A slew of innovative new condo towers are being proposed for Vancouver, as the city aims to take its arguably boring architecture to the next level. [...]

Vancouver's move into adventurous architecture arguably began back in 2013, when Danish architect Bjarke Ingels revealed his design for twisting tower Vancouver House, which is now under construction. — cbc.ca

Mitsubishi Estate Co. says it will construct a 390-meter-high building, making it Japan’s tallest, as part of redevelopment project near Tokyo Station.

The structure will overtake the 300-meter-tall Abeno Harukas in the city of Osaka.

Mitsubishi Estate hopes the new building will serve both as a centerpiece of a major business district and tourist destination, officials said Monday. — japantimes.co.jp

A new high-rise building called the Freedom Pyramid will change the face of Jerusalem’s downtown area. The project, conceived by architects Daniel Libeskind and Yigal Levi, will see a multi-purpose tower comprising commercial shopping and residential units atop the old Eden theater.

The idea for a high-rise at this location, adjacent to Mahaneh Yehuda market, first hit headlines in 2011. But a Jerusalem municipal committee only now approved the construction. — israel21c.org

Berlin has just said “yes” to Communist-era blocks and “no” to more new skyscrapers. On Monday, the city announced that it was listing some key Communist-era structures in Alexanderplatz, East Berlin’s central square, as historical monuments. It is an irremovable nail in the coffin of a 22-year-old plan to demolish the square and replace it with a “little Manhattan”—a set of 10 new 150-meter high towers. — citylab.com

“Their manufacture is very accurate, there’s very little work that needs to be done on site,” said Green. “Because of this, construction will be very quick. Someday I’d like to make a building where all you need is a giant allen key to put it together.”

Baobab’s structure consists of a series of these solid timber walls that travel the full height of the tower, along with timber columns and a central timber “core” housing elevators and stairs. — theguardian.com

High-rise buildings and apartments are crowding small alleyways and residential areas, investors ignoring the huge pressure they are putting on already weak infrastructure. [...]

Hai, a resident of Thanh Xuan District, said locals are most worried about the danger of fire [...]

High-rise developments also put a huge strain on local power and water supplies, struggling sewage systems and storm-water drainage, creating more hazards for neighbouring residents. — vietnamnet.vn

The Ponte saga is a classic South African story. Once a Jacuzzi-filled playground for the segregated white elite in the apartheid era, then falling into chaos in the 1990s as the wealthy fled to the suburbs, then the object of failed luxury-condo schemes, the tower is now undergoing a renaissance as an icon of Johannesburg’s urban revitalization. [...]

The hollow core began to fill with garbage and rubble – several stories high. — theglobeandmail.com

Despite seeing completion last October, following orders from leader Kim Jong Un, only half of the units of a major apartment complex built near Pyongyang’s Taedong River are currently occupied. [...]

“The elevator runs only during breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours, so for long spans of time it will be impossible to get to the 40th floor,” the source said. “There isn’t even a place for people to put their bicycles, which are the most fundamental tools for people’s livelihoods.” — dailynk.com

Dubai is home to the iconic 828-metre high Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, but companies here are now vying to claim second place on the list of tallest towers in the emirate.

[...] the trend of building 'megatall' towers — those which reach more than 600 metres high – is likely to increase, particularly in the Middle East. [...]

Currently, Dubai has 917 high-rises and 465 skyscrapers, states Emporis, which collates data on building worldwide. — emirates247.com

KONE has initiated the first stage of elevator and escalator installations at Saudi Arabia’s 1km-tall Kingdom Tower.

The Finnish lift firm is currently fitting elevator guiderails at the project, which is being developed by Jeddah Economic Company (JEC) and is set to become the world’s tallest building on completion. — constructionweekonline.com

The current race to the top of the skyline is the most impressive in New York City’s history, with ever-taller skyscrapers sprouting from the Financial District all the way to 57th Street. And YIMBY has now learned that 217 West 57th Street, aka the Nordstrom Tower, received a height boost between April and June of last year, pushing the tower’s pinnacle to 1,795 feet. That will make it the tallest building in New York City, the United States, and the Western Hemisphere. — newyorkyimby.com

Architect Juan Gabriel Moreno is teaming up with Chicago's International Latino Cultural Center to build a new downtown headquarters in the form of a wild-looking $50 million complex. Announced during the most recent edition of Chicago Latino Film Festival that took place this month, the organization announced its ambitious new "Ibero-American Tower" which would house a number of components [...]. — chicago.curbed.com

A Chinese construction company is claiming to be the world’s fastest builder after erecting a 57-storey skyscraper in 19 working days in central China.

Broad Sustainable Building, a prefab construction firm, put up the rectangular, glass and steel Mini Sky City in the Hunan provincial capital of Changsha, assembling three floors a day using a modular method [...].

The company now has ambitions to assemble the world’s tallest skyscraper, at 220 floors, in only three months. — The Guardian

Most buildings in the country today use the minimum structural safety standards that the government has prescribed, say building safety experts and structural engineers.

"Our codes offer the lowest level of earthquake safety protection. We are designing for one-fifth the intensity that might hit a particular earthquake zone," says Sangeeta Waj, technical director at global design firm AECOM.

Experts however point out that there is no separate code in India for high rise buildings. — The Economic Times

There's another project coming to Manhattan that's even thinner: 303–305 E. 44th Street, designed by Eran Chen of ODA Architecture.

At 47 feet wide, this one's the narrowest of the bunch. Developed by Triangle Assets, the tower will rise about 600 feet high, creating 115,000 square feet of residential space. [...]

The design for 305 E. 44th is predicated on a stack of volumes; nested between them are the project's signature amenities, private gardens. — citylab.com