Baca Architects was recently granted approval to build the UK's first amphibious house on the banks of the Thames River in England, reported The Inhabitat. The test home will respond to the issue of rising floodwaters - a pressing world-wide problem caused by climate change. When faced with rising tides, the modern home will rise and float, keeping its occupants safely out of harm's way. The comfortable 70 square meters home will be built adjacent to the river's shoreline with only 32 feet of clearance should the waters rise over their normal levels. The Baca team conducted years of research to come up with a model home that would respond to flooding conditions and work with the flood to protect the home. The firm is a leader in waterfront architecture, and this an ideal site upon which to develop a flood-resistant home. During dry times, the home will rest on fixed foundations that will keep it in place. But if flooding should occur, the entire structure will rise up in its dock, and buoy along with the flood waters. The house will be built in a flood-prone area called Flood Zone 3b, which is located on a tiny island in the Thames in Buckinghamshire. Like other homes in Buckinghamshire, the home will be designed with a traditional pitched roof and other characteristics found in homes in the region. Although it will blend in our the outside, the home will be highly energy efficient thanks to lots of insulation and high-performance glazed windows. A surrounding garden will be planted as the first line of defense against flooding, and the home will react when the water reaches a threatening level, after providing a warning message to the residents. The lightweight timber facade will rest between four vertical guideposts that will keep the structure in place and protected. The house is planned for construction later this year, and it will provide a great model for dealing with flooding problems around the world.

A symbol of Dubai's resurgence and its growing importance at the centre of the global business crossroads will emerge later this year when the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai opens its doors to guests in Q4 this year, reported the official site of Marriott Hotel. This hotel set to be the world's tallest. As reported, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai will open in two phases, with the first section featuring 807 rooms and numerous restaurants and lounges. At a height of 355 meters, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world and is just 26 meters shorter than the Empire State Building in New York. In addition to serving the luxury business traveler, the hotel is targeting the lucrative and increasingly important MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) market, which currently does not have a hotel of sufficient scale to host such large groups. In addition to all the dining and entertainment options, the hotel will have two ballrooms, 24 meeting rooms and a total of 5,100 square meters of event space. Currently the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world is Rose Rayhaan in Dubai. 72 storeys, 333 meters high and certified as the World's tallest hotel by Guinness Records hotel building opened its doors in 2010. But the world's highest hotel is Ritz-Carlton housed in 484 meters high International Commerce Center in Hong-Kong. It is situated on 102-118 floors. The JW Marriott is part of Marriott International's luxury portfolio and consists of beautiful properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort locations around the world. Currently, there are 53 JW Marriott hotels in 22 countries; by 2015 the portfolio will encompass 80 properties in 29 countries.

According to Constructionweeklyonline, as reported Dynamic Architecture Group, London has pipped Dubai as location of the world's first rotating tower, with construction expected to begin this year. The company also reported, that they would announce the start of construction on the first building in motion in London in due time, most probably within this year. As reported Reuters in 2008, Dynamic Architecture Group planned to build so-called dynamic towers -- prefabricated sun - and wind-powered skyscrapers that will keep changing shape as each floor rotates around a central axis -- in Moscow and Dubai by the end of 2010, but this two projects are still on papers only. A 70-floor building has received planning approval for Moscow, and an 80-floor building in Dubai is awaiting approval. Instead of just one revolving floor, like other buildings around the world, every floor in Fisher's towers will rotate. Russian real estate developer Mirax Group is behind the Moscow tower, while the planned Dubai building is backed by Fisher's Rotating Tower Technology Company. The towers are expected to generate enough electricity for themselves and other nearby buildings from solar panels and wind turbines fitted horizontally between each floor. People who own an entire floor will be able to simply speak to control the rotation, with speeds varying from an hour to three hours for each full rotation. The building, designed by architect David Fisher, was due to produce 80 pre-fabricated floors that would spin independently of each other and take between one and three hours to make a complete rotation. The tower was due to include 20 floors of retail, 15 for a hotel and 45 floors of residential apartments.

In January of each year, CTBUH publishes a review of tall building construction and statistics from the previous year. The annual story represented the record for the most 200 meter or higher buildings completed in a given year. According to tall buildings official site more 200 m+ buildings were completed in 2011 than in any year previous, with a total of 88 projects opening their doors. Shenzhen's "Kingkey 100", at 442 meters, tops the 2011 list. The buildings completed in 2011 have effected a significant change in the world's tallest 100 buildings, with 17 new buildings added to the list. This change continues the trends of recent years. Perhaps most significantly, for the first time in history the number of office buildings in the tallest 100 has diminished to the 50 percent mark, as mixed-use buildings continue to increase, jumping from 23 to 31. It is interesting to examine where the predicted continued increase in tall building activity will take place. China and the UAE contain a total of 39 of the projects - over 44 percent of the world's completions in 2011. However, several cities, not previously seen as centers of tall building construction, are quite evident in this group of projects. In fact, the three cities to complete the most 200 m+ buildings in 2011 are all relative newcomers to the list: Panama City, Abu Dhabi, and Busan. Together, this cities contain 34 such buildings and accounted for 32 percent of completions in 2011, surpassing traditional tall building centers such as Dubai, Shanghai, and Singapore. China: When discussing skyscraper completion, it is impossible to neglect the market of China, which contributed 23 completions in 2011. However, quite surprisingly given the region's impressive market, we have seen China's global percentage of building completions begin to drop off slightly. In 2009, China contained 45 percent of the buildings completed and 33 percent in 2010. In 2011, China contained only 26 percent of the global total of 200 m+ completions. Shenzhen's "Kingkey 100", at 442 meters (1,449 feet), was the tallest to complete in 2011, opening in December. Dubai: Another significant existing market is the city of Dubai, which added 6 tall buildings in 2011. In 2011, Dubai's 23 Marina became the world's tallest residential building, at 393 meters. Coincidentally, the building sits near both The Torch (the previous world's tallest residential for a short time) and the under construction Princess Tower (set to become the world's tallest in 2012), making the Dubai Marina the tallest residential skyscraper cluster in the world. Panama: Before 2008, no 200 m+ buildings existed in all of Panama. Then, between 2008 and 2010, 3 buildings opened. In 2011, Panama City completed ten 200 m+ skyscrapers, more than any other city and more than double the number of completions in all of North America. With these completions, there are now 12 such buildings in Panama. One of these buildings, the "Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower", became the tallest building in Central America when it completed in 2011 at 284 meters in height. Additionally, there are another 8 buildings currently under construction and set for completion by the end of 2012. Abu Dhabi: Another emerging market in 2011 was Abu Dhabi, Dubai's neighbor. This city added nine 200 m+ buildings in 2011, remarkable as it contained only two such buildings at the beginning of the year, another thirteen 200 m+ buildings are currently under construction in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi's largest project to complete in 2011 was "Etihad Towers", a complex comprised of 5 towers ranging between 218 meters to 305 meters. Busan: The Korean tall building market has also seen significant development in recent years, containing twenty-four 200 m+ buildings by the end of 2010. However, only one such building existed in the country's second largest city, Busan. 2011 saw all this change with 9 of the 11 Korean completions taking place in Busan. This included the completion of the "Doosan Haeundae We've the Zenith Tower complex" and "Studio Daniel Libeskind's Haeundae I'Park complex". These two projects, which sit directly next to each other, added five 250-meter residential buildings to Busan. 2011 also saw the completion of Korea's tallest building, the "Northeast Asia Trade Tower". United States and Europe: In 2011, two 200 m+ buildings were completed in the US: New York's Eight Spruce Street and Cincinnati's Great American Tower. Europe, another significantly developed tall building market, completed four 200 m+ buildings in 2011, matching its record set in 2008. These buildings, spread through the UK, France, Germany, and Russia, seem to point to a possible resurgence of the tall building in continental Europe. There are currently 20 such buildings under construction in Europe, with some ten set to complete in the next two years. According to annual report, looking to the future, it is now foreseeable - indeed likely - that the recent trend of an annual increase in building completions will continue for the next several years, perhaps even through the end of the decade. This represents a change in recent predictions. It had been expected that skyscraper completions would drop off very sharply after 2011, as a result of the 2008 global financial crisis and the large number of projects put on hold. With over 300 projects above the 200-meter mark currently under construction internationally, the tall building community is set to continue to develop at an incredible pace. As new markets continue to discover and develop the tall building, it is quite possible that this pace will continue through the end of this decade. Without a doubt, the skylines of the world will see tremendous change by the year 2020.

In our days skyscrapers construction isn't surprising, especially in Asian countries. Whereas most skyscrapers aim to stand out from crowded skylines, South Korea architects managed to bring something new in skyscraper construction planning Infinity Tower which will stand apart by blending in as the world's first "invisible" tower. GDS Architects are in the early planning stage of building what will be known as the world's first invisible tower, reported GDS architectural studio's official site. To be located near Incheon International Airport, the tower is meant to be a gateway to South Korea's bustling cityscape, symbolizing the region's rising power through a self-diminishing "celebration of the global community" - though this passive approach is somewhat offset by the unabashedly phallic design of the super tower. The tower itself appears to disappear through a unique optical technology. The key to making the tower invisible is the architects use of optical technology, with this ingenious development, the crystalline tower is expected to be completely see-through, which makes this project very impressive. The main developer of this project is the "Korea Land Corporation and Cheongna Organization". The completion of project schedule for 2014. Nevertheless the project is only in its planning stage. The main budget and date for the beginning of construction aren't announced. The 450 meters tall tower will land 145 thousand square meters area. It will also house retail areas, a water park and other ecological activities. The tower also planned to have the second tallest observation deck in the world at 385 meters high.