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.

Cuba announced a new property law, that promises to allow citizens and permanent residents to buy and sell real estate - the most significant market-oriented change yet approved by the government of Raul Castro, and one that will probably reshape Cuba's cities and conceptions of class. The new rules go into effect on November 10, reported The New York Times. For the first time since the early days of the revolution, buyers and sellers will be allowed to set home prices and move when they want. Transactions of various kinds, including sales, trades and gifts to relatives by Cubans who are emigrating, will no longer be subject to government approval, the new law says. The new law includes some provisions that seem aimed at controlling both speculation and the concentration of wealth. Owners will be limited to two homes )a residence and a vacation property) and financing must go through Cuba's Central Bank, which will charge fees, which have not been determined. And a tax of 8 percent will be split by the buyer and seller.

As reported by Yahoo.com, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on November 1 laid the cornerstone for the Grand Mosque of Algiers, a US$ 1.3 billion project that should become the world's third largest mosque. China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) last month was awarded the contract to build the huge monument, facing the sea in the east of Algiers, over four years. The mosque will sit on 20 hectares in the Mohammadia area of the capital. Its minaret soaring 270 meters into the sky, it will hold 120 thousand worshippers, feature a library of 1 million works and seating for 2 thousand. It will also house a museum and a research centre and become the world's third largest mosque after those in Mecca and Saudi Arabia in Medina. Algiers currently has three grand mosques: "Djamaa el-Kebir" built in the 11th century, "Djamaa el-Djedid" built in 1660, and the "Ketchaoua" at the foot of the Casbah, also built during the Ottoman rule in the 17th century.

As reported by PanARMENIAN.net, medieval bridge in Garni will be reconstructed by funding of "U.S. Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP)". The beginning of construction works is planned in 2012. According to Deputy Minister of Culture Arev Samuelian, it's hard to say exactly how long it will take to repair the bridge, presumably from 1-1.5 years. In order to restore the medieval bridge AFCP committed US$ 110 thousand. Medieval bridge in Garni was built in 11th century on the river Azat. In 2010, by means of the budget of the RA some reconstruction work was carried out and was also set restoration projekt for the future. Since its approval by the U.S. Congress in fall 2000, the "U.S. Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation" has funded more than 640 cultural projects in over 100 countries, representing a contribution of nearly US$ 26 million towards the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide.

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.