Shanghai

Snøhetta has been selected to lead the design of the new Shanghai Grand Opera House in China. The building's design is influenced by an open fan and will feature an impressive spiraling staircase that offers public access to its rooftop.

The new John Cooper Works Countryman is far from Mini, but that hasn't stopped the team in Oxford from trying to inject it with a touch of go-kart magic from the original. The vehicle will make its debut in Shanghai, and mixes all-wheel drive grip with power from a compact turbo-four.

A new tower in Shanghai, China, is to boast a reflective, cloud-like façade sitting atop staggered, landscaped terraces reminiscent of a rocky hillside. The features will demarcate the building's retail and office sections, with the façade helping to regulate its internal temperature.

Global architectural firm Perkins + Will has completed work on Shanghai's Natural History Museum and it's now open for business in the city's Jing'an District. While calling it sustainable would be a push, it does boast significant green design.

Volkswagen is at the Shanghai International Auto Show hinting at a possible expansion of its model range with its C Coupé GTE concept. The automaker says that "if it were to go into production," the saloon would slot in between the Passat and Phaeton in Volkswagens model line up.

Non-profit organization INCLUDED has produced a new shipping container-based community center for Shanghai's migrant worker community, dubbed Community Cube.

Practicality isn't generally a major concern when it comes to the design of a glass house, but the Vertical Glass House features a design that offers a degree of privacy and architectural novelty.

Nike has teamed up with Taiwan-based design and architectural company Miniwiz to produce a new concept retail store, dubbed X158 Hyper Nature. Its interior is constructed using materials recycled from DVDs, water bottles and beverage cans.

Architecture studio 3Gatti has designed a new screen for the 2010 Shanghai Expo’s “Madrid Pavilion” that will feature steel umbrellas that can be individually opened and closed and used to manage light levels within the complex.

With Tony's Farm, international architecture studio Playze seems to have done its bit for the recycled-shipping-container-as-architecture movement.

Sity is a striking conceptual design for a dragon-inspired structure in the heart of Shanghai.

Construction is already underway on the Shimao Intercontinental Hotel in the Songjiang District of Shanghai - a five-star, 19-story, 380-room, luxury hotel built into an abandoned, part-flooded quarry.