The Sagrada Familia is set to become the tallest religious building in Europe when the latest stage in its decades-long construction - the raising of six new towers - is complete. The Antoni Gaudi-designed cathedral, which already dominates the Barcelona skyline, will take the mantle from the Ulm Minster in Germany when the highest of its towers is in place. The Tower of Jesus Christ will be 172.5 meters tall, according to the cathedral's chief architect, Jordi Fauli, who announced that his aim was to have the new towers in place by 2026 - the centenary of Gaudi's death. In what is one of the longest-running construction projects undertaken, the foundation stones of the Sagrada Familia were first laid 133 years ago in 1882. Mr Fauli, who became the chief architect in 2012, declined to give an absolute date for the building's eventual completion. "It's difficult to predict but we can say that it will be completed by 2030, 2032," he said. He said that about 70 per cent of the construction was completed. In March of this year the cathedral chief architect announced that 3D printers 3D models of the building, following Gaudi's designs. The announcement coincided with the beginning of the final phase of raising the six towers. The Tower of Jesus Christ will be crowned by a cross at its highest point, while the other five towers are dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the four apostles. The main tower is designed to rise above the cathedral's central chamber, which until 15 years ago did not even have a roof. Only one of the facades was completed by the time of Gaudi's death in 1926. St Peter's Basilica in Rome will remain the tallest internal religious structure in Europe. The Sagrada Familia has survived the Spanish Civil War, the Franco dictatorship and the meltdown of the Spanish economy during the recent debt crisis. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the cathedral annually attracts more than 3.2 million visitors, who help to pay for the annual construction budget of US$ 28 million.

Vietnam Authorities plans to build a new building for Vietnam's National Exhibition and trade fair center. From 9 designs the developer company VIN Group selected the master plan and architectural concept of the Hamburg architectural firm "GMP". The design for the main building of the trade center follows the motif of an open lotus flower - Vietnam's national flower - and, with this shape, is intended to become the unique and unmistakable landmark of the city. The new building to be built on the 128 hectare site, which benefits from good transport connections and is located to the north of Hanoi on the way to the international Noi Bai airport; in the east-west direction it is divided by a river. With a gross floor area of more than 600 thousand square meters, the future National Exhibition and Trade Fair Center to the north of the river will be embedded in a green park landscape which extends to the southern side of the river. The entrance to the trade fair will be marked by two high-rise hotel and office blocks, which are placed on either side of the access area and which are visible from afar. The first building phase includes the Trade Fair Center, which consists of a conference center and 8 exhibition halls. All buildings are grouped in circular fashion around a central open space, which is designed as a water feature with "islands" and bridges. The entrance hall is placed to the south and the support-free halls, with an exhibition area of 10 thousand square meters each, are linked with each other by a ring-shaped building called the "Concourse". Delivery yards are situated between the various exhibition halls, from where trucks can drive into the sides of the halls; the gates on the sides also serve as connections between the halls. In this way it is possible to combine several areas or separate them from each other, ensuring flexible use and making it possible to organize several trade exhibitions at the same time. In later building phases, six trade fair halls are planned both in the west and the east, which will be combined to a square overall layout shape and connected to the central buildings of the first phase via glazed connecting galleries. In addition, a trade exhibition building for regular trade exhibitions is provided in the eastern part of the site; the building is circular in plan and is placed on its own so that it attracts attention from the motorway and main road.

Apple hasn't even finished construction on its first spaceship-style campus, but it's reportedly signed a lease on a second one, reported the Business Insider. The new futuristic project has already named Central & Wolfe. The campus will be built in Sunnyvale, just five miles south of the first spaceship in Cupertino. The so-called Central and Wolfe campus designed by the architecture firm HOK is being developed by Landmark Investments. Though the deal has not been confirmed, but the transactions have been completed. Apple has leased, not purchased, the property, and it's still unclear when construction will begin, reported the Quartz. The Central & Wolfe campus will span 18 acres, replacing nine buildings of a business park built more than 40 years ago. When construction is completed the site will look radically different, as the old buildings will be replaced with three connected and almost completely circular main edifices. Each of these three new buildings will have a central atrium, and more than half of the campus is considered open-air. (And that's not even including the optional rooftop gardens.) There will also be, of course, all the amenities we've come to expect from these massive Silicon Valley campuses. Included in the plans: an on-site bank, a cafeteria, a fitness center, a coffee bar, a conference center, a 500-person outdoor amphitheater, food truck access "in and around the quad," a barbershop, athletic fields and courts, a bike repair shop, and a general store. There will also be 2,582 total parking spaces, but only 12 of them will be on the surface of the campus - 1,170 spots will be underground, and the other 1,400 are located in an above-ground garage.

Want a rush of adrenaline with your morning swim? Ballymore developers have unveiled an amazing transparent "sky pool" that'll make swimmers feel like they're floating through the air in London. Described as the "first of its kind in the world," the daring sky pool will be suspended 10-stories high between two apartment buildings in the Embassy Gardens development. The 25-meters-long swimming pool will be enclosed with 20 santimeter thick glass to give swimmers an unrivaled view of the streets of London 35 meters down below. Despite the sky pool's daredevil appearance, Ballymore says the pool has been granted planning permission and, like its renderings, will be entirely transparent and structure-free. The pool was designed by engineering firm Arup Associates with specialist advice from marine design engineers Eckersley O' Callaghan and aquarium designers Reynolds. The amazing structure will be developed as part of the HAL-designed 2,000-home Embassy Gardens in the new Nine Elms quarter that's currently under construction. The swimming pool will allow residents to swim between the two luxuries apartment buildings, which are both topped by sky decks with a bar, spa, orangery, and dramatic views of the Palace of Westminster. Residents who prefer not to swim can also get across via a footbridge. The proposed structure is 25 meters long, 5 meters wide, and nearly 3 meters deep, and was modeled after an aquarium. Sadly, not everyone will have the opportunity to swim through the air-units in the Embassy Gardens cost upwards of USD$ 944 thousand. The Embassy Gardens development is slated for completion in 2017.

Italy has earmarked over US$ 20 million to rebuild the arena floor in the Colosseum where gladiators once fought wild beasts, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini announced. The idea is that the arena could be used once more to house events and perhaps even re-enactments of spectacular Roman-era shows, while the area below where the beasts, scenery and props were kept would be turned into a museum. The planned arena reconstruction will not affect 48-meters high Colosseum walls, which continue to break down. The biggest amphitheater built during the Roman Empire, the Colosseum stands 48.5 meters high. In Rome times, up to 80 thousand spectators would throng there to see gladiator greats such as Carpophores -- who reportedly defeated a bear, lion, leopard and rhinoceros in one battle -- or cheer on mock sea battles held in the flooded arena. It now welcomes over six million visitors a year. Besides the Italian Government, in Colosseum restoration are engaged also philanthropists. Long-delayed repairs, funded to the tune of US$ 27.8 million by Italian billionaire Diego Della Valle, began in 2013 and are expected to be finished in early 2016. The Colosseum undertaking is just one of the country's US$ 89 million cultural maintenance projects, which includes US$ 20 million to update the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, $7.7 million to update Turin's Polo Reale museum, and $5.5 million to expedite the progress of Pisa's forthcoming museum of ancient ships.