China is famous for its "duplitecture," but one recent example, a larger-than-life-sized replica of the Sphinx, outraged Egypt so much that it called on UNESCO to issue a cultural cease and desist. The structure will now be demolished. The fake Sphinx was built in a cultural park in Shijiazhuang, in China's northern Hebei province, and reportedly took only a couple of months to construct. It's about 30 meters high and 80 meters long, and built out of steel-reinforced cement. A park spokesperson says the Sphinx was only built as a movie props and was always intended to be temporary anyway. Temporary or not, the fake Sphinx certainly drew a crowd, with street food vendors popping up around it to take advantage of the tourist trade. However, Egyp's minister of antiquities, Mohammed Ibrahim, said the replica Sphinx contravened UNESCO's 1972 Convention and is "a violation of Egypt's rights to its cultural heritage and a bad imitation that disfigures the original." Ouch! The park's spokesperson counters that "We did not use it for commercial purposes and did not charge fees from visitors, nor do we intend to make it a tourist attraction," but the park has agreed to dismantle the structure anyway and regrets the misunderstanding. Anyone knows that China is famous for its duplitecture. But did you know that there's a faux Eiffel Tower in China, as well as an entire copy of the city of Venice, complete with gondola-lined canals? In the past few years, builders in China have replicated world-famous buildings and landmarks at a remarkable pace - from the world's first cloned Austrian mountain village to reproductions of the White House, entire English villages and even new architect designs that haven't been built yet, like Zaha Hadid's Wangjing Soho complex. Recently Officials in a Beijing suburb have sidestepped President Xi Jinping's crackdown on government waste by building themselves a lavish office complex reminiscent of the Kremlin. Mentougou, a largely rural district in western Beijing with some 270 thousand residents, is now home to a group of government buildings with onion-shaped golden crowns, arched windows and white walls similar to the Cathedral of Annunciation, the five-century-old Russian Orthodox Church located inside the Kremlin in Moscow. In 2007 Chinese architects copied the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the famous fountain in the gardens of the Palace of Versaille to make their own version of the French capital. Famous buildings and Parisienne style gardens are surrounded by rows of European-style villas in a special gated community called Tianducheng just outside Shanghai. Tianducheng's Eiffel Tower is 108 meters high. China has pulled off a feat that no other country would even dream of achieving: a cloned village. Every detail of the original Hallstatt village, a UNESCO protected heritage gem in Austria, has been copied in a replica situated one hour outside of Huizhou in Guangdong Province. China Minmetals Corporation announced their US$ 940 million plan to re-create the secluded hamlet in June, 2011, and just one year later in 2012, the place opened to visitors. Architect Zaha Hadid's Wangjing Soho complex in China has been praised by designers around the world. The design is so beloved that another developer in Chongqing is ripping it off! Designs of the three-building complex were released in 2011 and construction is already underway, but that hasn't stopped the rival developers from moving forward on a two-building version. Called the Meiquan 22nd Century, the design was clearly lifted from Hadid's plans, and now the two sites are racing to complete construction first. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Zaha Hadid may not agree with this pirated project. Her original design is a complex of three pebble-shaped curvilinear volumes, in true Hadid signature style. The Meiquan complex, although only having two buildings, is unmistakably similar to the Hadid project, and comes close to a direct copy.

Croatian authorities allowed non EU country citizens to buy property in the country. Previously, non EU country citizens had to launch a company to register property. After signed agreement on real estate sale between parties, the contract must be approved by the Ministry of Justice, and only then the ownership certificate can be received. However, according to experts, registration procedure is very simple and there are not limitations for foreign buyers. According to Global Property Guide, real estate prices in Croatia have not recovered from 2008 crisis. In 2009, they felt by 6.5 per cent, in 2011 - 3.3 percent, in 2013 - 4.9 percent. Analysts believe that Croatia entry into the European Union last year and permission for foreigners to buy real estate will improve the situation in the market. In 2012 Turkey's Parliament also has approved a law that eases restrictions on the sale of land and real estate to foreign citizens and firms despite harsh objections from opposition parties.

The bidding war for the dirtiest hotel in America is about to come to an end with the winning bid expected to be around US$180 million. "It's the dirtiest, and best located hotel in New York City," Lawrence Wolfe, who has been handling the sale for the seller, told. "It was under-managed and neglected." The 600-room Hotel Carter, just off New York's Times Square on West 43rd Street, was a three-time "winner" of Tripadvisor's dirtiest hotel in America survey. Recent guests said the problems are far from fixed. "The location's great, but there's no hot water in the shower, " one guest exiting the hotel told CNBC. Her room rate? Just over US$ 200 for the night, she said. First opened in the 1930s as the Hotel Dixie, the Carter recently has been tied up as the estate of the former owner is settled. In recent years it has been in the news for code violations as well as a homicide. The sale, expected in the US$ 180 million range, will be followed by a full-gut renovation that will cost US$ 100 million to US$ 125 million, Wolfe said. It hasn't yet been determined if the hotel will close during renovations or if it will undergo construction in phases. When it reopens, it will remain an independent hotel, he said.

The Shard in London has secured the top prize for the world's most renowned prize for high-rise architecture - the Emporis Skyscraper Award 2013. The Shard, currently Western Europe's tallest building, was selected for first prize from more than 300 skyscraper submissions from around the world. The award, which is now in its 14th year, is issued by Emporis, the international provider of building data. To qualify, skyscrapers had to be completed in 2013 and reach a height of at least 100 meters. London's winning mixed-use skyscraper rises 306 meters and was designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano. The Shard crystallizes the skyline with its sharp, angled glass facade. Second place was awarded to "DC Tower 1" in Vienna, Austria, designed by Dominique Perrault Architecture. According to the architects, the facade's folds give DC Tower 1 a malleability which constantly adapts to the light, a reflection or an event. They said its shimmering undulated facade is a prominent part of the Vienna skyline; it now holds the title of Austria's tallest building at 250 meters. The skyscraper also impressed due to its comprehensive sustainability concept, including photovoltaics to generate energy, local plants with low water requirements in the green areas of the building, and electric car chargers to save on CO2 emissions. China's unconventional Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort by MAD architects took third place. The hotel skyscraper reaches 102 meters and echoes the shape of a giant ring. This enables all rooms to have balconies and views and absorb daylight from all directions. An impressive 19,000 LED lights illuminate the facade at night, imposing reflections on the building of it's Lake Tai location. Last year's top prize went to the curvaceous Absolute World Towers in Canada, while Frank Gehry's stainless steel skyscraper marvel New York by Gehry secured top honor's the year before. In 2010 Prestigious architectural award Emporis Skyscraper Award won the Hotel Porta Fira in Barcelona.

Green roofs offer a lot of environmental benefits - they provide additional insulation, reduce rainwater runoff, and can lower your electricity bill. However a new study suggests that roofs painted white might actually be more effective at fighting climate change. A study published in the Energy and Buildings Journal compared three types of roofs - green, black and white - and came to the conclusion that white roofs have great economic benefits, and they are also three times more effective than the other two at fighting climate change. Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory conducted an economic analysis of the costs and benefits of white, black and green roofs and found that white roofs are far superior in fighting climate change than the other two. While roofs painted black absorb heat and contribute to the urban heat island effect, white roofs reflect the sunlight back into the atmosphere and help cool down its lower parts. The study advises those concerned with global climate change to choose white roofs, adding to a host of other studies in the past decade that have allowed the "white roof movement" to gain momentum across the United States. However, things are not as simple as they seem. A series of climate simulations carried out by Mark Z. Jacobson and Ten Hoeve of Stanford University showed some unexpected results. Despite their beneficial effects on the lower parts of the atmosphere, white roofs decrease the temperature difference half a mile above ground-a difference which drives cloud formation and less clouds means more sunlight reaching the Earth's surface. This, among other issues like the impact on fossil fuel consumption and summer cooling vs. winter heating gains, is still subject of scientific debates. Meanwhile, it should also be noted that vegetated roofs offer built-in storm water management mechanisms in addition to some cooling benefits. Although we are excited to find out how different roofing strategies may affect climate change, one should be aware of the fact that these investigations involve a wide spectrum of factors and potential consequences far too complex for a hotheaded (pun intended) thumbs-up verdict. Earlier in 2012 Columbia University and City University of New York has found ; that greening NYC rooftops or adding a few coats of white paint can reduce temperatures by as much as 84%.