After five long years, the stunning US$ 294 million Library of Birmingham officially opened its doors to the public on September 3, 2013. Designed by Dutch architects Mecanoo and engineering consultancy firm Buro Happold, Britain's largest public library replaces Birmingham's Central Library with what is possibly the world's most luxurious-looking structure that features a sunken amphitheater, "secret" rooftop gardens, and a beautiful filigree veil of interlocking metal rings over a gold and silver glass skin. Located in the heart of the city, the Library of Birmingham's eye-catching metal lattice was designed in reference to Birmingham's "interlocking stories of industrial heritage, jewelry, people and knowledge." The new modernized design is a sharp contrast with its predecessor's Brutalist concrete form, swapping the old inverted ziggurat design with four staggered rectangular volumes held within a shimmering glass facade. Inside are ten floors: three of the main reading levels spiral out from a open rotunda, a focal point of the building; one floor is underground; the tenth is a rooftop rotunda housing the Shakespeare Memorial Room, designed in 1882. A modern reincarnation of its predecessor the Central Library, the 35 thousand square meter Library of Birmingham commands a 20% larger footprint but with a 50% less demand for energy. As a BREEAM 'Excellent' rated building, the library incorporates grey water systems and ground source heat pumps. Two outdoor garden terraces also attract biodiversity and help with carbon sequestration. The state-of-the-art library will be integrated with the existing Birmingham REP Theatre, and will share many new facilities, including a 300 seat auditorium, meeting and conference rooms, as well as a cafe and restaurant. Envisioned as the "social heart" of Birmingham, the new library will also offer 400 thousand new books to an expected crowd of 3.5 million visitors a year.

A Chinese man is believed to have illegally built an astonishing rooftop palace on the top of a residential building in Beijing. The bizarre two-story edifice - which looks like it has been carved from a mountainside - was constructed by a man known only as Professor Zhang on the top of a suburban apartment block. The professor is said to have spent over six years building his home, after knocking down the penthouse he bought on the 26th floor in 2007. The rocks, said to be imitation shells rather than solid stone, have trees and bushes growing among them, as in classical Chinese landscape painting. Poking out from between them, sections of the house underneath can be seen - a blue-framed window here, a balcony under a curved roof there. The property even has a rocky mountain garden, complete with rubble and shrubbery. Residents of other apartments in the block claim they have been disturbed by constant noise from the property's construction, as well as problems with leaks and cracks. One resident said that several neighbors had even chosen to move out because of the villa. Others complained about damage to pipes and walls in their units. According to Chinese regulations and laws, the structure and layout of buildings cannot be changed without going through legal procedures to get the approval of relevant departments. So the owner of the villa in Haidian district and head of a traditional Chinese medicine chain, is required to demolish the structure within 15 days from August 12. As the owner of the house did not get prior approval from the government, the structure was ruled illegal by the Beijing construction authority. If Zhang does not provide documents to defend his right to keep the villa or does not demolish it in the allotted time, it will be demolished by chengguan after government approval.

Dubai could soon be home to a tower which rotates 360 degrees every 90 minutes, if stalled plans for the project are finally given the green light. David Fisher, the founder and chairman of Dynamic Architecture Group, first proposed the idea in 2008 but the global financial crisis and the downturn in the Dubai property market led to the ambitious plans being put on hold. The new plans for the rotating tower, to be named the Dynamic Tower, will be 80 stories high and will make a complete 360 degree rotation every 90 minutes. The Dubai tower is expected to cost in the region US$ 541 million. The company is also hoping to build versions in Moscow, Paris, London, Milan, Rome, New York and Miami. The design includes nearly 79 giant wind turbines that will generate electricity to power the rotation of the floors. Full details of the tower's location, financing and construction timeframe have not been disclosed as Fisher said he wanted to keep secret so they would be a "surprise". Another obstacle may be the fact Fisher admits he has never designed a skyscraper before, let alone one as ambitious and complex as a rotating one. "I did not design skyscrapers, but I feel ready to do so," he said in an interview with the Associated Press news agency. "You can build anything."

The topping-out ceremony for the Gensler-designed Shanghai Tower, the world's second-tallest building, took place in Shanghai on August 3. The 632 meter-high tower has now reached its full height and is second only to the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, which measures 828 meters. The tower’s cleverly designed facade reduces wind load by 24 percent during typhoons, and sky gardens at the apex mimic traditional open courtyards. Gensler's local engineering and design team had to devise several unique components to accommodate the 121 story tower located in an emerging financial district in Pudong. The clay soil would have been insufficient to carry the tower's heavy load, so a system of 831 reinforced concrete bore piles had to be poured in 60 straight hours as a solid foundation. Also, China is subject to powerful typhoons that can destabilize a tower of such heights, so it was important to reduce the project's wind load. The twisting form reduces the load by 24 percent during typhoons, and also slashed construction costs by a whopping US$ 58 million. The building is organized in nine vertical zones that distribute heating, cooling and water more efficiently than a standard tower, thereby reducing these loads, as well as the costs of maintaining interior comfort. Sky gardens crown the mammoth building alongside observation decks and cultural facilities, while retail facilities are located at the base. Offices are spread out between. The tower will open in 2014.

The Cardboard Cathedral designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban opened to the public on August 6 in Christchurch, New Zealand. The building was designed by Shigeru Ban as a temporary replacement for the city's former Anglican cathedral, which was destroyed by the earthquake that struck the city in February 2011. With an expected lifespan of around 50 years, it will serve the community until a more permanent cathedral can be constructed. The building features a triangular profile constructed from 98 equally sized cardboard tubes. These surround a colored glass window made from tessellating triangles, decorated with images from the original cathedral's rose window. The main hall has the capacity to accommodate up to 700 people for events and concerts, plus eight steel shipping containers house chapels and storage areas below. The construction of cathedral began last year. The cathedral had initially been scheduled to open in February, but was subject to a series of construction delays. "The strength of the building has nothing to do with the strength of the material," told architect. Even concrete buildings can be destroyed by earthquakes very easily. But paper buildings cannot be destroyed by earthquakes. It's also consistently low-cost. Shigeru Ban has used cardboard on a number of pavilions and structures in recent years, particularly on disaster relief projects. Other examples include a temporary gallery in Moscow with cardboard columns and a cardboard pavilion at the IE School of Architecture and Design in Madrid.