What are the landmarks in your hometown?
I’d say that there are three – a church with a tall steeple, a six-storey office
block that’s an uglymonstrosity and a hill that used to have an old castle on it.
5)
Have you ever visited a famous structure?
When I was in Australia, I went to the Sydney Opera House. It’s the
most stunning piece of architecture I’ve ever seen and such an iconic building.
Part 2
Describe a style of architecture that you like.
You should say:
what style it is
what it looks like
where you can see it
and explain why you like this style.
I like many different styles of architecture but my favourite is probably Art Deco.
The exterior of buildings designed in this style generally looks symmetrical.
They’re not at all ornate, in fact, you’d say they were quite plain. Yet I find them so
beautiful, with elegant lines and simple shapes.
The façade is often decorated with geometric patterns created from straight lines or
Deco furniture, jewellery and other artefacts of the 1920s and 1930s when the style
was developed. The most popular building material was concrete but
glazed brick was also used.
Architects designed Art Deco houses, public buildings and commercial
buildings and most of them are still standing today. During the 20s and 30s, many
cinemas were built in towns and cities across the country. Lots of them closed down
when new multiplex movie theatres were constructed. Some fell into disrepair and
had to be demolished but others have been renovated for use as shops and their Art
Deco features preserved. There is one in my town which is now a night club.
Although it’s long past its heyday, Art Deco has remained popular as a design style
and you can sometimes see it in modern buildings. For example, the new bus station
96
in my town has many Art Deco features, in particular, the style of the windows, the
shape and symmetry of the building and the decoration around the large clock set in
the wall.
For people who are real fans of Art Deco architecture, I , I recommend that they visit
the town of Napier in New Zealand because almost every building is Art Deco. It’s
an amazing place. They have tour guides to show you around and tell you about the
history of the town. Sadly it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1931 and completely
rebuild in the architectural style of the day – Art Deco. I don’t think there is
anywhere else in the world like it and I’m sure that it was my visit there that really
got me interested in this beautiful architectural style
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