The 3 million square foot island, located near Abu Dhabi’s Sadiyat Island, will have 31 delue beachfront villas and 25 water villas, but also a 66-room luxury boutique hotel. The project is only the first of a series of three and will be developped by the end of this year, with an estimated cost of $6 billion.

“There will be no cars on the island, so you can either walk or take one of the golf carts, which will be provided at all times. The island itself is only 1.5km long and 400 metres wide, with a total area of 3.3 million square feet,” said Ms Zaal.

The properties will have six bedrooms, seven bathrooms and a pool but a smaller version of the accomodation is also available, with five bedrooms and six bathrooms. “Each roof top will have a unique design and will be entirely covered with grass, which means that part of the maintenance will be to mow the grass on the roof,” said Ms Zaal.

Wondering about the price? For some it’s merely a worthy investment while for other the price is mind-blowing. The starting price of these properties is Dh70 million (US$19m). “There has been a lot of demand for these properties from people living in the GCC region and Europe,” said Ms Zaal.

via Zawya

Released: May 2008
Brand name: Tiji TV
Agency: DDB PARIS
Country: France

Tiji TV as imaginative as children www.tiji.fr

When discussion his technique, Banksy commented “I use whatever it takes. Sometimes that just means drawing a moustache on a girl’s face on some billboard, sometimes that means sweating for days over an intricate drawing. Efficiency is the key”.

You are likely to found humorous drawings occasionally combined with slogans in his creations, with strong messages against war, capitalism, establishment. The stars in the art of the graffiti artists are monkeys and rats, policemen, soldiers, children and the elderly. Here are 10 creative artworks we picked up from his website.

For the highly anticipated “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” we can expect to see Indy in places such as ancient temples hidden deep within the jungles. We don’t want to rain on your parade, but the shooting for the movies took place in Elstree Studio, a cavernous filmmaking facility in England.

That doesn’t matter if you’re the adventurous type. You get to experience what you saw in the Indiana Jones movies.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” features Indy with an Incan statue taken from a ancient temple. The star location for this adventure is Machu Piccu, one of the most ancient and fascinanting lost cities of Peru. There are plenty of things waiting to be discovered while wondering through the remains of the ancient city. And the surrounding jungle is perhaps the place where you can find a rush of adrenaline to complete the adventure.

According to the script of “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, Indy acquires the Staff of Ra in Nepal. As for the Egyptian scenes, George Lucas picked a place familiar to him, where scenes of Star Wars were also shot. We’re talking about the Tunisian city Kairouan, translated as “Little Cairo, where the Star Wars desert races or Indy’s confrontation with the master swordsman took place.

For the next movie, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” the makes turned to the Elstree Studios and to fascinating Sri Lanka. The main setting for the movie was supposed to be a real Indian temple, but the government didn’t approve it due to the way Maharaja was depicted in the movie.

“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” makes its debut with the young Indiana Jones, played by River Phoenix. The treasure-hunters in Utah’s Moab desert. Surrounded by some of the most diverse terrain the world, the Moab region is a magnet for all those in love with extreme sports but also for sightseeing and photographing.

photo sources: 1, 2, 3, 4; via msn.com

Similar to humans, dogs are vulnerable to sunrays, simply sensible to bright light or predisposed to eye problems. Apart from eye disease, these fashionable accesories protect from dust or allergens entering the eye. Better safe than sorry!

via

Saif-ul-Malook Lake, courtesy of Heartkins


Aberdares, courtesy of jay_berkley

Kerama Islands, courtesy of thailandbeach

Cascade Falls, courtesy of cayusa

Sunrise in Salou, Spain, courtesy of anns008

Construction on the other parts of the complex is rapidly progressing, the site soon becoming one of the largest casino strips in the world and the envy of Las Vegas.

• Site 1 = The Venetian Macao
• Site 2 = Four Seasons Macau
• Site 3 = Far East Consortium
• Site 4 = City of Dreams (see Melco-PBL below)
• Site 5 = Shangri-La and Traders
• Site 6 = Sheraton and St. Regis
• Site 7 = Hilton and Conrad
• Site 8 = Fairmont and Raffles

And if you haven’t yet grasped the concept of how big the Venetian Macau really is, know that you could fit 90 Boeing 747 jumbo jets into it. It’s easy to get lost, since the casino has 3,000 suites, 1,200,000 square feet (111,000 m²) of convention space, 1,600,000 square feet (149,000 m²) of retail, 550,000 square feet (51,000 m²) of casino space. In this casino space, gamblers will find 3,400 slot machines and 800 gambling tables and a 15,000 seat arena for entertainment/sports events.

More info about the wonder of the gambling world at the official website.

zeroHouse has been designed with minimal disturbance to the earth in mind. Expected to be built in Texas or Vermont, the design already won the 2007 Studio Award from the Texas Society for Architects. The house becomes fully energy independent, the solar panels being able to operate continuously for up to one week with no sunlight

zeroHouse
Specht Harpman

14 architects were called in to participate at design sustainable homes for the “Make It Right” project, in an effort to help rebuild an area of New Orleans ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. The “Make It Right” has impressive green features, such natural daylighting and ventilation, and use of recyclable materials. Swell House is a new way for appending new architecture to an older suburban house, that insulates during winter providing a cooling stacking effect to take place in warmer weather.

Make it Right Swell House
New Orleans, Louisiana Highland Park, New Jersey
Adjaye Associates Studio ST Architects and Z-A

The mkSolaire represents the sustainable design by architect Michelle Kaufmann, that will be solar-ready and abd feature renewable energy options such as a geothermal system, a wind generator system, or hybrid systems. To be built in the historic San Rafael Hills area of Pasadena, the EcoHouse will have solar panels that will supply power for the house.

mkSolaire Pasadena Eco House
Chicago, Illinois Pasadena, California
Michelle Kaufmann DesignsStudio RMA

The San Vicente residence in Santa Monica, California, features perforated metal skin, clerestory panels, and operable skylights, while the Sycamore House is both a home and laboratory. Located in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles. the Sycamore house is expected to be finished later this year, being elligible for a LEED Platinum rating. It runs primarily on photovoltaic power, with supplemental cooling provided by a geothermal system.

San Vicente Residence Sycamore House
Santa Monica, California Los Angeles, California
Pugh + Scarpa Kovac Architects

If you have ever wondered what is the most expensive artist alive, here is your chance to find out. Jasper Johns is the fan of many art-loving billionaires, being the world’s most expensive living artist for 10 years, until 2007. Last year, his record was taken away first by Damien Hirst, then by Jeff Koons, the current holder.

If you were wondering what were the expensive art pieces that these artists have put up for auction, here are some of their most impressive works.

The following piece, Jasper Johns - False Start is the piece for which Jasper got his title for the most expensive artist. In 1988, his White Flag painting sold for $7 million at Christies, while the painting you see above was sold at Sotheby’s the next night for $17 million.

2007 was the year when Damien Hirst took the title. The colorful piece above Damien Hirst - Lullaby Spring was auctioned for the impressive amount of $19.2 million. The pill cabinet now belongs to the royal family of Qatar, the Al-Thani family.

Last but not least, the following piece belongs to the artist currently known as the most expensive living artist at auction. Jeff Koons - Hanging Heart (Magenta/Gold) has been boughtfor $23.6 million in Novemebr 2007.

“Art prices are determined by the meeting of real or induced scarcity with pure, irrational desire, and nothing is more manipulable than desire.” the art critic Robert Hughes mentions about these impressive prices.

via The Art News Paper