The United Arab Emirates government has announced plans to build the world's biggest gate in its capital, following the tradition established by the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, and the world's tallest residential building, Princess Tower. The Khalifa in World Languages project, carried out by the Sultan Bin Zayed's Culture and Media Centre, will be launched on December 2 and dedicated to the President, Sheikh Khalifa. Featuring the 25-metre-tall gate, it will also include a printed encyclopedia, a specially commissioned operetta and a website. Work started months ago but was only confirmed on September 3 by the state news agency Wam, which reported the project had been approved by Guinness World Records. The encyclopaedia will include every world flag and more than 250 translations of the President's name. The website will include a biography of Sheikh Khalifa in various languages and a history of the UAE. But Abu Dhabi might have a challenger. A gate-shaped tower is under construction in Suzhou, China. The Oriental Gate is 301.8 meters high and has 69 stories. The construction started in September 2004 and was designed by British RMJM based on the ancient city gate of Suzhou for hotel, office, retail and accommodation space. After opening the Oriental Gate will be the largest gate-shaped building and also dubbed "the No 1 Gate in the world". But more and more critics finding that the new Chinese Gate much more likes "long underpants", therefore the Abu Dhabi's is a really Gate shaped.

A luxury apartment in Hong Kong has sold for a record US$ 61 million. According to local media it was the highest price per square meter paid in Asia for new developments and the second-highest in the world, after London's One Hyde Park. The apartment sold is situated on the city's Peak and is part of architect Frank Gehry's first creation in Asia, the Opus. The building, which was completed in March, has an undulating glass facade that curves and offers each floor a distinct vista of the surrounding leafy environs. The 576 square meters unit takes up the entire eighth floor of the 12-story building. The tower is comprised of 12 residential units, two double-level garden suites with private swimming pools on the lower levels, and 10 custom apartments, each occupying an entire floor with unprecedented 360dg views, ranging from 560 - 640 sqm in space. Hong Kong has seen its share of vertigo-inducing records before, including the 2009 sale of an apartment for US$ 56.6 million. And the world's most expensive apartment was sold in Monaco in September, 2010. As we reported the apartment with 1600 square meter area was sold by US$ 306.5 million.

The Eiffel Tower has been named as the most valuable monument of Europe in a new survey. It is difficult to believe now that the Eiffel Tower was originally built to last for only two decades. But thankfully it stayed on and became a permanent fixture on the Parisian landscape. The iconic 324-metre high structure has been named as the most valuable monument in Europe worth a staggering US$ 545 billion, according to a new study. Research commissioned by Italy's Monza and Brianza Chamber of Commerce considered monuments' image, branding and aesthetic qualities to determine a monetary value. Built in 1889 as the entrance arch to the World Trade Fair, the Eiffel Tower is the most visited paid for tourist attraction in the world which last year saw 7.1 million people climb to one of its three viewing platforms. A whopping 200 million visitors have now visited the landmark since it opened and the tower is still the tenth tallest lattice style building on the planet. Construction of the tower had been the subject of some controversy; attracting criticism from both those who doubted it was feasible and those were against the idea on artistic grounds. Their objections were a continuation of the longstanding debate about the relationship between architecture and engineering. Part of the original design rules were that it could be easily demolished but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the permit granted by the city expired. Eiffel Tower's value is five times more than its nearest rival the Coliseum in Rome, which is valued at US$ 114 billion. The gladiatorial Amphitheatre which was completed in 80AD draws about 4 million tourists a year to its crumbling interior. On the third place is the Sagrada Familia. Although it is still not finished Gaudi's famous cathedral in Barcelona is worth US$ 112 billion and is the continent's third most valuable monument. The UK's most valuable monument is deemed to be the 1,000-year-old Tower of London, which is worth an estimated US$ 88.7 billion to the British economy. In excess of 2 million visitors enter the tower, which is now looked after by the Historic Royal Palaces charity, every year. Other famous European landmarks on the list included the Duomo cathedral in Milan worth US$ 102.9 billion, Madrid's Prado Museum worth US$ 72.8 billion and Britain's Stonehenge worth US$ 13 billion. Stonehenge in Wiltshire dates from prehistoric times Wiltshire and is one of the most famous sites in the world. Composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks its attraction lies not just in its age, but also the mystery that surrounds its construction - before the age of mechanical lifting equipment. It is at the center of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds. The gothic Duomo cathedral in Milan took nearly six centuries to complete and is the fourth largest cathedral in the world and the largest in Italy. The survey also put a price of US$ 101.4 billion on the White House in Washington DC. Home to the President of the United States the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aqua sandstone in the neoclassical style. It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams.

London's Blackfriars Tube station is on its way to becoming the world's largest solar bridge. Stretching across South Bank a stone's throw from the Tate Modern, the busy station, built by Solarcentury, has already reached the halfway point to completion. Construction on the world's largest solar bridge began on October 2011. Blackfriars Tube station is still fully functioning, ferrying Londoners and tourists from the popular South Bank promenade to areas all over the city. Yet construction is still underway across the bridge's rooftop. Heavy scaffolding is slowly being removed to reveal the 4,400 solar panels that will serve the station, pumping 900 thousand kWh of solar energy back into the grid each year. The solar powerhouse will also reduce CO2 emissions by 511 tons per year, all while promptly serving commuters with uninterrupted service around the city. The gorgeous Victorian bridge is the only bearing solar panels along the River Thames. With stellar city views, boats pass under the bridge's arches throughout the day, while the station serves 24 trains per hour. Pedestrians strolling along the South Bank walk way pass under the historic bridge, check out the progress of its solar modernization. The idyllic scene could be just a glimpse of London's future. With over 100 bridges crossing the River Thames throughout the city, adding additional solar arrays on any of them could drastically reduce the city's consumption of fossil fuels, and ensure a source of clean energy for generations to come, reducing emissions and overall carbon footprint.

2 months ago The Morning Whistle published shocking news, which was hard to believe. As reported the publication, Changsha, China's Hunan province will be home to world's tallest building , which will be built in just 7 months. 220-store building will be 838 meters high. This information was really incredible. How high will raise Chinese ambitions, to make such a statement? China's new propose also was unbelievable, as world's current tallest building Burj Khalifa required six years to build. However, later the information was confirmed by DailyMail, Reuters and CNN information agencies. In addition, they stated that the building will be built not in 7 but in 3 months. The DailyMail reported, the project has been given the go-ahead in Changsa, but the central government still needs to sign off on the deal. But if the go-ahead comes, BSB chief executive officer Zhang Yue wants to start building this November - and finish in January 2013! Interview with the head and founder of Broad Sustainable Building Company Zhang Yue, published in the Reuters Journal, much increases the likelihood of the realization of this incredible project. As stated Zhang Yue, Land shortages are already a grave problem for us and their pre-fabricated skyscrapers "can fix many of the world's pollution, congestion, transportation and even disease problems by completely purifying the tower's air." During the interview, a Chinese man said that the 220-story skyscraper, which he called "Sky City" certainly to be built. In addition, he presented to the public another ambitious project, which height is 2 kilometers. Details of the new project are still unknown, but Yue said that 100 percent they will build this building. Recently the prefab Hotel in China's south-central Hunan province standing 30 stories was erected in an incredible 360 hours or in 15 days. The hotel built Chinese sustainable-building firm Broad Group and the building is designed to withstand up a 9.0 magnitude earthquake - and even boasts energy-efficient building techniques. In 2010 Broad Group during 6 days built another prefab building, the 15-story Ark Hotel in the Changsha Province, demonstrating fantastic speed of prefab building construction.