The second phase of the tallest hotel scheme in the world is to start in Dubai. The Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid ordered the start of the second phase of Emirates Group's twin tower JW Marriott Marquis Dubai hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road after being shown around the first phase, an 804 room tower, which opened to the public earlier this month. The hotel, which is scheduled to be completed in late 2014 or early 2015, will eventually have 1,600 rooms, making it Dubai's biggest hotel by room number. And at 355 meters tall, the structures will be only 26 meters shorter than the Empire State Building in New York. The hotel also boasts the largest function room in the Middle East and 19 restaurants.

The first tower of the world's tallest hotel, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, has opened its doors adding 804 rooms, reported Arabian Business. Earlier this year, the official site of Marriott Hotel announced, that the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai will open its doors to guests in Q4 this year. Officially recognized as the world's tallest hotel at a height of 355 meters, only 26 meters short of the Empire State Building in New York, the JW Marriott Marquis has been dubbed Dubai's first world-class convention and business destination hotel. The hotel is opening in several phases, with its first tower of 804 rooms and suites in its soft opening phase, and with three of the final nine restaurants. By January, the hotel will have all nine restaurants and five bars and lounges open, with a grand opening scheduled to take place in February. The 82-storey, 1,608-room hotel represents another record-breaking structure for a city that already boasts the tallest building and the largest shopping mall. Till now the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world was Rose Rayhaan in Dubai. 72 story's, 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 located hotel is Ritz-Carlton housed in 484 meters high International Commerce Center in Hong-Kong. It is situated on 102-118 floors.

Mercury City, the tower Russian retail billionaire Igor Kesaev is building in Moscow's new financial district, overtook the Shard in London as Europe's tallest skyscraper, reported Bloomberg. The tower, which construction began in 2006, reached its full height of 339 meters, 29 meters more than the Shard, Kesaev's Mercury Development announced, citing Hamburg-based researcher Emporis. The 75-story skyscraper, designed by U.S. architect Frank Williams, who died in 2010, and Russia's Mikhail Posokhin, is due to be completed in the first quarter next year. Investment in the project totaled US$1 billion. The tower has about 90 thousand square meters of office space and 20 thousand square meters of apartments, according to the developer's website. The starting price for apartments in Mercury City is US $11.1 thousand for a square meter. The rental price should be at a market level of about US$800 - US$900 per square meter a year, but on this stage of construction tenants expect it to be about US$700. The title of "Europe's tallest building" belonged to London for all of a few months as the Russian capital moves onwards and upwards. But "Mercury city" will not carry the title of "the Europe's tallest building" for a long time, as the under-construction Federation Tower is in the process of being built right next to Mercury City and, upon its completion next year, will stand at a staggering 506 meter.

According to real estate market study prepared by Savills, Moscow was in second place among world's 10 largest cities with the house price growth during the first semester of 2012. This year undisputed leader in the growth of house prices is Hong Kong with 7.4 percent growth. Mainstream residential prices are at record levels due to strong local demand. Despite this the easing of mortgage availability also has helped to underpin the market. On the second and third places were Moscow and Sydney with 5.5 and 3.7 percent growth respectively. As analysts stated, this three cities were ahead of a modest average index for all 10 cities, which is only 1.2 percent. The cities that have seen residential markets have been beyond by domestic demand (Hong Kong, Moscow and Sydney) rather than international; buyers and investors. Meanwhile, international capital appears to be retreating to the "core" of established world cities due to their long-term investment credentials - namely London and New York (house price growth was 2.8 and 1.1 percent respectively). Some "new world" cities that had begun to see price falls following specific government intervention, or the impact of a slowing global economy, rebounded in H1 2012 (Hong Kong 7.4 percent). The weight of Chinese money continues to push into this city, but most of this growth can be attributed to a strengthening local market, aided by increased bank lending. At the other end of spectrum, some "old world cities" that had previously appealed, because of their safe haven credentials saw prices falls at the beginning of 2012, notably Paris (-3.4 percent). Here the Eurozone crisis, coupled with president Hollande's proposed taxes on the wealthy, weighed on the upper tiers of the Parisian residential market. In London, some prime market activity and price growth slowed in the wake of uncertainty regarding new stamp duty rules that were announces in the March budget. This year Shanghai saw price falls in the wake of an allowing domestic economy and ongoing cooling measures (-2.6 percent). The first price falls have also been recorded in the previously red-hot Mumbai market (-1.7 percent).

The expression ''timber top'' is taking on a new meaning in the building industry as the world's tallest wooden apartment tower nears completion. The company "Lend Lease" two weeks ago hoisted the final panel of cross-laminate timber (CLT) in place on the 10th story of its innovative new "Forte" building in Docklands. Victoria Harbour. About his plans "Lend Lease" announced 4 months ago and now the building is already ready. The US$ 11 million project makes use of the lightweight CLT building material, commonly used in Europe, which has a structural strength similar to concrete and steel. The company maintains it will have cut ordinary construction times by 30 percent once the internal fit out of the 32-meter tall, 10-storey apartment is finished in November. Being the first of its kind in Australia, and the highest in the world when it opens its doors "Forte" will be a test case for residential property buyers unfamiliar with wooden building materials. Lend Lease made a deliberate decision not to sell apartments in the building until it was complete, said head of operations development Daryl Patterson. It wanted to avoid misconceptions that "Forte" was like a timber-frame house. ''It's very important for people to be able to come and touch and feel the product and understand that it's as solid as any other apartment,'' he said. The company also treated "Forte" like a pilot project, learning while building. It discovered just how effective modular components were in CLT construction. Forte's modular bathrooms were manufactured in Brisbane and trucked to the site. ''The toilets are in. The taps are in. The shower screens are in. The mirrors are up on the wall,'' Mr Patterson said. Once complete, Forte will house 23 boutique residential apartments and 4 townhouses with prices ranging from US$ 430 - US$ 795 thousand. Currently one of the highest modern wooden buildings is in London. Called the Stadthaus, Murray Grove, it's a nine-story residential building that stands at just less than 30 meters (98 feet). Even the lift shafts and stairwells are made from wood. Architect Michael Green, one of three principals at McFarlane Green Biggar Architecture + Design (MGB), also has plans for a 30-story wooden skyscraper in Vancouver.