Special Sub-Topic: Building Nicknames Click Here To Play: Building Nicknames

What is the endearing nickname given to the glass dome on the Reichstag building in Berlin?

the cheese cover. The transparent dome literally and symbolically enables the people to peer down on their legislators at work, in order to never again allow their liberties to be curtailed by the government.

What is the unflattering nickname which was immediately adopted for the CCTV media building in Beijing?

hemorrhoid. The highly spatial building resembles a squatting human, and despite government efforts to rally public support for a name change, this effort has so far been unsuccessful.

Rome's monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, near the forum, has been the object of much ridicule. Which of the following is NOT a nickname attributed to this edifice?

the accordion. Also coined "zuppa inglese", a spongy Italian dessert cake, it is too big, too pompous, too white, and required the destruction of historic medieval buildings in its construction. The nickname "the typewriter" was a contribution of U.S. occupation soldiers in WWII, and the name stuck with the locals.

In Paris the George Pompidou Center is a modern landmark. What nickname stuck with the Parisians for this colorful building with ductwork and wiring on the outside?

the cruise liner. For the 30th anniversary of this modern and contemporary art center, the Parisians celebrated with foghorns and clanging buoys, in acceptance of the endearing nickname.

The Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain is a marvelous Frank Gehry creation, and has failed thus far to have a single nickname stick. One appealing nickname proposed makes reference to the layers of apparent peeling metal, evoking the term "the silver _________".

artichoke. The museum has not only brought the publicity for the city Bilbao sought, but has been enormously successful in bringing tourists to this part of Spain.

The Casa Mila, Antonio Gaudi's noteworthy Barcelona building known for its paucity of straight lines, is better known as:

the quarry. Built for a married couple and completed in 1910, it was financed by wealth from trade generated in the American colonies.

London is undergoing a skyline transformation with a conglomeration of architectural oddities, allegedly to compensate for the impression that the buildings in central London had been boring. Which of the following is not a nickname for current or proposed contributions to this architectural menagerie?

the milk jug. Others include the walkie talkie and the erotic gherkin. It should all be interesting.

The Sydney opera house is another famous structure without a nickname, although most people think of sails, and "drowning nuns" has been proposed, because of the resemblance to nun's habits. The nearby harbor bridge, however, does have a nickname. It is commonly known as the ?

coathanger. Over two million people have climbed the structure, at 134 meters high.

We all know Beijing's bird's nest stadium, but the Beijing National Center for the Performing Arts has been tapped the "big duck egg".

t. Rising over a large pool of water, it has also been called the big bubble, tomb, and eggshell.

The General Electric building in New York City has appropriately been nicknamed what?

the slab. Completed in 1933 with an art deco facade, the building is also known as 30 Rock, referring to the address and the TV show, as it houses the NBC television network.