Abandoned stadiums and crumbling arenas are often left in the wake of events like the World Cup and the Olympics. In a bid for more sustainable construction, Qatar has unveiled plans for the world’s first fully modular stadium ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Designed by Fenwick Iribarren, Schlaich Bergermann Partner and Hilson Moran, the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, would be mainly built of shipping containers to allow for disassembly and reconstruction. The 40,000-seat venue is slated for completion in 2020 and will be located in a 450 thousand square meters waterfront site on Doha’s shore, where the use of shipping containers as one of the main building blocks will echo the nearby port. The plans for the stadium—the latest in Qatar’s total of eight proposed host venues for the FIFA World Cup—was revealed recently. Unlike the World Cup stadiums before it, the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium will be built of modular building blocks presumably constructed in a factory with amenities, such as removable seats, concession stands, and bathrooms, ahead of on-site assembly. The modular approach results in less waste and a reduced carbon footprint, and may earn the stadium a four-star Global Sustainability Assessment System certification.

Armenian Minister of Nature Protection Artsvik Minasyan and the director of the observatory of NAS RA after Viktor Hambardzumyan Areg Miqaelyan signed an agreement on cooperation, according to which the lands that owned by Byurakan Observatory and have rich flora and fauna, have received the status of arboretum. There are more than 150 species of trees and plants in 35 ha of gardens, but now, there is a need to make new researches, account the species of plants and trees and discover rare species. Director of the observatory Areg Mikaelyan told us in our interview that the observatory is not only an academic achievement, but also a rich architectural complex and a botanical garden. "Promoting environmental protection, as well as the development of ecological tourism as the observatory enjoys great interest of local and foreign tourists in the region, the arboretum will add new species of plants." In the near future, it is planned to expand the garden areas and repair the walls, which will require about USD 100 000. According to the words of director of the observatory, the road leading the astronomical observatory needs to be separated from the road leading to Byurakan village in order to make another way for cars to move without damaging plants and animals of the arboretum. After the expansion of the garden with new species, the art design of the arboretum will be started creating a unique protecting area.

The construction of the zipline that connects Arabkir and Ajapnyak Administrative Districts of Yerevan (from one bank of Hrazdan river to another) is already completed, and in a few days, adventure tourism fans will be able to experience the longest zipline of the region built within the framework of the Alter Ego project in Arabkir Park. The zipline has two directions. From Arabkir to Ajapnyak with the length of 870 m, and backwards - 650 m. The height of the zipline is about 90 m, part of which passes under the bridge of Davtashen. Moreover, it is considered the only zipline in the world that passes under the bridge. "Designers and investors usually avoid such projects, because the bridges cause winds of different directions, so there is a risk that a person will not succeed its way. We constructed the line with such technical capabilities that will allow us to adjust the speed at any time. We studied the character of the winds and their directions, and we are sure that this bridge will not prevent us. The construction of the zipline lasted two months, "said Zhirayr Mushegհyan who is one of the founders of Alter Ego company. The cost of the zipline flight on weekends and holydays will be about USD 33 and about USD 29 for working days. The zipline and park will fully have adapted to handicaps and for them other tariffs will be used. The construction of the zipline cost about USD 160 000 and the next year another USD 100 000 will be invested to turn Arabkir Park to one of the most attractive and innovative places in Armenia. Besides the zipline, fans of extreme sports will have an opportunity to experience rock climbing, ice climbing as well as mountain biking. "The mountain biking trial will connect the park with the Barekamutyun Metro Station tunnel, we shall take this area under our control, set up appropriate signs and provide all security measures for bikers," says Zhirayr Mushegհyan. The park will also consist free of charge open cinema and libraries, as well as playgrounds and special places for drawing for children. The company is also going to make some improvements on lighting and landscaping, build irrigation system, ramps and other needed facilities in 3-hectare Arabkir Park.

Work has completed on Tribunal de Paris – a tiered skyscraper, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano to become the largest law complex in Europe, reported The Dezeen. Comprising a series of stacked glass volumes, the building will bring together the various activities of the French capital's judiciary system, which had previously been scattered about the city. According to publication, the building is not set to open until April 2018. Renzo Piano Building Workshop won a competition to design Tribunal de Paris in 2010. The long and low ground building is designed as a pedestal for the other three levels to rest upon, with the main entrance located on a 6,000-square-meter plaza on the Avenue de la Porte-de-Clichy. Inside, the 5,500 square-meter space is divided into three atria with room for 50 reception desks to ensure visitors are seen as quickly as possible. Each atrium extends up through the full height of the building, with galleries providing access to rooms above and skylights in the roof to allow natural light to filter through. A total of 90 law courts are housed in the pedestal building, most of which benefit from natural light and are all accessible within minutes from the offices in the volumes above. The buildings above each contain 10 stores of meeting rooms and offices for different departments. The first volume will house the magistrates, the second the public prosecutors, and at the top the presiding judges will occupy the third volume. Each building is separated by landscaped roof terraces planted with trees and vegetation. Solar panels have been attached to the exterior and rainwater is collected. Natural ventilation and the building's thermal inertia contribute to regulating the building's temperature. The Tribunal de Paris will unite the regional court, police court, public prosecution courts and the district courts of each arrondissement. Its location on Paris' northern edge, places it at the intersection between the city's administrative zones and the suburbs. The area is well served by public transport, including a new tramway.

Architect Ole Scheeren has unveiled plans to build a 333-metre-high skyscraper in Vietnam's largest city, which will mimic the topography of the country's natural landscape, reported The Dezeen. Called Empire City, the building will be built near the center of Ho Chi Minh City, in a rapidly developing area on the east side of the Saigon River. It will be made up of three towers, which will rise up from a "mountain-shaped" podium. This podium will feature terraced gardens, designed to be reminiscent of Vietnam's tiered paddy fields, while the tallest of the towers will swell out near the top, to create an elevated garden, or "sky forest". "I felt we should think about the future of architecture and of the city itself, and think of ways that nature and human beings can coexist," Scheeren told Dezeen. "But we wanted about ways that nature could not only exist on the ground, but also high up in the sky," he said. "So we created a podium like a giant terraced landscape, to anchor three towers to the ground, and this landscape is then pulled up into the sky." With a height of 333 meters, Empire City will be taller than any of Ho Chi Minh City's existing skyscrapers – far exceeding the 262.5 meters of Bitexco Financial Tower, the city's current tallest building. The main 88-storey tower, called Empire 88 Tower, will contain apartments and a hotel, as well as the public observation deck and a top-floor events space, known as the Cloud Space. The podium will accommodate retail, while the two smaller towers will contain offices and homes.