Tower Hamlets planning committee made one of its most surprising decisions when it rejected a renewed planning application to continue planning approval of the Columbus Tower next to Canary Wharf.  With only a few very minor changes to the scheme designed by DMWR Architects, the proposal is almost identical to the one that Tower Hamlets had approved in 2005. This time around however the planning committee voted 6-2 against greenlighting the 237m tall skyscraper...more

In a bid to perk up the interest in the proposed iconic building to be set up at Wadala in Central Mumbai from domestic as well as overseas developers, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has relaxed norms relating to eligibility criteria of the bidders.  The  Rs 4,000-crore, 531-metre tall  building is expected to be the seventh tallest building in the world...more

Sears Tower is to be the next of the American power-towers to set an environmental example by 'going green'. It was previously announced that the Empire State Building would be undergoing a $500 million renovation in an effort to improve the building's sustainability and reduce energy consumption. Now it has been announced that Sears Tower (soon to be re-named Willis Tower after a tenancy deal with the firm), will undergo a similar $350 million transformation...more

Saudi business mogul Prince al-Waleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holding company announced that it had signed an agreement for the construction of the world's highest skyscraper.  According to the company's statement, the skyscraper will be 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) high and will be built in the city of Jeddah off the Red Sea. Dubai's Emaar Properties real estate company will be in charge of developing the project...more

'Shanghai 2035', developed by Japanese firm a- asterik is a concept design for the future of Shanghai City.  in 2009, the population of Shanghai increased to 24.5 million. The city today has a rare situation that can not be seen in any other countries. Their population is raised by the pace of 3 million every year causing an aging society and a divide between the rich and the poor, yet building construction is growing at a rapid rate...more

Although this is a new tower, it’s sensitive to its neighbours. Standing in the heart of Vancouver’s heritage quarter, the scheme also involves two 1920s structures - restoring the A-listed Ceperley Rounsfell Building, and retaining the facade of the B-listed Royal Financial Building.  When complete in  2010, Jameson House will be another mix of offices, shops and restaurant over 36 floor...more.
.

The FDNY stripped a captain and a deputy chief of their commands Wednesday and disciplined five others for mistakes leading to the deaths of two firefighters at the Deutsche Bank building.  Deputy Chief Richard Fuerch and Capt. Peter Bosco were permanently stripped of their commands at the lower Manhattan fire divisions that were responsible for mandatory inspections at the toxic tower...more.

The government in Dhaka has decided to construct multi-storey structures adjacent to the Begunbari-Hatirjheel canal to accommodate the people affected by Hatirjheel project.  State Minister for Housing Abdul Mannan Khan made the decision public after a meeting with concerned officials.  He also hoped to complete the Tk 1480.98 crore project titled "Integrated development of Hatirjheel area including Begunbari khal" within 2010 as scheduled...more.

Dallas transformed itself during the 1980s from a sleepy western town to a dynamic modern city with one of the most recognizable skylines in the country. Dallas is currently doing this again with the new Arts District, Calatrava Bridges, Trinity River Project, and the Woodall Rodgers Park. Free from the burden of history and free from the heavy expectations of a specific movement/style, architects working in Dallas are borrowing from anything of inspiration...more.

Europe's tallest modular building—a $34 million UK project—is under construction. Designed by O'Connell East Architects of Manchester, the 24 story student dormitory for the University of Manchester is made up of 805 modules and will be built in 27 weeks.  In this interview Jenny Hayes, RIBA from O'Connell East Architects speaks about their modular system as a solution for multi-story accelerated building...more.

The European Union has rarely been a welcome neighbor since it arrived in Brussels.  Its headquarters, 10 minutes west of downtown, is officially known as the Berlaymont building. But for many natives who do not much care for its fortresslike looks, it is the Berlaymonster, a cross-shaped hulk covered with glass panels to let in the little sunlight that brightens the city’s gloomy skies...more.

Two new exhibits have arrived at the Philadelphia Museum of Art: One that explores skyscrapers, another that examines spectacle. Each one takes a broad view of a narrow subject, offering visitors an impressive number of artists and perspectives.  In "Skyscrapers: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs of the Early Twentieth Century," more than 50 works examine the rise of the American skyscraper...more.

Vertical development has been touted as the ‘perfect solution’ for a growing list of Indian cities struggling to meet the housing needs of their teeming millions and irate urban developers clamouring for affordable land in a lop sided demand-supply scenario.  With approximately 70% of the country’s population expected to be residing in urban areas by the year 2020 and space efficiency now treated on par with construction and energy efficiency...more.

Butterworth-Heineman announces the third edition of High-Rise Security and Fire Life Safety by Geoff Craighead. A comprehensive reference for planning, executing, and managing security and safety operations within high-rise buildings, the book spells out the characteristics of skyscrapers, details the type of security and safety systems commonly found in them, outlines how to conduct risk assessments, and explains policies and procedures designed to protect life and property...more.

Goettsch Partners has been commissioned by Hong Kong-based developer China Resources Land Limited to design a new 1,075,300 sq ft tower in China’s northeastern coastal city of Dalian. The project features a 377 key Grand Hyatt hotel, 84 serviced apartments, three restaurants including a destination rooftop venue, multiple ballrooms and meeting facilities, a spa and fitness center, and parking for 225 cars...more.

The Carlyle in Downtown Minneapolis and Century Plaza in Midtown Phoenix have earned Pillars of the Industry awards for Dallas-based Humphreys & Partners Architects L.P. from the National Association of Home Builders.  The Carlyle, a new landmark for the city's historic district, was named Best Condominium High-Rise in the U.S. in the NAHB's 2009 showcase of designs and trends for the multifamily market...more.

Rising above the skyline of San Jose in Costa Rica, this mixed use tower by Spanish firm Moho Architects will be a new landmark, providing crucial amenities for the city, sheltered from the local climate. The concept is driven by a progressive environmental strategy that is expected to establish new benchmarks for the region.  The building offers an ideal model of sustainable urban living by reducing reliance on transport...more.

Wilkinson Eyre and Rolfe Judd have modified their plans for the first phase of the regeneration and rebuilding of the Woodberry Down estate in the east London borough of Hackney.  Overlooking the west reservoir, the site is situated on the north-eastern corner with Lordship Road and the causeway between the two reservoirs running to its immediate east...more
.

Surabaya. Police are now investigating the cause of a fire that consumed at least 10 floors of Wisma Bank International Indonesia building on Jalan Pemuda.  Eyewitnesses said the fire started on the 11th floor. Security guards tried to extinguish it, but to no avail, prompting them to call the fire brigade. No less than 10 fire trucks were dispatched to the site, but none had the equipment to reach the fire so they returned to their base...more

Mumbai's first iconic tower may have got the licence to rise high at Wadala, but the 101-floor tower is set to increase challenges for pilots and air traffic controllers alike.  According to aviation experts, the tower will discomfort passengers by adding to delays in aircraft takeoffs and landings at Mumbai airport.  Experts warned that in case an aircraft flew low in the said airspace, then the ground proximity warning system hinting at obstacles...more

Hundreds of abandoned construction cranes languish above Dubai's gated communities and beach-side developments and, most dramatically, up and down Sheikh Zayed Road, its high-rise spine. According to a recent estimate, projects worth a staggering $335 billion in the United Arab Emirates -- of which Dubai, with a population of about 2 million, is the largest member -- are stalled or have been canceled outright...more

Answering a call for ‘The Best Building in Latin America’, Chicago’s SPACE Architects + Planners didn’t hesitate when asked by Mexico City developer Diimx to design and build Efizia Tower to a standard of green building never before seen south of the Rio Grande.  The request came as little surprise to Juan Carlos Baumgartner, managing director of SPACE’s Mexico City office, as Diimx is well known throughout the country...more

Back when the potato fields turned into tract houses, Long Island became Long Island and suburbia became suburbia in the 1940s.  The question is whether there’s a vision of suburbia beyond single-family homes, clogged highways and high-end golf, and if so, whether it can take hold on Long Island.  It sounds like a lot of significance to put on one development, however big — and, even taken with a few shakers of salt, the projected $4 billion in investment...more

Proposals have been put forward for a massive new project for Mumbai's Mulund neighbourhood that are the largest ever to be proposed for the area.  They will consist of one 45 storey tower along with a further 13 34 to 40 storey towers as well as a number of low rise structures providing 743,224 square metres of useable space. The scheme is the work of Indian property developers Ariisto and part of the project will go under the inspired name of Ariisto heaven...more

With oil prices on the rise again it looks like the credit crisis could be over for oil-rich countries who are once able to draw on their valuable commodity income again.  One recently to gain approval is the Kamal Tower that will be located in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. The design comes from the doodle pads of American based architects Kohn Pederson Fox and upon completion will stand at a fairly impressive height of 408 metres...more

David Chipperfield Architects has completed Barcelona City of Justice. This 330,000sq m government complex will house all of Barcelona's courts and judicial offices, and even include some offices for the neighbouring city, L'Hospitalet.  It consists of eight towers, four of which are linked by a four-storey concourse building. It might seem like quite a forbidding piece of urbanism...more
.

The Bumps complex on the Chaoyang District of Beijing was designed by Sako Architects, headed by founder Keiichiro Sako. The project integrates residential and commercial uses in a square-shaped layout, rotated at 45 degrees off the city’s north-south axis. The design, which developed over a year’s time, cleverly moves away from the conventional straight-lined skyscraper...more

It will be India's tallest building and will have everything from shopping malls and entertainment zones to commercial offices. The 500-m-tall Iconic Tower Project proposed by the MMRDA and the state government in Wadala is set to match the majesty of the Petronas Twin Towers and the Taipei 101. There's just one hurdle. The area comes in the aircraft-flying zone and will need special permission from the civil aviation ministry to raise the permissible height to 500 metres...more

XTEN Architecture recently unveiled an elegantly spiraling observation tower that stands to make an incredible new addition to Dubai’s skyline. Dubbed the ZPO Tower, the structure features a beautiful latticed facade inspired by traditional motifs, and includes plans for solar film, geothermal heating and cooling, a green roof, and grey water recycling. The tower is designed to be constructed from mostly recycled materials...more

A prominent LBJ Freeway property that was planned for high-rise development is now posted for foreclosure.  The 15-acre tract next to the Galleria previously housed an automobile dealership.  Last year, developers announced plans for a $1 billion complex on the land that was to include office buildings, a hotel, condominiums and a shopping center. But the development was delayed because of the recession and building slowdown...more

Mayor Ray Nagin has signed paperwork finalizing the deal that will move City Hall to a more modern downtown skyscraper.  The purchase agreement between the city and the Chevron Corporation completes a transaction that will allow hundreds of municipal workers to relocate to the building that has been unoccupied since the oil giant moved its local operations to the Covington area....more
.

Work is nearing completion on Feilden Clegg Bradley Studio’s new £45 million high-rise for Leeds Metropolitan University.  The student-flat and academic complex on the site of the BBC’s former West Yorkshire home at Broadcasting Place in Leeds is almost entirely clad in Corten steel.  The scheme, which is due to finish later this summer and sits just north of the city centre, features a 23-storey accommodation tower housing around 400 students...more

The Allure, a new high-end high rise building in Waikiki has "topped off", marking the halfway point in construction.  The luxury high rise will add close to 300 new residential units in the marketplace starting at $500,000.  The Allure will be open during a tight economy, officials at developer Fifield Realty said. As a result, they are offering a 20 percent discount on limited amounts of units.  Experts at The Honolulu Realtors Association said that resales in Waikiki...more

After decades of gaining strength as a movement, the battle lines have been drawn again, with a significant structure in peril. The Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans, popularly known as Charity Hospital, a looming Art Moderne presence in the Deep South, battered by Hurricane Katrina but apparently structurally intact, now faces a more insidious foe—abandonment—together with the demolition of more than 120 structures in a nearby neighborhood ...more

Silver Tower, a 40 story skyscraper, located at 303 W Ohio St in the River North area, features one- , two- and three-bedroom residences, with deluxe standard finishes including hardwood flooring; stainless steel designer kitchen appliances; granite counter tops; marble master baths; floor to ceiling windows, and private balconies.  The property includes a fully-equipped exercise center, dog run, outdoor patio, community recreation room and rooftop garden...more

Private developers of New York's World Trade Center site and the public agency that owns the land have failed to reach a deal to allow construction to go forward, the city's Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.  Amid much fanfare, the redevelopment of the Lower Manhattan site was touted as a symbol of the city's revival after hijacked planes flew into the twin towers on September 11, 2001, destroying the buildings and killing nearly 3,000 people...more

Approval has been given to a huge project for Nanjing that will add to the stream of skyscrapers the Chinese city is already seeing go up. Named the Nanjing World Trade Centre, the project comes from the drawing boards of American based architectural firms Gensler and Hong Kong based Wong Tung and Partners. It will consist of three tower sections along with some low rise structures and podiums...more

At the crossing of two streets in Zagreb will sit a competition winning design by 3LDH architects. The building is situated at a colliding point of two urban city concepts, solid blocks to the north enclosed by the railway, and modernistic public and social buildings to the south. The business center project is devised to unify the two elements which the design achieves through the creation of two interacting volumes...more

Located on a brownfield site adjacent to the Vauxhall transport interchange, the proposed 149m tall building supports the planned regeneration of the Vauxhall, Battersea and surrounding areas. The space within the scheme will be divided 10% commercial and 90% residential. Divided into eight stepping forms that cascade from a central high point, every apartment has dual aspect maximising views across the city...more

The Dutch architecture firm Monolab designed a true high-rise for Rotterdam in the city’s Maas Harbour, giving the city a contemporary high-rise that is iconic and practical. The tower would stand 450m tall in the city’s harbour connected to the land via a series of walkways. The building’s façade would use photovoll glass for solar energy and does away with a central core for elevators and stairs by placing these elements on the outside...more

The battle over Prague's skyline is far from over, even after UNESCO decided in 2008 that erecting high-rises in Pankrác would not harm the city's heritage zone. Arnika, a local environmental group that has been trying to stop the Pankrác project from the very beginning, is planning to send a complaint to UNESCO. Arnika argues that in greenlighting the project, City Hall failed to meet recommendations made by international experts...more

Ron Jury’s proposal to renovate the historic Power & Light Building as part of a major convention hotel project has a great backstory. In January 2003, Jury was struggling to finance his plan to renovate the old President Hotel, which sits directly across Baltimore Avenue from the Power & Light Building. It had been 15 months since he’d first announced the project, and his loan from an Ohio lender had fallen through the previous summer...more

Groundbreaking has commenced on a skyscraper project for the Chinese city of Shenyang, one of the major boomtowns of the Peoples Republic. Named Summer Palace, a title that alludes to old imperial traditions, the project will redevelop the former site of the Summer Palace Theme Park that stood on the spot for 15 years. The scheme will be located on a prime corner plot in what is known as the 'Golden Corridor', which runs through the centre of the city...more

The Scottish architect Isi Metzstein set up the Macallan Club, offering camaraderie for fellow architects who have lost their treasured creations to the wrecking ball. The Club recognises a growing trend in architecture for the rapid demolition of buildings, often within the lifespan of the architect and attempts to draw attention to this pattern, immortalising the structures in digital form and providing a self help support network for recently bereaved architects...more

Kingdom group signed Dubai-based Emaar to develop and supervise the construction of a kilometre-high tower in Jeddah. The Jeddah Kingdom City and Kingdom Tower will comprise 23 million square metres (247 million square feet) of commercial, residential and office space on 530 hectares of land near Jeddah's international airport. The centrepiece of the project will be taller than any building completed or under construction in the world...more

Until he took office, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France never seemed destined to be a patron of architecture. In the weeks leading up to his election, more than a few architects disparaged him as “the American,” a reference to his supposed lowbrow cultural tastes. But the French presidency has a way of infecting its occupant with visions of architectural grandeur...more

Some 120,000 people work in Tysons Corner, Va., but only 17,000 live there. Located about 14 miles west of downtown Washington, the area is home to unfriendly buildings surrounded by parking lots. To transform this hotbed of suburban gridlock into a green, walkable city, a plan calls for as much as tripling the current square footage by expanding upward, with the tallest buildings located next to four train stations...more

Quadrangle Architects Limited has been awarded the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Award of Excellence for Innovation in Architecture for work on the 130 Bloor St. West project in the heart of downtown Toronto. Quadrangle was singled out for accomplishing the architectural feat of adding what amounts to an entirely new building onto the top of an existing 1960s office building...more

The planned 600 metre plus tower to stand in Moscow, the Russia Tower, has been officially junked with the site set to be transformed into a car park making it one of the most notable victims of the current global recession. The developer was expected to begin construction of the tower early 2009 but has struggled to raise the $2 billion in financing required, thanks to the relative weakness of the Russian economy compared to China and India...more.

A consortium led by Kumho Investment Bank has signed a contract to acquire the AIG headquarters building in New York. This is the first time for a Korean fund to buy a skyscraper in downtown New York. Kumho Investment Bank said it would acquire the headquarters of American International Group (AIG) and an adjacent office building in New York, in partnership with Youngwoo & Associates (YWA), a U.S. real estate development company...more.

President Nicolas Sarkozy wants nothing more than to leave behind “Le Grand Paris", his mark on the capital and French culture. In more than a year of discussions, there have been some spectacular ideas and drawings by 10 teams of famous architects, drawn by the president’s invitation to reimagine Paris as a city integrated with its suburbs and responsible in its environmental footprint...more.

Set in the prime location on Wijnhaven Island, located between Rotterdam’s city centre and the river Maas, The Red Apple is a nod towards the shipping industry of Rotterdam. Its design presents the vision of stacking containers, a void creating an assimilation of movement from the upper to the lower. The 124 m high design by KCAP Architects&Planners encompasses 231 apartments, offices, retail and restaurants on a total gross floor area of 35.000 m2...more.

The mayor of Santa Ana is trying to engineer a behind-the-scenes deal that would clear the way for the long-stagnant One Broadway Plaza skyscraper project to break ground. If it works, One Broadway Plaza, planned to be the tallest building in Orange County, could get off the ground "in the very near future." The developer's plans call for a 37-story office tower just north of the Civic Center that would dwarf anything else in Santa Ana...more.

Zaha Hadid Architects has seen off competition from Norwegian firm Snohetta to land its second major Egyptian project. The 450,000 m2 Cairo Expo City near the airport will comprise a major international exhibition and conference centre with business hotel. A further office tower and a shopping centre are also proposed. According to Hadid, the undulating design was inspired by the natural topography of the Nile Valley...more.

For every construction accident, safety experts say, as many as 100 near- misses occur. A quick response this year at the Blue Cross-Blue Shield building in Chicago is an example of one such accident averted. On Jan 21, 2009, crews were building a $270-million vertical “extension,” adding 24 floors onto the existing, occupied 33-story building. An operator was swinging a Potain MR605B luffing jib to make a pick when workers heard a loud “pop”...more.

KONE won an order to supply eight customized high-rise elevators for the new Infinity Tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Three of the elevators will travel at a speed of 8 m/s across a maximum travel of 271 meters. The installation of the equipment will start in 2010 and is estimated to be completed in 2011. With 330 meters and 75 floors, the Infinity Tower will be the highest twisting building in the world...more.

The appeal of integrating wind turbines into our buildings is strong. Rooftops are elevated above ground, where it’s windier; the electricity is generated right where it’s needed; and wind energy can make a strong visual statement. Dozens of start-up wind turbine manufacturers have latched onto this idea since it fits well with a strong public sentiment to shift from fossil fuels to renewables. What’s not to like about it?...more.

Calling it “The Brooklyner,” the Clarett Group celebrated its topping out in early June 2009 for what may well be Brooklyn’s tallest building. The 51-story, 514-foot tall building at 111 Lawrence St. in Downtown Brooklyn, is two feet higher than the iconic, and previously tallest, Williamsburgh Savings Bank, now One Hanson Place, which is 512 feet tall. The topping out was attended by the development teams, architects, financial and construction people...more.

The go-ahead has been given to a new twin towered project for Rosario, in the Santa Fe province of Argentina. Named the Maui Towers Resort it will form part of a larger development called Puerto Norte, which translates as North Port. The towers opt for a simple rectangular design and will stand at an approximated 140 metres, despite there being a 130 metre limit, in that area there is some room for movement....more.

In a step that could alter the skyline of the Queen’s Necklace, the state government is likely to sanction a proposal for a highrise five-star hotel that is being constructed by DB Realty at Charni Road. The two-acre plot is located next to the SK Patil Garden in Charni Road, on the other side of the railway tracks running parallel to the Taraporevala Aquarium at Marine Drive. It falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone...more.

Approval has been given to yet another of the towers which will form the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, Gandhinagar, India.  Named the Garba Tower despite actually being a twin tower project, the tallest will stand at 210 metres and are the work of the offices of Shanghai based architects ECADI.  Standing nearby to the Gateway Towers on the riverfront of the GIFT project these towers stand on stilted bases...more.

The Center City high-rise condo market may be soft, but Residences at Ritz-Carlton developer Craig Spencer won't let it get the better of his bottom line.  "I turned down a $1.3 million all-cash sale from a buyer who wanted me to cut the price by $50,000," Spencer said as he showed a visitor the 8,000-square-foot unfinished penthouse at the top of the 43-story, 270-unit building at 15th Street and South Penn Square....more.

Signs are emerging that the Gold Coast apartment market has stabilised, with a clearance sale of high-rise stock and first-home owner demand boosting activity.  Queensland high-rise apartment sales in the May quarter were about half those of the previous corresponding period.  There were 116 high-rise units sold in Queensland in the May quarter, compared with 315 in the same period last year, with the Gold Coast hardest hit...more.

Construction work is well under way for another unique looking skyscraper project in Baku, Azerbaijan, a city in Asia Minor that's rapidly building a name thanks to some pretty distinct projects.  Named the Flame Towers the project is the work of Dia Holdings and consists of three towers standing at heights 208 metres, 220 metres and 235 metres.  The towers will be located on a hill that overlooks Baku Bay...more.

Inspired by the cliff-side villages of Anasazi Indians, Co Op Canyon is a terraced urban oasis full of vertical gardens and lush spaces that aims to create a holistic, community-centered, sustainable city block. Designed by LA-based architecture and design firm, Standard for the Re:Vision Dallas competition, the canyon harvests enough rainwater, solar energy, and agriculture to completely sustain its 1,000 residents...more.

Make Architects has designed this new largely residential proposal to stand in the London Borough of Lambeth.  The scheme is planned to stand on the site of the Bondway Commercial Centre at 69-71 Bondway. Development has long been expected on this site ever since it was purchased by London and Regional earlier in the decade and they investigated the chances of constructing a tall building here...more.

Citing financial concerns, the developer of the long-delayed Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn has scrapped plans for a Frank Gehry-designed $1 billion glass-walled basketball arena for the Nets in favor of a less expensive arena.  The new design, which will cost about $200 million less, comes from Ellerbe Becket, an architectural firm based in Kansas City, Mo., that specializes in convention centers, stadiums and arenas and designed Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis...more.

Chicago, often seen as the model of growth for a 20th Century urban industrial megalopolis, now has been reproduced in an enormous model with the help of computers and a new three-dimensional "printing" process called stereolithography.  Beginning June 11th, a 25- by-35-foot model of the city will be open for viewing, free of charge at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, inspired by similar models in Beijing and Shanghai...more.

Lotte Group has reached an agreement with the Air Force that says it will not seek compensation from the latter if fighter jets or other military airplanes collide with its planned 555-meter-tall, 112-story skyscraper in southern Seoul.  The conglomerate has also promised to buy radar and other military equipment requested by the Air Force before the structure reaches a height of 203 meters...more
.

In November 2007, the Government of Maharashtra gave the nod for 100-metre buildings in Pune. The official notification issued on November 15 of that year gave vertical growth a robust push. With the bar raised substantially from the prevailing height restriction of 36 m (12-floors) that had came into force a decade earlier, 30-floor buildings (above the ground) are poised to become a reality...more

Skyscraper news is rare in Africa but groundwork has finally got underway on what will be West Africa's biggest development project. Named Eko Atlantic the project is located in Lagos, Nigeria and will be built on land currently being reclaimed from the sea.  The design for the project comes from the brightly coloured post it notes of Netherlands based architects Royal Haskoning in conjunction with AR+H Architects...more

Vertical greenhouses currently under development by a Swedish company may soon allow city dwellers to grow organic produce in many land-scarce urban areas, the company said on Friday.  "A tomato seed is planted on the ground floor on a rotating spiral and when it arrives at the top, 30 days later, you pick the fruit," the vice president of Plantagon...more
.

Has Astragal stumbled across the answer to the world’s most asked question – ‘How tall will the Burj Dubai be?’  Until recently it had been thought the skyscraper would reach an impressive 818 meters, but this has never been confirmed. And lets face it, even as they winch the spire (complete with blinking light) into its final position Ali al-Abbar, Emaar’s chairman is the only person who can be guaranteed to know the final height. And he won’t tell us before he is ready...more

In his address to the Muslim world Thursday, President Obama said "American Muslims have enriched the United States."  One of the accomplishments he listed was that an American Muslim "built our tallest building."  He was referring to Fazlur Rahman Khan, the visionary - and legendary - structural engineer who designed the 110-story Sears Tower, which featured Kahn's innovative "bundled tube" design...more

Golden Gate University is pushing to have its main campus at 536 Mission St. rezoned for an 850-foot tower as part of San Francisco’s new Transbay neighborhood, a move that could create a fight with a neighboring property owner over which parcel will be designated for the taller skyscraper.  Bob Hite, vice president of business affairs and CFO for Golden Gate University, said the university started discussing a plan to sell its 33,000-square-foot property at Mission and First...more

The last of the former Equity Office buildings owned and lost by Harry Macklowe is under contract to be sold, according to a source familiar with the deal.  Worldwide Plaza, the 8th Avenue headquarters of law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, is being sold to a group of investors led by RCG Longview and George Comfort & Sons, who is buying it from Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE)...more
.

Six firms have been invited to tender this week for the concrete core package on the 63-storey 288m Pinnacle skyscraper.  Tender documents were sent out to the six firms over the last week for the last remaining package for the tower which will become the tallest in the City of London.  Lancsville, Reddington, Stephenson, Buildstone, Byrne Bros and PC Harrington have all been invited to submit bids for the high profile job by main contractor Brookfield...more

Construction work has started on a new concertinaed glass clad tower in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Named 348 Sentral, the project which consists of two towers standing at 31 storeys and 22 storeys comes from the 10,000 experimental sea monkeys sat at drawing boards with overly elaborate, peacock feather quill pens in the offices of architects Hiijas Kasturi Associates.  The towers will stand on a five storey podium base...more

New York City was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy in the mid-1970s, and companies were abandoning the crime-ridden metropolis for offices in New Jersey and Connecticut and Long Island. But a growing insurance company named American International Group cast its lot with the city's future and bought a skyscraper at 70 Pine St....more
.

Watch as Rudy, 2009 president of AIA's San Francisco chapter, takes us on an impassioned tour of a trio of adjoining high rises by three of today's leading design firms in a developing high rise district of San Francisco, the Mission Street Corridor.  Particular interest is payed to the spaces created at street level, and how the three buildings relate to eachother....more

Belgian architect Laurent Troost of zerOgroup in collaboration with Brazilian architects Unique have won a competition to redesign Praça Do Natal (Christmas Square) in Natal, Brazil.  The winning proposal involves creating a giant, permanent mast, which will be used to support Christmas lights during the festive period...more

Preparation work is underway on a new project for Xiamen, China. Named the Eton Centre, not to be confused with a project of a similar name underway elsewhere in China. The project comes from the drawing boards of architects RMJM and will be developed by Eton Holdings.  The scheme consists of four main blocks, the tallest of which stands at 229 metres, will be the tallest currently existing or under construction in Xiamen...more

Price break on luxury condos in striking glass tower in Center City. Best offers over $250,000 considered.  That's the strategy for moving 40 of the 178 units still unsold at the Murano at 21st and Market Streets, to be sold at auction for sums 50 percent below their original list price.  Take the 1,405-square-foot, 23d-floor unit originally listed at $995,000. It could go for $485,000, less than what it would cost to build today...more

The Los Angeles City Council gave the go-ahead today to a 39-story retail and residential complex in Century City planned by the shopping mall company Westfield U.S. Holdings.  Under the proposal, Westfield plans to reconfigure its shopping and dining areas while adding a high-rise that would house 262 condominiums and up to four stories of shopping...more

Designed by BBG-BBGM, The Astra-Montengro Tower and Wave buildings function as the dramatic centerpiece of a bold new five-star luxury mixed-use development in Budva, Montenegro. The project site, a steeply sloping peninsula along, represents a coveted piece of this rapidly-developing region. BBG-BBGM's design concept involves two complimentary forms: the iconic sail-like Tower and the attached low-rise Wave building...more

Korean Professor Sang Dae Kim will be its next chair, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced. He will take up the position of vice-chair on the CTBUH board of trustees, and will take over the full position from current chair David Scott at the CTBUH conference in Chicago in October. Professor Kim is the chair in architecture at the University of Korea, Seoul, and the chair of the Korean Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat...more

In downtown Dallas, a neglected parking lot will be transformed into one of the world's most sophisticated models for sustainable urban development. Urban Re:Vision announced the winners of its design competition, Re:Vision Dallas, which drew entries from the world's top architecture firms and city planners. The self-sustaining inner-city block will run "off the grid," using advanced technologies to capture wind, solar, water and geothermal resources...more

In the metropolis of Mexico City, architects and urbanists have been examining solutions to combat the thickening smog. This stunning Vertical Park by Jorge Hernandez de la Garza intends to infuse the city with much-needed green space in the form of a modular skyscraper made up of a series of stacking units. The solar-powered structure contains sky-gardens in addition to spaces for living and working, and recycles all of its own water...more