More than half the world's people now live in cities.

In Shanghai, demand for space has seen as many as 5,000 high-rise buildings spring up in the past seven years. The adage 'Rome was not built in a day' may now be redundant.

"The paradigm has shifted," said Rolf Soiron, chairman of cement supplier Holcim of Switzerland.

Sustainably sick, architects say

Here in Bangkok, architects have coined the phrase "sustainably sick". Paris-based R&Sie Architects has incorporated the city's ubiquitous pollution its design of the contemporary art museum B-mu.

The geometric structure is covered with an electrostatic metal mesh, which, over time, will collect dust from the air and "build up a furry cover" that will protect exhibitions from the sun.

Climate change doomsday clock?

New York, contrary to belief, uses a third less energy than other major American cities.

Michael Sorkin, director of the Graduate Urban Design Programme at New York's City College of New York, said this was because most residents used public transport.

Seventy-nine per cent of the Big Apple's emissions come from buildings, not cars.

New York is gearing up for several environmental projects as it prepares for a projected population increase of one million in the coming years.

Sorkin suggests creating a climate-change global catastrophe clock with time ticking down to doomsday as a wake-up call about global warming.

Thai participants at Holcim Forum

The Holcim Forum for Sustainable Construction 2007 in Shanghai in mid-April attracted several participants from Thailand. These included Engineering Institute president Dr Karoon Chandrangsu, Town and Country Planning Department senior architect Thongchai Roachanakanan, Asian Institute of Technology Assoc Professor Dr Pichai Nimityongskul and Chiang Mai University Faculty of Architecture lecturer Dr Apichoke Lekagul.

Apichoke presented findings on enhancing the authenticity of art-and-craft production for tourism development.

Apirak to attend top cities summit

Later this month Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin will attend the Large Cities Climate Leadership Summit in New York hosted by the Clinton Foundation.

Other Asian cities invited include Addis Ababa, Beijing, Cairo, Delhi, Dhaka, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Karachi, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Cities from Berlin to Bogota, Lima to London and Cairo to Chicago will attend, too.

$2 million for big awards contest

Meanwhile the second Holcim Awards for sustainable construction open for entries on June 1. Prizes in five regional competitions and the global awards total US$2 million (Bt69.5 million). The event is open to planners, architects, builders and building owners.

Buildings started before June 1 of this year are eligible. The first phase will select regional winners in 2008 that automatically qualify for the global competition in 2009. Further details will be announced in June.