February 3, Adelaide, Australia Planning Minister John Rau is in the final stages of drafting a city development blueprint expected to significantly alter existing height, density and design guidelines set by Adelaide City Council. Mr. Rau has said that the current regimen is "hopelessly inadequate for the task" of delivering a vibrant city center...more

February 2, New York New York's City Council voted in favor of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District, which encompasses 21 skyscrapers and office buildings that were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries near the building that was once known as Brooklyn City Hall...more

February 2, Tel Aviv A Tel Aviv-area planning committee approved a plan to build what will become Israel's tallest skyscraper. The 70-story high-rise, approved by the Tel Aviv District Planning and Construction Committee, will be built in the Tel Aviv suburb of Givatayim and rise to reach a height of 241 meters...more

February 1 It's an idea that has the potential to revolutionize the construction industry: use prefabricated modules to build more than 6,000 housing units. If Forest City Ratner is able to turn the idea into a reality, the firm will build a 32-story residential tower in Brooklyn, New York...more

February 1, Chicago Chicago futures trader Donald Wilson Jr. is making the case to build a 50-story building along North Water Street immediately north of the Sheraton hotel. It would include apartments on the higher floors and a hotel on the lower levels. Sources said Wilson has an agreement with the Loews chain to operate the hotel...more

February 1, Dubai The dome and mast of Dubai's landmark Princess Tower have been completed, bringing it one step closer to becoming the world's tallest residential tower with a final height of 414 meters. The project is in its final stages of development and is expected to be handed over in the second quarter of this year...more

February 1, Fort Mill, USA York County will soon know whether the owners of the dilapidated 21-story building on the former Heritage USA site should fix it up or tear it down. In 2007, the county wanted to demolish the unfinished high-rise, but MorningStar came forward with a plan to renovate it into a spiritually focused retirement community...more

February 1, Shanghai The city of Shanghai rolled out new rules to ensure the safety of its skyscrapers after a series of accidents in which glass panels on the exterior walls of high-rises shattered unexpectedly. The new rules banned multi-story hospitals, schools, nurseries, and buildings in city centers from using glass curtain walls...more

January 31, Doha Work on the Doha Convention Centre and Tower has been halted following fears that it could disrupt flights at the new international airport in Doha, Qatar. Once completed, the 551-meter 112-story Doha Convention Centre and Tower project would become one of the tallest mixed-use towers in the world...more

January 31, New York The price tag for One World Trade Center, the signature skyscraper under construction at Ground Zero in New York, has risen to more than US$3.8 billion, making it by far the world's most expensive new office tower, according to people familiar with the matter...more

January 31, Toronto Toronto may not have the waterfront complete with a Ferris wheel like Chicago, but the Toronto Trump Tower looks to brings the sister cities a little closer. The Trump, which opens today, will boast 261 rooms as well as condo suites for those who want a more permanent home-away-from-home in the city...more

January 30, Chicago Park Towers, at 5415 N. Sheridan Rd., is one of over a thousand pre-1975 high-rises which fall under grandfathered provisions of the city’s controversial fire code. National fire officials have blasted Chicago’s code as inadequate, because it does not mandate sprinkler systems for older residential high-rises...more

January 30, Warsaw Developer Włodarzewska is planning the construction of a new high-rise building in central Warsaw which will sit on a tiny plot located in the country’s capital. The tower will be less than 10 meters wide but its final height is yet to be determined – 85- and 120-meter variants are both being considered...more

January 29, Vancouver Foster + Partners has completed its Jameson House project in Vancouver, Canada, which involved the restoration of a heritage building and a new 35-story mixed-use tower. The development comprises 11 stories of offices and shops, topped by 23 stories of apartments...more

January 29, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Standing on what was once Ethiopia's oldest maximum security prison, the almost 100-meter 20-story building, which dominates the skyline of Addis Ababa, was a gift from the Chinese Government, estimated at a cost of $200 million to the African Union...more

January 28, Seattle The Smith Tower's windows apparently haven't been washed in more than three years and water damage is evident in the stairwells and some vacant offices. These revelations about the sorry state of Seattle's first skyscraper - and many more - are contained in a report by the building's receiver...more

January 28, Wolfsburg, Germany These two 20-story buildings, which were the inspiration for a huge garage in the latest Mission Impossible film, are located at the Volkswagen theme park, the Autostadt, which translates as “car city.” Each day about 600 cars are picked up from the two 200-foot tall silos by their new owners...more

January 27, Abu Dhabi When Rosewood Hotels and Resorts opens its new high-rise in Abu Dhabi at the end of this year, it will have a valuable next-door neighbor: the Cleveland Clinic. Both the Ohio-based medical center and the hotel group are newcomers to the United Arab Emirates, a new hub for the medical world...more

January 27, Montreal It’s hard to imagine Montreal without the distinctive tower that is Place Ville Marie in the heart of downtown or the light beacon on the tower that circles the city at night. This year, the tower that dominates Montreal’s landscape is celebrating its 50th anniversary...more

January 27, Toronto How to suspend a 13-story office building over top of a four-story historic masonry building on a tight site was the puzzle facing the engineering team for Allied Properties REIT’s Queen Richmond Centre West development poised for construction in downtown Toronto...more

January 27, Rio de Janeiro Three buildings suddenly collapsed in downtown Rio de Janeiro. The buildings, which were 20, 10, and 4 stories high, were office space during the day and were almost empty at the time of the disaster. Officials speculated that illegal construction work damaged the structure of the 20-story building and caused it to crumble...more

January 26, Ahmedabad, Pakistan The city is witnessing residential and commercial complexes as high as 70 meters with 22 stories. Under the township policy and the special development regulation, the state government is granting permission for high-rise buildings...more

January 26, Chicago The Kennedy family is crafting plans to build on its Wolf Point property along the Chicago River. People familiar with the proposal said the Kennedys envision a three-tower complex for residential and office use on the four-acre site. Their chosen architect is Cesar Pelli, who designed the Petronas Towers in Malaysia...more

January 26, Dubai Over 125 families living on 25 floors of Al Bakr Tower 4 located opposite Al Taawun Mall in Sharjah watched in despair their flats go up in flames in the wee hours of Wednesday, destroying their belongings and for some, earnings of their entire lives...more

January 25, Los Angeles One of Los Angeles’ most unsightly holes in the ground is finally ready to be filled. The General Service Administration has revealed plans to move forward with its long-awaited federal building downtown, announcing that the bid is out for a design-build contract for a new federal courthouse...more

January 25, London For the second time, work on the Bishopsgate Tower, aka the Pinnacle or the Helter-Skelter, has been halted because of financial concerns. The developer, Arab Investments, has for the time being failed to pre-let enough of the tower to guarantee a half-billion pound package from HSBC...more

January 25, Auckland, New Zealand A number of Aucklanders may feel aggrieved by plans to construct a high-rise brothel on the site of the historic Aurora Tavern. Plans have been submitted to Auckland Council by property developers and brothel owners John and Michael Chow to build a 15-story complex at 75 Victoria St...more

January 25, Azerbaijan An Azerbaijani developer has announced plans to build the world's highest building on an artificial island in the Caspian. The Azerbaijan Tower will be 1,050 meters high with 189 floors. The complex, called Khazar Islands, plans to include 41 islands about 25 kilometers south of the capital Baku...more

January 25, Manila The Trump Tower Manila is owned and developed by Philippines-based Century Properties who are marketing the project as “a symbol of power, achievement and modern grandeur.” If seen through to realization, this 250-meter building will be one of the tallest buildings in the Philippines...more

January 25, Richmond, USA One of Richmond's first skyscrapers is being converted into apartments. Richmond’s First National Bank building is undergoing a US$30 million renovation to turn it into 154 apartments on the upper 18 floors and commercial space on the ground level. The apartment building is expected to open later this year...more

January 25, Tokyo Tokyo faces the possibility of being hit by a massive earthquake within the next four years. The University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute predicts there is a 70% probability that the capital's metropolitan area will experience a magnitude-7 quake within four years and a 98% probability within the next 30 years...more

January 24, Liverpool, UK New plans have emerged to build the tallest building in the north of England. Designed by Maurice Shapero, the 67-story, 199-meter-tall skyscraper is proposed for the so-called King Edward site close to Liverpool’s historic waterfront at the junction of the Strand and Leeds Street...more

January 24, New York Deutsche Bank has announced the completion and operation of its 122.4kW solar photovoltaic system installed atop its Americas headquarters at 60 Wall Street, New York. The array is expected to decrease carbon emissions by 100 metric tons per year...more

January 23, Croydon, UK Plans for a high-rise scheme – composed of a 55-story tower rising above a 13-story podium – at One Lansdowne Road in Croydon have been approved by the London Borough of Croydon, following a council vote...more

January 23, Mecca The huge clock tower at the center of the Abraj-Al Arab development in Mecca was constructed using composite materials from the company Gurit. The top 200 meters of the tower is clad with over 40,000 square meters of fiber reinforced plastic composite panels...more

January 23, New York Developer Larry Silverstein has threatened to cap the planned 80-story office tower known as Three World Trade Center at a paltry seven stories if he can’t secure at least one major office tenant to commit to the building — and he’s nowhere close to finding one...more

January 22, Jakarta An ambitious plan to build the world’s fifth-tallest building in Jakarta’s business district is the latest testament to the city’s growth skywards. Developers are eager to meet the soaring demand for space in the capital of Southeast Asia’s largest economy...more

January 20, London A UK architect is proposing a radical solution to London's looming problem of crowding. Teatum+Teatum has developed a plan for a 1,500-meter-tall tower that would house 100,000 people. The round giant would be a self-contained community with parks, schools and restaurants, and loom over the city...more

January 20, Chicago The Habitat Company has started building a 43-story, 450-unit luxury high-rise in Chicago located at 360 W. Hubbard Street in the city’s River North neighborhood. The tower, which is seeking LEED Silver certification, will include 29,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity space...more

January 19, Kampala, Uganda Capita Symonds has unveiled plans for a new development in the Ugandan capital Kampala. The company has designed the proposed Kampala Tower, a 222-meter-high commercial building and public square that will be a new landmark for the city. At 60 stories, it would be one of the tallest towers in Africa... more

January 19, London A competition to select a developer to revive a stalled project to build a 44-story tower is about to be launched by the Homes and Communities Agency and the Greater London Authority. If built, the 360 tower could form part of a cluster of skyscrapers at Elephant & Castle together with Strata SE1...more

January 19, Hanoi The National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) has divested from the construction of Vietnam’s tallest skyscraper, PVN Tower in Hanoi, following the government’s directive in withdrawing state capitals from non-core sectors. The project would be handed over to a new investor under the management of Hanoi government...more

January 19, Toronto Scotiabank's landmark red skyscraper in the heart of Toronto's financial district could fetch $1 billion or more if real estate trusts, pension funds, and others get the chance to bid for Canada's second-tallest building, a commercial real estate expert said after the bank revealed the granite tower may be for sale...more

January 19, Chicago With its curving green glass wall echoing a bend in the Chicago River, 333 W. Wacker Drive is one of Chicago's most beloved skyscrapers, a renowned example of architecture that simultaneously draws inspiration from its surroundings & upgrades them. The building has recently been fitted with a company sign at the top...more

January 18, Southampton, UK A soaring apartment tower, set to become Southampton's tallest building, has been given the go ahead to revive an abandoned flagship waterfront development. Councilors have approved plans for a scheme that will see three apartment towers, new shops and restaurants built at Ocean Village bringing 200 jobs to the city...more

January 18, Houston Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is close to breaking ground on a second office tower at its headquarters campus in The Woodlands. The office development will be just west of its 30-story headquarters building at Lake Robbins. Preliminary designs call for a 31-story building ready in early in 2014...more

January 18, Jerusalem The Holyland apartments have drawn criticism for their garish design visible from nearly every location in the capital. The District Planning and Building Committee approved an alternative plan for the area, the tallest new buildings will be 18 stories high, unlike the 33-story high-rise that already towers over the ridge...more

January 18, London Construction of a 51-story skyscraper in Shoreditch has been stalled, after a deal fell through to let a third of its office space to a law firm. The development caused controversy when the original 2008 plans involved the destruction of the Light Bar, housed in a 19th-century electricity substation in Shoreditch High Street...more

January 18, New York In New York’s most exclusive office towers, the pendulum of power has swung from landlords, who last year basked in rising rents and competition for prime buildings, to tenants, who are now being offered incentives like prebuilt offices to fill empty spaces. And the leverage held by tenants is likely to continue through this year...more

January 18, Kuala Lumpur Fire razed the two top floors of the under construction 348 Sentral building in Kuala Lumpur on January 18. The fire started on the 30th floor of the 33-floor building, which was expected to be completed at the end of 2012...more

January 18, Mexico City US architect Richard Meier has revealed his practice’s most recent work in Mexico City, the 34-story Mitikah Office Tower. It is Meier & Partners’ third project in Mexico and is part of the mixed-use master plan designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and developed by IDEURBAN/IDCity...more

January 17, Christchurch One of Christchurch's tallest buildings, the Hotel Grand Chancellor partially collapsed on February 22 because a "vulnerable'' shear wall supporting a considerable load failed, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Canterbury earthquakes heard. ...more

January 17, Honolulu The Hawaii Community Development Authority is moving ahead on a long-stalled retail and residential high-rise planned for the corner of Kapiolani Blvd and Ward Ave. Once known as Symphony Park, the 40-story project plans for the first four or five floors to include showrooms and a service center for exotic car dealerships...more

January 17, Wujiang, China Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has designed a building with a “lung.” You might prefer to call it a 30-story operable window, or a sky atrium. Regardless, SOM Design Director Ross Wimer said it is a new approach to ventilation and energy conservation in high-rise buildings...more

January 16, London The final steel ring was connected to the GBP22.7 million ArcelorMittal Orbit in October, making it 114.5 meters (376 feet) tall. Visitors will be able to go up the 35-story structure in a lift, take in panoramic views of London, and have the option of walking down its spiral staircase...more

January 15 The Skyscraper Index continues to show an unhealthy correlation between construction of the next world’s tallest building and an impending financial crisis. Investors should pay particular attention to China – today’s biggest bubble builder with 53% of all the world’s skyscrapers under construction – and India – which now has 14 skyscrapers under construction...more

January 15, Dubai Tameer has handed over the Silver Tower in Dubai’s Business Bay, one of five projects it has completed. Silver Tower is one of the first buildings in the Business Bay area to receive all the clearance certificates from the necessary authorities such as Tecom, DPG, DEWA, Empower and Dubai Civil Defense...more

January 13, Liverpool The first major new-build residential scheme on Liverpool’s waterfront since the credit crunch has won planning permission. The scheme, featuring 192 apartments at Queen’s Dock, replaces a much more ambitious 22-story glass tower which was given permission in 2006...more

January 13, Jakarta Broadway Malyan has pushed into Indonesia with an appointment to deliver the master plan for the Cilandak Bisnis Square (CIBIS) in Jakarta. CIBIS is the practice’s first project in Indonesia, which has one of the world’s fastest growing construction markets...more

January 13, London Completed in November of last year, Digby Road offers a mix of affordable one, two, three, and four bedroom apartments.The building rises from 5 stories on one side to 14 on the other. Five shades of climbing plants grow up the rear façade of the structure, wrapping over the roof...more

January 12, London St. George, new owner of the One Blackfriars skyscraper project, is planning changes to the approved scheme, including the elimination of the public sky deck at the top of the proposed tower; relocating the planned luxury hotel into the lower-rise buildings planned for the site; and filling the main tower with 280 luxury apartments...more

January 12, Istanbul Istanbul’s skyline is set to be capped by a new peak, as the architect has unveiled plans to build a tower almost 300 meters high, which will rival the highest buildings in Europe. Scotland-based RMJM said that it received planning approval for Metropol Istanbul, a vast 500,000 square meter project, which includes three towers...more

January 11, Austin, USA The developers behind a 44-story downtown condominium high-rise near the Austin Music Hall has announced that they are planning their next project: a 320-unit apartment tower that would rise 23 stories in the Rainey Street area. Planned to break ground this spring, the project to be named SkyHouse Austin...more

January 11, Batumi, Georgia Atkins has revealed the design for a new mixed-use facility in the seaside city of Batumi on the edge of the Black Sea. Conceptualized for client Sustainable Growth Investments, the 45-story tower is topped by a covered heliport which can be unveiled as a helicopter approaches...more

January 11, Doha Barwa Real Estate announced that a QR2.4 billion residential and commercial development in Doha would be ready for handover in the second quarter of 2012. The Qatar-based developer said over 99% of its Barwa Al Sadd project was now complete...more

January 11, Frankfurt The Tower 185 in the Frankfurt Europaviertel has been completed following a construction period of just 33 months – on time and within budget. At 200 meters, the high-rise is one of the tallest office building in Germany. Now, following the building completion, the building hopes to achieve LEED Gold Certification...more

January 11, Jakarta The management of the Sudirman Central Business District in Jakarta has announced a 638-meter building with 111 floors to be built at the heart of the area by 2020. The Signature Tower would be the tallest tower in Indonesia, seizing the record currently held by the 262-meter Wisma 46 Tower in Central Jakarta...more

January 10, Chicago After a 32 year-old woman was killed in a fire at a high-rise apartment in Lakeview, city officials have been trying to figure out how much progress other high-rises are making toward updating fire safety systems. Initially set to go into effect this year, the requirement to install new fire safety systems was pushed back the years...more

January 10, New York The developer of the half-empty office tower 11 Times Square has filed documents related to dividing the sleek 40-story tower into two condominium units, records on the city’s Department of Buildings website show. The 1.1 million-square foot tower was officially opened one year ago...more

January 9, Doha Qatar is expecting company. The Arab state on the Persian Gulf has launched a US$100 billion infrastructure program since being announced last year as the host of the 2022 World Cup. Part of the infrastructure being developed ahead of this mega event is a large amount of hotel rooms...more

January 9, Dubai The world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, is set to meet its match in the shape of an almost equally long an 820-meter long (just 8 meters short of the Burj Khalifa itself) glass-encased pedestrian link that will directly connect the iconic tower and the adjoining Dubai Mall with the Burj Khalifa/ Dubai Mall Metro Station...more

January 9, Houston In seventeen seconds, the building that once stood as the first skyscraper built outside of downtown Houston turned into a pile of dust and rubble. Demolition crews used high-powered explosives to implode the 20-story skyscraper that had been a landmark of the district's landscape for the past 60 years...more

January 8, Kuwait City Keeping up with the ever changing and constantly replaced list of the world’s tallest buildings, Skidmore, Owings & Merrills just completed the Al Hamra Firdous Tower, a quarter-mile-high sculptural commercial complex rising like a giant spike above the Kuwait City skyline...more

January 8, Los Angeles Hollywood suddenly finds itself caught up in its own real-life drama, one involving high-priced real estate and City Hall. The city’s planners recently gave its unanimous blessing to a new Hollywood Community Plan that would allow buildings of 50 stories or more in some areas...more

January 7, Changsa, China Reality inched closer to Sim City when China's Broad Corporation built a 30-story hotel prototype - the Ark Hotel – using prefabricated materials in 360 hours. It was built on Dongting lake, in the Hunan Province. It was built to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake, as tested by the China Academy of Building Research...more

January 7, Caracas, Venezuela The skyline of Caracas is dotted with modern buildings pushing upward, but some of these buildings have come to symbolize not the successes of Venezuela, but rather its failings. The David's Tower was intended to be the third-highest building in Venezuela. However, construction on the building stalled in 1993...more

January 6, Istanbul Work will soon begin on the 606-foot-tall Renaissance Tower in Istanbul. Located on the Asian side of Istanbul, the 44-story tower will be a highly visible landmark in this city of roughly 12 million people. The project is situated in the developing commercial hub of Kozyatagi at the intersection of two major motorways...more

January 6 The problem with some former US industrial cities that have lost population isn’t just the changing economy. It’s also a failure to address suburban sprawl. A close look at population data reveals that, while the populations within central cities’ boundaries have declined substantially, their suburbs have actually grown...more

January 6, Krakow, Poland The Szkieletor tower, which has blighted Krakow’s skyline for 30 years, is to remain a crumbling ruin as the latest in a long line of renovation schemes is derailed. At 92.6 meter, the infamous 24-story Szkieletor tower is the tallest building in Krakow...more

January 6, Pattaya, Thailand It is the dawn of a new era for the Pattaya property market with the development of Centara Grand Residence at Na Jomtien, a high-rise oceanfront development and a unique mixed-use residential and hotel project that will be managed by Centara Hotels & Resorts...more

January 6, Manchester, UK Beetham Tower architect Ian Simpson has apologized after the Manchester skyscraper kept city center residents awake by humming in the wind. A noise nuisance probe has been launched at the 47-story building by environmental health officers after a string of complaints about the din...more

January 6, Jakarta This year more concrete buildings will spring up, decorating Jakarta’s skyline to meet the needs of people for living space or to expand their business. But has the concept behind a high-rise city really worked in Jakarta? Or will it only portray Jakarta as a messy concrete jungle?...more

January 5, Gold Coast, Australia Cashed-up holidaymakers are expected to splash out on property bargains on the Gold Coast particularly on high-rise apartments. Agents say for the first time in three years, the market is primed for a sales surge with lower interest rates, government incentives and a heavily discounted oversupply of apartments...more

January 5, Baku, Azerbaijan A local investor is hoping to build a 185-story building in Sahil (formerly Primorsk) in the southwestern suburbs of Baku. According to State Committee for Construction and Architecture’s deputy chairman, Dovlatkhan Dovlatkhanov, the committee has not yet received an official application from the developer...more

January 4, Chongqing, China Chongqing to build a new “人人” ["People"] shaped skyscraper. The building to be located at Danzishi on the south bank of the Yangtze River in Nanan district of Chongqing. It will be 280 meters tall and is expected to start construction sometime in 2013...more

January 4, Lusaka, Zambia Lusaka’s Findeco house, Zambia’s tallest building, has continued to operate without water for the sixth day. Lusaka Water and Sewerage last week cut off water supply from the country’s tallest building after failure by National Housing Authority failed to settle a water bill...more

January 3, Santiago On Feb 27, 2010 the earth off the coast of central Chile convulsed in the sixth-largest quake ever recorded. The quake was a milestone for Santiago-based Sirve. The Titanium Tower was its grandest project. Although the tower swayed 3 ft from side to side, it suffered no structural damage other than a balcony that separated...more

January 3, Colombo, Sri Lanka The construction of Lotus Tower will commence on January 20. The proposed tower will be constructed at the Beira Lake waterfront in Colombo with the total height of well over 300 meters. The tower is planned to have a multi-functional telecommunication tower and an entertainment center...more

January 2, Madrid Pontegadea Inmobiliaria has acquired the Torre Picasso in Madrid for 400 million Euros. The 157-meter tower – the tallest building in the Spanish capital from 1988 to 2007 – was sold in late December by Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas as part of a major restructuring of the construction group's real estate division...more

December 31 2011 was an incredible year in many respects. It saw some marvelous structures come into existence and many more being planned. This article discusses many of the most the important construction news...more

December 31, Dongguan The blueprints for the International Furnishing Centre (IFC) in Houjie Township, part of the Famous Furniture Expo Park project, outline a 102-story, 480-meter high building. This will make it the tallest in Dongguan and the tallest furniture headquarters building in the world...more

December 31, New York 57th Street occupies a rarified realm in New York's address book, marked by Norman Foster's Hearst, I.M. Pei's Four Seasons Hotel, the flagship Tiffany & Co. store & Carnegie Hall. But the street's newest arrival may soon be its most prominent: One57, will exceed 1,000 ft to become the city & country's tallest residential building...more

December 28, Chicago Hines has achieved LEED Gold certification for Existing Buildings, for its 896,500-square-foot office building at 32 North Clark at Riverfront Plaza in Chicago. The 35-story glass and stainless steel high-rise has hovered over the Chicago River since making its debut in 1987...more

December 28, Memphis Once the Queen of Memphis, the Sterick Building reigned as Tennessee's tallest structure from 1930 through the mid- 1950s, only to fall vacant and unwanted, if not unloved, 25 years ago. Despite a flurry of behind-the-scenes activity, it's unclear if or when its fortunes will rise again...more

December 28, Shanghai Racing ahead with the construction of the second tallest building in the world, China has completed the foundation for 632-meter tall Shanghai Tower, second only to 828-meter tall Burj Khalifa. Work crews have completed the foundation a month ahead of schedule and are now rushing to construct the ground structure ...more

December 27, New York New York City’s construction costs are among the country’s highest – but does it matter? The US$1.5 billion spent to build the Burj Khalifa is half the cost of the One World Trade Center now under construction. However, unlike Dubai, New York has one of the oldest, most densely developed urban environments in the world...more

December 24 Ponder the following facts for a second: More than 30% of our entire lives are spent at work and an astonishing 90% of them spent indoors. Rick Fedrizzi, founding chair of the US Green Building Council, has dedicated the vast majority of his working life to promoting sustainability in how buildings are designed, built and operated...more

December 23, Pune, India The draft Development Plan (DP) for the old city has proposed to increase the maximum permissible height of a high-rise building in the city to 150 meters from the present ceiling of 100 meters, thus paving the way for the vertical growth of Pune...more

December 23, Chicago The real estate market may still be in retreat, but it hasn't completely retired as two new local projects for seniors take shape. Exterior construction was recently completed at The New Admiral at the Lake, a 31-story retirement high-rise on Chicago's North Side at Foster Avenue and Marine Drive...more

December 23, Toronto A proposal to build a 70-story tower in the central waterfront is gaining its footings, but some residents think the proposed height is a new low for the community. Not only would the tower set a new height precedent for the waterfront, but a massing like that would add residents and workers to the already dense district...more