In order to serve its rapidly expanding population of more than five million, the ArRiyadh Development Authority has commissioned Zaha Hadid Architects to construct the new King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Station in its capital city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Best known in Britain for her design of the Olympics Aquatic Centre, Hadid has again envisaged a curved structure, with the station's undulating form supposedly referencing Saudi Arabia's desert sand dunes. Measuring 20,434 square meters in size, the huge space will feature four public floors as well as two levels of underground parking and is intended to function as a gathering place as well as an interchange. A number of gangways and route within the structure will be incorporated to alleviate congestion and the station will also be connected to the Riyadh monorail via a skybridge. Looking more like the inside of five-star hotel, the proposed network, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will boast a space age design featuring marbled walkways, gold-plated walls and, naturally in one of the hottest places on earth, air conditioning. The facade will apparently be designed to let in light while keeping out the harsh desert sun, while the overall shape is meant to recall the country's wind-blown sand dunes. King Abdullah has instructed the new Riyadh Metro be completed in four years. Prince Khaled bin Bander, the governor of Riyadh, said the project is progressing to plan and the ArRiyadh Development Authority has released details of the city's public transport plan including the six metro lines that will serve as the backbone for public transport in the city.

The Dubai Frame, a 150-meter-by-105-meter window-frame like structure in the emirate's Zabeel Park, will be completed by the end of next year. The US$ 32.3 million project, which won the ThyssenKrupp Elevator International Architecture Award in 2009, will feature a museum and is expected to attract up to 2 million visitors per year. The Dubai Frame is intended to highlight both the old and news sides of the city, with newer icons such as the Burj Khalifa visible through one side, and older parts of the city such as Dubai Creek and Deira on view through the other. The structure will be completely transparent, with elevators that will take visitors to a viewing deck located at its peak. A terrace cafe on the top cross-beam and a 150-meter-high glass floor bridge are the major highlights of the project, which will include an observation deck at the top of each vertical shaft. The ground leg of the Frame will include a museum that tells the story of the development of the city and information on its past and present.

Yet in the end of 2011 Germany's Porsche design Group and a local developer Dezer Properties planned to build Porsche Tower in Miami with "Sky Garages". Now in April 19 construction work is starting on the Porsche Design Tower Miami, a luxury residential high-rise with a notable features for car enthusiasts including an auto elevator and "sky garages" attached to its apartments. The 60-story tower has 132 residences and more than 50% of them are under contract, representing more than US$ 400 million in sales. The building's residences range in size from 390 to 1600 square meters and cost from US$ 4.5 million to US$ 25 million. The building will have a 33 month construction window and is scheduled for occupancy in the first quarter of 2016. While the building has numerous amenities the one getting the most attention is an automobile lift system that allows owners to park their cars next to their units regardless of the floor. The system is a departure from the usual underground parking garages founds at many large residential buildings. The tower will also include a plunge pool, outdoor summer kitchens on the balconies, a spa on a sunset terrace, spa tubs, oceanfront ballroom, multipurpose clubrooms and a "Car Concierge" who looks after the resident's cars by coordinating washing, detailing, tire rotations and other maintenance services. This mechanism isn't new. In October 2012 in Singapore opened the new 30-storey Hamilton Scotts building in the ritzy Orchard Road area, which has an elevator for cars, which will deliver the vehicles to the "en suite sky garages", glass cases for cars next to the living room. The owner must drive the car into a garage and on to a turnstile, and then hop out and scan a fingerprint on a biometric scanner, which will use a computer system to send the car to the correct apartment. In 2010 movie star Nicole Kidman and her husband Keith Urban purchased luxurious apartment on the 12th floor in one of Manhattan's skyscrapers. This apartment also has a 32.5 square meter garage in the sky. A special car elevator lift the car to the owner's floor and then you can enter garage with entrance to the kitchen.

The government of Vietnam has constructed the world's largest dragon-shaped bridge over the Han River. Not only it is the steel bridge the largest of its type in the world, but it is covered in over 2,500 LED lights - and it breathes fire! Construction began on the bridge in 2009 and cost a reported US$ 85 million. Connecting the city's international airport and beaches, the structure simulates the shape of the dragon in the Ly Dynasty, a symbolic creature that is part of Vietnam folklore. The 166-meter-long steel arch is the longest such structure in Vietnam, with the dragon's body measuring a total of 568 meters and more than 9,000 tons in weight. The Dragon Bridge has a total length of 666 meters and 37.5 meters in width, with six lanes. The Louis Berger Group designed the six-lane bridge to emulate the shape of the dragon in the Ly Dynasty. It is also currently the only the bridge with a single steel arch in Southeast Asia.

The Blue Planet, a swirling vortex designed to suck you in to learn about life under the sea, opens in Copenhagen. Designed by 3XN, The Blue Planet is now Europe's largest aquarium and is devoted to education about aquatic animals as well as the important connection between water and the planet. Filled with 7 million liters of sea water, the aquarium has a variety of exhibitions to introduce the young and old to different animals and environments. Naturally, the aquarium is also dedicated to saving endangered species, improving water quality, protecting habitats and raising environmental awareness. The Blue Planet, is the newest version of the Denmark Aquarium in Copenhagen dating back to 1939. Located on the shores of (Oeresund), the aquarium has a picturesque view of the sea and convenient access to roadways and the city. Design of the project began back in 2007 through an international competition, which local firm 3XN won with their swirling proposal. Construction was completed in 2013 with an official opening date of March 22nd of 2013. The design is meant to draw you in, like a whirling vortex and pull visitors down into the depths of the water to explore and learn about life under the sea. Kim Herforth Nielsen, Creative Director and Principal at 3XN, who is the architect of the building explained, "Our wish was to bring our visitors all the way down to the world of the fish. Therefore, the design of The Blue Planet is based on the story about water and life under the sea. We visualize the construction as a whirlpool which draws visitors into the depths to the fascinating experiences waiting among fish and sea animals from all over the world." Upon entrance into the center of the vortex, the public can choose one of four whirls, each with different exhibitions including the coral reefs, the ocean, Africa's lakes, the Amazon river, the Faro bird cliffs and even an exhibit about the ocean right outside the aquarium. The Blue Planet is home to 450 different species and 20,000 fish and other aquatic animals, which include sharks, sea lions, dwarf crocodiles, moray eels, barracudas and much more. Water inside the aquarium is filtered and recycled in a closed loop system, while seawater is used to keep the entire facility cool. One of the whirls with indoor gardens and vegetation is naturally lit from above with skylights. The Blue Planet is devoted to nature conservation as well as raising awareness to water issues. The aquarium partners with researchers for scientific collaboration and work to reduce over-fishing, pollution and endangered species. It was also designed to be sustainable and self-sufficient as part of their mission to further and promote solutions that benefit the environment and nature.