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 This is a project to UK architects Chetwoods Associates. They show a way to power-generating, which they call “Wind Dam”. The architects use a giant spinnaker sail slung between mountains gorge near Lake Lagoda Russian Federation.
It’s similar to the mainsail of a yacht and it will be the first of its kind. Chetwoods Associates say that the project will be also highly effective. It will “capture” the wind to generate renewable energy and “doesn’t let the wind to escape”. When the project will be finished the “Wind Dam” will be approximately 25m high and will span 75m wide. The realization on this project cost round a £2.5 million.

The Lilypad is a project for the Climate Refugees and it’s a a prototype of auto-sufficient amphibious city. The climate is changing and not in the good way as the global warming will affect large areas on Earth. Lilypad is a visionary structure and it’s one of the major challenges of the 21st century.

The project, by Vincent Callebaut, is a concept for a completely self-sufficient floating city intended to provide provide housing for a large crowd of climate refugees therefore will be the solution in case of worldwide ecological crisis. The intent of the concept itself is laudable, but it is Callebaut’s phenomenal design that has captured our imagination. Each of these floating cities are designed to hold approximately around 50,000 people. A mixed terrain man-made landscape, provided by an artificial lagoon and three ridges, create a diverse environment for the inhabitants.

Lilypad travels on the water line of the oceans, from the equator to the poles following the marine streams warm ascending of the Gulf Stream or cold descending of the Labrador. It also feature with green technologies (solar, wind, tidal, biomass). Power for the central accommodation hub is provided through a series of renewable energy sources including solar panels on the mountain sides, wind turbines and a power station to harness the energy of the waves.

Mr Callebaut said: “The design of the city is inspired by the shape of the great Amazonia Victoria Regia lilypad. Some countries spend billions of pounds working on making their beaches and dams bigger and stronger“.

After ambitious initiatives such as Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai International Financial Center, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai is creating another multi-billion dollar project to add to its portfolio of extraordinary developments. Dubai Business Bay set to be the biggest and best business hub in the Middle East, it is going to be the financial center of Dubai’s growing economy. Business Bay will be a free zone business, commercial and residential district that will cover an area of 64 million square feet. It will be located next to Burj Dubai and extend along a new creek from the edge of Dubai Creek (Ras Al Khor), all the way to Dubai’s coast.
Dubai’s Business Bay, created by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will be similar in nature to Manhattan, Ginza and Canary Wharf, which are the business centers for the cities of New York, Tokyo and London. The Business Bay, developed by Dubai Holding Group, will become home to many of the World’s leading multinational firms, and will feature the finest infrastructure and business environment. Multi-nationals and regional corporations can establish their headquarters on a freehold basis in Dubai’s sprawling central business district. It’ll mark the beginning of another glorious era in Dubai’s history.

The project will be made up of over 230 towers, with many of these already under construction. The enormous scale of the development includes the dredging of the Dubai Creek an extra 11km towards the coast to create the bay, designed to the highest standards and offering a previously unimagined lifestyle. The first buildings are to be finished in 2007, it is expected to be fully completed by 2010. Dubai Business Bay offers medical facilities, sports complexes, health clubs, swimming pools, supermarkets, landscape gardens and children play areas; with a two-level shopping strip facing the creek and offering fine dining restaurants, cafes and shopping outlets for some retail therapy. With so many high-rise buildings already in the area, the vastness of the Business Bay should fit in well with the current surroundings, as well as adding landscaped gardens, restaurants and cafes to an already first class financial district.

The REN building could be the Eiffel Tower of Shanghai, a landmark symbolizing the people-oriented pursuit of the Shanghai Expo 2010. The work of both architects is amazing. The first building, emerging from the water, is devoted to the activities of the body, and houses the sports and water culture center. The second building emerging from land, is devoted to the spirit and enlightenment, and houses the conference center and meeting facilities. The two buildings meet in a 1000 room hotel, a building for living, becoming a recognizable landmark for the World Expo in China.

The project named Crystal Island has been approved in Moscow. Located on the Nagatino Peninsula, it is only 7.5 km from the Kremlin. At 1500ft (450m) high, the Crystal Island project won’t be the tallest piece of architecture on the planet, but covering 27 million sq ft (2.5 million sq. m) of floor space, it will be gimungeous. For comparison, the Burj Dubai, the structure that holds the record for world’s tallest building (810+m) for the foreseeable future will contain about 3,595,100 sq ft (334,000 m²) when completed. So, the Crystal Island project will have 7.5 times the indoor space. London’s prestigious Foster + Partners have designed the mega-structure incorporating solar and wind energy systems, making it eco-friendly. The scheme is seamlessly integrated into a new park landscape, which provides a range of activities throughout the year, including cross country skiing and ice skating in the winter. The Crystal Island visitors will be able to enjoy panoramic views of Moscow on the viewing platforms located 980 ft. above ground. The City Island will have a range of cultural, exhibition and performance facilities, approximately 3000 hotel rooms, 900 serviced apartments, offices and shops, and an international school for 500 pupils. One could easily live and work in a city-inside-a-building like this, and never have to leave. Conceived as a self-contained city within a city, it features a rich mix of buildings including museums, theaters and cinemas, to guarantee that it is a major new destination for the whole of Moscow. Inside of all that amount of area, there is space for almost everything, so the building will count among other things with casino, multi-screen cinemas, and a family entertainment center, as well as a theme park, arena, commercial and leisure center, and a giant parking. Its construction will start during this year and its predictable that it will last for least 5 years, the magnitude of the construction is spectacular. The project is set to be completed between 2012 and 2013.

 Small, urban, modern…inspired by a city billboard, it looks like the Single Hauz is the perfect fit for the single contingent. Simple and easy, this little house can be placed anywhere…well, anywhere there is available airspace higher than 20 feet off the ground.  The Single Hauz project, by Front Architects is the concept of modern house architecture at its best. Modern house architecture should follow the functional but without conceptional boundaries of any kind.

Single Hauz – a kind of manifest, proposal of a house for a Western Worlder. Single Hauz fills a kind of a void in the field of housing proposal for so called “singles”. It is especially predisposed for sites of an interesting landscaping. For instance forests, seas, lakes, mountains, meadows – but, on the other hand, just next to the main city street. Basically anywhere you have space you can put one of these houses.

Wat Rong Khun is very different to any of temple you are likely to see in in Chiang rai, Northern Thailand. It is established by a well-known Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, who had accumulated fund over 20 years from selling his paintings. The temple is materialized based on the artist’s imaginaries and vision. Construction began in 1998 and is expected to end in 2008. “Only death can stop my dream, but cannot stop my project”, says Chalermchai Kositpipat, whose intention is to create one of the most elegant temples in Chiang Rai, which he believes will give him “immortal life”. It seems that the creator and his followers put all of their energies into creating this imaginative temple. Unlike many temples, Wat Rong Khun refuses to accept donations of more than 10,000 baht and the donors cannot have their names recorded on the buildings.

Wat Rong Khun is different from chiang rai temples because the temple is almost entirely white, no other colors are used at all and it designed by an ambitious Thai artist. Inside it contains murals and paintings of the Buddha image and painted enamel ceramic floor that will take another 5 years to complete. The outside is being created with lime sculpture Thai designs decorated with small pieces of mirror that make the building sparkle and shine under the sunlight. Designed to be viewed in moonlight, if you can manage to get there when the moon is out it’s worth the effort – very nice indeed. The building’s material which is used is only snow-white concrete, cement and limestone.

Walking into the main chapel, you’ll be awed by the statue of Buddha which seems to be floating in the timelessness of space. It gives visitors a surreal feel and you start thinking, even if fleetingly, well this could be the adobe of God. All this create incredible white scene of faery when the sun rays illuminated the white statues and its ornaments, and dancing over miniatures pieces mirror incrust them.