Federation Island construction will start in the beginning of 2009 in Sochi, Russia. The project comes from the dutch Erick van Egeraart associated Architects (EEA). On the official website you can read: It will be a 350-hectare artificial island located off the coast of Sochi, Russia. Federation Island will house 25,000 people in apartments and villas. Federation Island is expected to be completed in time for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The project will cost around 6.2 billion dollars (4.4 billion euros).

Dubai developers Nakheel just announced they are going to build a one kilometre high (3,280 feet) tower, the Nakheel Tower, beating the city state's own world record (with the the yet to be completed Burj Dubai, which reached a height of 688 metres (2,257 feet) last month and is still growing). The tower will be built in a whole new town that will cover 270 hectares. It is estimated the entire project will cost $95bn, of which $38.12bn will be for the tower alone. Nakheel has already built about $60bn worth of projects in Dubai. Nakheel Tower will have four individual towers within a single structure, which is very rare.

After all the conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks in september 2001 that have been seen around the internet, here is the official technical explanation of how fire could bring down the 47 stories Salomon brothers building, in 6.5 seconds. The skyscraper went down many hours after the attacks, simply because it took some time for the fire to destroy the metallic structure. This video was made by CBS and the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) a few days ago.   The 3D videos from NIST can be seen here. More Info NIST: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/wtc082108.html

Because of the expected rise of the sea level and the need to create space for man and nature in the over-populated western part of the Netherlands, Royal Haskoning and Van Oord have been studying for a few months the possibilities of large scale Dutch coastal expansion and an airport situated in the North Sea. The airport is planned to have three 6 kilometres large basins with six floating and rotating airstrips. This revolutionary idea would provide maximum access for airplanes regardless of the direction of the wind. There would be three terminal buildings, connected to Schiphol (Amsterdam's international airport) by a 16 minutes long MagLev (magnet levitation train). The airport would be 20 kilometres away from the shore.

It will be in what used to be a desert that we will see the largest fountain in the world. Of course, this $218 million project had to be in Dubai. Once again, Emaar Properties is responsible for the project. With its integral light and sound show, it is expected to become one of the city’s major tourist attractions (it should draw more than 10 million visitors per year!). The water will have 1'000 different expressions accompanied by music. 22'000 gallons of water will be pumped, and 6'600 lights and 50 color projectors will also be needed. The display will be 275 meters long, and the water will be shot 150 meters high.

The London 2012 Olympic stadium is a £450 million project. The athletics stadium will allow for 80'000 seats, and it will be converted into a more easily maintained 25'000 seat venue after the Games. The lighting and sound systems will be supported by a roof that will stretch around the Stadium. Of course, it will also provide cover and a base for special effects during the ceremonies. The Stadium will be built to international track and field standards for athletes. The Olympic Stadium will be located on an island at the south of the Olympic Park within easy walking distance of the Olympic Village and warm-up facilities.  The site will be surrounded on three sides by waterways.

Beijing’s new seven-level Olympic stadium is a $500 million project. Finishing touches are still being added to the stadium that will be able to seat as many as 91'000 spectators during the Olympic Games starting August 9, 2008. After the Games, temporary seating will be removed, reducing the the capacity to 80'000. This will also be the case of the London Olympic Stadium. The National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest" for its lattice work of interwoven steel, has been designed by Herzog & de Meuron. It has made such an impact as to displace late Chinese leader Mao Zedong's face from commemorative Olympic bank notes.