François Pinault, founder of luxury conglomerate PPR, has just paid $32 million for a historic mansion in the Chelsea neighborhood of London.

It was designed, according to The Telegraph, in 1868 by Philip Webb, the ‘Father of Arts and Crafts architecture.’ It also has triple-height ceilings.

The house was previously owned by Professor Bernard Nevill who bought the house for approximately $110,000 and spent over “30 years perfecting the interior”.

San Spirito Island, situated in a lagoon that is a ten-minute boat ride to Venice’s San Marco Square, is now for sale with an asking price of €28 million.

The private island has 3,500 square meters of existing historical structures and the potential of an additional 4,500 square meters of new construction.

“The island could become the location of a prestigious hotel or could see the realisation of luxury residential units.”

It seems that the Palm Jumeirah is making a comeback, with the latest announcement confirming that a Waldorf Astoria will open in 2013.

The huge, manmade Palm-shaped development in the sea has been viewed alternately as a symbol of Dubai’s unbridled ambition or of its abject failure, when construction all but ground to a halt as the country ran out of money in 2010.

The Palm Jumeirah’s hotel scene, once dominated by the Atlantis, now includes Kempinski and the Jumeirah Zabeel Sarah, both of which opened this year.

The record for the world’s tallest tower is set to be broken yet again… The new skyscraper will measure one kilometre high and will be located in Saudi Arabia.

The tower will outdo Gulf neighbour Dubai, which inaugurated its own record-breaking skyscraper the 828m Burj Khalifa less than two years ago.

The Saudis awarded a more than $1 billion contract for a spire, to be named the Kingdom Tower.

Renowned architect Moshe Safdie has been appointed by CapitaLand Residential Singapore as the lead designer for its condominium at Bishan Central.

Located in the heart of Bishan Central, one of Singapore’s choice residential areas, the condominium will comprise approximately 500 apartments.

There will be two 38-storey towers linked by three bridging sky gardens, which offer opportunities for commonly shared garden and leisure spaces.

Construction has started on Beijing‘s tallest skyscraper, set to rise 500 metres and shaped like a vase, the state-owned CITIC group said Tuesday.

The building is the latest in a surge of ambitious construction projects in the Chinese capital, which along with other cities in China is attracting cutting-edge international architects keen to push design boundaries.

A groundbreaking ceremony on the planned 500-metre tall China Zun tower, named after a type of traditional Chinese wine vessel, took place in Beijing Monday.