A stunning home on the French Riviera that was once owned by Edith Piaf is on the market for almost US$ 5.25 million. She bought the four-bedroom property in Grasse on the French Riviera in the 1950s and lived there until her death from liver cancer in 1963, at the age of 47. The refurbished property on the south east coast of France is surrounded by countryside, being between the two pretty villages of Mougins and Valbonne. The grounds are extensive and include a tennis court, an outdoor swimming pool and a pool house. In addition, there are three separate guest suites and a two-bedroom guardian's cottage. The landscaped gardens include a lawn area with Mediterranean shrubs, mature trees and enough space for a helicopter to land. Inside of the property, there is a stone archway separating the kitchen and dining room, as well as exposed stone walls in the living area. There is pretty floor tiling throughout much of the house, with wooden ceiling beams and large doors opening out to the garden. Carlton International, the estate agents handling the sale, said: 'The property makes the perfect family home, ideal for entertaining.' It added: 'This was the former home of one of the most famous, internationally renowned french singers of the twentieth century. 'It is a stunning property in the heart of the countryside, enjoying complete quiet.' And buying agent Henry Pryor said: 'Properties with this history are always going to create a stir, especially on the French Riviera. 'The agent's problem won't be getting someone to view it, but holding back the tour buses who would like to see it.

Anya Hairapetan, the daughter of wealthy Moscow-based journalist, publisher and oil tycoon Levon Hairapetian, is unloading a prized piece of her real estate portfolio. After picking up a historic Brooklyn Heights carriage house for $9.8 million last year, Hairapetian is letting it go again for almost the same price. The four-bedroom townhouse at 165 Columbia Heights is back on the market asking $9.9 million, according to The Real Deal. In 2014, the New York Post reported that she bought a West Village townhouse for $9.89 million at 280 West Fourth Street that was once home to artist Charles Webster Hawthorne, mentor to Norman Rockwell. The Brooklyn carriage house is on the market with Compass’ Maggie Sherman, who says in the listing that the property has all new mechanical systems and every structural piece has been replaced. The house features a 3-car garage, expansive open living space, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a beautiful planted Roof Terrace.

A pioneering 3D-printed house just popped up in Xian, China - and Chinese company ZhuoDa "built" the two-story villa in less than three hours. Made up of six 3D-printed modules, the house was assembled like LEGO bricks before a live audience who were then invited to explore the interior. The modular fireproof home can withstand a magnitude-9 earthquake and is made from a special construction material the company is keeping secret. The company completed approximately 90 percent of the construction in an off-site factory before shipping the modular pieces to the installation site. This efficient and timesaving process dramatically reduces construction costs to just US$ 400 - US$ 480 per square meter. According to An Yongliang, the developing engineer at Zhuoda, the 3D-printed villa only takes about 10 days to produce from initial construction to final assembly, while it typically takes half a year to build a traditional villa. The house is capable of withstanding high-magnitude earthquakes because the modules, each weighing over 100 kilograms per square meter, bear weight independently. The steel-framed structure home can also be filled with heat-insulating materials. The Zhuoda Group has filed over 22 patents on their technology and is keeping their top-secret material under wraps. However, the company's vice president Tan BuYong has revealed that the new material is sourced from industrial and agricultural waste, is fireproof and waterproof, and is free from harmful substances such as formaldehyde, ammonia, and radon. After the structural framework was 3D-printed, the company applied decorative sheet textures to each module before final assembly. Homeowners will be able to choose from a variety of decorative textures, such as jade, marble, wood, and granite. Herbs can even be embedded into the walls of the house for "built-in aromatherapy". The buildings can withstand wear for at least 150 years. On January 2015 a Chinese company WinSun has successfully 3D printed a five-story apartment building and a 110 square meters villa from special print material. China's newest mansion is not only made from recycled materials, but the sprawling 110 square meters home was made with 3D printing. The luxury mansion was 3D printed in layers, using recycled stone and construction waste.

One of the most distinctive properties in the world has gone on the market - a fortress turned luxury villa, designed by Leonardo Da Vinci, the famous Italian artist and inventor who painted Mona Lisa. The building, in Livorno, Italy, is currently on the books of property firm Lionard Luxury Real Estate and is expected to sell for between US$ 5.6 million and US$ 11.2 million. Perched on top of a cliff, the property overlooks the Mediterranean Sea in Tuscany, Livorno, Italy, about 56 miles from Florence, where the painter stayed while he worked in 1502. The prestigious residence is part of a larger complex built as a fortification for the defense of the city of Livorno in the mid - 1400s by a well-known Florentine architect. Da Vinci designed the great walls surrounding the historic estate and gardens while working as a military engineer and, later, in the 19th century Napoleon's sister, Princess Elisa Bonaparte, became the owner. The main villa features a total floor surface of 773 square meters over four floors and a basement level. It is constructed of stone and brick, with terracotta flooring and copper eaves. On the ground floor, which is connected to the upper levels by an internal staircase, there is a hallway that opens onto a living room with a view of the sea, a dining area, three closets, a passageway, a bathroom and changing room, kitchen and larder. The mezzanine mainly features closets while on the first floor are the sleeping quarters with five bedrooms, each with in-suite bathrooms. The top floor, traditionally used by staff, features a kitchen/diner, a bathroom and a bedroom. The basement, which includes a closet, is reached by an internal staircase on the north side of the villa.

The US and Cuban authorities have announced a project to restore American Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway's home near Havana, where he penned one of his most famous and last pieces of fiction, "The Old Man and the Sea". Hemingway stayed in Cuba for a long period of time, from 1939 until just before he committed suicide on July 2, 1961. The famous writer originally stayed in the Ambos Mundos hotel in Havana and then moved out to his colonial-style residence, Finca Vigia. An American foundation, restoring the legendary writer's home in Cuba, signed an agreement with the Cuban government to import construction material directly from the US to aid the preservation efforts, CNN reported on June 21. The joint US-Cuban project will build a workshop adjacent to Hemingway's home in Cuba to restore and maintain thousands of the famed writer's documents, rough drafts and letters. Mary-Jo Adams, the executive director of the Boston-based Finca Vigia Foundation, named after the writer's house, said the foundation has received approval from the American and Cuban governments to bring US$ 860,000 worth of supplies from the US for the new construction. In January, as part of a shift in the US policy towards Cuba, President Barack Obama authorized the exportation of building materials to the island for the first time since the US broke relations with the island following the 1959 revolution. His widow, Mary, donated the house to the Cuban government, which displays Hemingway's books, clothing and even a collection of fermented lizards. Many of Hemingway's works are considered classics of American literature. Some of the most famous include "A Farewell to Arms" (1929), "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1940) and "The Old Man and the Sea" (1951) for which he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.