Plans to build Europe’s tallest observation wheel in Newcastle, UK, have been given the green light by the city council. The 140m-tall Whey Aye – named after a popular phrase in the local dialect pronounced 'why eye', meaning 'yes' – is being developed by the World Wheel Company and is set to stand five metres taller than The London Eye. Designed by Concept I, the wheel will be built at

The Moshe Safdie-designed Jewel Changi Airport – an atmospheric leisure complex and air terminus in Singapore – has finally opened its doors to the public. The result of a four-year construction process, the US$1.25bn (€1.1bn, £958m) structure is roofed by a unique glass and steel geodesic dome that links to its crowning feature, a 40-metre-tall waterfall dubbed the "Rain Vortex". The impressive complex – a city in its own right

Frich's Wood Hotel has officially launched inside the recently completed Mjøstarnet building in Brumunddal, Norway. Featuring 72 rooms as well as an exterior garden, a restaurant, a pool, and a bar, the hotel is connected to a range of cycling and walking trails and faces Mjøs, Norway's largest lake. Other elements of the complex include offices and residential facilities. Frich's is part of the 85.4-metre-tall Mjøstarnet property – reportedly the

The MahaNakhon SkyWalk – an observation deck designed by German architecture studio Buro Ole Scheeren – has opened in Bangkok. Located a heartstopping 314 metres above the ground atop the 77-storey King Power MahaNakhon complex, the deck – dubbed the "Skytray" – features a walkable glass platform and bar, providing panoramic views of the surrounding urban landscape. Speaking on the opening, Scheeren said: "The idea behind MahaNakhon was to take

Foster + Partners have unveiled images for the Tulip Tower, an observatory and event space intended to become the City of London’s next cultural attraction. The 305-metre skyscraper, which will stand alongside the now iconic Gherkin building, will be an office-free venue, providing panoramic views of the city. Developed by J. Hafra Group as part of the City Corporation of London’s Cultural Mile public engagement initiative, the complex will feature

St. Regis Hotels & Resorts (SRHR) has opened its latest hotel on the waterfront of Wanzai, Zhuhai in the city’s tallest skyscraper. Commissioned by the Zhuhai Huafa Group and designed by Chinese architectural firm RMJM, the 31-storey St. Regis Zhuhai – which reportedly is also the first luxury hotel in the district – features 251 guest rooms and 34 suites. In addition to its five on-site restaurants, the resort also

The Bank of Africa skyscraper in Rabat, Morocco, will be the tallest building on the African continent, at 250-metres, when it opens in 2022. The mixed-use, 55-floor highrise, which will be designed by Belgium-based architectural studio Besix, will include a luxury hotel, office space, and apartments. The project, which is being hailed as an "emblematic" addition to Rabat – considered by some to be Morocco’s cultural capital – is part

The developer behind a new Four Seasons hotel and residential unit has called it “the finest and most architecturally-significant skyscraper ever built in Boston, ushering in a new era of modern development and elevating the standard of luxury living” in the US city. Richard L. Friedman, president and CEO of Carpenter & Company, said of Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences One Dalton Street: “Watching this unprecedented, architectural landmark soar

The city of Melbourne is aiming to secure itself as Australia's culture capital, with the development of the country's largest contemporary art gallery and its tallest building. To be built next door to the National Gallery of Victoria as part of a new arts precinct, the NGV Contemporary site would be developed at a cost of AU$151m (US$115mm, €98.5m, £86m), replacing the former Carlton & United Brewery. Victoria State will

Forget the London Eye, Newcastle’s ‘Whey Aye’ is set to outdo its southern sibling by becoming Europe’s tallest observation wheel. The 140-metre-tall (459-foot) attraction, which will be located at the east end of the city’s Quayside and offer 30-minute “flights”, will be five metres taller than the London Eye and takes its nickname from the oft-heard Geordie phrase, “Whey aye, man”. Around the observation wheel – which is expected to

Japanese architecture giants Nikken Sekkei have partnered with construction firm Sumitomo Forest to create the world’s tallest wooden skyscraper, which they hope will inspire the transformation of “cities into forests” around the globe. Located in central Tokyo, the timber tower, tentatively called the W350, is set to be completed by 2041 to celebrate Sumitomo Forest’s 350th anniversary – a milestone that has informed its anticipated height of 350m (1,148ft). The

Here are some of the most popular stories that appeared on CLAD this week, from a museum inspired by a kiln to a landmark opera house for Dubai. • Hotel brand Wyndham Garden has launched a new global design prototype to help hospitality operators save money, improve efficiency and forge a closer connection to nature. Read here. • The body in charge of organising Tokyo’s Olympic Games has admitted its

German architect Ole Scheeren has completed one of his highest profile projects since leaving OMA and setting up his own studio: Thailand’s tallest building. MahaNakhon is a 77-storey, 314m (1,030ft) tall ‘pixelated’ skyscraper located in Bangkok’s Central Business District. The dramatic addition to the city’s skyline opened to the public this week with a spectacular light show. The multi-coloured LED display highlighted the three-dimensional ribbon of architectural pixels that coil

The recently-completed Shanghai Tower, designed by Global architecture firm Gensler, has been officially recognised as the world’s second-tallest building. Located in Shanghai's Pudong business district, the 632m (2,000ft) spiralling structure – which contains a hotel, cultural facilities, a six-storey retail zone and an observation deck – has been designed to symbolise China’s global emergence and is now the tallest building in the country. According to the Council on Tall Buildings

Plans to build the tallest skyscraper in the City of London have been unveiled by Eric Parry Architects, who say it will feature the UK’s highest free public viewing gallery. At a height of 309.6m (1,000ft), Parry’s commercial tower, named 1 Undershaft, will be as tall as its Renzo Piano-designed neighbour The Shard – currently the tallest building in western Europe. It will be located in the heart of the

Ground has been broken on what will be Vietnam’s tallest building – the 460m (1,509-ft) Vincom Landmark 81 – featuring 25 separate rooftop gardens and an observation deck as part of the development. A collaboration between Atkins and Arup, the 81-storey development will come up in Ho Chi Minh City’s Vinhomes Central Park. In addition to the rooftop gardens, many of which will be accessible to the public as visitor

Plans have been unveiled by US-based Morphosis Architects for a luxury hotel next to Pritzker Prize-winner Peter Zumthor’s famous Therme Vals Spa, Switzerland. The directors of 7132 Ltd, Remo Stoffel and Pius Truffer are behind the scheme. Stoffel trumped a rival bid from Zumthor to buy the Therme Vals spa hotel from the municipality back in 2012, and he and Truffer are now keen to expand their presence in the

Austrian property entrepreneur Günter Kerbler has announced his intention to build the world’s largest wooden skyscraper in Vienna, with design by Rüdiger Lainer and Partner architects. The building, expected to cost €60m (US$67m, £43m), is to be called HoHo and will be part of the Aspern Urban Lakeside Project, a 20-year initiative to create a new quarter for Vienna, with 20,000 houses and integrated leisure and hospitality. Aspern is currently

French architecture firm Valode & Pistre is set to break ground on what would become Africa’s tallest skyscraper in June 2015. Planned for a yet to be confirmed site in Morocco, the building will be more than 500m (1,640ft) tall and have 114 floors representative of the number of chapters found in the Quran. More than just an incredibly tall tower, the building will also have a luxury shopping area,

Foster + Partners (F+P), working in conjunction with local Heller Manus Architects (HMA), has submitted plans for two skyscrapers in San Francisco’s financial district. The mixed-use development covers approximately 185,806sq m (2,000,000sq ft). Of the two towers to be constructed, the taller, standing at 260m (853ft) high, will feature housing, offices and a hotel; whereas, the smaller building, 185m (605 ft) will be purely residential. Lord Foster of F+P commented:

Wuhan, the capital city of central China, could be the home of the world’s tallest pair of buildings by 2018, as part of an ambitious mixed-use scheme. Chetwoods Architects, a UK based firm, have submitted proposals for the world’s tallest towers and are awaiting final approval from Wuhan’s mayor. The new Phoenix Towers, standing at 3,280ft (1 km) tall, would take up seven hectares of a yet-to-be developed 47 hectare

The new Rosewood Guangzhou hotel, located on the top 16 floors of Guangzhou, China’s tallest building will be home two a two-level Sense spa. Coming in 2017 and located in the heart of Tianhe District’s central business area, near the Zaha Hadid -designed Guangzhou Opera House, the 251-bedroom hotel is in a 530m (1,738ft) tall building – amongst the 10 tallest in the world. It will have the fastest elevators

The Deep Nature spa in Belgium’s highest residential tower – the UP-site – is set to launch on 1 July this year in Brussels. Set within the 140m high 42-storey tower, the 600sq m (6,458sq m) spa features five treatment rooms including a double suite for couples’ treatments, a scrub room, swimming pool, hot and cold baths, sensory showers, a hammam and a sauna. Skin care products will be provided

Two separate construction projects, one in Australia and another in South Africa, have made claims to become the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. The projects, which are proposals at present, have received provisional backing from their respective government authorities. The city of Melbourne in the State of Victoria, Australia hopes to build a 388m (1,272 ft) tower rising 108 stories, while the South African project - to be constructed

The world's tallest hotel, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai in the UAE, has been officially opened to guests. Soaring at 335m (1,099ft), the hotel is spread across two towers, which feature 1,608 guestrooms. The 72-story property houses a 4,000sq m (43,056sq ft) Saray Spa and Health Club featuring 16 treatment rooms. The spa draws inspiration from the caravanserai silk route across Arabia focussing on places of rest and recovery along

The View from The Shard (VTS), a new visitor experience located at the top of Europe's tallest building in London, will open to the public on 1 February. Details of the attraction's design were revealed for the first time today (25 October) by Anders Nyberg, VTS chief executive. The tall attraction will take people on a journey to 244m (800ft) above London, almost twice as high as any other viewing

The Shard, a new £2bn (US$3.1bn, EUR2.5bn) mixed-use development designed by Renzo Piano, has become one of Europe's tallest buildings after its official opening in London, UK. Dignitaries such as HRH Prince Andrew and His Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor Al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar, attended the inauguration event yesterday (5 July). A spectacular laser and lightshow marked the opening of The Shard, which was designed in