Crunch the numbers of Sydney’s latest cloud-reaching tower proposal and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve read it all wrong. Planning documents submitted to City of Sydney council, which are being exhibited until February 2, illustrate the $35.6 million Pencil Tower Hotel at only six metres wide, 110 metres tall and with 33 levels of hotel rooms. 173 of them, to be exact. Each totalling around 13 square metres in size.

Set against the Mile City skyline in China’s Yunnan Province, the silhouettes cast by a grouping of red brick towers are equal parts distinctive, otherworldly and alluring. Created by artist Luo Xu, the cluster-like buildings are collectively named 50% Cloud for their resemblance to a half cloud floating in the sky. Bystanders also comment that their whimsical spires are reminiscent of colossal termite mounds, bursting from the red earth below. Hidden behind a section of the building’s brick armour, the 50% Cloud Artists Lounge was created by Hong Kong-based architecture studio Cheng Chung Design (CCD).

Longing for a slice of paradise? Resort operator Soneva has announced the launch of Soneva Jani Chapter Two in the Maldives. Ready and awaiting luxury-seeking guests when global travel resumes, Chapter Two expands upon Soneva Jani’s portfolio of spectacular water villas, and introduces a fine spread of world-class dining venues in breathtaking settings. The property’s 27 new over-water villas are accessed via a winding jetty off the southern tip of the resort’s main island, carefully positioned to maximise privacy and create a true sense of seclusion. Surrounded by sparkling seas, the villas offer uninterrupted views from sunrise to sunset.

Beyond its sinuous facade – an ornate veil clad with terracotta bricks and glazed ceramic blocks – Gallery House proudly serves the community in more ways than one. By day, the two-level concrete-framed building in Bansberia, a peri-urban locale in India’s West Bengal, acts as a gallery, gathering space and multi-purpose centre, offering local residents the opportunity to partake in activities ranging from education sessions to yoga classes. “At night, this space functions as a dormitory for resident staff,” says principal designer Abin Chaudhuri of Abin Design Studio (ADS). “The client enjoys a sense of pride and joy of ownership seeing the space put to good use.” Upon completion, the precinct is slated to be an important business and financial centre in Shenzhen, serving the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has been announced as the winner of the design competition to build Tower C at Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base in China. Led by practice principal Patrik Schumacher, the studio’s design of the tower proposes to integrate the surrounding city and nature, creating a dazzling “superscape” with futuristic ambitions. Upon completion, the precinct is slated to be an important business and financial centre in Shenzhen, serving the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.

With Aman’s luxury resorts and hotels taking up residence in a number of the world’s most beautiful destinations, there’s little surprise that the roadways that connect the sites to their surrounds flaunt equally spectacular driving terrain. Breathtaking roadways that might lead visitors through the mountains and canyons of North America’s west, atop the wind-carved dunes of the Sahara or alongside Japan’s alluring and ancient forests.

Designed by local creative studio Roman and Williams in collaboration with the effervescent Atelier Ace, the 287-room Ace Hotel Brooklyn is set to form a new chapter in the hotel brand’s love affair with New York when it opens to guests from mid-2021. “We've been building toward Ace Brooklyn for years,” says Brad Wilson, president of Ace Hotel Group. “The entire city has reimagined itself several times over since we started. That's exactly the spirit we've worked to mirror in every corner of our new home – the inexhaustible ingenuity that stands as the borough's only constant.”

Situated on a peaceful plot surrounded by small lagoons, in close proximity to the scenic Slender West Lake in China’s Jiangsu Province, the Tsingpu Yangzhou Retreat in China presented Shanghai-based architectural design practice Neri&Hu with its fair share of challenges. The firm – which was co-founded by Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu – reused several existing structures for the boutique hotel, bestowing them with updated functions fit for hotel service, while also adding new structures to unify the site and complement the serene locale.

In Guangzhou, China, the 2000-seat performance theatre by Steven Chilton Architects is ready to welcome world-class productions to its stage in early 2021. Officially called the Sumac Guangzhou Grand Theatre, the centre’s mission to cultivate theatrical talent is expressed through the imagery applied to the surface of its silk-inspired cladding. “We were influenced by a beloved local myth [known as] 100 Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix,” says architect Steven Chilton. “The Phoenix or ‘Fenghuang’ stands for virtue and grace whilst the allegory signifies notions of recognition, leadership and mentoring.”

Instantly recognised for its trippy marbled patterning, the Swirl collection of objects by Tom Dixon has welcomed new larger-scaled cast members. Joining the psychedelic line-up of existing accessories, which includes candleholders, bookends and vases that were released as early as 2019 at Maison & Objet in Paris, the British design house has introduced a series of tables seemingly plucked from fantasyland. Made from the same mesmerising material as their siblings, each table in the latest release has a distinct silhouette, unique colouration and pop-inspired sensibility.