Most expensive Olympic games ever

The Olympics opening ceremonies in Beijing was probably the most amazing opening of a ceremony, or opening of anything, that we have ever seen! Some 15,000 performers and 30,000 fireworks launched most expensive Games on record!

The Beijing Olympic games is set to be the most expensive ever held, with total costs around 295 billion yuan ($43.13 billion) - a city administration spokesman (Liu Zhi) said on Monday.

The money spent is made up of operational fund, venue construction costs and infrastructure costs. 19 world class venues have been built, including the Bird’s Nest Stadium now featured on the nation’s 10 yuan note (limited edition), plus infrastructure projects such as the Capital Airport’s Terminal 3, the world’s largest building.

The road and subway network has been greatly expanded while pocket parks, sometimes with stunning plant sculptures have been created.

The stadium has been dogged by controversy, as 6,000 homes were demolished to make way for it and there were claims that 10 people died in accidents during the four years it has taken to build. The Beijing authorities have relocated more than a million people to facilitate these construction projects.

Copyright : Getty images

World’s Biggest and most expensive Airport Opens in Beijing

After 4 years the Beijing Airport -currently the biggest one in the world- is finished, just in time for the 2008 Olympics.

The new Terminal 3, built at a cost of $3.5 billion usd is the first building to break the one million square meter barrier : it will accommodate an estimated 50 million passengers per annum by 2020.

And yeah, from the air, the new airport looks like a giant guitar !
Find out more about Beijing Airport on Archdaily

Louis Vuitton MP3 audio guides

Louis Vuitton is always bringing new innovative ideas to the luxury goods market : starting on June 16th for $17 you can experience “it’s most affordable travel-themed product yet”.

The French luxury giant has created MP3 audio guides for three Chinese cities, with one-hour walking tours narrated by famous actresses: Gong Li for Beijing, Joan Chen for Shanghai and Shu Qi for Hong Kong.

The audio guides were produced in collaboration with Soundwalk and will be launched in tandem with the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer.

You will be able to download the audio guides at louisvuitton.com and louisvuittonsoundwalk.com.

Via stylefrizz / nitrolicious

Morgan Plaza Beijing

The Morgan Plaza is a super-luxury 7 star hotel under construction in Beijing, China. Although it was set to be finished last month’s, there has been no official confirmation of it completion yet but it definitely going to be completed in time for the Beijing Olympics.

When completed it is rumoured to be possibly more luxurious than the Burj Al Arab and has been considered to be the official landmark of China, still in competition with the Shanghai World Financial Center.

The plaza will contain two pavilions, a temple, the world’s best Japanese restaurant and a 600 meter long corridor.

Via overseaspropertymall

Voila Watches Beijing Dream

The latest product to tie in to the Beijing Olympics coming up this august is the Voila Beijing Dream. The elaborated cage like design of the watch mimics the National Stadium (also called the Birds Nest) that will hold the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics. The watch is available with a stainless steel or gold plated case with a strap of Chinese silk brocade. It comes set with .23 carats of diamonds or .72 carats and prices range from 1,490 to 2,190 euros.

Via Luxist

Beijing’s Water Cube opens

China has officially taken the wrapping off its National Aqautics Center, nicknamed the “Water Cube”, which resembles a gigantic box of bubble-wrap. Designed by a joint Chinese-Australian consortium, the center is one of two iconic structures constructed for the Beijing Olympics this year. It stands alongside the 91,000 seater National Stadium, more affectionately known as “Bird’s Nest”. Work on the Water Cube began at the end of 2003 at an estimated cost of US$100 million, and took three years to complete.

The honeycomb structure will host the swimming, diving and synchronized swimming, and water-polo events during the Games. The 17,000 seater Cube is expected to offer spectators a visual spectacle at night, when its LED system of 16.7 million tones transforms the structure into a glowing kaleidoscope.

Source : dezeen

Top 9 unique structures soon to be built

Obviously, construction technologies are advancing extremely quickly. couple that with multi-billionnaires / deep-pocketed companies trying to outdo each other in the quest for the next standout design and you have a near-future filled with mile-high skyscrapers and buildings that no longer look like buildings.

below are 9 strange and unique structures which have either been approved or are in the final stages of approval. some have already been partially constructed.

welcome to the future landscape.

1. aqua, usa (website)

from a distance this skyscraper, to be completed in 2009 in chicago, will seem quite traditional. it’ll only be when you get close and look up that you can appreciate the ripple/jelly effect created by variously sized balconies from top to bottom.

2. chicago spire, usa (website)

the phenomenal chicago spire, when completed in 2010, will be the world’s tallest residential building and the tallest building of any kind in the western world. seemingly modelled on the image of a giant drill poking through the ground, the 609m structure will dominate the chicago skyline.

3. cctv headquarters, china (website)

at a modest 234m the cctv building isn’t going to stand out from a distance. however the design and shape is a crowdstopper to say the least and will be another incredible addition to beijing’s skyline in time for the 2008 olympics. the shape, described as a ‘z criss-cross’ results in a very high, seemingly unsupported corner at the front. let’s hope there’s a glass floor up there.

4. regatta hotel, jakarta (website)

taking on a nautical theme, the developers say the 10 smaller towers represent sailing boats whilst the larger building is ‘the lighthouse’. it’s the lighthouse that steals the show for me, possibly the most incredible looking structure i’ve seen for a long time. if it ends up looking anything close to these pictures i’ll be impressed.

5. residence antilia, india (architects’ website)

construction has begun on residence antilia despite opposition from those who see it as an ‘excessive’ design in a city where more than 65% of the population live in slums. politics aside and after you recover from the initial shock of seeing a skyscraper that resembles an ikea cd rack, the building actually looks like it may succeed as a stunning, unique, green piece of architecture.

6. russia tower, russia (architects’ website)

topped with an observation deck over the city of moscow, russia tower will become the tallest building in europe when completed in 2012 and twice the height of the eiffel tower. construction has already started on this angular beast which was designed by foster & partners, also responsible for the gherkin and spaceport america, currently in development.

7. penang global city centre, malaysia (website)

following months of speculation and sturdy opposition, this humungous project is in the final stages of approval and apparently construction will start very soon. even so, due to the size of the plan it will take at least 15 years to complete. resembling a sci-fi city, the area will be crowned by 2 x 200m towers and completely transform the small island of penang.

8. gazprom headquarters, russia (architects’ website)

this gigantic, 300m tall glass flame of a building will house the gazprom headquarters in st. petersburg, dwarfing all structures in its vicinity. it will apparently change colour up to 10 times per day depending on the position of the sun. the building has already been nicknamed ‘corn on the cob’ by unhappy locals.

9. burj dubai, dubai (website)

this is the big one. when completed next year it will be the tallest man-made structure in the world and the tallest building by a long shot with a predicted height of 818m. note: currently the tallest building on earth, excluding an antenna, is taipei 101 in taiwan which stands at 509m. the photo below is the building’s current state: the skyscrapers below the burj dubai used to look tall.

Source : deputy-dog / skyscrapercity.com / emporis / skyscraperpage