Istanbul’s glorious Hagia Sophia
When the votes were in for the New Seven Wonders of the World, Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia failed to figure among the magnificent seven, although...
Westminster’s chiming clock
Tucked away at the north-eastern end of London’s Houses of Parliament is that ultimate British icon — Westminster’s Great Clock Tower. The name of...
Yurt 4 U?
In Old Turkic, yurt is the homeland, the dwelling place. For the nomadic people living on the steppes of Central Asia, it described their...
Tolling for peace
Christchurch has a Peace Bell. In 2007, the pavilion in which it is now suspended scored three design awards — two from the New...
They’re changing guards at Buckingham Palace . . .
This month HRH Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60 years of marriage to HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Dr Kerry Rodgers thought it appropriate...
M. Eiffel’s Eyesore
In 1887 Gustave Eiffel got the nod from the Paris authorities to begin construction of his tower. It was intended as no more than...
Beijing’s Beaut Birds Nest
Dr Rodgers takes a gander at the auspicious centrepiece of China's 2008 Olympics
Its image has appeared in newspapers and on television for...
Kawau’s Cornish pumphouse
Just two years after Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson RN did his thing at Waitangi, a thin copper lode was discovered on Kawau Island. Four years...
I K Brunel’s masterpiece
It was a late autumn day in 1973. We had just left Plymouth and turned a corner on the A38. There it was branded...
The simple dignity that is Avebury
Avebury has always affected me deeply. I saw its standing stones first in 1973. It wasn’t their immensity, nor their simple grandeur — rather,...