As reported by constructiondigital, according to officials, work will begin on the capital's International airport US$ 6 billion Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) expansion next year. Despite the economic downturn, the UAE continues its building tear with the planned 2012 construction of a 650 thousand square meters terminal for the Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA). The terminal will have a capacity of up to 30 million passengers when it is completed in 2017. The five year project will cost an estimated US$ 6.08 billion, and six bids are being reviewed for the construction phase with firms from Germany, South Africa and the United States. The contract should be awarded in the first quarter of 2012. The giant X shaped building will have one of the world's longest spanning arches with a height of more than 52 meters. In addition to the conventional airport facilities, the terminal will also house a luxury hotel and spa. The complex will include 20 to 25 thousand square meters of retail and food and beverage outlets, roughly equivalent to the current size of the Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi. These are set around an 8.4 thousand square meter indoor park, which will host Mediterranean plants and features at its centre and desert landscapes at its perimeter. As reported the official website of ADIA, piling works for the terminal building began in February 2009. ADAC announced the release of the MTB tender in January 2011. Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA), first open in 1982, is one of the two international airports for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, is located about 30 kilometer from Abu Dhabi city center, and is the home of Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi carrier.

On November 3, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat announced the winner of its annual "Best Tall Building Worldwide 2011". KfW Westarkade (Frankfurt, Germany) by Sauerbruch Hutton architects named as the 2011 Overall "Best Tall Building Worldwide" during 10th Annual Awards Ceremony, reported CTBUH.rog. The architects at Sauerbruch Hutton, Germany have built the world's most energy efficient glass tower using "pressure ring facade" in 2010. The architecture incorporated the facade design developed in 1990s which managed excess sunlight in glass towers while building the 15 story glass tower in Frankfurt, Germany. The design includes a pressure ring facade, the first of its kind, reducing the effects of changes in the pressure around the building and enhancing natural ventilation. Complex and highly sophisticated computer controlled flaps in the outer facade open and close and equalize the pressure throughout. The inner windows can be opened and strong winds entering the building are prevented. The building's control system constantly gets a feedback from a rooftop weather station and from 40 sensors installed all around the building which measure pressure, temperature and sunlight. The system also has geothermal heat exchangers, heat capturing modules from basement data center and heat recovered from vented air. All this reduces the tower's primary energy demand to less than 100 Kwh of energy per square meter per year. It is approximately half of the current European average, and one third of the American. The need for the mechanical ventilation will be almost eliminated in fall and spring as air from open windows will be available. The unwanted summer heat is rejected by the Venetian blind installed horizontally. On the other side, pane of glass over the blinds and provided with ventilation at both top and bottom protects blinds from strong winds. This posed a major problem that when windows were opened, pressure difference created around the tower sent drafts across the floor which flew everything.

Spanish practice Cloud 9's Media-ICT office scheme in Barcelona has been named as the "World Building of the Year" at the 2011 World Architectural Festival (WAF), reported Architect journal. The building is 44m x 44m x 37.82m meters high, with 16 thousand square meter of commercial space above ground and 7.1 thousand square meter below surface, with capacity for 200 car parking spaces. The victorious scheme was selected from 16 finalists to win the highest accolade in global architecture and is the first win for the host city. The facade is made of south-facing, inflatable ETFE cushions which act to a sunscreen in summer and can opening in winter to gain solar energy. The scheme's upper floors are available for big companies, while the second and third floor have small spaces for emergent companies and the first floor with the auditorium offers a course program open to all the city residents. Meanwhile the overall "Future Project of the Year" award went to Hong Kong-based "Integrated Design Associates" for its Hanimaadaoo International Airport, Maldives. The new airport, designated as the Country's second international gateway, is intended for an island with very limited land mass. Frank Gehry's iconic 76-story Beekman Tower at 8 Spruce Street, New York won the " Structural Project of the Year 2011" with the prize going to engineer WSP Cantor Seinuk.

According to Reuters, Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, whose firm designed the building said, that the much-delayed but striking steel, concrete and glass headquarters for Chinese state television is expected finally to fully open in the new year. Dominating the skyline of Beijing's central business district, the building was among several projects the city undertook to reinvent itself for the 2008 Olympics, along with Norman Foster's US$ 3.6 billion new airport terminal and French architect Paul Andreu's egg-shaped National Grand Theatre. But the Olympics came and went and the state television building failed to open. According to website e-architect, construction of the 600 thousand square meter project began in September 2004 on the 20 hectare site of an abandoned motorcycle factory in Beijing's new Central Business District. After connecting the two leaning towers in December 2007 and topping out structural steel works on March 2008, the CCTV building planned to complete at end of 2009, but a 2009 fire at a hotel being built next to the television tower had caused the delay. The 600 million euro project consists of two buildings. The new China Central Television Headquarters (CCTV), at a height of 230 meters and a floor area of 405 thousand square meters, combines administration with news, broadcasting, studios and program production. The second building, the 116 thousand square meters Television Cultural Center (TVCC) includes a hotel, a visitor's center, a large publc theatre and exhibition spaces.

Qatar is set to spend up to US$ 150 billion on infrastructure projects over the next 5-6 years as it starts preparing for the 2022 World Cup, reported Arabian Business. Yousef Hussein Kamal, Minister of Economy and Finance, also said spending on the oil and gas sector would reach US$ 40 billion in the same period. The Qatari government has reportedly allocated a whopping 40 percent of its budget between now and 2016 to infrastructure projects, including US$ 11 billion on a new international airport, US$ 5.5 billion on a deepwater seaport and US$ 1 billion for a transport corridor in the capital, Doha. It will spend US$ 20 billion on roads while stadium construction for the World Cup should cost just under US$ 4 billion, with the first venue to be built by 2015. According to German legal and financial adviser Dr Nicola Ritter, US$ 48 billion will be spent to build air-conditioned stadia, US$ 77 billion will be spent on facilities for soccer fans and players from all over the world and US$ 45 billion will be allocated for developing Lusail City. Qatar has also allocated US$ 50 billion to upgrade its transport infrastructure, including new rail and metro systems.