulation of people and resources, multi-use buildings, and solar orientation for lighting, heating and cooling.

http://www.arcosanti.org/






















What Arcosanti might look like in the future.





Greenhouses at Arcosanti.



More on Arcosanti at:

http://www.nd.edu/~ndmag/arcosw98.htm

La Chiesa del Dio Padre Misericordioso, the Jubilee Church in Rome, designed by Richard Meier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dio_Padre_Misericordioso

http://figure-ground.com/travel/image.php?jubilee_church

The Park of Monsters in Bomarzo, Italy. 

Mouth of Hell by Pirro Ligorio.



The Mask of Madness



The War Elephant





The garden at Bomarzo was built in the sixteenth century by an Italian nobleman as a memorial to his wife Guilia. Populated by Fish-tailed Harpies, Fortified Elephants, a Grotto of Venus and a Mask of Madness, turtles, lions, dragons and bears, it was called a ‘sacred grove’ - Sacro Bosco, by its creator, Vicino Orsini (c.1513-84).

http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/insight/stonard_bomarzo.html

http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/search/results.html?object_id=%2227e0ffeaf1f5e15c67b71024bead0478c74eaad5%22&display=Parco+dei+Mostri

This one reminds me of the Opera House in Sydney Australia.