CTBUH Global News

Bank of America Plaza Becomes Atlanta's Priciest Repo

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:40:00 GMT

February 8, Atlanta

One of the biggest emblems of Atlanta's real estate boom is now an emblem of its bust. Bank of America Plaza, the South’s tallest skyscraper and an Atlanta skyline icon, was taken back by its lender at a foreclosure auction. The 55-story tower, bought for a record price in 2006, is metro Atlanta’s priciest repossession...more

JW Marriott Marquis Dubai to be One of the World's Tallest Hotels

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:38:00 GMT

February 7, Tokyo

The race to the top is getting higher and higher. When the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai opens its doors at the end of this year, it will be one of the tallest dedicated hotel buildings in the world. Standing at 1,099-foot tall (355 meters), the hotel is only 26 meters shorter than the Empire State Building in New York...more

Tokyo’s High-rise Condominium Living Brought Back Down to Earth

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:34:00 GMT

February 7, Tokyo

In the months right after last year's earthquake, sales of condominiums in Tokyo dropped 30% compared to the previous year. Fears of liquefaction caused potential buyers of tower condos to reconsider, and for a while the media surmised that planned high-rise housing projects might be abandoned...more

Here's How Students Would Design San Diego Skyline

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:31:00 GMT

February 7, San Diego

Think San Diego’s skyline is a bit boring? NewSchool of Architecture and Design graduate students have the answer. The proposals were submitted in a class led by acting provost Kurt Hunker, who thought the current rash of skyscrapers around the world offered an opportunity to consider the challenges of designing for high-rise living...more

New CBD Tower in Singapore to Have “Cool” Space

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:29:00 GMT

February 7, Singapore

Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD) is set to get another green building. CapitaGreen, a 40-story office tower to be built on the site of the former Market Street Carpark, will be property developer CapitaLand's second environmentally-friendly building in the CBD, following One George Street, which opened in 2004...more

Perth: Builders Pose on Skyscraper Beam

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:28:00 GMT

February 7, Perth

A group of skyscraper construction workers posed for a photo while perched on a steel beam 234 meters above Perth. The photo was taken as City Square Tower – set to become the new home of BHP Billiton – entered its final phase of construction this week...more

Chicago: City Releases High-rise Fire Safety Information

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:25:00 GMT

February 6, Chicago

Chicago's move to post fire safety information online follows a deadly fire last month in a high-rise on North Lake Shore Drive. Residents can visit the City of Chicago website to search for specific buildings that are required to submit fire safety information, known as Life Safety Evaluation reports...more

Florida Waterfront Condos Create Their Own Weather

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:24:00 GMT

February 6, Panama City, USA

Throughout the year, amazing photos of natural occurrences make their way to the headlines. That’s the case for a recent photo of low-lying clouds. A man flying a helicopter snapped the latest phenomenal photo making going viral. The amazing shot shows clouds hugging buildings on a Panama City beach...more

Australian High-rises Require Greater Scrutiny

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:16:00 GMT

February 6

Ageing city buildings in all of Australia's main cities will require increased maintenance in the future to ensure public safety, in the wake of recent dramatic scenes in Melbourne when a large slab of marble fell from the facade of a high-rise commercial building in Collins Street...more

Ultra-high-speed Elevator for Skyscraper

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:16:00 GMT

February 5, Tokyo

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. gave an overview of its ultra-high-speed elevator developed for the 632-meter Shanghai Tower under construction in Shanghai, China. To realize the world's fastest speed at 1,080 meters per minute, Mitsubishi used new technologies to increase safety, lifting height, and comfort...more

Kharghar's “Heritage” to Bite the Dust in Seven Days

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:13:00 GMT

February 4, Mumbai

It was touted as Mumbai's prime real estate project, but ever since its construction, this 21-story high-rise has only been sinking deeper and deeper in a quagmire of controversy. Officials of the City and Industrial Development Corporation have ordered that it be demolished within a week...more

New York: The World at Its Feet

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:09:00 GMT

February 4, New York

New York real estate can bring out even the most dormant phobias of potential buyers. With so many options, apartment hunters can easily be paralyzed by the fear of making decisions. That doesn’t seem to be a problem for the wealthy investors who are wiring millions of dollars to snatch up a piece of 157 West 57th Street...more

Gateway Skyscraper will Mark the Entrance to Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:08:00 GMT

February 4, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

Snøhetta has been commissioned by the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority and RAKEEN to undertake the architectural design for the Gateway project in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. Situated in the desert 150 kilometers to the east of Dubai this project will mark entrance to the city...more

A Closer Look at Chicago’s Hyde Park

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:05:00 GMT

February 3, Chicago

Jeanne Gang joined representatives from Silliman Group to present Studio Gang’s design for City Hyde Park, a mixed-use project intended to invigorate one of Hyde Park’s most important gateways with new opportunities for living and shopping, at a public meeting held at the Hyde Park Art Center...more

Vancouver: Proposed 32-story skyscraper

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:05:00 GMT

February 3, Vancouver

A new office tower being proposed for a location near the Vancouver waterfront would continue a trend toward upward growth in the city. Proponents of a 32-story skyscraper want to redevelop a site at the northern end of Granville Street across from the SeaBus terminal...more

New Hotels Expected to Accommodate Austin’s Out-of-towners

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:03:00 GMT

February 3, Austin, USA

With over 286,000 festival fanatics flooding the streets in 2011, space to spend the night in the city was limited. Austin’s current 6,000 downtown hotel rooms (and 30,000 citywide) are sometimes not enough for all out-of-towners attending events like SXSW...more

Taller Buildings will Revitalize the Adelaide’s City Center

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:51:00 GMT

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

NYC Approves Landmark Brooklyn Skyscraper District

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:48:00 GMT

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

Israel's Tallest Skyscraper to be Built in Tel Aviv Suburb

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:46:00 GMT

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

High-rise Housing Going Modular

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:43:00 GMT

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

Trader-turned-developer has Big Idea for Streeterville Site

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:41:00 GMT

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

Dubai's Princess Tower Soon to Become Tallest Residential Tower

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:04:00 GMT

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

Dilapidated Fort Mill Tower Up for Review again

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:02:00 GMT

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

Shanghai Raises High-rise Safety

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:56:00 GMT

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

Flight Concerns stop 550-meter Doha Tower Development

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:55:00 GMT

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

New York: Tower Rises, And So Does Its Price Tag

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:53:00 GMT

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

Trump Toronto Opens Today, But Will It Triumph?

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:51:00 GMT

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

No Sprinklers at Site of Latest Chicago High-rise Fire

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:49:00 GMT

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

Super Thin Skyscraper in the Polish Capital

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:56:00 GMT

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

Foster + Partners Completes “fusion” Scheme in Vancouver

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:55:00 GMT

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

African Union Opens New Headquarters in Addis Ababa

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:53:00 GMT

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

Owner Neglected Seattle’s Landmark Smith Tower

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:50:00 GMT

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

Wolfsburg: the World's Most Amazing Car Showroom

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:46:00 GMT

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

New Medical Tourism Hub Being Built in Abu Dhabi

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:45:00 GMT

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

Montreal’s Place Ville Marie Celebrates 50 years

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:44:00 GMT

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

How to Suspend a 13-story Tower over a Century-old Four-story Structure

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:38:00 GMT

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

Three Large Buildings Collapse in Rio de Janeiro

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:34:00 GMT

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

Ahmedabad: City on the Rise, Book Flats in “Skyscrapers”

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:30:00 GMT

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

Kennedy Family Eyeing Three-tower Development on Chicago River's Wolf Point

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:30:00 GMT

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

Dubai: Families Flee Blazing Tower Block

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:27:00 GMT

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

Los Angeles: Back from the Dead

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:24:00 GMT

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

London: Pinnacle Skyscraper Delayed Again

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:23:00 GMT

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

Outcry over High-rise Brothel in Auckland

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:20:00 GMT

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

One Kilometer-high Building Planned for Azerbaijan

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:28:00 GMT

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

New Designs for Luxury Tower in Manila

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:25:00 GMT

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

Richmond’s Iconic Bank Building to Become Apartments

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:23:00 GMT

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

Tokyo Sees High Quake Probability, Scientists Warn

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:21:00 GMT

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

Liverpool: Tallest Tower in the North of England

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:19:00 GMT

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

Largest Manhattan Solar Array Completed

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:17:00 GMT

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

Making Waves in Croydon

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:15:00 GMT

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