Childhood dreams of living in a tree house will soon be possible with Stockholm-based architects Tham + Videgard Hansson Arkitekter’s design for a tree hotel due to be built next year. When complete this hotel can be found high up in the canopies of Harads, Sweden. So as to reflect the natural surroundings and be one with nature, lightweight aluminium structures will be hung around tree trunks and clad in mirrored glass making 4x4x4 metre boxes that are almost completely camouflaged. The shelters will be accessible by a rope ladder or rope bridge and each unit will accommodate two people who can enjoy the comforts of a living room, double bed, small kitchen, bathroom and roof terrace with 360 degree views.

It’s not every day that architects score the job of designing a building that will house animals, but French architects Beckmann-N’Thépé and landscape designers TN+ have done just that, winning a competition to remodel Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki, Finland. Located on Korkeasaari Island, the proposal for the redevelopment of the 120 year-old zoo features a large glass-domed entrance, an animal viewing building and an enclosure for polar bears which have been absent for 30 years. The zoo will be split into four biozones: Central Asian Steppe, Arctic Pole, Asian Temperate Forest and Central Asian Mountain.

Bangkok based Aesthetics Architect GO Group have designed the Minister of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture (MMAA) new office building in Doha, Qatar. Known as the Cactus Project for its obvious resemblance, the architects have drawn inspiration from the ability of cacti to thrive in scorching desert climates. The new building has been designed with energy efficiency in mind and the façade will feature sunshade panels that open and close according to the intensity of the sun, effectively blocking out unwanted heat and capitalising on natural ventilation.

Schmidt Hammer Lassen (SHL) Architects have have won an international competition to design Urban Mediaspace, the largest public library in Scandinavia. The new library will take residence on the waterfront at Aarhus in west Denmark. The award-winning architects are not so much concerned with creating a building whose sole function is to house books, as they are with creating the city’s new cultural hub and area of social interaction. The innovative design incorporates interior and exterior recreational spaces for studying, socialising and relaxing and will also host cultural and multimedia events. The building will sport a glazed façade making the inside of the library visible to those passing by. As part of larger scheme to reinvent the old cargo docks on the city’s harbour front, SHL Architects’ distinctive heptagonal-shape design is sure to become the city’s new landmark.

For the first time in more than 30 years, Potts Point will be home to its first purpose-built commercial building. Built on the site of the old Village Shopping Centre and Wax Works Museum, ‘ERA’ is the first commercial building to be constructed from scratch in this Sydney suburb. Designed by award-winning architect Frank Stanisic and developed by the Hayson Group, the new seven-storey building will house 44 strata office suites, 13 retail shops and a 1,000m2 food market. With a smart, ecological design, ‘ERA’ will have a 41/2 star energy rating. With completion scheduled for November this year, ‘ERA’ is well underway to making its mark.

Berlin: now to be home to Mount Tempelhof? Probably not. But that’s what Berlin architect Jakob Tigges proposed be built on the site of Tempelhof airport, closed in late 2008 without plans for its future. He wasn’t serious about the mountain, he says, except as a provocation and a mythical placeholder in the minds of Berliners until the actual, preferably dramatic solution arrives. Another proposal called for Tempelhof to be transformed into a sprawling red light district. There are some questions as to whether the architects of the to-be “Columbia Strip” were joking as well, but there is no doubt about Ronald Lauder’s intentions. The second son of cosmetics maker Estée Lauder is prepared to invest €350 million for a luxury flyin health spa and beauty (plastic surgery) clinic to be built there.

A floating oyster restaurant, a wood bicycle and an afternoon of spelunking don’t seem to have too much in common. But this is exactly what you’ll find at New York’s Governor’s Island – an Eco-Park slated for completion in 2012, designed by West 8, Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rogers Marvel Architects. Sold to the city and state for just $1 in 2003, this 172 acre island of decaying Coast Guard structures will be transformed into an ecological delight. Visitors will not only have a stunning view of New York City, but they will also be able to explore an artificial landscape of man-made mountains, vertical reefs and a coastal plant greenhouse.

With a view to creating an art collector’s paradise, Oppenheim Architecture and Design have revealed plans to build an art storage facility in Miami, Florida. With over 140,000 square feet of storage, concierge services and top level security housed inside of a ‘blank canvas’ façade, the ‘The Vault’ will include a conservation laboratory, showrooms and exhibition spaces. The peripheral of the Vault will feature artworks on constantly revolving panels, making the public art installation unlike any other storage location in America.