ourbania has been a social media joint venture between the communication agency mediaman Gmbh and the real estate bank Eurohypo AG to create a free user generated reference guide focused just on the built environment. As of last week Eurohypo decided to not be part of ourbania anymore. Therefore, mediaman is looking for partners who would be interested in our community. ourbania is an excellent place to showcase new developments, particularly architecturally stimulating and innovative projects.

It isn’t everyday that a distinct landmark arises; but this month a 5.6 million square foot L.A. LIVE sports and entertainment district was born. The project houses the Ritz Carlton Hotel & Residences as well as the JW Marriott. The mixed-use development will play host to the GRAMMYs, EMMYs, American Music Awards, ESPYs, and American Idol Finals. In addition to housing all the glamour of Hollywood, the project also boasts sustainable features, such water-efficient fixtures, landscaping, and solar-reflecting surfaces on roofs, paving and landscaping to reduce heat island effect.

A two week workshop in Madrid, Spain will start tomorrow. The focus of the training from Open Up is on the development of projects for the digital façade in Medialab-Prado's building. This is a collaborative effort is meant to explore the relationship between the urban screen and public space, to experiment with the screen’s communicative, narrative and visual capacities, and to investigate its potential to offer new forms of participation. Selected projects will even be developed further.

The German firm Henn Architekten has won first prize for the construction of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) headquarters in Addis Ababa. A panel of seven Ethiopian and foreign judges chose the 42-storey office tower as the winner. The tower will also have a conference centre and a shopping mall. The complex is said to be built in five years time. Here's the website: http://www.combanketh.com/

Retail paradise, iSQUARE, located in downtown Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong is now open for business. With its 31 stories and 56,000 square meters of retail space, this modern structure is destined to attract consumers searching for luxury dining and high-class entertainment. Retail architect Benoy Limited teamed up with Rocco Design Limited create and carry-out a grandiose design of glass walls, multimedia display walls, and changing color and lighting. The structure is easily accessible, offering access on two levels to the metro.

The skyline of Las Vegas is sparkling just a little bit more this Christmas season: upon completion of the MGM Mirage's CityCenter. The 67 acre LEED Gold-certified mixed used facility houses not one but four separate hotels! Let's not forget a multitude of retail and entertainment spaces plus several eateries which make this complex one of a kind. Check out the interactive website and see for yourself the innovation that head architect, Gensler, brought to life. www.citycenter.com

Last night the MAPIC award winners were announced. The Erst-August-Galerie in Hannover, Germany went home with the prize. Check it out on ourbania:
http://ourbania.com/urban-items/ernst-august-galerie

The MAPIC event has been running smoothly over the course of this week. Three outstanding retail complexes have been nominated for the MAPIC 2009 Best Shopping Center of the Year Award:
MyZeil in Frankfurt, Germany http://ourbania.com/urban-items/my-zeil
Odysseum in Montpellier, France http://ourbania.com/urban-items/odysseum
Westfield, United Kingdom http://ourbania.com/urban-items/westfield

Back in July I wrote a blog about the 2009 Best Tall Buildings Awards from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) in four regions. The Council just announced the overall winner from these four, and the winner is… Linked Hybrid. The complex not only looks stunning, it is an environmentally-friendly self-sustaining ecosystem in the sky. The complex houses 2,500 inhabitants and boasts a swimming pool, fitness center, café, gallery, and tearoom. Geothermal and water recycling are two of the most green features of the design.

Back in March I wrote a blog about the renovation of the 'Neues Museum' or 'New Museum' in Berlin, Germany, set to open this October. http://ourbania.com/urban-items/neues-museum The structure just opened this month in the presence of Germany's Federal Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Originally designed by Friedrich August Stüler in the mid-19th but destroyed during WII, this iconic building is now completely renovated and is open for visitors for the first time in 70 years.