The Blog

In the nascent world of sustainable construction, architects are increasingly turning to high-tech solutions to limit the ecological impact.  Take Tesla’s Powerwall and self-cleaning carbon-consuming roof tiles. But not Vincent Callebaut.  The Parisian architect has looked to nature itself to cure the ills of modern construction methods. His Tao Zhu Yin Yuan project in Taiwan’s […]

For a long time, the suggestion of couples (at least couples under 70) sleeping in separate rooms was something of a taboo: It signaled a giving up—on romance, on sex, on the pretense of togetherness.  Sleeping apart was a death knell for a marriage, or at least a runway into the nursing home. Now, though, […]

The seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom house on Hazen Drive hit the market last week for $US17.8 million. It’s owned by an heir to the biggest fortune in the state of Montana, according to public property records. The owner is one of the sons of Dennis Washington, who owns a construction and mining empire and is worth an […]

Gone are the days of celebrities trashing five-star hotel rooms and throwing TVs out of windows, at least if Justin Bieber’s recent tour of Britain’s mansions and arenas is anything to go by. The Canadian popstar was rumored to have snagged a £108,000-a-month (US$135,000) long-term rental on so-called Billionaire’s Row in North London and was spotted […]

Back in 2011 Mohamed Al Fayed announced his plan to renovate the Ritz Paris­—the jewel in the swashbuckling Egyptian billionaire’s crown—and he minced no words expressing precisely what he expected.  “I want the Ritz to remain the best hotel in the world!” he told Thierry Despont, the architect-designer hired to revamp the urban palace, which […]

Located on a former harbour along the Spree River in Berlin, Germany, lies a new residential complex. It’s known as ‘Wave’, and not only sits next to the Spree but engages with it in both name and design. Wave has been designed by German architecture firm GRAFT, which was established in 1998 in Los Angeles […]

There is a stunning house located on the French Riviera, just a stone’s throw away from Nice in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. But it’s not just a house, it’s a mansion.  A mansion that has entered the market with a price tag of $US1.1 billion. Now regarded as the most expensive house in the word, the mansion […]

Here’s the opportunity of a lifetime – the chance to own one of Sweden’s most incredible castles, a 14th century fortress called Fogelvik Slott.  This beautiful castle was originally the home of Karl Knutsson Bonde, who was the king of Sweden three different times during the 1400s, and also the king of Norway for two years. The unique […]

I’m sure we’ve all dreamed, at one moment or another, about owning and living on a remote and beautiful private island, nestled in the middle of the ocean.  These dreams are not that difficult to accomplish, if you have some money in your bank account(s); a few million dollars – 1 to 5 – could do the trick […]

In the December 2007 issue of Robb Report, senior correspondent Jack Smith reported on a new crop of over-the-top suites crowning Manhattan’s premier hotels.  Setting the standard for this elite assemblage was the Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons Hotel New York, a nine-room, 4,300-square-foot extravagance that Smith described as the “most dazzling . . . […]

Meet Taohuayuan, the 32-bedroom, 32-bathroom home sitting on an island in the middle of a misty lake in China.  It’s currently listed for sale at a whopping $201 million – or one billion Chinese Yuan. At that jaw-dropping price tag, it’s the most expensive home on the mainland, according to Mansion Global. “It is so far the highest luxury listing we have […]

I first read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice as a freshman in high school, and I was instantly hooked. Each of the characters leapt off the page: the playful and lively Elizabeth, the sweet and soft-spoken Jane, and the proud yet gentlemanly Mr. Darcy.  My friends and I spent hours discussing our favorite characters and […]

A brand new development in Manhattan is currently taking shape and it’s certainly unusual – luxury copper apartments are being built, which will turn from copper to green over the next couple of decades, according to Gregg Pasquarelli, one of the architects who designed the project.  We have these amazing images courtesy of JDS Development so you can […]

Chinese investment in Australian real estate has doubled. Foreign appetite for Aussie homes, from all corners of the globe, has surged in the past financial year, with the value of proposed investment rocketing by more than 75 per cent. The Foreign Investment Review Board annual report shows China remains by far the biggest foreign buyer of property, splashing $24.3 billion in 2014-15 – more […]

Rupert Murdoch’s NYC townhouse is back on the market just 12 months after purchase, with a 15 per cent mark-up. Situated in New York City’s prestigious West Village, Mr Murdoch’s four-level, four-bedroom, four-bathroom (and three half-bathroom) townhouse is up for sale. Mr Murdoch purchased the property for $25 million in March 2015, and has relisted it […]

First, there were micro-apartments, multifamily units defined by the Urban Land Institute as 400 square feet or less (depending on the market), with functional kitchens and bathrooms.  Then came the so-called “tiny houses” — a trend so popular it’s given rise to at least four reality TV shows. Now, Frank McKinney, a developer based in […]