Nov. 28, Shanghai Groundbreaking ceremonies were held today to mark the start of construction on the Shanghai Tower. The 632 meter high building will be the tallest in China upon completion in 2014, ahead of the currently under construction 600 meter-tall 'China 117 Tower' in Tianjin and the recently completed 492 meter-tall 'Shanghai World Financial Center' which sits adjacent to the Shanghai Tower site...more

		Nov. 26, Malta Malta should aim to have “fewer but better clusters of tall buildings”, according to a Fulbright scholar who drew up a report for MEPA. “Good architecture and urban design do not necessarily depend on tall buildings and there should not be any illusion that a city can achieve great urban status only by building many tall buildings,” Prof Mir Ali of the University of Illinois said....more

		Nov. 26, Phnom Penh Blaming the global financial crisis, a major South Korean developer will dramatically reduce the scale of its proposed one billion U.S. dollars 7-skyscraper complex along the Tonle Bassac River to just three buildings at half the original price, national media said on Wednesday.  ...more

		Nov. 26, Sao Paulo This project required the design of two very economic office towers, but with great visual impact as a response to its context, a point of great visibility within the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It also required an extreme maximization of private floor areas in relation to the total built area, as well as the best possible relation between common and private floor areas, configuring a typical and strict real state equation....more

		Nov. 25, Toronto In RBC Centre, all the hot/cold air, water and wiring flows through a half-metre thick space under the floor. At regular intervals are little round vents. Each office worker can open or shut the vent to regulate their own workspace. The bathrooms have water-saving, dual-flush toilets: flush up for liquids and down for solids. Rain water from the roof flushes the toilets on the first six floors...more

		Nov. 25, Chicago The proposal consists of a multi-story tall building, 10,000ft in height, consisting of three or more towers which are the primary structure, enclosing multiple floor spaces for many uses – including condos, military areas, observation, hotels, restaurants, retail, and offices. An aircraft landing deck or platform is attached to the very top of the structure...more

		Nov. 25, Copenhagen 3XN present their competition entry for Denmark capital’s LM Project - a competition which was recently won by Steven Holl Architects. The towers and the bridge constitute one single, floating dynamic movement, characterized by the bold span across the harbor entrance in terms of both the plan design and the facade...more

		Nov. 24, London Standing at a maximum of sixteen floors tall, the proposals are split vertically into three sections above ground floor retail that will restore the traditional street-line obliterated by the 1960s redevelopment with the neighbouring buildings finally visually connected again. Within there will be 2,322 square metres of office and retail on the lower floors with 106 apartments on the upper floors. ...more

		Nov. 22, Shanghai The Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has named the Shanghai World Financial Center the winner of its annual "Best Tall Building" award for 2008...more

		Nov. 22, London This is the first image of a 27-storey skyscraper that could go up in the heart of Barking. The massive structure with striking zigzagging contours could be built by Swan Housing in Cambridge Road near Barking Station. HLM Architects have designed the new tower set to comprise commercial units on the lower levels with private and affordable flats above....more

		Nov. 22, Malta Malta is planning to reach for the skies with 25 pending applications for the construction of towers, yet there is no policy or vision in place to see which direction such development should take. A debate on whether tall buildings should be embraced or if these blurred the island's historic skyline was raised during a seminar yesterday, which brought together engineers, architects and non-governmental organisations....more

		Nov. 21, Shanghai Shanghai World Financial Center has been named ‘Best Tall Building Overall’ at the CTBUH international Tall Building Awards last night. The Centre, designed by KPF, was commended at the awards ceremony in Chicago for its “clear and elegant form, dramatic at all scales through a connection metaphorically of the earth and sky”...more

		Nov. 21, Dubai It has finally happened: the Dubai bubble has burst. Architecture-spotters like myself have looked on in amazement, or rather incredulity, at the way the tiny emirate has continued to unveil ever grander construction projects – taller skyscrapers, huger hotels, vaster artificial islands – in apparent defiance of the global credit crunch. Now, that crunch has hit home...more

		Nov. 21, Shanghai Shanghai World Financial Center has been named ‘Best Tall Building Overall’ at the CTBUH international Tall Building Awards. The Centre, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, was commended at the awards ceremony in Chicago for its “clear and elegant form, dramatic at all scales through a connection metaphorically of the earth and sky” The CTBUH also announced the structural design as ‘revolutionary’...more

		Nov. 21, Moscow The Russian company building Europe's tallest building has halted work on the project, citing the global financial crisis. The Norman Foster-designed Russia Tower being built in Moscow's new central business district by developer Russian Land would be 600m (1,970ft) high. Company head Shalva Chigirinsky said that work was being halted because of the credit crunch. ...more

		Nov. 21, Chicago So what if the Chicago Spire is nothing more than a hole in the ground? The city’s skyline remains a vibrant and visually alluring work in progress. A trio of projects by Pappageorge/Haymes shows how Chicago's new design formula is gaining traction...more

		Nov. 21, Sofia The idea of a skyscraper in Sofia goes back more than 40 years. In recent years, dozens of projects have been put forth, every one of them claiming to be the first one....more

		Nov. 20 A range of alternative energy technologies are available to us today; there is, however, no substitute for water. Although 70 percent of the earth is covered with water, just 3 percent of that water is fit for human consumption. This isn’t going to improve anytime soon. Failures in water-related infrastructure result in lost biodiversity, higher temperatures, increased flooding, massive impact on energy and unsafe, unsanitary water....more

		Nov. 20, San Jose The 88, San Jose's newest high-rise residential tower, is now complete -- a monumental step in the resurgence of this city's downtown. At just under 88 meters, The 88 is the tallest residential building between San Francisco and Los Angeles, standing one foot taller than the new city hall just blocks away and making a dramatic impact on the city's changing skyline...more

		Nov. 20 The great thing about travel may be seeing the world through a different lens, but that doesn’t mean the view is always pretty. With this in mind, the travel experts at VirtualTourist.com have come up with a list of “The World’s Top 10 Ugliest Buildings and Monuments"...more

		Nov. 20, San Francisco Once upon a time San Francisco was considered to have one of the best skylines in the United States but after approaching three decades with little being built it looks curiously dated. All this could change if a new tower by local Heller-Manus, gets the go-ahead. Standing on the site of 181 Freemont, the scheme if built will reach 274 metres in height making it marginally taller than the famous Transamerica Pyramid....more

		Nov. 20, New York The Port Authority of NY & NJ announced today that it has selected London–based Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners to design a new 42-storey tower and renovations to the Port Authority Bus Terminal located in Mid-town Manhattan. The proposed air rights development will add approximately 1.3 million sq ft of sustainable first-class office space above the terminal...more

		Nov. 20, Birmingham A penthouse in a Birmingham skyscraper is the first flat in the city to sell for £1 million, say developers. The three-bedroom property on the 25th floor of the Orion Building was sold to a local businessman in his 30s, Crosby Lend Lease said. ...more

		Nov. 20, Queensland Major property projects are being scrapped; and high rise towers in Queensland have been among the first to go. Now those obvious targets are being flanked by similar project terminations in the housing market...more

		Nov. 19, London British Land has revealed where they plan to take their flagship development in the City of London, the Leadenhall Building. Following the unusual bottom-up demolition of the previous occupant of the site, 122 Leadenhall, they are now carrying out basement and preparatory works as the final part of their £30 million programme to get the site to the point they can rapidly begin construction when demand permits....more

		Nov. 19, Boston Boston Properties has secured an 8-year, $375 million loan for Four Embarcadero Center, the REIT's trophy office tower in San Francisco. A group of insurance companies provided the financing. The 47-story, 937,000-square-foot skyscraper was constructed in 1979 in Financial District submarket. It is part of the Embarcadero Center business complex, which is composed of five buildings measuring more than 4 million square feet. ...more

		Nov. 19, Hanoi Construction of Dolphin Plaza, a complex of high-class apartments and office building was officially kicked off on November 18 in Hanoi. The complex consists of two 25-storey apartment towers and another 25-storey office tower. Total floor area is 55,000 square metres....more

		Nov. 18, Philadelphia Plans for a billion-dollar building that would be Center City's tallest skyscraper went before the city's planning commission Tuesday. Business owners and residents in the area offered differing views of the 1,500-foot tower proposed for 18th and Arch streets....more

		Nov. 18, Dubai The Burj Tower in Dubai is more than four times the height of the Gherkin in London and the world's first superscraper. The most famous fact about the Burj - apart from that it's the first piece of architecture to be both the tallest building and man-made structure in the world - is that its final height is a closely guarded secret until it opens next June..more

		Nov. 18, Helsinki The Finnish Fair Corporation plans to build a 27-storey hotel next to the Helsinki Fair Centre. The new building would set a new record for height, as Helsinki is not exactly famous for tall buildings. According to the Fair Corporation, the building would rise exactly 100 metres above the ground. The new hotel would reach higher than the tallest existing residential building in Finland, namely the 86m Cirrus Building...more

		Nov. 18, Chicago Chicago’s a city known for its architecture. And it seems to be constantly changing and growing. But what’s striking now, is how much the skyline’s staying the same, thanks to the slowdown in the economy. Some projects are delayed, and even canceled. But some architects say bad times could have an impact on building design....more

		Nov. 18, Ealing The architectural team of Foster & Partners and HKR Architects has reinvented the Leaf and its surrounding development in Ealing as something totally different. Now called the Arcadia Centre the project features a drastically reduced tower in terms of scale. The basic massing of the main tower is now that of a square footprint divided into four quarters with, half stopping at the 19th floor and half of it raised above the other part to the 24th storey. The maximum height of the building is now 85.7 metres....more

		Nov. 17, Moline It was cold and windy outside at Bass Street Landing Monday, but those taking part in the groundbreaking ceremony of the proposed Kone Centre in downtown Moline were undaunted. Kone will be the anchor tenant, occupying floors three through 10. It could be up to 20 stories depending on the number of condominiums sold. Moline Mayor Don Welvaert said the minimum will be 18 floors with the maximum at 20....more

		Nov. 17, Monterrey The main objective of “Residential Dinastía” is to create a sustainable and environmentally friendly architecture that also comply with the LEED standards. The four apartment towers will have a distance of 40 meters between each other in order to capitalize the North and north-west views and therefore with less terrain impact. ...more

		Nov. 17, Tianjin Named China 117 Tower after the number of storeys within the building, the scheme is being developed by Hong Kong based developer, Goldin Properties, who plan on their scheme truly dominating the city of Tianjin with it's 11 and a half million population. The tower has been designed by an as yet unnamed architect. It will contain 406,000 square metres of internal space with floors 1 to 92 consisting of offices and the upper part of the tower from levels 93 to 117 due to be occupied by an as yet unnamed six star hotel operator....more

		Nov. 17, Cincinnati Might as well call Bob Grace a conductor. Assigned to bring Cincin­nati’s tallest skyscraper out of the ground, he orchestrates hundreds of contractors, an intense time schedule, tight staging area and the technically challenging assemblage of the building’s crown jewel – the tiara that pays homage to the city’s legacy. The Turner Construction executive oversees development of the Great American Tower at Queen City Square....more

		Nov. 15, New York The first eco-friendly billboard is coming to Times Square, entirely powered by the sun and the wind — but there is one small catch. When there’s no sun, and no wind? The $3 million billboard goes dark: there is no backup generator...more

		Nov. 15, Boston The Custom House Tower’s old lighting has been replaced with LED fixtures that consume one third the energy. As part of a celebration of sustainable lighting design, LED lights were unveiled on the 496-foot Marriott Custom House Tower last month. The former Custom House Tower, Boston's first official skyscraper and once used to collect federal maritime duties, is now a time-share hotel. ...more

		Nov. 15, New York Many residents of the East Village and the Lower East Side do not want any more of the sky-scratching hotels and condominiums that have cast long shadows on the neighborhood’s signature low-rise tenements in recent years...more

		Nov. 14, Vietnam Viet Nam News asked readers about reports of poorly designed high-rise buildings in Vietnam and whether this type of development should be moved to the outskirts of cities where modern infrastructure and facilities can be built. Here are some of the opinions....more

		Nov. 14, South Africa Tall buildings are back in vogue internationally at present, and South Africa appears alive to this international property-development trend. So, as South African property developers and city planners prepare for a ‘high-rise renaissance’, what lessons can be learnt to ensure that this desire to go vertical adds to the character and efficiency of our cities rather than detracts from them?...more

		Nov. 14, Swansea With the Meridian Quay having recently topped out and Aurora now standing complete with residents moving in, part of Swansea's skyline has now been permanently transformed thanks to the Maritime Quarter. Meridian Quay, formerly Ferrara Quay, is the pride of Swansea's maritime quarter and now the tallest building in Wales by a comfortable margin. It's been designed by Lattitude Architects for developer Earthquake...more

		Nov. 14, London Making an attempt at distinction in London's Isle of Dogs, Angel House is awaiting the go-ahead to be built at the junction of Marsh Wall and Limeharbour. The proposed height is 42 storey plus ground with an 11 storey podium section that will contain 10 levels of affordable apartments, with all the family units being double aspect and nearly all benefiting from lounge areas with a south view...more

		Nov. 13, Chicago The installation of the spire atop Donald Trump's 92-story Chicago hotel and condo tower has been put off. Again. In an email this morning, Trump Organization executive vice president Andrew Weiss, wrote: "I have just been informed that the spire installation for this Sunday is off. No new date has been designated yet."...more

		Nov. 13, New York The world’s-first permanent international marketplace and education centre for the healthcare supplies industry will dominate the skyline in midtown Manhattan in less than five years, it has been announced. Plans for the 60-storey, £1 billion World Product Centre (WPC), as it will be known, have recently been agreed following the appointment of Extell Development Company as the build contractor. ...more

		Nov. 13, New York Foundation work has begun on the fourth tower in the most famous group of skyscrapers in the world, the World Trade Centre complex in New York, 150 Greenwich Street better known as WTC4. As part of the Daniel Liebeskind Masterplan, the tower is designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki and will stand at 297 metres putting it just short of supertall status....more

		Nov. 13, Hull The developers of Hull’s tallest building have been given a two-year deadline to begin work on the £100m scheme. Formerly called Clarence Mill, the skyscraper scheme has been renamed Manor Mill after developers Manor Property Group. The development includes a 21-storey tower, 10-storey hotel, 9-storey building for student accommodation, a casino, restaurants, offices and shops....more

		Nov. 12, Riyadh Foster + Partners has been commissioned to design a signature tower in Riyadh by the Saudi Arabian royal family. The skyscraper will be built alongside Foster's existing Al Faisaliah development. The 266m tower, completed in 2000, was the first skyscraper to be built in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the tallest until the construction of the nearby 304m Kingdom Centre in 2004. ...more

		Nov. 12, Honolulu A developer wants the city to allow a Makiki high-rise to be built three times as dense and 50 percent higher than allowed by law. In exchange for those exemptions, the developer is promising half the units will be sold at so-called affordable rates. However, people who live next door worry the new building will block their views....more

		Nov. 11, New Civil Engineer Tall buildings do not necessarily have to be carbon-guzzling behemoths according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)'s "Best Tall Building" awards. On 20 November, the awards will honour one exceptional tall building from each of four geographical regions around the globe for seamless integration of sustainable design strategies, architectural form, structure, building systems and life safety for the building's occupants...more

		Nov. 11, Qatar Qatar, a country occupied for centuries by nomads living in the desert, has today become home to amazing social, cultural and technological developments. Stimulated by the wealth coming from oil and gas reserves, the country is heading on a path toward progress and growth and is well poised to carry the torch of development in the Arab world...more

		Nov. 11, London A community action group have criticised new plans for a key town centre development. A 26-storey tower is among the proposals laid out in a revised application by Irish developer Glenkerrin for the Arcadia site in Ealing Broadway, scaled down from the original 40-storey tower envisaged for the area.. ...more

		Nov. 11, India Construction is underway on what is said to be one of the first modern skyscrapers to go up since the Indian economy went boom. Named the Raheja Legend, the tower will stand at 40 storeys, have prominent position in the centre of the suburb of Worli in Mumbai, and is being developed by K Raheja Universal. Designed by Singapore based architects P&T Group, the towers string of redesigns since its announcement could be used as an effective timeline charting the Boom....more

		November 10, Building Design and Construction The CTBUH announced the winners of its annual “Best Tall Building” awards for 2008, recognizing one exceptional tall building from each of four geographical regions around the globe......more

		Nov. 10, Copenhagen A welcoming beacon before a shining expanse of sea, Steven Holl Architects‘ LM project will update Copenhagen’s waterfront with two eye-catching photovoltaic-sheathed skyscrapers and a sky bridge studded with wind turbines. The iconic development recently took first place in a competition to design a new gateway for Copenhagen, and it was approved in a unanimous vote by the jury....more

		Nov. 10, Edinburgh Tiger Developments in conjunction with Richard Murphy Architects have begun work on a £200 million plan to build two new hotels, a continental-style boulevard including retail and office space at a derelict site in Edinburgh city centre. The most significant component of the entire enterprise is the construction of a monument-like 192 bed, five star hotel, The 17 storey, leaf-shaped building has been designed to stand near Haymarket Station...more

		Nov. 10, Miami Florence-based superstar architect David Fisher is planning a "major press conference" in Miami on Tuesday to announce plans for a project there...more

		Nov. 10, Raleigh A controversial high-rise – billed to be Raleigh's tallest building – will happen, despite financial troubles that have put construction on hold. That's according to John Lamutt, senior project manager for the Soleil Center, the estimated $175 million, 43-story mixed-use development that will include upscale condominiums, a spa and a luxury hotel near Crabtree Valley Mall on Glenwood Avenue....more

		Nov. 10, Bristol Bristol has been labelled Britain’s most sustainable city, in a recent environmental survey. Sustainable development organisation, Forum for the Future, works with the public and private sectors. Cities were rated in the survey on their social, economic and environmental performance...more

		Nov. 10, Brighton Frank Gehry's controversial King Alfred development has officially been scrapped, ending a five-year rollercoaster ride for the troubled £290 million 'wonky towers' scheme. The final nail was hammered into the coffin after Brighton & Hove City Council admitted the deadline for developer Karis to come up with a funder to replace Dutch bank ING had expired...more

		Nov. 8, Biz China Update The Shanghai World Financial Centre has been named the winner of the 2008 "Best Tall Building" award for the Asia/Australasia region, presented by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)...more

		Nov, Site Selection Magazine, November 2008, p.912 David Scott, CTBUH Chairman, discusses how height is no longer an obstacle in the race for the title of world's tallest tower. "What is happening is that, since the Burj Dubai, the landscape of tall building design has changed enormously. It has enabled architects, engineers and developers to see that taller is actually feasible...more

		Nov. 8, Melbourne Businesses in Melbourne's skyscrapers will be asked to turn off all unnecessary lights if Cr Catherine Ng becomes the city's next lord mayor. Cr Ng wants Melbourne to be in a permanent Earth Hour, the global campaign against climate change that has cities around the world turning off lights for an hour each year in March. The "turn off" campaign would result in the internal lights of city buildings being extinguished after 7pm "where appropriate"....more

		Nov. 7, Russia The “New Russian Architect” award at the 17th Annual Competition Diploma Show for Russian Architectural Schools, which was held in Samara, a large industrial city on the River Volga, has been judged for the first time by an independent jury with international representation which includes British Architect, James McAdam who was chairman of the jury...more

		Nov. 7, Dubai At 707m, the Burj Dubai is finally nearing its summit. But how do you go about building such a giant – and how do you ensure it doesn’t topple over in a high wind or an earthquake?...more

		Nov. 6, Smart City Radio Smart City Radio talks to two people who are attempting to re-imagine public spaces both inside and out. Antony Wood is the Executive Director of the CTBUH. He discusses the revolution that is needed in tall buildings to transform them into livable structures for the 21st century. Smart City Radio also talks with David Dixon, the principal of Planning and Urban Design with Goody Clancy and Associates...listen to the podcast

		Nov. 6, Nottingham Skyscrapers up to 30 storeys high could be built in Nottingham, with plans for a "tall-building zone" in the city. Sections of the Eastside regeneration area, from the Victoria Centre to Sneinton Market and the railway line, have been earmarked for the towering buildings in a new Urban Design Guide for the city. Here, an acceptable building size would be almost the height of Big Ben – and higher in exceptional cases....more

		Nov. 6, Birmingham Planning consent has been granted for the first phase of City Park Gate, a mixed use brown field urban regeneration scheme in Birmingham, UK, for client Quintain Estates and Development plc. Engineering consultancy Buro Happold is working in collaboration with architects Make on the Masterplan and Associated Architects on Phase 1 to create a vibrant public space...more

		Nov. 6, U.S. The U.S. is reaching the end of a chapter ruled by cars, cheap energy and wasteful land-use patterns...more

		Nov. 5, Chicago Waterview, a hotel-condo project planned to reach 90 stories and 1047 feet, is one of two stalled supertall towers in Chicago. Learning over the chain-link construction fence, I asked one of the workers whether construction was resuming. No, he said, "we're shipping out." The workmen, he explained, were taking down the tower's concrete formwork and moving it elsewhere....more

		Nov. 5, London Plans for two of the tallest towers that will ring the 2012 Olympic site in London have been revealed adding another piece to the emerging planning jigsaw there. The tallest tower of the scheme consists of one tower of 123.25 metres with 39 floors that will have ground floor retail with the rest of its internal accommodation being residential apart from the upper level that will have amongst other things it's own lounge for residents and a private gym....more

		Nov. 5, New York Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners has won a competition to design a 42-storey skyscraper in Manhattan, New York. The London-based practice saw off strong competitors in the shape of Pelli Clarke Pelli and KPF to bag the commission by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey....more

		Nov. 5, India In levels of squalor, inefficiency, noise, disorder, visual pollution, weariness and decay, few would disagree that today’s Indian city is a waste of space. But instead of tackling real problems, there is quicker relief in merely changing its visible contours. Armed with theatrical ideas of international appeal — buildings of mirrored glass and steel — it is easier for the city to be seen as progressive, rather than actually being so...more

		Nov. 4, Glasgow The Jumeirah Group, responsible for the sail-like Burj Al Arab in Dubai, is planning to build a £125million six-star hotel in Glasgow city centre. The Jumeirah Glasgow Hotel, scheduled to open in 2011 is designed by Ian Simpson Architects in partnership with Progress Property Developments. The 25-storey development will comprise 160 guest rooms and suites and 85 serviced apartments..more

		Nov. 4, New York This Thursday (November 6th) at 9PM ET/PT, you'll be able to watch the world premiere of their newest show; Man-Made: Ultimate Skyscraper. Of course, this is not your average skyscraper. National Geographic is giving you a behind the scenes look at One Bryant Park, which is set to become the second tallest building in New York City, and one of the world's most energy efficient skyscrapers. This 1200ft skyscraper is due to open later this year, at a total cost of over $1 Billion. Once completed, it will become the new home for Bank of America....more

		Nov. 4 The awards that prove that size is everything, the Best Tall Building’ awards presented by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), have announced this year’s four geographical winners. The awards recognize architectural form, structure, building systems, sustainable design strategies, and life safety for its occupants in buildings across the Americas, Europe, Middle East/Africa, and Asia/Australia....more

		Nov. 4, Miami Mint at Riverfront is a new under construction skyscraper being built in downtown Miami that features the first centrally located gated area in the city for decades. Developed by Key International and designed by Revuelta, Vega, Leon, it will have 56 stories accommodating 602 one to three bedroomed apartments with the maximum height of the building reaching 192 metres...more

		Nov. 4, London Here we go again. Once more a projected tower — or, in this case, three — is to be subjected to a planning inquiry. Highly paid lawyers will discuss what is and is not “good design” like cravated aesthetes in a perfumed salon. The destiny of many millions of pounds will turn on this whimsical debate. The “Three Sisters” by Waterloo Station will probably win but if not the Government might well decide it likes them anyway, and overturn the inquiry's outcome....more

		Nov. 4, New York In September 2008 – 7 years after the collapse of the World Trade Center – the Intl. Code Council (ICC) approved 23 wide-ranging building and fire code changes that will impact the way tall structures are planned, designed, and built. The code changes reflect the recommendations from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) investigation of the collapses of New York City’s World Trade Center (WTC) towers on 9/11, which resulted in the deaths of about 3,000 people...more

		Nov. 4, 'The Skyline': Blair Kamin Blog Blair Kamin, Chicago Tribune Architecture Critic, discusses the pros and cons of lighting tall building spires at night. David Scott, CTBUH Chairman, argues "If you just turned everything off, you would lose a lot of the [urban] vibrancy. Many skyscrapers around the world, particularly in Hong Kong, are now lit with LEDs that use far less energy than conventional spotlights"...more

		Nov. 4, Dubai Queensland developer EWM has joined forces with international powerhouse The Sunland Group to build a $2.2 billion mega skyscraper in Dubai that comprises more than 1000 luxury apartments. The developers today announced a joint venture agreement to develop The Atrium, a luxury 68-storey tower in the heart of Dubai's coastal precinct....more

		Nov. 3, Dubai The latest world-class superstructure to grace the modern megopolis of Dubai is Anara Tower, an ambitious project crowned with an eye-catching propeller-shaped peak. Designed by Atkins Designs Studio and Developed by Tameer Holding Investment, the 2,150 foot tall skyscraper will be aiming for LEED silver certification when construction begins next year...more

		Nov. 3, Copenhagen The municipality of Rødovre, an independent municipality of Copenhagen, Denmark, announced today MVRDV and co-architect ADEPT winner of the design competition of the Rødovre Skyscraper. The 116 meter tall tower accommodates apartments, a hotel, retail and offices. A public park and a plaza are also part of the privately funded scheme...more

		Nov. 3, Brisbane Brisbane's tallest city skyscraper - the planned 79-storey Vision Tower project - has been shelved as a result of global economic turmoil. After months of speculation, developer Austcorp confirmed yesterday morning it would "suspend" work on the $1 billion mega skyscraper on Mary Street. Excavation is underway on the site's basement car park, but further construction has been put on hold because finance arrangements for the ambitious project could not be finalised, it is understood....more

		Nov. 3, Chicago A big chill is about to hit the city of big shoulders. In the wake of the global credit crisis, Chicago's once-superheated skyline—radically transformed during the last 10 years by one of the greatest building booms in the city's history—is on the verge of being frozen in place....more

		Nov. 3, Dublin Foster + Partners' proposed 120m-tall tower in Dublin's docklands, for Irish supergroup U2, has been shelved, becoming the most significant symbol of Ireland's slide into recession. The Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) has claimed it is 'still committed' to realising the high-profile project, but that any move forward for the project is unlikely for at least the next 12 months....more

		Oct. 31, St. Petersburg The chairman of St. Petersburg’s budget and finances committee, Vladimir Barkanov, told Interfax on Thursday that the city’s participation in the controversial Okhta Center skyscraper project would be reviewed as part of amendments to the city’s 2009 budget necessitated by the global financial crisis....more

		Oct. 31, Cape Town In what has been hailed as a "major achievement" for the central city, a whole office block has been sold to the department of public works for R72,5-million. The block, which comprises 11 buildings on 2 850 square metres, will be developed into an 18-storey mixed use office and retail building. To be known as "The Pulse", the 18-storey block is the second tall building to be given the green light by the city of Cape Town....more

		Oct. 31, St. Petersburg The “Gazprom City” complex with a 400-meter skyscraper is planned to be built on the place of Swedish fortress of Nien destroyed by Peter the Great and the 14th century fortress of Landscrona that was stormed by Alexander Nevsky’s son. St. Petersburg archeologists insist on preservation of remains of the medieval fortresses. more

		Oct. 31, London A key planning application has been filed in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets relating to the under construction Riverside South complex that will contain two of Britain's tallest skyscrapers. The first application refers to a number of minor changes that will need to be made to Riverside South to make it single occupier, the implications being that the JP Morgan deal is now in the bag and the developer, Canary Wharf, is seeing the scheme revised to meet the individual needs of their new tenant....more

		Oct. 30 Seven years after the destruction of the World Trade Centre, skyscrapers are back in fashion. Parisians have just had a peek at the plans for what will be the first skyscraper to be built in the low rise capital for 30 years. Meanwhile, the world’s tallest building, the extraordinary Dubai Burj, is nearing completion in the Middle Eastern state....more

		Oct. 30, London The decision that has culminated the saga of one of the more bizarre planning refusals in London has been announced by the Secretary of State for Communities, Hazel Blears. 100 City Road designed by Squire and Partners is a planned 131 metre tall tower to stand overlooking Old Street Roundabout in the London Borough of Islington that encountered much opposition from locals with the scheme eventually being denounced in the council planning meeting which refused the application....more

		Oct. 29, Chicago Memo to Mr. Trump: Lighting isn't just important to me. It's a point of pride for readers such as Steve and for Mayor Richard M. Daley, who ordered you to put up the spire in the first place. The mayor has been pushing building owners to light the tops of their buildings at night, correctly arguing that it promotes an image of vitality...more

		Oct. 29, Miami Key International Development has completed development of the Ivy RiverFront Tower, a $121 million residential tower in downtown Miami. The 45-story building consists of 504 luxury residential condominiums, as well as street-level retail space and restaurants and nine levels of parking, on a 13.5-acre site along the Miami River. Amenities include a pool and spa, sauna and fitness facility. ...more

		Oct. 29, New York Would you like to see a building twisting itself into different shapes night and day on the New York skyline? Would you like to live in an apartment with a view that rotates 360 degrees? It may be a little hard at the moment to arrange financing for such tower — or any other new skyscraper in Manhattan — but the architect David Fisher is looking for a place to build it here someday....more

		Oct. 28, Kazakhstan With a history tied to nomadic civilizations and a New York City-sized population spread over more than two million square miles of territory, Kazakhstan may not seem like the most probable site for ambitious urban architecture. But the reality of contemporary Kazakhstan may be more accurately embodied by the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, a glass pyramid rising above Astana, the Central Asian state’s capital....more

		Oct. 28, Abu Dhabi An iconic building under construction in Abu Dhabi is set to enter the Guinness Book of Records as the “World's most inclined tower”.Developers Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) and cc, the architects behind the Capital Gate, have submitted a joint application to the Guinness Book of Records to recognise the tower as the “most inclined in the world”....more

		Oct. 28, New York The Cooper Square Hotel is a new modern glass and steel tower in the Bowery section of New York City designed by Carlos Zapata Studio.The 21-storey, 145-room hotel, dubbed “Downtown Luxury” by its owner/developer, has an open plan with a modern European feel...more

		Oct. 28, Seoul Putting an abrupt end to years of circular debate, Lotte Group's controversial plan to construct a 112-story building in Sincheondong, southern Seoul, has been approved, despite concerns that it would be too close to Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. ...more

		Oct. 27, Israel Skybot's robotic window washing system gets high-rise windows cleaned faster and cheaper than human teams, and at much less risk to human life. Washing windows on skyscrapers is harrowing work. Injuries or death from falls, while not common, occur frequently enough; on average, about 70 window washers - mostly non-unionized and using substandard equipment - die each year in the US, while another 130 are injured (the injury and fatality rate among unionized workers is far lower). ...more