Groundbreaking occurred on December 28, 2005 for Linked Hybrid, a multi-building complex that is scheduled to house 2,500 people in 700 apartments by the end of 2008.  Covering 1.6 million square feet, it's a model for large-scale sustainable residential architecture.  The site will feature on the world's largest geothermal cooling and heating systems that will stabilize the temperature within the eight buildings that will be linked at the 20th floor by a "ring" of service establishments including cafes and dry cleaners.  A set of dual pipes will pump water from 100 meteres below ground through the concrete floors.

         As a result, the water circulation system will serve as a giant radiator in the winter and as a cooling system in the summer.  It will have no boilers to supply heat, no electric air conditioners to supply cool the interiors.  The apartments will feature gray-water recycling - a process that's just starting to catch on in Beijing in smaller buildings.  It filters waste water from kitchen sinks and wash basins back into toilets.         

          The striking exterior of the National Swimming Center being constructed for the 2008 Olympic Games has caused it to be nicknamed the "Water Cube".  It's made from panels of lightweight Teflon that transform the building into an energy-efficient greenhouse-like environment.  Solar energy will be used to heat the swimming pools that are designed to reuse double-filtered, backwashed pool water that's usually dumped as waste.

          Excess rainwater will also be collected, stored in subterranean tanks, and used to fill pools.  The complex engineering system of curvy steel frames that form the bubble-like skin structure are based on research by two physicists at Dublin's Trinity College on the structural properties of soap bubbles.  The unique structure is designed to help the building withstand nearly any seismic disruptions.

          Rising in the Lujiazhui financial district in Pudong, the Shanghai World Financial Center is a tower among towers.  The elegant 101-story skyscraper will be (for the moment, at least) the world's tallest when completed in early 2008.

          One of the biggest challenges of building tall is creating a structure that can withstand high winds.  The Kohn Pederson Fox Architects have devised an innovative solution to alleviate wind pressure by adding a rectangular cut-out at the building's apex.  Not only does the open area help reduce the building's sway, but it also will be home to the world's highest outdoor observation deck - a 100th-floor vista that will take vertigo to new heights.