Landmarks

A wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars, designed by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World Fair. Its pin-jointed truss structure and curved legs distribute wind load gracefully to four cast-iron shoes.

The oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza complex, built as a tomb for Pharaoh Khufu. It was the tallest human-made structure for over 3,800 years and remains a marvel of ancient surveying.

The largest amphitheatre ever built, an elliptical concrete-and-travertine icon of Imperial Rome. Its three tiers of arcades applied the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders in sequence.

The world’s tallest building, using a buttressed-core structural system and a Y-shaped footprint that resists wind and maximises views over the Dubai skyline.

An expressionist masterpiece by Jørn Utzon. Its iconic precast concrete shell roofs are all derived as sections of a single sphere — a geometric breakthrough that made construction possible.

An ivory-white marble mausoleum commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Its symmetry, double-shell dome, and pietra dura inlay are among the finest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture.

A suspension bridge over the Golden Gate strait. Its art deco towers and vermilion paint were chosen to harmonise with natural surroundings and stay visible through coastal fog.

A neoclassical copper statue designed by Bartholdi, with an inner wrought-iron armature by Gustave Eiffel that allows the skin to flex with temperature and wind independently of the frame.

A 15th-century Inca citadel set on a mountain ridge above the Sacred Valley. Its dry-stone ashlar walls are fitted so precisely that no mortar is used — an engineering response to seismic activity.

The bell tower of Pisa’s cathedral, leaning since construction due to soft soil. A late 20th-century stabilisation project reduced the tilt by removing sub-soil from the high side.