US and Britain property developers leave the "Vanity Fair". The world's leading developers are sacrificing height and glitz for better returns. "The age of bling is over," said Ken Shuttleworth, famous British architect (from Norman Foster). "Money now drives everything, so if you can build something for half the price, you will," he said. Construction of several skyscrapers in the City, will be completed, but they may be the last. Commercial Estates Group Ltd. and Hammerson Plc last month said that they will review a plan to build a 63-story building. Instead of it appears quite compact, 32-storey building. "A tall building was proving very expensive, so we went back to the drawing board", said Martin Jepson, Hammerson's managing director for London. Developers in New-York also change their plans. One World Trade Center, which will be the western hemisphere's tallest tower when it opens in 2013, is one of several skyscrapers that may be built by the end of the decade in New-York. Decrease of tendency explains with high costs of skyscrapers. In London, high-rise buildings cost 50 pounds to 150 pounds more per square foot than shorter ones. That means the money needed to construct a skyscraper with 500,000 square feet (46,000 square meters) of space can be 150 million pounds, twice as much as a lower-rise structure with the same space. Such difference is explained by the fact that high-rise construction requires special engineering solutions, including the development of a powerful frame, and often unusual architectural techniques. Tall buildings are also less attractive to investors than shorter ones because tenants can't start moving in until the construction work is over. So it takes a very long time to get the first money from your investment. But large-scale architectural projects are not everywhere losing out. Skyscrapers boom reaches end, but only in certain parts of the world. Now they support the most functional and "green " projects. However, in Asia, which shows a steady increase in GDP, in the next 20 years will be dominated by the idea that the building should be high and attractive. So, the architects will continue to design skyscrapers, but now in China, India or Arab states.

The last piece of turf was laid on Tuesday at the Olympic Stadium, symbolising the completion of building work on the 80 000-seat flagship venue for the 2012 London Games. Former Olympic sprinter Frank Fredericks used a shovel to lay down the symbolic last piece of grass on the infield, 16 months before next year's games. London organisers and International Olympic Committee officials visited the stadium to mark the milestone. Fredericks was among the members of the IOC coordination commission taking part in the ceremony at the Olympic Park in east London. The IOC panel is making its eighth visit to London to check on preparations for the games. Construction on the $777-million stadium began in May 2008. "The Olympic Stadium has been finished on time and under budget," Olympic Delivery Authority chairperson John Armitt said. A total of 360 rolls of turf were needed to cover the 9 000-square metre infield. The surface of the running track will be laid later this year. "We wouldn't want anyone to run away with the idea that this stadium is ready to stage an Olympic track and field championship tomorrow," organising committee chairperson Sebastian Coe said. "With one year and a few months to go, this is a great place to be."

Today is the Grand Opening of One Hyde Park, the most expensive residential development in the world. It is situated in London's Knightsbridge and consists of 4 main buildings connected to each other with total area of 65000sg.m. The development consists of 86 luxury apartments and three boutiques. In the late 2006 an old building on today's development site was demolished and the main construction work was carried in 2007- 2010. The One Hyde Park was designed by Rogers Stirk Harbor + Partners, an exclusive interior design was made by Candy & Candy, and Laing O'Rourke was the General contractor. The luxurious residential development is owned by Project Grande Guernsey Limited (PGGL), a joint venture between Candy&Candy - the company of the famous luxury home developer brothers Nick Candy and Christian Candy, and Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani - the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar. Project was financed via development loan from German Eurohypo AG bank. Maintenance of the development will carry the neighboring Mandarin Oriental hotel which is the first "residential experience" for the company in Europe. There are about 350 guests invited to the Opening for who cooked the celebrity chefs Heston Blumenthal and Daniel Boulud. Despite the continuing steady decline in the cost of housing in the UK, the price of apartments in One Hide Park starting at around £ 20 million, and late last summer one of its penthouses have been sold for a record sum for the country, at £ 140 million (approximately US$ 222m). The six-bedroom Penthouse stretches across two floors and has a wonderful panoramic view through bullet-proof windows to the main sight of Hyde Park- Serpentine Lake. Despite 24 hour protection from SAS-trained security guards, this apartment also equipped with so-called "safe room", where you can hide in the event of a break-in, home invasion, or other threat (as in the American thriller "Panic Room" by David Fincher). Name of the purchaser of this penthouse is kept in strict confidence, but some high-end realtors suggest a possible buyer from the Middle East or Nigeria.