The Sagrada Familia is set to become the tallest religious building in Europe when the latest stage in its decades-long construction - the raising of six new towers - is complete. The Antoni Gaudi-designed cathedral, which already dominates the Barcelona skyline, will take the mantle from the Ulm Minster in Germany when the highest of its towers is in place. The Tower of Jesus Christ will be 172.5 meters tall, according to the cathedral's chief architect, Jordi Fauli, who announced that his aim was to have the new towers in place by 2026 - the centenary of Gaudi's death. In what is one of the longest-running construction projects undertaken, the foundation stones of the Sagrada Familia were first laid 133 years ago in 1882. Mr Fauli, who became the chief architect in 2012, declined to give an absolute date for the building's eventual completion. "It's difficult to predict but we can say that it will be completed by 2030, 2032," he said. He said that about 70 per cent of the construction was completed. In March of this year the cathedral chief architect announced that 3D printers 3D models of the building, following Gaudi's designs. The announcement coincided with the beginning of the final phase of raising the six towers. The Tower of Jesus Christ will be crowned by a cross at its highest point, while the other five towers are dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the four apostles. The main tower is designed to rise above the cathedral's central chamber, which until 15 years ago did not even have a roof. Only one of the facades was completed by the time of Gaudi's death in 1926. St Peter's Basilica in Rome will remain the tallest internal religious structure in Europe. The Sagrada Familia has survived the Spanish Civil War, the Franco dictatorship and the meltdown of the Spanish economy during the recent debt crisis. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the cathedral annually attracts more than 3.2 million visitors, who help to pay for the annual construction budget of US$ 28 million.

The Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Spain, has been under construction for more than 130 years, but now thanks to the 21st century technology of 3D printing, the 19th century project may finally be completed by 2026. This is perhaps one of the longest active construction projects on the planet. Construction work began in 1882, but only a quarter of the church was completed at the time of his death in 1926. Although there is still much work left to be done to complete Gaudi's vision, the church is already structurally sound, open to the public, and completely stunning, reported BBC. In part because of its long lifespan, this project has captivated architects and designers since its inception. What delights folks now is the amazing progress that 3D printing has enabled the present-day architecture team to stay as true as possible to the intent of the design's original creator. Project leaders began using 3D printing in 2001, but the technology has advanced so much in recent years that it is now more useful and accurate than ever. Chief architect Jordi Coll believes that Gaudi himself would have been a great proponent of 3D-printed architecture. "Due to the complexity of surfaces and forms, working with Gaudi's designs in 2D does not make sense from an architectural point of view," he said, as quoted by 3D Systems. "If Gaudi was alive today, he would have brought 3D technology to its maximum exponent, since much of his work was already conceived tri-dimensionally." Due to the scale of the project, Sagrada Familia has its own technical studio which acquired two 3D printers to help with the construction. The printers are being used, in large part, to reconstruct 3D models of the building, following Gaudi's designs. The original plaster models created from Gaudi's 2D drawings were almost completely destroyed by vandals during the Spanish Civil War, along with most of his writings and photographs. Architects are working hard to use modern technology to piece back together Gaudi's design, and the progress they've made on the building has most visitors feeling like they must be doing a good job.

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.

Barcelona's emblematic "Sagrada Familia" church finally has a completion date - 2026 or 2028, more than 140 years after it was started, reported The Guardian. Joan Rigol, president of the committee charged with finishing the building by Antoni Gaudi, said it should be finished in time for the centenary for the architect's death - or, if not, two years later. Five huge towers are being added to the eccentric building, which is among Spain's most-visited tourist attractions. Originally paid for by subscription, the church was always set to take a long time to build. "My client is in no hurry," Gaudi once said, referring to God. The building was at one stage popularly known as "the cathedral of the poor" and Gaudi himself was known to go begging for contributions - which currently amount to around 500 thousand euro a year. With a roof finally in place, Pope Benedict was able to consecrate it as a basilica last year. But a setback came when a man set fire to the basilica's sacristy in April, with repair work still under way. "The damage is worse than we had thought," said the building's chief architect, Jordi Bonet. Authorities are now considering installing metal detectors at the entrance. "Our new objective is to complete the six central towers, of which five have already been started," said Rigol. The sixth tower will measure 170 meters and contain a lift to carry tourists to the top. "Sagrada Familia", is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926). Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 was consecrated and proclaimed a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI. The construction of "Sagrada Familia" had already commenced in 1882, when Gaudi subsequently took over the project in 1883 he transformed it with his architectural and engineering style-combining Gothic and curvilinear, modernism forms with ambitious structural columns and arches, and including a rich variety of Christian symbols in the design. Gaudi devoted his last years to the project and at the time of his death, less than a quarter of the project was complete. Gaudi died in 1926 after being run over by the city's No 30 tram. He had been living on the "Sagrada Familia" building site and looked so impoverished that it took several hours for doctors to realize who he was. The tram driver thought he had hit a drunken tramp.

The 284-strong shortlist of projects competing for prizes at this year's World Architectural festival Awards (WAF) announced. The festival - which is now in its fourth year - will take place on November in Barcelona, reported architectsjournal.co.uk. Representing 59 different countries, the shortlist was selected from a record-breaking number of entries (704 application) to the international awards which celebrate excellence in global architectural design. The finalists include a theatre made of straw in Estonia, a soccer school in Soweto, a tree hotel in Sweden, a bamboo office in India and a moving gallery in New York. The Architectural festival will take place from 2 to 4 November. The WAF jury, headed by Michael Sorkin who is the principal of Micheal Sorkin Studio New York, will cast their vote at the festival's finale to decide which of the 284 shortlisted projects is crowned World Building of the Year 2011. The founder of UNStudio Ben Van Berkel, director of Noero Wolf Architects Jo Noero and the director of Turenscape Konjan Yu also represented in jury.