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.

Last year architect Adam Kushner announced plans to build the newest 3D-printed estate in Gardiner, New York. Recently, the architect and CEO of D-Shape, James Wolff, presented new renderings of Kushner's project at 3D Print Week NY that show an even more over-the-top plan than we even imagined. According to the project details, the entire structure will be built using a modified version of Enrico Dini's oversized D-Shape printer. And we're not just talking one basic house here. No, Kushner is determined to build a massive swimming pool, pool house and car port to go along with the four-bedroom, 223 square meters home, and eventually creating one enormous 3D-printed estate. Although still in the planning stages, the residence is slated to be built about 137 kilometers from New York City on a 20 thousand square meters parcel of land that Kushner and his wife purchased three years ago. Kushner explained that it was the plot's naturally rocky landscape that inspired the ambitious 3D design. "The materials on the site will be used to form the pieces of the site, which reflect the very characteristics of the site, which stems from the materials found on the site," explained Kushner. "I think it's a perfect circle." The 3D design scheme stems from the geomorphology of the rocks found in the area, inspiring Kushner to print the entire estate using the rocks for aggregates in the building process. According to 3D Print, using Enrico Dini's D-Shape printers, which differ from the common fused deposition-based models, will allow Kushner to print the necessary materials using on-site resources such as sand, which will be combined with a magnesium-based binding agent. Kushner is still waiting for the delivery of the large-scale 3D printer from Italy. However, if all goes well with US customs and NATO approval, the machine should be on-site in May and the team hopes to begin the first trials and test prints using the new machine by June. Once all of the kinks have been worked out, the team expects to begin 3D printing the pool, followed by the pool house and car port. The last piece of the 3D puzzle will be the most challenging - printing and building the 223 square meters house itself. As far as why this project is so important to Kushner, he explains that by starting on such an ambitiously-sized estate, the 3D home building process can later be used for far more important and diverse tasks, such as producing affordable housing or emergency shelters. "If we can build a pool, then we can begin building reefs, and repair bridges, bulkheads and other underwater structures which there is a huge worldwide need," said Kushner. "The thought is that if we can build a pool house and modest enclosed structure, then it is a short step to building emergency shelters and low cost housing units." Recently 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. Last year the Dutch company DUS Architects developed 3D-printed house using bioplastic.

New York's first "micro apartment" building "My Micro NY" is constructed in Brooklyn Navy Yard (New York, USA). According to New York Times, the end of construction is planned for this spring and the building will begin leasing studios in summer. The project was designed by "nArchitects". The firm won a closely watched design competition in 2013 that was sponsored by the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development and enthusiastically endorsed by former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The city's first "micro" building will have 55 rental apartments, all ranging from 23-34 square meters with kitchenettes, wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, ceilings over 2.7 meters high and big windows. And to help make living in a small space more palatable, tenants will have access to storage units and common spaces scattered throughout the building. The building will begin leasing studios this summer for around US$ 2 - 3 thousand a month. The project is being watched with interest by both housing advocates and developers, and not just because of its modular construction. Housing advocates say the creation of more micro-apartments could open up many more reasonably priced living options. More units dedicated to singles could eventually bring down rent prices across the city, as more two- to four-bedroom apartments would then open up to families. The contest was developed to address the growing need in New York City for affordable studios, one person- and two person-households. It was originally a part of Mayor Bloomberg's New Housing Marketplace Plan, a multi-billion dollar initiative to finance 165 thousand units of affordable housing for an expected 500 thousand New Yorkers. Under current zoning laws enacted in 1987, all NYC apartments must be at least 37 square meters, but then-mayor Michael Bloomberg said in 2013 that the new micro-units would be an exception.

China is well established as the world capital of duplication, with everything from its own rendition of the Eiffel Tower to a mock Venice. But their mock Wall Street financial district, constructed at a cost of US$ 50 billion carries its own rather unique ironies. Since the 2009 economic recession, the project-which also includes a mock Rockefeller Center and its own Hudson River-has been deeply in debt, and sits unfinished and abandoned. Work began on the mock-Manhattan Financial District is located in Yujiapu, near Tianjin, some 120 miles from Beijing, in 2008 with a US$ 50 billion budget. 47 office buildings and hotels were constructed to mimic NYC icons such as the Rockerfeller Center and Twin Towers. But in 2009 China hit an economic crisis, and construction on the project had largely stopped by 2010. NBC News explains that Yujiapu was scheduled for completion in 2019," offering 15 million square meters of office space over an area larger than Manhattan's financial district in a bid to stimulate development of vast residential districts nearby." But now the area of little more than a surreal, taped off ghost town. And that's not Yujiapu's only problem; adding to the eeriness of the abandoned would-be metropolis, the area is prone to flooding from storm surges and heavy rain. Quartz explains the development is "built on coastal salt flats just a few inches above sea level.. as a local resident told the Times in 2012, after nasty weather - "you had to roll up your pants and take off your shoes to walk across the street."

A two-story luxury condo in Manhattan has just become the most expensive apartment ever sold in New York City. A duplex penthouse spanning the top two floors of the One57 condominium tower was sold for $100.5 million, setting a record for the most expensive residential deal ever completed in Manhattan. The apartment, which spans all of the 89th and 90th floors of the 306-meter tower, with almost 1020 square meters, include 6 bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a steam room, a library, and an indoor movie theater. All apartments of this tower have soaring ceilings, rosewood flooring and custom Italian marble baths. Residents of the building also have access to a gaggle of uber luxe amenities, including a gym, a pool and Jacuzzi, a steam room, a library and a screening room. The trophy tower, which is nearly sold out, has attracted local and foreign buyers. Sales at One57 began in 2011 and reached US$ 1 billion in the first six months, including the last record deal. Another duplex at the building, spanning the 75th and 76th floors, is under contract to be sold for more than $90 million to an investment group that includes Bill Ackman. Earlier we reported, that the prime minister of Qatar was ready to plunk down nearly US$ 100 million for the city's most expensive penthouse - an ultra-luxe, two-story pad atop the under-construction One57 condominium. Now, the duplex penthouse owner name wasn't published. And though $100 million may seem like a lot, New York's priciest penthouse will most likely prove to be a savvy investment as more expensive homes continues to go on sale. Already, a tower on 520 Park Avenue has a penthouse on the market for $130 million, and prices are only expected to climb. Previous price record belonged to the Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who bought an apartment in New York for US$ 88 million for his student daughter.