Thailand’s White Temple, Wat Rong Khun (วัดร่องขุ่น)

Located near the city of Chiang Rai, Wat Rong Khun (วัดร่องขุ่น)—known outside Thailand as the “White Temple”—stands as an unusual and beautiful mix of traditional Thai architecture and modern-day science fiction memorabilia. It was designed by painter-turned-architect Chalermchai Kositpipat, one of Thailand’s most renowned architects, who set out to create one of the most elegant temples in Chiang Rai.

The temple’s white color symbolizes purity; its glittering glass signifies the teachings of the Buddha; and the moat filled with outreaching arms represents desire. Detailed sculptures of skulls, demons and severed heads are also scattered around the premises. Perhaps most interestingly, a mural inside with images of Batman, Superman, and even the alien from Predator tell a modern-day story of Buddha.

Construction on Wat Rong Khun began in 1996 and is expected to finish in 2070, long after Kositpipat has passed. Plans include nine buildings built on an area of about 3 acres, and though it is a work in progress, the temple attracts an increasingly large number of visitors every year—many of whom share their visit to the temple on Instagram.

Celebrating I.M. Pei’s 96th Birthday

Today, famed architect I.M. Pei turns 96. Born in Guangzhou, China, Pei came to the United States in 1935 to pursue higher education. He graduated from MIT with his Bachelors in Architecture in 1940 and from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design in 1946.

Pei’s work is distinctly modernist with cubist tones and often features distinctive sweeping reflective glass facades. He is perhaps best known for the glass and steel pyramid at the Museé du Louvre in Paris, France—a controversial project completed in 1989 that has since become one of the most iconic modern buildings in France.

For more photos from I.M. Pei’s greatest works, check out their location pages below:

• Pyramide du Louvre - Paris, France
• John F. Kennedy Library Presidential Library and Museum - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Luce Memorial Chapel (路思義教堂) - Tunghai, Taiwan
• Bank of China Tower (中銀大廈) - Hong Kong
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum - Cleveland, Ohio, USA
• Suzhou Museum (苏州博物馆)- Suzhou, China
• 5th Avenue Apple Store - New York City, New York, USA
• Miho Museum - Kyoto, Japan
• Fountain Place - Dallas, Texas, USA

The Futuristic Architecture of Jan Kaplický

Today would have marked world-renowned Czech architect Jan Kaplický’s 76th birthday. He is best known for his remarkable futuristic buildings scattered around Britain, including the Selfridges department store in Birmingham, which takes the shape of a blue free-form iceberg covered in silver disks and displays Kaplický’s typical otherworldly touch. His beautiful designs can also be appreciated through Instagram photographs taken at the Lord’s Cricket Ground’s press box in London and the Museo casa Enzo Ferrari in Italy.

The World’s Most Beautiful Libraries

“Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future.” -Ray Bradbury

For centuries, books have housed the collective knowledge of the world and formed the foundations of educational institutions. Given that these objects contain such value, it only makes sense that throughout history people have constructed beautiful buildings to house them.

We put together a list of some of the most beautiful libraries as captured by Instagrammers around the world. For more photos from these architectural wonders, check out their linked location pages below.

• Stuttgart City Library, Stuttgart, Germany
• Trinity College Library, Dublin, Ireland
• Library of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
• Real Gabinete Português de Leitura, Rio de Janiero, Brazil
• The Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen, Denmark
• George Peabody Library, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
• Kanazawa Umimirai Library, Kanazawa City, Japan
• New York Public Library, New York City, NY

A Trip to Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya)

Originally a church, then a mosque and now a museum, the Hagia Sophia is Istanbul’s most famous monument and one of the most important religious structures on the planet.

For a millennium after its construction in the sixth century, the Hagia Sophia was the world’s largest cathedral. Its famed dome rests on an arcade of 40 arched windows and remains one of the largest in the world, standing 55 meters (182 feet) from floor level at its maximum. From Byzantine mosaics to calligraphic roundels and even scaffolding from ongoing restoration, layers of the building’s history can be viewed all at once. To get a first-person look inside the Hagia Sophia, be sure to visit the Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) location page.

The Shard Opens in London

Want to see more photos from The Shard? Check out The Shard’s location page.

Shard London Bridge, or The Shard, opened to the public today. Towering 309.6 meters (1016 feet) into the sky, the building is the tallest in the European Union. The project’s architect, Renzo Piano, intended for the building’s angled glass panes to reflect sunlight and the sky above, changing its appearance according to the weather and seasons.