Construction workers in downtown Los Angeles finished laying the foundation for a planned 73-story skyscraper expected to be the tallest west of the Mississippi River as they completed the world's largest continuous pour of concrete, reported news agency Reuters. The 21,200 cubic yards of concrete weighing some 38,200 metric tons was hauled to the site by a fleet of over 200 trucks making a total of 2,120 trips in a continuous 19-hour. The foundation is expected to take two weeks to completely harden, during which cool water will be pumped through a network of tubes embedded in the massive slab to absorb heat as the concrete cures. The New Wilshire Grand tower, designed to include 900 luxury hotel rooms, 37,200 square meters of offices, plus retail space, is slated to be completed in late 2016 and open in early 2017. The US$ 1 billion project is being developed by Korean Airlines, which also owned the old Wilshire Grand building that was demolished to make room for the new tower. The marathon effort to lay its foundation was certified by the Guinness World Records as the largest continuous pour of concrete ever by volume, surpassing by just 200 cubic yards the previous record set at the Venetian hotel and casino in Las Vegas, according to Michael Empric, the Guinness adjudicator. The Venetian was completed in 1999. Rising 73 stories into the Los Angeles skyline, the New Grand Wilshire tower will measure 335 meters high, including a spire affixed to the top of the building, in a design that developers boast will make it the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

"MIC" company will built a new micro-district with 500 thousand square meters total area in "New Moscow" near Yamontovo village. Recently company bought 56.4 acres of land for US$ 67 million. According to "Kommersant" publication there is no detailed information about the project: cleared up only the investment sum, which is estimated to be about US$ 720 million. Many buildings were constructed in "New Moscow" last year. According to RBK publication, at the beginning of 2013 there were only 115 buildings in this City, but at the beginning of 2014 there are already 292. Officially the project of "New Moscow" was presented to public on June 11, 2011. On July 1, 2012 officially accepted decision to expand Moscow territory in 2.4 times. After this enlargement Moscow shifts from 11th to 6th place in the biggest cities ranking by territory.

The world's first floating city is soon to become a reality. The US$ 10 billion Freedom Ship will be big enough to fit 50,000 residents, 30,000 visitors, schools, a hospital, parks and even an airport. Since the vessel will be too large to enter any port, it will simply sail from country to country in two-year cycles. The mile-long floating city is nearing start of construction, according to Florida-based Freedom Ship International Inc. It will boast 25 floors of activities, schools, hospitals, art galleries, shops, parks, casinos, an aquarium and a small airport on the roof with a runway for smaller private and commercial aircrafts. The company is currently trying to raise the US$10 billion needed to make this huge project a reality. The company's vice-president said that they are just US$1 billion short of the amount necessary for construction to start. Once completed, the ship will be 1370 meters long-four times longer than the famous Queen Mary II. The large floating structure would be powered by solar panels and Aeolic energy while navigating international waters. The city would spend most of the year-around 70 percent of the time-anchored off major cities.

Mounib Hammoud, Jeddah Economic Company's (JEC) new CEO, has announced the completion of the piling work for the Kingdom Tower, set to be the future-tallest building in the world, upon completion in 2019. This achievement is considered to be the base of works over ground, according to a press release to Arab News from Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), chaired by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Last year Saudi BAUER Foundation Contractors Ltd. announced that it had signed a deal for the enabling works for Kingdom, the one-kilometer-tall tower planned for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has given the go ahead for the construction of the world's tallest tower in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah by signing a US$ 1.2 billion contract with Bin Laden Group on August 2, 2011. On July of this year the company "Broad Sustainable Building" hoping to build the world's tallest skyscraper in record time held a groundbreaking ceremony in Changsha, China. The company planned to build the 838-meter Sky City using its prefabricated modular construction method. But after several days the company announced, that the construction works stopped because of documents problems.

In 2012 the US Government has unveiled more detailed plans for its new embassy complex at the heart of London's Nine Elms regeneration area. The scheme was awarded outline planning consent in 2010 and the new plans provide detail on the proposed appearance of the buildings, site layout, landscaping and access arrangements. Philadelphia-based architects Kieran Timberlake won the competition to build one of the most expensive embassies ever built. Construction on the new US Embassy in London designed by Philadelphia-based architecture firm KieranTimberlake broke ground on November 13. Slated to be completed by 2017 and located at a former industrial site in London, the crystalline cube will feature air-filled pockets on the exterior, which will help insulate the structure, orientation and shading to minimize heat gain, a large photovoltaic system on the roof and exterior of the building and a beautiful park. Embassy buildings require an extra layer of security, and the embassy park surrounding the building is both a lovely garden space for the employees and dignitaries to enjoy as well as a protective barrier. Although there are no fences or walls, security measures have been integrated into the landscape, which also includes a half moon pond on one side of the building. The exterior of the building is lined with air-filled pockets made from ethylene-tetrafluroethylene (ETFE), which help protect the building from the outer environment by providing optimized shade to minimize heat absorption and work as a thermal buffer. Thin-film photovoltaic will be positioned in the ETFE foils to generate energy, and will also be more visible to birds in order to reduce bird strikes. The roof of the embassy building (8,300 sq. meters) will be covered in photovoltaic, hiding the mechanical equipment and producing 345,000 kWh of energy.