We’re gaga over these renderings of Zaha Hadid’s proposed Performing Arts Centre in Abu Dhabi. We haven’t heard much about how green the building will be, but we’re excited to see more and more star architects inspired by natural and organic forms (check out the leaf-like windows!). The Performing Arts Center will be part of a multi-billion dollar cultural district with other buildings by Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, and Tadao Ando. In her own words, Ms. Hadid describes the structure as a “biological analogy” whose primary components (branches, stems, fruits, and leaves) are then “transformed from these abstract diagrams into architectonic design.” We can only hope that such poetic biomimicry will be translated into green functions, materials, and technologies as well.

Vitra Fire Station

An early design for a fire station for the Vitra furniture complex in Germany by Zaha Hadid.

Congress Station

Hungerburg Station

“Each station has its own unique context, topography, altitude, and circulation. We studied natural phenomena such as glacial moraines and ice movements – as we wanted each station to use the fluid language of natural ice formations, like a frozen stream on the mountainside.”Zaha Hadid

BMW Central Building, Leipzig, Germany, 2005

Zaha Hadid

Maggies Centre, Fife, Scotland, 2006

Zaha Hadid

Size+Matter: Zaha Hadid

One of the highlights of the London Design Festival was the inauguration of the South Bank as a cultural hub, the crowning moment of which was Zaha Hadid being awarded the first London Design Medal on Monday night. We were on hand to find out a little about how she manages to work as she does, and to hear about ‘Urban Nebula’, her graceful, concrete (two words that don’t often appear together) installation on the Southbank

Tree of knowledge

Zaha Hadid unveils final design of ‘Pierres Vives’

This project captures the unique combination of three civic institutions – the archives, the library and the sports department, the spectacular design is inspired by the idea of a ‘tree of knowledge’ as an organizational diagram. The archive is located at the solid base of the trunk, followed by the slightly more porous library, with the sports department and its offices on top. These various parts of this “cite administrative” share several functions at the heart of the building, with auditorium and meeting rooms combining in a huge cantilever canopy above the entrance. The branches projecting off the main trunk on ground floor, articulate the entrances into the various institutions. All the public entrances are located on the western side; whilst the service entrances for staff and loading bays are on the eastern side. In this way the tree-trunk analogy is exploited to organise and articulate the complexity of the overall “cite administrative”.

commercial and housing complex

We don’t often bring news of projects without at least an inkling of the actual design, but sometimes we just can’t resist: Zaha Hadid, the Iraqi Pritzker Prize winning architect, is set to design Melbourne’s, and Australia’s, greenest and probably most expensive commercial and housing complex. A tall order, considering that Melbourne is already home to CH2 and 40 Albert Road, which have been the only two buildings in the country to achieve the highest 6-star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.

While the design is still shrouded in secrecy (the image above is just an artist’s impression of what the design might look like, and is not the official design of the development), a few facts have already leaked to the outside world. The design will be composed of four buildings, Docklands’ tallest tower, elaborate civic spaces over two sites, and decking over Wurundjeri Way pedestrian river paths.

The proposed tower will be 50 to 60 levels high and would occupy the site once earmarked for the failed Grollo Tower. The design is set to be so green, that according to The Age, an Australian newspaper, “it would deserve an eight-to-12-star energy rating” something which is impossible under current Green Star guidelines, and would be the equivalent of a rating three or four times above LEED Platinum.

We have featured Zaha previously when we spoke about the Performing Arts Centre in Abu Dhabi. She is of course quite famous for her extreme designs, which vary from being quite angular and sculptural, to her more recent biologically-inspired shapes. Whatever one may think of her work, you cannot deny that she is doing some very interesting and exciting projects. We can’t wait to see what the final design for the Melbourne Docklands will look like and hope that the final design is as green as it is claimed to be.

$5 million

Diamonds are not only the girl’s best friend. They are also an economical man’s worst enemy! It is no secret that diamonds and diamond necklaces as well as diamond jewelry are costly. The ordinary you and I might wish to have a necklace with small, cheap diamonds just to tell others we have diamond necklaces as well, but well, otherwise, the more exotic diamond necklaces with large stones or many stones are simply not for average folks.

How about a diamond necklace that has a pear shaped diamond, about 75 carats? The necklace looks simply stunning with the diamond in it, and it costs only about US $5 million. There is also a diamond ring that is quite cheap – about $1 million. A beautiful diamond necklace, by Stefano Canturi, costs only about &750,000 – $1 million.

The Blue Diamond

$7.98 million

It is the ultimate diamond in the rough. And if you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it. A rare
and flawless blue diamond has set a record as the most expensive precious jewel of its kind ever sold. The gem, which is 6.04 carats and sparkles with an unusual blue hue, is almost as breathtaking as the
price it fetched at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong.

Diamond of Hope

$180,000

Cartier wanted a lot of money,” says Washington Post Columnist Sarah Booth Conroy, “and Evalyn was hesitant. So Cartier added, ‘Well, we’ve fixed it up now with a wonderful setting and you’ll like it.

Why don’t you keep it for a few days?’ And so she put it on her dresser and she looked at it and she looked at it…” “For hours that jewel stared at me,” remembers Evalyn in her autobiography, “and at some time during the night I began to really want the thing. Then I put the chain around my neck and hooked my life to its destiny for good or evil.”
The deal closes at $180,000; Cartier’s elaborate sales pitch has worked. The Hope diamond is the largest and most perfect blue diamond in existence, but for the young and impetuous heiress, its fascinating past is the hot selling point. “Besides that,” says Conroy, “she thought things that were unlucky for everybody else would be lucky for her, because she was an exception

Chopard Blue Diamond Ring

$16.26 million

Blue diamonds are among the rarest of naturally colored gems. That’s why this oval-shaped diamond ring, with triangular-shaped diamond shoulders and a pave-set diamond band in 18-carat white gold, will set you back about $1.7 million per carat. A pricey and unique alternative to the typical engagement

Heart of the Kingdom Ruby

$14 million

This 40.63-carat, heart-shaped Burma ruby, mounted on a 155-carat diamond necklace, claims top spot in the British jeweler’s collection. Got a débutante in your family? The diamond necklace can be transformed into a tiara. The stone is accompanied by two independent Swiss laboratory reports that verify its rarity.

Diamond Drop Earring by Harry Winston

$8.5 Million Earrings

Harry Winston is the ‘jeweler to the stars’ and you can find him, where else, at the House of Winston at 371 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, California. Every year Harry Winston lends out hundreds of millions of dollars worth of jewelry to the stars so they can look good at the Oscars. For 2006 the House of Winston created a pair of ‘Extraordinary Diamond Drop Earrings’ consisting of two pear-shaped diamonds in a platinum setting totaling 60.1 carats of wallet emptying glitter. If you’re interested in buying the world’s most expensive earrings be prepared to shell out a cool $8.5 million USD

Magnificent Diamond and Emerald Necklace

$3 million-plus

A virtual cascade of white and green, this Magnificent Diamond and Emerald Necklace from Chopard’s “Haute Joaillerie” collection will keep all eyes on your sweetheart, whatever the occasion. There are 191-carats worth of Columbia’s most beautiful emeralds on there, completely set by 16 carats of rose-cut and drop-shaped diamonds. Though officially “price upon request,” you should figure on spending $3 million-plus.

Regal Pear Shape Diamond Pendant

$2.5 million

Showstopper or credit-limit topper? Either way, Tiffany’s Majestic Diamond Necklace will be center stagShowstopper or credit-limit topper? Either way, Tiffany’s Majestic Diamond Necklace will be center stage wherever it’s displayed. With a fluid design that lies softly on the neck–and really, what other way is there?–this glittering choker evokes breathtaking glamour, with a 41.4-carat, pear-shaped diamond accompanied by a multitude of round and pear-shaped diamonds. Each stone is top-of-the-crust in color and clarity, of course, as is the pretty blue box it comes in

Emerald Cocktail Ring

$2.14 million

Luxury watch and jewelry manufacturer Chopard’s collection includes many high-priced pieces. But this bold cocktail ring–with half-moon diamond shoulders holding up a 33.02-carat solitaire emerald on a pave-set diamond and platinum band–outshines its rivals.

Novo Yellow Diamond Ring

$1.35 million

Of all the pieces one might find inside that famous blue box, this 25.27-carat novo yellow diamond ring set in platinum and yellow gold is priciest. Its beauty and its cost make soon-to-be-engaged girls swoon, and their beaus shudder. Can’t make it to the New York City location? Tiffany’s efficient online catalog makes ordering from home easy.

Diamond Engagement Rings

Engagement rings are traditionally known as a symbol of love and proposing. When a man asks a woman for her hand in marriage and in life, this ring is offered. Tradtionally, any ring is usable because the ring itself is a continuous loop symbolizing eternity. But as victims of society, now every man is pressured to use the most expensive piece he can afford, typically a diamond ring. The general rule of thumb is two to three month’s salary to show his dedication and sincerity.

Diamond rings became a tradition when the first one was given by Archduke Maximilian of Austria to Mary of Burgundy in 1477. Now it’s become a widely practiced ritual by nearly every culture in the world. More than 250 tons of earth is mined before a single 1 carat gem quality diamond is uncovered. The best quality diamonds are usually set into platinum bands for people who perfer the best of the best.