Hidden Unseen

15 Super Skinny Buildings in the World

When land is expensive or in short supply, smart real estate developers don’t get down, they look up. But, long, thin buildings are more expensive to construct because their shape requires more exterior wall area to enclose the same volume of space compared to a structure with a square plan. Either way, these super-skinny buildings are giving new meaning to the phrase 'now you see them, now you do not', and represent interesting places for taking photos.

1. Flatiron Building, USA

The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is located at 175 Fifth Avenue in the borough of Manhattan, New York City and is considered to be a groundbreaking skyscraper.

Upon completion in 1902, it was one of the tallest buildings in the city and one of only two skyscrapers north of 14th Street – the other being the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, one block east.

The building sits on a triangular island-block formed by Fifth Avenue, Broadway and East 22nd Street, with 23rd Street grazing the triangle's northern (uptown) peak. As with numerous other wedge-shaped buildings, the name "Flatiron" derives from its resemblance to a cast-iron clothes iron.

The building anchors the south (downtown) end of Madison Square and the north (uptown) end of the Ladies' Mile Historic District. The neighborhood around it is called the Flatiron District after its signature building, which has become an icon of New York City. The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1966, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

2. Pancake House, Japan

"Pancake House" or "Kamenori (razor) House" is located in the Osaka area. Striking house from photo above has a restaurant called "Try Angle".

3. Super Thin Building in Nara, Japan

Although the dimensions of the object are not known to us, judging by the picture this is one of the thinnest buildings in the world.

It is located in Nara - the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan.

4. Icon Building, USA

Icon (Manhattan, NY) is like no other rental residence ever built. Rising 43 stories, it’s striking architecture redefines the skyline. But look closer and you will find a distinctive brand of living. Each floor offers an uncommon level of privacy shared by only three residences. And every room is positioned at the corners of the building taking full advantage of stunning views through walls of glass.

Outdoor space is commonplace at icon and large glass cascading terraces define the façade. Careful attention is paid to lifestyle with an attentive full service staff, world class fitness center, concierge service and a landscaped sky deck.

5. The Gateway, Singapore

The Gateway is a 37-storey, 150 m (490 ft), skyscraper complex completed in April 1990 on Beach Road in the Downtown Core of Singapore. The two buildings are named The Gateway East and The Gateway West.

The architecture of The Gateway has been described as "world class" by the National Library Board. The buildings were designed by the U.S. based architect, I. M. Pei. The local Singaporean architectural firm that worked on this project was Chua Ka Seng and Partners Chartered Architects (CKSP). T.Y. Lin Structural Engineers from San Francisco also collaborated on the project.

The shape of the buildings is trapezoidal, which is similar to the form used by I. M. Pei in the critically acclaimed National Gallery of Art East Building in Washington, D.C. Locals refer to the buildings as "two towering cardboard boxes".

6. Building in Kisarazu City, Japan

Skinny building from picture is equipped with semicircular balconies that offer a 180-degree view for tenants. It is located in the Ushigome district of Kisarazu City in Japan’s Chiba prefecture, where they use that small space to build apartments on.

7. Skinny Haussmann Building, France

Paris abounds in architectural curiosities and among the ones that you can see in almost all parts of the city due to the rather anarchic angles of the streets and a little help from Baron Haussmann are the "thin slice" buildings. This is the most famous thin building in Paris, known as Skinny Haussmann Building.

8. Skinny Building in London, UK

Thin building from photo is located in South Kensington - the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. This building is equipped with an external lift.

9. Thin Nagasaki Building, Japan

Step around to the side, however, and… whoa! In this thin building, located in Nagasaki City in Japan, there’s a Chinese restaurant, on the ground floor!

10. Red Building, Japan

Downtown districts of Japan’s larger cities are where you’ll find a host of slim towers, all appearing to compete for the same small section of real estate. Red building from picture is located in Okayama - the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan.

11. Thin Block Tarragona, Spain

Amazing building from picture has 16 floors and is located in Tarragona, south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean.

12. Sliver Building in Tokyo, Japan

In overpopulated Tokyo, where each square meter has a very high price, buildings such as this one are not at all something unusual. Building from picture has 12 floors.

13. John Hancock Tower, USA

The John Hancock Tower, officially named Hancock Place and colloquially known as The Hancock, is a 60-story, 790 ft (240 m) skyscraper in Boston. The tower was designed by Henry N. Cobb of the firm I. M. Pei & Partners and was completed in 1976. In 1977, the American Institute of Architects presented the firm with a National Honor Award for the building, and in 2011 conferred on it the Twenty-five Year Award. It has been the tallest building in Boston for more than 30 years, and is the tallest building in New England.

Tall, skinny glass structures were a goal of modernist architecture since Mies Van Der Rohe proposed a glass skyscraper for Berlin. Such buildings as Gordon Bunshaft's Lever House, Mies's Seagram Building in New York City, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Johnson Wax Headquarters attempted this goal, but many of these designs retained structural artifacts that prevented a consistent, monolithic look.

An observation deck (on the top) with spectacular views of Boston was a popular attraction. However, it was closed after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Because of the closure of the John Hancock Tower's observation deck, the highest observation deck open to the public in Boston is in the Prudential Tower.

14. Thin Apartment Building, Italy

Old three-storey building from the picture still has tenants, judging by arranged balconies. This thin structure is probably located in some old neighborhood in the Italian province of Caltanissetta on the island of Sicily.

15. Thin Building in Latin America

This thin building has 15 floors and it is located somewhere in Latin America. The width of the building is only 2.5 meters (8.2ft), and it does not even lift. Can you imagine what it is, daily ascend to the 15th floor without using the elevator.

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Waw an-Namus

Waw an Namus is an extinct volcanic crater located in one of the remotest destinations in Libya, deep in the Sahara desert almost at its geographic center. Waw n-Namus volcanic field is about 4 km wide, surrounded by a 10 to 20 km wide dark-black deposit of ash that stands out starkly against the yellowish desert. On the floor of the caldera there is a 120 meter high cinder cone, the apparent source of the ash, as well as three small salty, colored lakes. The name “Waw an-Namus” means the "Oasis of Mosquitoes", or according to other interpretation "The Crater of the Mosquitoes" , from the fact that the surrounding small lakes are infested with mosquitoes, and therefore camping nearby requires nets or repellents.

A common phenomenon in the Sahara is the occurrence of reasonably potable water close to, and at nearly the same elevation as, salt lakes. This scarce source of water feeds the lakes and was also used by travellers in the old days. Due to the presence of fresh water at this remote volcano, Waw An-Namus was always an important watering point for the caravans en route from Waw Al-Kabir to Rebiana and Al Kufrah oases further southeast in Libya.

The scenic volcano was first reported to the outside world by Karl Moritz von Beurmann (1862) and Gerard Rohlfs (1881), although they never visited the site. Probably the first European to visit this volcano and report it was a Frenchman, Laurent Lapierre (1920). Lapierre was a military officer who was captured in combat and taken in captivity to Kufra via Waw Al-Kabir and Waw An-Namus, and so had the opportunity to report his adventure after his release a few years later.

About eleven years later an Italian geologist, Ardito Desio, reached Waw An-Namus during his famous long camel journey. On his geological expedition, Desio also visited Jalu, Maradah, Waw Al-Kabir, Tmassah and Kufra and published a geological description of the volcano for the first time in 1935.

After the Second World War, several scientists visited the volcano, including the geographer Nikolaus Benjamin Richter who undertook several trips to the volcano and published a book on his journey to the area in 1960. Since that time, and as the Libyan government began awarding petroleum concessions in Libya, several geologists, geophysicists and tourists have visited Waw An-Namus, either to explore the adjacent areas or because they were attracted by descriptions of the volcano. In the last two decades, Waw An-Namus has became one of the main destinations for most tourists who visit the Libyan desert in general and the Fezzan region in particular.

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Shortest Commercial Flight in the World

The world’s shortest commercial flight takes place between the two Orkney Islands, Westray and Papa Westray, just north of Scotland, separated by a distance of only 1.7 miles. Operated by Loganair, the flight duration is officially two minutes, but under ideal wind condition can be completed in only 47 seconds. Tickets are priced at about $30 per passenger with no in-flight service. According to reports published in The Daily Mail, about 30 percent of the service's passengers are associated with the Orkney Islands Council's education service, while many others are health staff and patients of the Scottish National Health Service. The island of Papa Westray is home to just over 70 people, and 60 archaeological sites.

Loganair, which has flown the route since the 1960s, introduced a popular flight for tourists in 2011. The special flights fly a couple days each week in the summer for folks who just want the flight and then to get back to the Orkney Mainland rather than stay out on the islands.

Flight taking off from Papa Westray.

Papa Westray Airport terminal.

You can watch the entire flight in the video below.

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10 Magnificent Maelstroms in the World

Water can grant life but it can also be a dangerous force depending upon its intensity and form. Very small whirlpools can be seen spinning when a sink drains, but the powerful whirlpools in nature are magnificent and destructive. A whirlpool of extraordinary size or violence is a maelstrom. The swirling vortex is deadly. Here are 10 exquisite yet lethal maelstroms.

Whirlpools are caused by a turbulent flow of water. When moving river water is forced to twist around an object or to stream into a narrower riverbed, the water flows faster and is more likely to create an energetic swirling turbulence. In the ocean, depending upon the geology of the sea bed, driving currents can collide and create conflicting tidal flows. Water spins counterclockwise north of the equator and clockwise south of the equator. The destructive interaction forms a whirlpool, a powerful circular current of water. A maelstrom, the vortex of a violent turbulence, is the most deadly of all.

Mightiest Maelstrom in the World

As we believe a black hole in the depths of uncharted space would suck us in if we venture too close, so did ancient seafaring folk believe a giant whirlpool, a spinning vortex, would suck down ships and sailors to their watery demise. When they sailed the largely unexplored seas, tales were exaggerated of maelstroms and the certain doom of impenetrable ocean depths. Even now though, small boats could be pulled down and sailors are warned to avoid these treacherous waters when the tide is running. Currents speeds increase when the tides change, so even a large boat may find steering impossible until the maelstrom subsides.

Maelstrom of Saltstraumen

The Maelstrom of Saltstraumen is located next to Norway. Positioned near the Arctic Circle, the mightiest maelstrom in the world creates the strongest tidal currents on the globe. Every six hours, vigorous ocean currents can run up to 25 miles per hour as more than 105,668 gallons of water surge through the narrow strait that connects Skjerstadfjord and Saltenfjord. When the tidal currents turn, there is a “time window” when larger ships can sail through the sound. In fact, currents appear essentially calm during that time. Nevertheless locals and tourists are advised to use great caution when down by the sea or in a boat since the underwater currents are constantly churning, the water twisting, making the Maelstrom of Saltstraumen the most dangerous maelstrom on the planet.

Moskstraumen Maelstrom

While the Saltstraumen is the strongest maelstrom, the Moskstraumen is the most famous. Perhaps infamous thanks to Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne. Poe penned a story called A Descent into the Maelstrom and then Verne referred to it at the culmination of the book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Herman Melville wrote about it through his character Captain Ahab in Moby-Dick. Moskstraumen is thought to be the first mentioned maelstrom in history.

Referred to as simply Maelstrom, it has the dubious honor of 1500 years worth of descriptions about seafarer’s who met sea monsters and their doom in the treacherous whirlpool. Located off the Lofoten islands, Moskstraumen is the second strongest whirlpool in the world. However there are many people who would dispute the powerful circular currents of water that reach speeds of 17.27 mph as the most destructive maelstrom. Its forceful tidal currents, about five miles wide, flow along a deep marine channel between the Norwegian coast and the open sea.

Corryvreckan Whirlpool

The third largest maelstrom in the world is located in the relatively narrow Strait of Corryvreckan. Extreme tidal currents surge into whirlpools swirling round and round due in part to its location between two islands off the west coast of Scotland and the pyramidal rock on the sea floor. 30 foot waves swell from a depth of 100 fathoms and the reverberation of nature’s fury is heard from as far as ten miles away. Bewitching and bizarre legends were told by Celtic people about the ominous vortex of churning water that at times appears more green than blue. Corryvreckan was once classified as unsafe for voyage, then “very violent and dangerous,” but writer George Orwell journeyed across the water just the same. Orwell was shipwrecked for a short time.

Some Scottish producers tossed a mannequin with a life jacket into the Corryvreckan or “Brecan’s Cauldron” during a documentary called “Lethal Seas.” The life-size dummy disappeared into the dangerous vortex. When the mannequin was later found far away, there was evidence of it being scraped along the bottom and 262 feet showed on the depth meter. The Discovery Channel picked up the film and aired it as “Sea Twister.”

Old Sow

The largest whirlpool on the Western Hemisphere is called Old Sow. This maelstrom is situated between the shores of Deer Island and Moose Island in-between New Brunswick and Maine. Old Sow derives its name from the “pig-like”sucking sounds that occur when the whirling streams and vortex seethes. Considered one of the five most meaningful maelstroms in the world, this intensely violent whirlpool creates a mighty roaring when the tides back up against a strong wind. Old Sow maelstroms that form between the bays of Fundy and Passamaquoddy have a diameter of about 250 feet, swell up to 20 feet high, and reach speeds of 17.15 mph.

Small to medium whirlpools on every side of Old Sow are called “piglets.” Dreadful and deafening disturbances aside, only smaller sailboats and other boats with keels are considered in danger to steer Old Sow while the tide is running. Most motorized boats are able to successfully navigate these waters. Other rare natural occurrences around Old Sow involve upwellings, standing waves, and non-vortexing depressions in the water.

Naruto

The strait separating Naruto and Awaji is less than one mile wide. Naruto strait in located within a very narrow channel near Hyōgo, Japan where tides and water levels constantly fluctuate and throw strong tides into a vortex. The water speeds at over 8 mph through the Naruto channel four different times a day, twice flowing in and twice flowing out. The tidal currents twist like an underwater cyclone, swirling at a velocity of over 20 mph, making Naruto maelstroms the fourth fastest in the world. During the spring and autumn tides, the whirlpools have a diameter of over 65 feet. Tourists as well as locals watch the ebb and flow of giant whirlpools from ships or from above on the Naruto Bridge.

Kauai Maelstrom

Sunrise kisses a marvelously mysterious phenomenon in Kaunai, Hawaii. The sea air whistles before a bellow of water pressure erupts through the lava tubes like a geyser. Before another blast of the blowhole, white foamy ocean sucks water in to swirl dangerous currents, a maelstrom of deadly dragging suction pulling down to the ocean twenty feet below the lava-ledge. This maelstrom of water is as enticing as it is lethal, a destructive downdraft of unrelenting natural violence.

Garofalo – Strait of Messina Whirlpool

Homer told tales of Odysseus on a hazardous mystical sea voyage where he encountered two immortal creatures called Scylla and Charybdis. Although not a sea monster, Charybdis lives on in the Strait of Messina and is now called Garofalo. It is here that the sea floor drops considerably and winds flow against the direction of powerful tidal currents to form another oceanographic phenomenon. The Strait of Messina is 1.9 miles wide at its narrowest point with a depth of 830 feet. The maelstrom of Garofalo occurs in the narrow body of water between the southern tip of Calabria and the eastern tip of Sicily, Italy. Dangerous choppy seas and rotating whirlpools can still overturn small sea vessels and the rough broken swells can create substantial navigational hazards for larger ones.

Niagara Falls Whirlpool

When the Niagara River is at full flow, the waters traverse over the rapids and enter a pool to create another “reversal phenomenon.” The body of water travels counterclockwise around the pool where it tries to cut across the natural outlet. Pressure builds up and forces the water under the incoming stream which causes the swirling Niagara Falls Whirlpool. The basin is 1,700 feet long by 1,200 feet wide with depths up to 125 feet.

Like most whirlpools, tourists are drawn to see the swirling natural forces in action. The oldest attraction at Niagara Falls is the Maid of the Mist boat cruise that sails passengers into the whirlpools beneath the Falls. The Rainbow Bridge, located downriver from the Falls, connects Niagara Falls, New York, and Ontario, Canada. It also allows great views of the whirlpools. The Whirlpool Aero Car is a cable car ride that “flies” passengers over the whirlpool on the Canadian side.

Ligurian Maelstrom

The Ligurian Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, is fed by the Arno River. Both the make of the sea bed and the conflicting tidal currents cause maelstroms to form. Tales and legends are thought to have been told about the whirlpools in this area south of Italy. The word maelstrom can also indicate chaos and inescapable destructive forces. The water in Ligurian Maelstrom writhes and foams, luring the unwise closer to have a better look at the crushing forces of nature.

Maelstrom Doctor’s Cove

In the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, an area long heralded by maritime enthusiasts, a maelstrom forms in Doctor’s Cove. The combination of a blowhole and strong tidal currents create a forceful downdraft, a free vortex. Nowadays these maelstroms are well documented and charted out for boats to avoid. Although powerful whirlpools have killed many, there is little actual evidence of large ships being sucked beneath the ocean. However the question remains, back in ancient times, who would have survived such a violent destruction to write about it? Myths and legends generally begin with a grain of truth. Is the same true for maelstroms?

Relaxing Whirlpool or Turbulent Tempest

Some whirlpools, like the one in the bottom picture, are enticing and soothing. The picture on top depicts a maelstrom, a spinning underwater tornado that lures the adventurous and the curious nearer for a closer look into the natural phenomenon. Only you can decide if the relaxing whirlpool or the turbulent tempest calls to your soul.

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