Zhang, a Chinese real estate developer, is the seventh richest self-made women in the world, worth $3.6 billion, according to Forbes. She's worth $800 million more than Oprah Winfrey, the world's best known self-made female billionaire.

Not only does Zhang's rags-to-riches story mirror that of China itself, but it is Zhang who has shaped much of the country's modern urban landscape, with the logo of her company SOHO China, on the side of buildings wherever you turn in Beijing. — cnn.com

It's not your everyday real estate deal. A team of young entrepreneurs persuaded about 50 deep-pocketed investors to help them purchase a mountain. The deal just closed in April, and development on Utah's nearly 10,000-acre Powder Mountain is now underway. [...]

"We were inspired by the core concepts of the Sundance Film Festival and the Aspen Institute. You can build place around a shared ethos." — npr.org

Donald Judd bought 101 Spring Street, an 1870 cast-iron building, in 1968 for $68,000.
He stripped the dilapidated building down to its plaster walls and wood floors, illegally removing distractions like fire sprinklers.
Then Judd (1928-1994) spent decades turning the spaces into a showcase for his art and a place to rest his head on a bed made of wood planks. It’s carefully related to the colored tubes by Dan Flavin that march across the room, echoing the rhythm of a gorgeous row of windows. — bloomberg.com

After dabbling at the edges for political discourse for several years, the AIA's New York chapter has jumped in with both feet by releasing this week its first-ever mayoral platform.

"We just felt these issues were too important to stand on the sidelines anymore," said Jill Lerner, a principal KPF and the chapter's president. "Whether it's zoning and building codes or sustainability issues or climate change and Sandy, politicians set the agenda for how the city gets built." — crainsnewyork.com

For those willing to accept the challenge of owning a dwelling designed by America's most-famous architect, there are about 20 Wright homes currently up for sale in eight states. That's the largest number in recent years. Those on the market now range from a six-bedroom Illinois home listed at $649,000 to a sprawling Montana ranch with a price tag of $5.6 million. "It is a good time to buy a Wright house because there is a variety of prices and locations,'' said Janet Halstead... — online.wsj.com

Three of the most important modernist houses in the Northeast, including the 1964 house Robert Venturi designed for his mother, have been (or will soon be) put up for sale by their long-time owners, two of them without covenants that would ensure their preservation. — archrecord.construction.com

According to academics like Brent D. Ryan, author of “Design After Decline: How America Rebuilds Shrinking Cities," it is one of the most ambitious privately financed urban reclamation projects in American history. — NYT

The salesclerk at a Belgravia clothing boutique, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity because she did not want to get in trouble, said that at some times of the year the area was virtually abandoned. “We’ll shut for the whole of August,” she said. — NYT

It's the first official day of spring, and that means this year's crop of new developments is about to start hitting the market. They'll have a lot to live up to, because the season is starting off with a big one: 432 Park Avenue! The city's—nay, the western hemisphere's—future tallest residential building is now available. Or at least, two-thirds of the units are. — Curbed

The 4,230-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath home—currently on sale through Crosby Doe Associates for $4,495,000—offers a rare opportunity to lay claim to a unique piece of Wright history. The house, located in Pasadena, California, was originally built for book dealer Alice Millard for $17,000. Wright once said, "I would rather have built this little house than St. Peter's in Rome." — online.wsj.com

The huge Palm Springs estate of Bob Hope, the comic icon of midcentury film and television, and his wife, Dolores, is being brought to market for the first time this month, at an asking price of $50 million.

Perched high in the exclusive Southridge community, with panoramic views of the Coachella Valley, including the city of Palm Springs and the San Jacinto Mountains, the 23,366-square-foot home was designed in 1973 by the California Modernist architect John Lautner. — nytimes.com

The couple bought a 20-by-40-foot piece of land at 351 Keap St. in 2008, trying to get ahead of the wave of gentrification they feared would soon price them out of Williamsburg. Initially, they planned to build a tiny home out of bricks and mortar, but when they put out a bid, it came back as potentially costing half a million dollars. — dnainfo.com

Wright aficionado and architect Paolo Bulletti has launched an effort to purchase the 1954 Bachman Wilson House, one of Wright’s Usonian Houses in New Jersey, and transport the structure to the town of Fiesole outside Florence. — blogs.artinfo.com

“I’ve seen Kelly Ripa there. Two little kids were playing with Legos on the treadmill next to her, and there was nobody else.” — NYT