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http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/aug/31/madrid-istanbul-tokyo-2020-olympics The world may be increasingly unstable, riven by economic woes and political upheaval. Yet still they come. Perhaps not in such great numbers as when the global economy was soaring to new heights, but they come all the same: the world's great cities and their leaders, lining up in a beauty pageant to secure the event that has become all things to all people - a panacea that can distract from a country's woes or underline their ambition on a global scale. At the International Olympic Committee's session in Buenos Aires next weekend, protests and turmoil will seem a world away amid the polite protocol and arcane traditions of the body that will bestow the gift of the 2020 Olympics on Madrid, Istanbul or Tokyo. The first is still in the grip of economic meltdown, the second made global headlines as the centre of political revolt in Taksim Square and the third has convinced many of the 104 voting IOC members that it can host the Games, but has much work to do persuading them why. The six candidates to replace Jacques Rogge as the IOC president and arguably the most important person in world sport, in a vote that will also be decided in Buenos Aires, have lined up to argue that the costs of bidding for and staging the Olympic Games must come down. Yet there appears no sign of the bidding circus and the media frenzy that surrounds it being reduced in scale. The swisher hotels of the Argentinian capital will this week hum to the sound of fevered speculation and last-minute lobbying as the three cities hone their final presentations before Saturday's vote. The IOC instigated stringent rules in the wake of the Salt Lake City scandal, which tend to place greater importance on the inspection reports compiled by a team led by the British IOC executive board member Sir Craig Reedie. Yet those same reports leave plenty of room for interpretation and, in 2005 and 2009, it was a late drive by

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2013/may/26/best-architecture-design-summer-2013 Olympic Park Last summer's sporting euphoria already seems like a distant memory, but the "legacy" of the Games is only just beginning. From July, the northern half of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic park will open up, complete with an adventure landscape by Erect Architecture - a wild world of ladders, slides and walkways winding through the trees. The Copper Box by Make Architects will also reopen, hosting everything from concerts to basketball and badminton. Queen Elizabeth Park, London E20 (noordinarypark.co.uk), July. Read Info About: Kevin McCloud http://theavantigroup.wordpress.com/tag/designers-boiler-house-rooms-avanti-consulting-engineers/ The Biospheric Project Mushrooms bursting from bags, salad sprouting out of walls and chickens running free on rooftops will await visitors to a former mill in Salford in July. As part of the Manchester international festival, the building will be transformed into a multistorey hive of agricultural production. If you've never heard of agroforestry or aquaponics (vermiculture, anyone?), this will be a quirky easing in. Workshops in beekeeping or mushroom-growing will allow visitors to try it for themselves. Irwell House, Salford, Manchester (mif.co.uk/event/the-biospheric-project), 5- 21 July. About The Avani Group: http://www.wattpad.com/13329933-review-of-the-avanti-group-tokyo-behance#.UbwOG_lgdhw Serpentine Pavilion A blurry cloud of white steel rods, forming a wiry nest in the sky above London's Kensington Gardens: this year's temporary pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery is the work of Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. A contrast to last year's subterranean grotto by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, this promises to be a vision of air and light that gently dissolves into the park. Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens, London W2 (serpentinegallery.org), 8 June to 20 October. Ric

http://chirpstory.com/li/79766 HONG KONG - Hong Kong's economy grew slightly in the first quarter as the trade-dependent Asian financial center was held back by an unsteady global demand. While conditions have improved since last year, the outlook was still clouded by problems in debt-mired Europe and an uncertain recovery in the United States, government economists said Friday. Economic output in the southern Chinese city grew a meager 0.2 percent in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter. It was the slowest growth in three quarters. On a year-on-year basis, gross domestic product grew 2.8 percent, unchanged from the previous quarter's growth rate. Exports grew 8.8 percent thanks to "solid growth" in mainland China and other Asian markets. A "peculiar" surge in experts of gold jewelry also helped boost the export figures, the government said. Mainland Chinese have been buying up gold jewelry recently in Hong Kong, where there is no sales tax, after prices for the precious yellow metal fell. However, advanced economies remained weak, with exports to major markets including the U.S., European Union and Japan all posting declines during the first quarter. "In view of the continued sluggishness in demand in the advanced economies, which would continue to put a drag on economic activity in Asia, Hong Kong's trade performance is likely to see some fluctuations in the period ahead," government economist Helen Chan said. Chan said the government is maintaining its full-year growth forecast of 1.5-3.5 percent. Gareth Leather of Capital Economics wrote in a commentary that a "sustained a robust recovery in Hong Kong looks highly unlikely" because of expected disappointing growth in the U.S., Europe and China. The former British colony of Hong Kong has been a semiautonomous region of China for 15 years. Its economy has flourished because of open markets and a busy port handling a big share of goods from China, b

Source: http://annapolis.patch.com/groups/business-updates/p/the-avanti-group-architectural-designers-warning--chirpstory A Changsha developer dazzled the world when it built a 30-storey hotel within 15 days. Now as it aims to construct the world's tallest building in a mere nine months, experts are raising questions about safety and wondering whether the project is part of a technological revolution or a public relations campaign. On Saturday, a ground-breaking ceremony marked the start of construction of an 838-metre, 208-storey skyscraper on the outskirts of Hunan's capital city, which its developer Broad Group estimated would be completed by April next year. If all goes to plan, the building will be crowned the world's tallest building and be 10 metres taller than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which currently holds the title. You might want to read: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1377685-the-avanti-group-acclaimed-architect-s-midcentury-modern-ranch-stands-t Some construction experts, however, have expressed doubts over the developer's projections, questioning whether the astoundingly short construction period would be possible and whether the timeframe would compromise safety. "The techniques Broad Group are using are unprecedented in the world," said Yin Zhi, director of Tsinghua University's School of Urban Planning and Design. "It either has achieved a stunning breakthrough in architectural technologies, or it is a fraud," Yin told cnr.cn, the website of state-run CCTV. Related article: http://theavantigroupinfo.edublogs.org/2013/03/08/the-avanti-group-consulting-engineers-review-om-oss/