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The Glamour of Simplicity: American Modernism | |
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Postcard from Barcelona | |
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Online Trip to the Taj Mahal | |
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The Theaters of Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates | |
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Online Trip to the Taj Mahal The 25 "video essays" describe the main architectural features of the monument. The photographers were permitted to go beyond the extensive wooden and metal tourist screens inside the monument to capture superior views of the walls with their inlaid gemstone and marble carvings. Although many of the "movies" are actually sequences of still images, those images are larger, and thus in some ways more appealing and informative, than typical QuickTime movies. The Web site is now available in English, French and Japanese, with additional languages to follow. William Beckett, Armchair Travel's director of business and marketing claims that to see and hear everything on the Web site would take over two hours. "This makes it the most comprehensive guided tour of a historic site yet produced on the Web," he says. "This site should make the monument available to a wide range of virtual visitors who would otherwise never be able to see
Through virtual tours we learn about both the historical background of the Taj Mahal and details of the remarkable building's construction. About the decorative Guldastas, or pinnacles, for instance, which add a sense of height to the complex. And the minarets from which the muezzin calls the Islamic faithful to prayer five times a day. And we learn the significance of quadrangles and waterways in the layout of the grounds. The narrations explain details that might be lost on the casual observer. For example, the extensive calligraphy and floral patterns are, on closer inspection, colored marble inlaid in white marble. With a technique called Parchin Kari, inlaid gemstones of lapis lazuli, agate, and garnet were selected for their variations in tone, giving the resulting flowers an illusion of depth. The Web site's creators do not shy away from the seamier side of tourism: the marble-damaging air pollution exacerbated by human and automotive traffic. They hope that with sites such as this one, a greater number of visitors can enjoy such monuments without actually going there and further threatening the buildings' existence. The company further helps by channeling donations to the Taj Mahal's preservation. (Of course, it's impossible to know how often the reverse is true, that such Web sites encourage real travel.) "Explore the Taj Mahal" is the third in a series of "World Heritage Explorer" Web sites created by Armchair Travel. The London-based company has employed a technique it has developed over ten years called "Virtual Travel," based on proprietary photographic techniques and Apple's QuickTime VR. William Donelson, Armchair Travel's director of technology and design asserts: "With the arrival high-speed Internet access, people will increasingly look to the World Wide Web for entertainment as well as information, and travel seems likely to prove one of the most popular subjects." Other destinations from Armchair Travel include St. Paul's Cathedral, the Parliament, and the Royal Palace of Westminster. The Company plans upcoming releases of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, the ruins at Petra in Jordan, and other World Heritage sites.
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