Just in time for the Olympics, the now-tallest building in the EU opened last night in London.  Check out the Shard, and the laser show that went on in honor of its opening.  It was first conceived in 2000 by Renzo Piano, the architect behind the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Broad wing at LACMA in Los Angeles, and the new Whitney museum in lower Manhattan.  The Shard stands about 300’ (100m) taller than any other skyscraper in London and is now the tallest building in the European Union.  Last night was its formal debut into London society, which was accompanied by a laser show & performance by the London Symphony.  Here’s to a long (though with the rate of building, it probably won’t be,) reign at the top. http://bit.ly/Nf8woM

The Federal Sport Commission, Ethiopia recently held an architecture competition for a new FIFA/Olympic-standard stadium and “sports village” to host major soccer & athletic events in Ethiopia’s capitol, Addis Ababa.   The winner is stunning.   The winning entry came from a collaboration between LAVA (Laboratory for Visionary Architecture), Designsport and a local Ethiopian firm, JDAW, and it is stunning.

The design was inspired by Ethiopia’s rich history of excavated architecture, which is coincidentally where the classic origins of stadium design lay.  It is essentially a series of craters, with the stadium being swathed in a facade inspired by traditional serving baskets.  The accompanying “sports village” will include various athletic spaces such as aquatic areas, sports halls and dormitories along with headquarters for the Federal Sport Commission, hospitality, retail & commercial zones.

Check it out on Great Spaces! http://bit.ly/LGEqvC