Powerhouse Company designed this amazing villa set in the woodlands of Holland.

Located near Ludwigsburg in Germany, this building, designed by J. Mayer H. Architects, echoes the footprint of the original house built in 1984, duplicating and rotating it.

Lifted up, it creates a semi-public space on ground level between two layers of discretion. The skin of the villa performs a sophisticated connection between inside and outside and offers spectacular views onto the old town of Marbach, Germany.

I love the luminosity of the place and the futuristic shapes and I would love to live in this house! The flow of space just inspires so many possibilities for personalizing and living, but of course, this is extremaly minimalist and if you are looking for the toys, the mess, the half-eaten yoghourt on the table and the newspaper wrapped on the floor, this house/exposition hall is probably not meant for you :)

© Photographer David Franck

A tower of jagged and jutting glass-faced apartments, “stacked” nearly 800 feet high, will rise like a giant game of Jenga over Tribeca.

The Alexico Group, developers of the $650 million project at 56 Leonard Street, at the corner of Church Street, released renderings of the long-anticipated designs. It is the first residential tower by the celebrated architecture firm of Herzog & de Meuron, whose work includes the redesign of London’s Tate Modern museum and the Beijing National Stadium in China.

The Switzerland-based architecture firm breaks down the old image of the high-rise as a sleek, hermetically sealed urban object to propose instead a thoughtful and daring new alternative - the iconic American skyscraper re-envisioned as a pixelated vertical layering of individually sculpted, graceful private residences opening to the atmosphere.

56 Leonard Street will be a 57-story residential condominium building in the Tribeca Historic District of downtown Manhattan, where it will rise above cobbled streets and historic 19th century neighbors. The tower will house 145 residences, each with its own unique floor plan and private outdoor space, in a veritable cascade of individual homes that the architects describe as “houses stacked in the sky,” blending indoors and outdoors seamlessly together.

The building’s 145 condominiums, due for completion in fall, 2010, will be priced from $3.5 million to $33 million.

Developer Izak Senbahar claimed he is confident that they will sell, despite Wall Street woes and the downturn in the economy. “It’s a big world,” he said, “and there’s a lot of money in the world, still.”

Forbes has just released its annual ranking of the 100 most expensive zip codes in America.

Beverly Hills 90210 for example, barely makes it into the top 10 nowadays with a median home price of $2.41 million, while Bel Air (90077) lags way back at No. 29 with a median price of $1.72 million. New York City doesn’t rate an appearance at all until Tribeca zip 10013 clocks in at No. 14 with a median price of $2.2 million.

The most expensive zip code in the country? 33109, the tiny private enclave of Miami Beach known as Fisher Island (above), where sales prices rose by $525,000 over the last year and which has an unbeatable median price of $3.85 million.

1. Fisher Island, Fla., 33109, Miami-Dade County
Median sales price: $3.85 million

2. Alpine, N.J., 07620, Bergen County
Median sales price: $3.59 million

3. Mill Neck, N.Y., 11765, Nassau County
Median sales price: $3 million

4. Newport Coast, Calif., 92657, Orange County
Median sales price: $2.8 million

5. Water Mill, N.Y. 11976, Suffolk County
Median sales price: $2.72 million

6. Atherton, Calif., 94027, San Mateo County
Median home price: $2.7 million

7. Santa Barbara, Calif., 93108, Santa Barbara County
Median home price: $2.7 million

8. Wainscott, N.Y., 11975, Suffolk County
Median home price: $2.56 million

9. Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 92067, San Diego County
Median home price: $2.47 million

10. Beverly Hills, Calif., 90210, Los Angeles County
Median home price: $2.41 million

You can see a slideshow of the full list here. Via Luxist

The Lusso Collection portfolio of multi-million dollar residences in the world’s most desirable vacation spots (such as Cabo San Lucas, Aspen, Miami, Hawaii and the Bahamas) has acquired its first European property, a $5 million villa in Tuscany - its first European estate.

Located on the outskirts of picturesque Cortona, La Ripa (picture above) is a 500-year-old, 4,000-sq.-ft. fully-restored stone farmhouse with five bedroom suites, stone fireplaces, terracotta floors and brick archways , enhanced by luxurious modern amenities : the estate’s 27 landscaped acres include a privately situated swimming pool, lush gardens and olive and cypress groves.

The ancient city of Cortona is nearby and Florence and Sienna are about 50 miles away. Cortona has a large number of restaurants, festivals and regular open air markets where you can become a true local.

“On Monday (September 22, 2008), a famous 800-year-old Belgian castle will be auctioned off by court order to the highest bidder, and it looks as if someone could snag a real bargain.”

On that date, the third and final session for the public sale of the historic castle, Corroy-le-Château, will occur. The castle, situated just south of Brussels, is surrounded by a moat and borders a 12-hectare, protected park.

With walls and seven massive original towers dating to the 13th century, the property’s pristine condition makes it one of Europe’s only remaining perfectly-preserved castles. It has the popular architecture of medieval dark ages and is full of secret passages and mysterious moats.

Inhabited today by the same family descended from the original owners, the castle has undergone continuous transformation over the centuries and has been maintained in immaculate condition, preserving both its mythical quality and modern comfort throughout its 5,000 square meters of habitable space.

The castle’s status as a historic landmark provides the additional benefit of eligibility for government subsidies for any major work. Its majestically decorated parlors, beautiful corridors, bright interiors and sweeping staircases continue to attract touring groups and cultural performers, offering the possibility of dual use as both a residence and commercial endeavor.

A family dispute between the existing owners over the use of the castle culminated in a court decision which led eventually to the castle’s sale by public auction. The first two rounds of bidding yielded a current offer of €2.1 million ($3million), the International Herald Tribune reports, an astonishingly low price in view of current European real estate values.

The September 22 auction session will be the last time that bids will be accepted for Corroy-le-Château. The 16,000-sq.ft. fortress will be sold to the highest bidder, even if it goes no higher than the €2.1 million, a spokesman said.

More information on the auction, as well as a video tour of the property, can be found on the castle’s Web site.

Source : reuters