Google Search Adds 3D Monuments, Including the Parthenon

Google has added 3D monuments to its search results, including the Parthenon in Athens. The search engine has started incorporating augmented reality (AR) objects into its Google Search feature, which shows results in 3D for space, science and athletes, and animals — and now, popular monuments across the globe.

Google’s view of the 3D monuments allows users to rotate the landmarks and zoom into their details. Users also have the option to overlay a monument into their space with their camera lens using the “View in 3D” option.

The feature allows you to take pictures and videos with the 3D-rendered monuments. The Parthenon — one of Greece’s most culturally significant landmarks — is available as a 3D object. The Parthenon is an ancient temple located in the Athenian Acropolis in Athens, Greece.

The site was originally dedicated to the worship of the goddess Athena and was once filled and decorated with sculptures that were famously removed from the site by Lord Elgin in the 19th century.

Here is a complete list of world monuments you can explore in 3D with Google’s new feature:

Abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel	Conservatory of Flowers	Neuschwanstein Castle	St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Alcatraz Island	Eiffel Tower	Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum	St. Paul’s Cathedral
Alhambra	Empire State Building	One World Trade Center	St. Peter’s Basilica
Amazon Theatre	Ferry Building	Palace of Versailles	Statue of Liberty National Monument
Arasaka Imperia Residence	Flatiron Building	Palace of Westminster	Stonehenge
Arc de Triomphe	Giotto’s Bell Tower	Palais Garnier	The Angel of Independence
Aztec Stadium	Golden Gate Bridge	Palazzo Vecchio	The British Museum
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe	Japan National Stadium	Pantheon	The Centre Pompidou
Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence	Kaminarimon Gate	Panthéon	The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Basilica of Santa Maria Novella	Kensington Palace	Parthenon	The Painted Ladies
Big Ben	La Sagrada Familia	Piazza della Signoria	The Palace of Fine Arts
Brooklyn Bridge	Leaning Tower of Pisa	Piazza Navona	Tokyo National Museum
Buckingham Palace	Les Invalides	PIER 39	Tokyo Skytree
Campidogilo square	London Eye	Pitti Palace	Tokyo Tower
Capela Curial de São Francisco de Assis	Louvre Museum	Placa de Catalunya	Tower of London
Castel Sant’Angelo	Magic Fountain of Montjuic	Ponte Vecchio	Trafalgar Square
Castle of Good Hope	Meiji Jingu	Rhodes Memorial	Trevi Fountain
Cathedral of Barcelona	Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral	Rockefeller Center	Union Buildings
Cathedral of Brasilia	Monument of the Ninos Heroes	Roman Forum	Ushiku Building
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore	Monument to the Revolution	Sacré-Cœur	Voortrekker Monument
Cathedrale Norte-Dame de Paris	Moses Mabhida Stadium	San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge	Westminster Abbey
Chapultepec Castle	Mount Rushmore National Memorial	São Paulo Cathedral	Yoyogi National Stadium
Christ the Redeemer	Musée d’Orsay	Sensō-ji	Zojoji
Coit Tower	National Museum of Nature and Science =	Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Columbus Monument	National Palace	Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple

 

The Parthenon’s design eccentricities are strengths

The Parthenon is one of the most iconic structures in the history of Western civilization. It stands in splendor on Acropolis Hill in Athens, and has stood like that for an astounding 2,500 years. Experts believe that the ingenuity of the Parthenon’s construction has allowed it to miraculously survive the ravages of time, nature — and mankind.

For decades, engineers, architects and scientists have wondered exactly how this ingenious structure has successfully stood the test of time to continue to tower majestically over the Greek capital.

This architectural and engineering wonder, with its height, width and depth defining the very concept of perfect proportion, has kept its secrets for many centuries since its completion in the year 438 BC. That is, until engineers and architects recently revealed the Parthenon’s design and construction secrets.

Several studies have found that despite the fact that the temple of the Parthenon does not even have a foundation it has triple anti-seismic protection which is responsible for keeping it upright after the many earthquakes and upheavals of the past 25 centuries.

According to civil engineer Niki Timotheou, studies of its architectural and structural form have shown that the Ancients had already discovered what we today call “seismic insulation.”

The temple, according to Timotheou, successfully contradicts all theories of modern civil engineering because even though it has no foundation whatsoever, and stands right on bedrock, it has three different means of insulating itself against earthquakes.