Oct 25, London

British Land has decided to progress with the Leadenhall Building in London, better known as the Cheesegrater, following an agreement with the Canadian firm, Oxford Propreties. The 55,740 square meter development had been put on hold due to the recession, but following the  restarting of other projects in London, British Land had begun the search for a development partner to help spread the risk…more

Oct 25, Sheffield

The £40 million St Paul’s Apartments project was beset with troubles in 2008 when construction ground to a halt and the client’s parent company, City Lofts Inc, went into administration. Project architect and Conran managing director Tim Bowder-Ridger praised the contractor, Shepherd Construction, for “battling on” to finish the 32-story tower…more

Oct 25, Chile

A team of architectural students from the Universidad de Chile have designed a modern skyscraper that will do much more than just provide space for residential and commercial uses. The sustainable development, proposed for Chile, will purify the water of the Mapocho River, which flows directly through Santiago…more

Oct 23, Makkah

A giant clock tower constructed in Islam’s holiest city of Makkah as one of the world’s highest towers will be completed next month and will be linked to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The third face of the clock skyscraper, which was launched on a trial basis last month, has been completed while the fourth side will be finished in early November 2010…more

Oct 23, UK

Space is a major limiting factor in cities, and in most cases, the only way is up. But building skyscrapers comes with the age-old problem of powering up the entire building’s energy needs. With a concept design called the Wind Tower by British architects David Arnold and Alexa Ratzlaff, you won’t have to worry about energy, because it will all be coming from the wind…more

Oct 23, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

With the intention of framing a new cultural center within the iconic identity of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, STL has designed a complex program that will revive the cultural atmosphere of the city for the Kaohsiung Competition which is to be submitted by January 10, 2011. The project presents a unique opportunity to impact a large area of Kaohsiung with an ambitious complex program…more

Oct 22, Vietnam

A ground-breaking ceremony has been held for VietinBank Business Centre, Foster + Partners' first project in Vietnam. Bringing together the Bank’s headquarters, conference, hotel and leisure facilities, the landmark towers are strategically located between central Hanoi and the airport, demonstrating the emergence of Vietnam as an international financial centre…more

Oct 22, Roskilde, Denmark

The board of Danish waste to energy supplier KARA/Noveren signed a contract with Dutch Architect Erick van Egeraat  for the realization of their new incineration line at Roskilde, Denmark. Erick van Egeraat won the design competition for this incinerator in 2008 with his proposal seeking to embrace both the historic and industrial heritage…more

Oct 22, New York

For years the New York design collective “Terreform ONE + Terrefuge” has also developed both radical and technically thought-out concepts for a renewable future for New York City. Because of this, the group has been awarded with the Zumtobel Group Award for Sustainability and Humanity in the Built Environment…more

Oct 22, Mumbai

The heart of Mumbai city, once a cotton mill hub, is seeing a rapid change in its skyline as more than 30 skyscrapers are mushrooming out of slumland in the city's most congested district. The transformation reflects the breakneck pace of growth in Asia's third largest economy, as India's property and capital markets boom and developers build dream homes for a rapidly-growing list of Indian millionaires…more

Oct 21, Kuala Lumpur

The 100-storey tower that forms part of Warisan Merdeka will be the new headquarters of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) as the fund manager is already thinking about redeveloping its existing head office. Come 2016, its main building on Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, will be 30 years old…more

Oct 21, Croydon

Menta has unveiled their latest attempts to get a series of buildings underway in the London borough of Croydon that includes a landmark 171-metre tall tower. The 55-storey skyscraper starts with five levels of basement parking and then ground and first floor retail followed by a single floor offering amenities for residents…more

Oct 20, Mexico City

Due to the redesign and recovery of the historic centre of Mexico City, the area of Paseo de la Reforma re-emerges as a beautiful commercial, cultural and historic avenue of the metropolis. Mexican design firm Migdal Arquitectos has completed a 42,200 sq m residential development in Reforma - Plaza Residences…more

Oct 20, Istanbul

Another skyscraper has been announced for the Turkish city of Istanbul, the latest of what has been a flood of dozens of tall buildings to be proposed over the past couple of years.This project is called Istanbloom, and as the name suggests it draws heavily from the theme of gardens in the sky…more

Oct 19, Mumbai

It is projected that by the year 2030, 25% of the city of Mumbai will be covered by parked cars. That means less area for parks, housing and basic room to breathe. The revolutionary Tata Tower was designed to address this pressing issue by creating a residential community for the employees of Tata (the largest automaker in India)…more

Oct 19, Toronto

Historically, Toronto has had an uneasy relationship with tall buildings. In the 1970s, Mayor David Crombie  helped establish a 40-foot height limit on new construction in Toronto. This restriction was eventually overturned by the Ontario Municipal Board, and in its place were put varying height restrictions for different areas of the city…more

Oct 19, London

Construction work is to begin on a new London skyscraper after a deal to develop the project was agreed. Land Securities has joined forces with the Canary Wharf Group to build the new skyscraper, dubbed the Walkie Talkie, at 20 Fenchurch Street in the City. Work on the £500 million development will begin immediately, with completion in 2014…more

Oct 18, Singapore

Green is the “in” thing nowadays. The inconvenient truth is that we need to turn our drab and gray cities into green and verdant settings if we are to help counter climate change. Urban greenery has been the province of parks and open spaces in cities of the past, but today’s dense and complex cities are looking at other dimensions to greenery…more

Oct 18

Fire and life safety innovations arise from current design trends in tall buildings. In response to these trends, a number of fire and life safety innovations have been developed. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat defines a high-rise building as “a building whose height creates different conditions in the design, construction, and use than…more

Oct 18,  Buenos Aires

Hila Davidpu, Tal Gazit, Eli Gotman, and Hofi Harari shared their “ECO-CLIFF” proposal for the Buenos Aires Vertical Zoo Competition. The “ECO-CLIFF” is a revolutionary tower that will serve as a nesting ground for thousands of migrating birds as well as an ecological habitat for the different animals and species of the “Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve Zoo”…more

Oct 18,  Dallas

Dallas has seen the completion of several major architectural projects in its cultural district, including buildings by Renzo Piano, Joshua Prince-Ramus and Rem Koolhaas, and Norman Foster, all of which accompany classics by I.M. Pei and Ed Barnes. The final piece of that puzzle, providing much-needed residential space, is Los Angeles–based Johnson Fain’s 42-story, 500-foot-tall condominium tower known as Museum Tower…more

Oct 18,  Riyadh

Located in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Plot 1.15 could be the second tallest tower situated within the King Abdullah Financial District cluster. The master plan guidelines stipulated a ‘faceted’ architectural design, and clear regulations regarding the height (303m) and parcel footprint. However, the client brief was simple; to provide 1.5 million sq ft of office space…more

Oct 17,  New York

An award-winning French architect is about to leave his mark on the world's most famous skyline: New York City. When Jean Nouvel starts sketching... something unexpected often happens: "I like to play with architecture ¡ it's my favorite game," he chuckles. He's designed the Agbar Tower in Barcelona, a concert hall in Copenhagen, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, and the Arab World Institute in Paris…more

Oct 15,  Mumbai

An Indian businessman has built the world's most expensive home - valued at $1 billion, with three helipads, its own air traffic control, a six-floor car park, a staff of 600, a four-story hanging garden and a cinema. The 173-meter tall mansion is called Antilia, after a mythical island in the Atlantic Ocean, and has  been completed after years of construction…more

Oct 15,  Istanbul

Construction is underway on a new high-rise project for the Turkish city of Istanbul named Exen Plaza. The project consists of multiple low-rise buildings along with a signature tower which will stand at the height of 160 meters providing a landmark for the scheme. Having run a competition to come up with the design, it was architectural firm Sur Yapi who won the day, although it maybe more due to the fact it was also highly economic…more

Oct 15

OFL Architecture has just taken first prize in the international competition to reinvent, reinterpret and revitalize the "Silk Road," a legendary trade route connecting Asia, Europe and Northern Africa that was traveled by religious representatives, traders and merchants for thousands of years. OFL’s vision for the new Silk Road is made up of two main elements: highly sustainable and habitable towers and a vast railway system…more

Oct 15, South Korea

A new scheme of mini towers created by REX deals with fundamental problems in high-rise design: The lack of views and ventilation. In the densely packed cities of South Korea, where high-rises seem to outnumber trees, units with views of nature and fresh air aren’t just coveted, they’re fetishized. To offset the shortage, REX has invented an entirely new type of residential structure…more

Oct 14

The inverted skyscraper is a completely self-sufficient underground city capable of producing its own food and energy and creating a climate-controlled environment in the middle of the desert. From above, the skyscraper and open pit are completely covered by a dome faceted with skylights. Over time, the dome covering the hole in the ground will blend in with the surrounding environment…more

Oct 14, Basel

Approval has been given for a new tower project in the Swiss city of Basel by local heroes, Herzog & de Meuron. The plans originally saw a 154 meter tall tower elliptical tower which featured staggered floor plates with interestingly unique angular, curving facades which would have provided something of an icon on Basel's skyline. Unfortunately these plans have been replaced…more

Oct 13, Paris

Contemporary tower designs reflect researches on new way of lives and the desire for modernity. Majunga fits within this dynamic flow of creativity and renewal.  Architectural competition brings singular responses, and projects gain their singularity from the composition of their forms. The plan’s dissymmetry in relation to its core has produced the drawing of three strips…more

Oct 13, Istanbul

Work is underway to prepare the site of a new skyscraper project for the Turkish city of Istanbul. The project simply but perhaps not modestly named Hype comes from the drawing boards of Istanbul and New York based architectural firm GAD. It will consist of six towers varying in heights from 20-stories to 43-stories…more

Oct 13, New York

Chicago may soon lose bragging rights for being home to the country’s tallest building. That distinction belongs to Chicago’s Willis Tower, which is 1,450 feet high. But that is soon to be eclipsed by the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center in New York that is now under construction, according to Marshall Gerometta, database editor for the CTBUH…more

Oct 13, Mumbai

The country’s tallest commercial building is all set to come up at Lower Parel. Marathon Group has announced the launch of Marathon Futurex, a 165-meter tall building, which is currently in the last phase of construction. The 38-story building is located at Mafatlal Mills. “The reason for choosing a location on NM Joshi Marg was its proximity to two stations.”…more

Oct 13, Guangzhou, China

Stealing the title from the CN Tower in Toronto, the swirling Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower by Information Based Architecture (IBA) has just opened to the public at a staggering 610m in height. During three days of celebratory events, the Mayor of Guangzhou declared the structure open and revealed its official title of the Canton Tower…more

Oct 13, Mumbai

The project called for designing a cluster of tall buildings in the ‘C-ward’ neighborhood in the southern part of the city inspired by the cultural, physical, and environmental aspects of the region.  The result is a fascinating masterplan that consists of a network of five towers linked by series of bridges and sky-plazas…more

Oct 12, Philadelphia

A feud over the future of Philadelphia’s last grain elevator has come down on the side of preservation instead of adaptive reuse, after developer Pearl Properties bowed to pressure from community and preservation groups last month and ditched an eye-popping plan to turn the Reading Company Grain Elevator in Center City into a mixed-use development…more

Oct 12, Chicago

With the real estate market still reeling and one-third of its units unsold, Trump International Hotel & Tower wants to show potential buyers not just where they can live, but how.  The 92-story skyscraper is finalizing plans to turn five of its unsold condominiums into furnished models, signaling a change in a marketing strategy…more

Oct 12, New York

It takes a lot of effort to map the entire side of a structure as large and complex as Manhattan’s IAC building. Turns out, though, it’s entirely worth it. At least when the end result is as beautiful as this. Evan Grant’s Seeper collective is responsible for the project, which was shown off at last week’s Vimeo Festival + Awards afterparty…more

Oct 11, Chicago

It would be easy, now that a bank has filed a foreclosure lawsuit, to label the all-but-dead Chicago Spire a symbol of excess and irrational exuberance. But I, for one, am disappointed that the design appears unlikely to get built.  After much revision, architect Santiago Calatrava's plan promised a remarkably thin, seemingly twisting skyscraper…more

Oct 11, San Diego

Vantage Pointe, the mammoth downtown high-rise that failed as a condo project, has been sold to one of the nation's largest apartment owners and operators for $200 million.  The sale, finalized in late September, allows Canadian developer Pointe of View to exit a financially troubled development that encountered a series of setbacks…more

Oct 11, Orange County

Essex Skyline in Santa Ana – the flopped for-sale condos turned to luxury apartments where rents can approach $3,000 a month – got a rare perfect “100″ from reviewers at Luxe List.  The luxury apartment trackers at LuxeListHome.com, a fledgling business tracking 13 markets across the nation to date, said the twin towers got the perfect score…more

Oct 11, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Preparations are underway for the construction of a massive skyscraper project to be located in one of the world's famous holy cities, Mecca.  Named the Rawabi Abraj Al-Bait project, and not to be confused with the neighboring Abraj Al Bait hotel project, it will have over two million square meters of internal and consist of 21 residential and commercial towers…more

Oct 11, St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg’s historic skyline cannot be saved – neither by UNESCO’s cultural mandarins, nor by crusading rocker Yury Shevchuk.  At least that’s the view being driven home by the city’s governor Valentina Matvienko following a thumbs-up from the General Directorate of State Examination.  That watchdog announced on October 9th that there were no problems with allowing Gazprom to erect a 403-meter tower in the city center…more

Oct 11

Imagine having a vertical garden as lovely as this one right in your town? Called Spiral Garden, the winding green space by Benet and Saida Dalmau, Anna Julibert and Carmen Vilar of Spain recently received honors as one of the second prize winners of Designboom's IIDA Awards 2010. The lacy mesh structure is a place for neighbors to socialize, garden and harvest…more

Oct 10, Chicago

Almost every day lately, I've seen a few gawkers and cell phone photographers straggle to the corner of Larrabee and Division streets to witness Cabrini-Green's latest vanishing.  They peer. They click. They wave away the demolition dust while the bulldozers grind.  It used to be a mysterious and fearsome building, this high-rise at 1230 N. Larrabee St…more

Oct 8, Manila, Philippines

Two high-rise towers are set to become the final landmarks of DMCI Homes’ Royal Palm Residences, a Thai-inspired resort community in Taguig City.  The 18-story towers, Rawai and Kamala, will soon break ground to establish an exclusive and comfortable setting for individuals looking for a home that affords them the atmosphere of a vacation getaway…more

Oct 8, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Plans have been unveiled for a new hotel project for the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh that will champion the Hilton brand name there.  The twin towered project comes from the drawing boards of Chicago based architects, Goettsch Partners and will stand at heights of 14 stories and 20 stories respectively.  Located on the Eastern Ring Road, one of the city's major roadways…more

Oct 8, Alberta, Canada

The Alberta government has announced a major safety crackdown on high rise construction sites. The announcement was made in Calgary Friday by Employment Minister Thomas Lukaszuk, near a site where a hammer fell off a high rise earlier this year, shattering glass in the nearby police station. In recent years there have been numerous close calls and even the death of a child caused by falling debris…more

Oct 8, Tampa Bay

Downtown Tampa's flat-lined condo market is showing some small signs of life.  Three separate high-rise projects are moving through the planning stages. One calls for twin 27-story towers north of the St. Pete Times Forum. The others are needle-shaped towers more than 500 feet tall east of the city's Whiting Street parking garage.  The developers received variances on October 7th from the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board…more

Oct 7, New York

A developer’s plan to build a new 67-story building in midtown Manhattan is drawing a closer look from FM broadcasters worried that the structure could partially block their radio transmissions from atop the nearby Empire State Building.  The skyscraper, named 15 Penn Plaza, is to be built just two blocks from venerable Empire, home to most main FM and television broadcast antennas in the city…more

Oct 7, Miami Beach

In the months ahead, many residents of older high-rise condos will be deciding whether they want to buy a potentially expensive fire safety sprinkler system or save the money.  A state law that took effect July 1 is allowing residents in older buildings to say no to retrofitting their buildings for sprinklers as long as a majority of owners agree. Some condo association attorneys are already meeting with residents to discuss the new law's impact…more

Oct 7, Jakarta

A solution for Jakarta’s trash problems may not be on the ground — but up in the sky, according
to Dutch architects.  A group of Dutch architects proposed developing vertical kampungs as part of the Clean Jakarta project to solve Jakarta’s worsening waste problems. Under the proposal, several city slums would be relocated to high-rise settlements that had a “kampung” atmosphere…more

Oct 7, Jaipur, India

You may be enjoying life in a luxurious flat in a high-rise building at a posh location like Civil Lines. But do you know if the building has been declared officially complete by the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA)?  Most of the high-rise residential apartments in the city do not possess the mandatory 'completion certificate'…more

Oct 6, Dubai

On a sultry June evening in 2007, more than 100 people camped out at the offices of Emaar, a prestigious Dubai property developer, to ensure that they would land a coveted spot in a gleaming new skyscraper scheduled to open in 2010 near the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. Today, the property is like a number of others around Dubai — little more than a rotting foundation…more

Oct 5, New York

The gleaming new Beekman tower designed by architect Frank Gehry won't be open for renters until early 2011. But reviews are beginning to pour in of the 76-story skyscraper—New York's tallest residential building—that already has become a major presence on the downtown skyline.  Most of the reviews of the tower and its distinctive, crinkly metal facade have been good…more

Oct 5

A funny thing is happening in skyscraper office development circles. Developers are coming off the sidelines and planning new projects or reviving old ones gathering dust on the drawing boards - even without signed tenants.  Developers are also violating their age-old code of using OPM: Other People's Money.  That's right.  Some of the developers now are plunking down their own cash to get projects started…more

Oct 5, New York

The Empire State Building, arguably the world’s most famous office tower, is 1,472 vertical feet of historic American real estate. It also contains 2.8 million square feet of office space, constructed to the energy efficiency standards of the early 1930s. So when Anthony Malkin took over management of the building several years ago, he also inherited an $11 million annual energy bill and a problem: How could he turn the iconic but aging building into a 21st-century office tower…more

Oct 4, Warsaw

Construction work has begun in earnest at the site of the future Plac Unii office and retail complex in south-central Warsaw. Once completed, the zł.550 million complex will comprise a 21-story skyscraper skirted by a pair of six-story buildings. Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz presided over the inauguration of construction last week…more

Oct 4, Liverpool, England

A plan to attract Chinese investors to Liverpool by building the tallest building outside London and calling it the "Shanghai Tower" was submitted in early October for planning approval.  Peel Holdings, a Manchester-based developer, wants to build a 55-storey skyscraper on the Mersey waterfront as part of what could become a £5.5bn redevelopment of the area including 9,000 homes…more

Oct 4, Boston

They stand like massive man-made skeletons, abandoned towers that were supposed to be luxurious high-rise residences, hotels and office buildings. The ghost structures that haunt Bangkok, Thailand – abandoned in mid-construction since Asia’s 1997-1998 economic meltdown – are a sad and frightening hint at what many stalled skyscraper projects around the world might become…more

Oct 4, London

There might be a recession on right now in the building industry, but one place that's still getting the projects is the east end of London where the tower blocks continue to be proposed, albeit at a slower rate than the peak.  The proposals have been designed for developer, the Workspace Group, to regenerate part of Poplar Business Park on Preston's Road.…more

Oct 4, Bangkok

They stand like massive man-made skeletons, abandoned towers that were supposed to be luxurious high-rise residences, hotels and office buildings. The ghost structures that haunt Bangkok, Thailand – abandoned in mid-construction since Asia’s 1997-1998 economic meltdown – are a sad and frightening hint at what many stalled skyscraper projects around the world might become…more

Oct 4, Melbourne

More than 20 percent of all new homes approved in Victoria this financial year have been in high-rise apartments, as Melbourne's population boom is making it build up as well as out. In a dramatic shift in favor of higher-density developments, almost 40 percent of new homes approved in the state in the first two months of 2010-11 have been either high or medium-density…more

Oct 3, San Francisco

Dan Goodwin, 54, says skyscraper safety drives him up the wall. Literally. He's a building contractor by trade, but, in his off hours, Goodwin climbs skyscrapers to protest what he says is a lack of adequate fire-rescue capabilities on anything over seven stories tall - which is the maximum height that can be reached by fire truck ladder…more

Oct 3, Busan, South Korea

The blaze in the 38-story apartment complex in Haeundae, Busan last Friday set off multiple alarm bells that high-rise buildings are essentially defenseless against fires, experts said Sunday. Fortunately, no casualties were reported as most residents were evacuated soon after the fire broke out at 11:30 a.m. in a cleaners’ room on the fourth floor of the Wooshin Golden Suites…more

Oct 3, Columbus

Ohio State is in the middle of what officials call a $171.6 million shortcut to make room for more students on South Campus. The project - dubbed the South Campus High Rise Renovation and Addition Project - will connect Park to Stradley, and Steeb to Smith, creating rooms for 360 more students by August 2013…more

Oct 2

There was a time when building skyscrapers with steel as the main structural element was core to constructing tall buildings. It wasn't until the 1960s that a vibrant young engineer of Bengali descent entered the fray and offered systems to allow skyscrapers to reach new heights.  The late Fazlur Khan is considered as the father of modern skyscraper design…more

Oct 2, New York

Visitors to the upper floors of the Muslim community center planned for near ground zero would walk through lofty spaces — for art exhibitions, for contemplation and prayer, for programs on interreligious dialogue, for a 9/11 memorial — as sunlight streams through irregularly shaped windows between white crisscrossing beams…more

Oct 1, Kansas City

Kansas City’s oldest skyscraper is about to become the headquarters of one of its more enduring institutions, the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. The New York Life building, which opened in 1890, just 10 years after the Kansas City Diocese was established, has been purchased by the church for $11.7 million…more

Oct 1, Seattle

Apartment builder Su Development has submitted preliminary plans for a two-tower high-rise complex in downtown Bellevue — and says it hopes to break ground on the first, 21-story tower next spring. The project, called Soma Towers, is the first new high-rise proposed in downtown Bellevue since before the recession began…more

Oct 1, Chicago

Roosevelt University is erecting a 32-story, $118 million skyscraper at 425 S. Wabash Ave., with the idea of helping make the South Loop “a high-quality place to live,” said Chuck Middleton, university president.  Under construction since April, the facility should be completed in January 2012, in time for that academic year’s second semester…more

Sep 30, London

A 27-story tower block that critics say is more suited to downtown Manhattan than King’s Cross has been earmarked for York Way.  Developers King’s Cross Central, who are building homes and offices on the 67-acre  Railwaylands site behind the stations, have applied for planning permission even though earlier guidelines ruled buildings should not go higher than 14 floors…more

Sep 30, Shenzhen, China

As one would expect from an emerging superpower, China has ambitions. Above all these can perhaps be crystallized in the burgeoning space program the country has which is now planning a new headquarters in the city of Shenzhen. The complex in the Nanshan district has been designed for use by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and features two towers of a similar design…more

Sep 30, Scotland

The final death knell has sounded over plans to build Scotland’s tallest building at Charing Cross.  Permission was granted in 2004 for developer Elphinstone to build a £120million, 40-story tower on the site of the former Strathclyde Regional Council HQ on St Vincent Street.  But following the revelation, as reported in the September 29th Evening Times…more

Sep 30, Vietnam

A large number of high-rise buildings in Ha Noi fail to meet health and safety regulations, said Nguyen Dinh Binh, deputy chief of the city police's Fire Prevention and Fighting Division.  Binh said undue pressure had been put on investors to complete projects quickly, particularly in resettlement areas, forcing them to take short cuts when it came to fire safety…more

Sep 29, Chicago

Did you know that the best angle for glass to keep a Chicago apartment warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer is 71 degrees? Well architects Studio Gang have designed an entire high rise building based on that optimum angle with solar access and shading as its core concept. Aside from maximizing energy-efficiency through passive solar design…more

Sep 29, Shanghai

HKS Hill Glazier Studio has been selected to design the 300-room Zhangjiang Crown Plaza Hotel in Shanghai. Located in the Zhangjiang High Tech Park, the hotel features a grand lobby garden, signature restaurant with private dining rooms, ballroom, spa and fitness centre, and a tower level club lounge with garden terrace overlooking Shanghai…more

Sep 28, Montreal

After successfully completing the first development phase of Pointe-Nord, Proment Corporation is launching Evolo, the first high-rise condominium project for the eco-community Pointe-Nord of Nuns' Island. Pointe-Nord is a residential and commercial development covering around one million square feet, with the overall project valued at 700 million dollars…more

Sep 28, Baltimore

An insurance company is taking over eight floors of a downtown Baltimore highrise and will change the name of the building as well.  The building, formerly known as the Legg Mason Building, will be renamed as the Transamerica Tower after the new tenant, Transamerica Life Insurance Company.  The lease will begin in November 2011 and is a ten year term…more

Sep 28, Gurgaon, India

Highest residential tower planned for North India’s earthquake zone in Victory Valley.  International engineering consultancy Web Structures and Singapore-based architects WOW have been appointed by Ireo, the leading Indian real estate developer behind the 50-story skyscraper to realize its ambitious vision for the 52-acre Victory Valley development…more

Sep 28, Las Vegas

Forget sunscreen. At one Las Vegas pool, you might want to consider full-body armor to protect you from the sun's powerful rays. Guests at the new Vdara hotel have been complaining that because of an architectural flaw on the glass skyscraper, the sun's rays are being magnified and reflected onto an area of the pool, causing severe burns…more

Sep 28, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Slovenian architects Enota shared with us “Lotus Towers”, a 64,100 m2 housing project in Ljubljana, for which they received second prize in an invited competition. The carrying quality of the building site is no doubt the new city park. As it is evident from related cases around the world, apartment buildings in this type of location with apartments overlooking the park…more

Sep 27, Newark

Like a husband and wife looking to patch things up, the parties in the foreclosure proceedings against 744 Broad St., Newark’s tallest skyscraper, are heading to mediation.  The legal skirmish over the trophy of Arthur Stern’s Cogswell Realty, whose lender called the $72 million loan secured by the landmark 33-story high-rise…more

Sep 27, London

Despite much opposition, not least from the local Wandsworth Council, Upper Richmond Road in London continues to be the target of developers aiming for the construction of new tall buildings in the area.  The plans by David Miller Architects will see Tote House that is bounded by Upper Richmond Road and Woodlands Way…more

Sep 27, Columbus

Ohio State plans to tap the earth's natural temperature to provide heating and cooling to Park, Smith, Steeb, Stradley and Siebert halls. Abound 450 vertical geothermal wells will be drilled into the South Oval to a depth of about 550 feet in October, according to a Facilities Operations and Development document provided by Kenneth Wayman…more

Sep 26, Sydney

What do you think of Tony Owen Partners’ latest luxury apartments?  The design will shortly enter its construction phase on Elizabeth Street in Sydney’s CBD in prestigious Hyde Park.  With only 19 apartments, this exclusive development intends to define the new standard in luxury and contemporary design for Australia..…more

Sep 25, Abu Dhabi

Back in 2007, when the government here announced its plan for “the world’s first zero-carbon city” on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, many Westerners dismissed it as a gimmick, a faddish follow-up to neighboring Dubai’s half-mile-high tower in the desert and archipelago of man-made islands in the shape of palm trees.…more

Sep 24, Vancouver

Residents who were forced from their Vancouver highrise condos by suspicious fumes in mid-September were finally given the green light to return to their homes September 23rd. Residents of the Electra building on the corner of Burrard and Nelson streets were evacuated twice and were barred from entering their apartments.…more

Sep 24, Miami

MDM Development Group, developer of downtown Miami’s Wells Fargo Center, took it upon itself to increase access to its new office high rise by having a crew break up a street median without a permit.  Currently, the only legal access into the high-rise garage is via an Interstate 95 off ramp that morphs into Northeast Third Street…more

Sep 24, Chicago

Not all modernist buildings are worth saving--I was glad to see the Mies van der Rohe-designed brick hut at the Illinois Institute of Technology bite the dust  in 2009 to make way for a new Metra station--but the really good ones are no less valuable than the works of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright.…more

Sep 24, Manchester

Plans for three residential towers on Faber Street in central Manchester had seemed to have fallen by the wayside, but a new planning application was filed in September 2010 that the developer hopes will kick-start the scheme.  One factor for the renewed planning application could be that the site on Faber Street and Roger Street…more

Sep 23, Dubai

How can architecture autonomously grow and expand when it is not constructed with living materials? It almost sounds like a nonsensical riddle, but such a thing might actually be possible if Faulders Studio ever gets a chance to build its ‘GEOtube Building‘, a concept for Dubai that features a self-built exoskeleton made from accumulated sea salt deposits.…more

Sep 23, New York

The Sperone Westwater gallery by Foster + Partners architects opened in New York in September 2010, featuring a moving exhibition space that connects the floors of the gallery. The 12 by 20 foot moving gallery allows visitors to travel between floors or can be fixed at a chosen level to extend the static exhibition spaces…more

Sep 23, Warsaw

Poland-based firm OneByNine studio has designed the Swietokrzyska Tower located in the center of Warsaw, Poland, next to the main street in the city. OneByNine tried to minimize southern facade which is most exposed to the sun while the west facade are also being protected from the sun…more

Sep 23, New South Wales

The projects shown here are the latest in an international series of design studios under the title of the Vertical Architecture STudio, or VAST. Created in 2006 with the explicit aim of exploring new forms of high-rise architecture and urban design, all projects to date have been located on large inner city or “brownfield” sites close to mass transportation hubs…more

Sep 23, London

Songbird, the owner of Canary Wharf, is close to expanding into the City, with talks about a joint venture with Land Securities to develop the "Walkie-Talkie" skyscraper to be concluded soon. Plans to build the 160-meter tower at 20 Fenchurch Street, designed by the award-winning architect Rafael Viñoly…more

Sep 22, Federal Way

Twin Development and the Federal Way City Council each dropped a bombshell. The developer announced it could not meet its deadline to purchase the former AMC Theatres property from the city. The council voted 4 to 3 to extend the closing date on the land for the seventh time…more

Sep 22, Amsterdam

Dutch architects UNStudio have completed a 21-story office tower in their hometown of Amsterdam with colorfully glazed recesses in the facade spanning multiple floors. The tower’s voids allow light to penetrate deeper into the communal areas of the interior and are intended to make a greater connection between the interior spaces and the external facade…more

Sep 22, Calgary

The iconic Bow tower has hit its maximum height of 59 stories. The skyscraper in the heart of downtown Calgary, which will be the home of energy companies Encana and Cenovus when completed in early 2012, has 58 stories of office space and one additional story for mechanical use…more

Sep 20, New York

It’s difficult to stand out in a big city, especially one that never sleeps. These images show the glistening new column that is Eleven Times Square. Designed by FXFOWLE with structural engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti and nestled in the heart of Manhattan, up close it is visually apparent that many intricate little details have been woven into this structure…more