The New Extraterrestrial Design by Zaha Hadid

What you are looking at is the new design for the new Cultural Centre and Opera House in Dubai by Zaha Hadid.

It is said that; “The design calls for an exciting new cultural centre in the new Seven Pearls district of Dubai. This landmark development will accommodate an opera house, playhouse, arts gallery, performing arts school and themed hotel on an island in Dubai Creek just off the mainland part of the district. All of these facilities will be state of the art to host world class performances and exhibitions. The opera house will have a seating capacity of 2,500 while the playhouse will have a seating capacity of 800.”

To read more about the dune-shaped building proposed for an island off Dubai Creek, go here.

The New Standard of “Nesting”

Dutch artist Benjamin Verdonck takes “nesting” to a whole new level. He has built a nest in the side of a skyscraper in Rotterdam. He’s staying there for seven days and built it out of “the crowns of twenty-three silver birches. one birch one willow two straw bales one bucket of spit three bags of sand twelve buckets of glue nineteen cans of polyurethane foam.” Here’s his website if you can read Dutch.

There’s also a giant egg sitting on the street. It makes me wonder if “he” is actually portraying a female bird. A loon or cuckoo, you decide. I personally love the idea.

Here are two clips of Verdonck, the egg, and some bewildered looking onlookers:

“Groundbreaking” Eco-friendly Apartment: Bought by Leonardo DiCaprio

The Titanic star, who is also an outspoken environmentalist has just purchased a ‘green’ flat in New York’s pioneering Riverhouse complex. DiCaprio’s representative confirmed the sale but did not reveal how much the star had paid. A statement was released, however, saying “Riverhouse is a prime example of how green technology is both accessible and achievable for new residential developments – it is a groundbreaking building.”

What we know is that Riverhouse offers one-bedroom properties from $835,000 and four-bedroom homes from $2,975,000, so it’s somewhere in between.

The 264-unit complex in Rockefeller Park was built using locally acquired renewable materials, is partly powered by solar energy,offers a 24-hour fresh-filtered air system and boasts green rooftops planted with pine trees.

Riverhouse residents also have access to a children’s playroom, media cafe, fitness centre, dog spa and a treehouse. DiCaprio has long been an ardent campaigner on green issues. He was one of the first people to buy a hybrid car and has established his environment awareness organisation the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.