"I like buildings under construction better than when they are finished because there's a kind of immediacy, a feeling of process, and it's accessible, " he continues, glancing up at his studio's exposed ductwork and hanging insulation.

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He added that fire spread was a major concern at the incident, and that the Chief Fire Officers Association "was right to be increasingly concerned about the number and severity of fires in timber framed buildings under construction".

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But that may only be because windows have yet to be installed in the dozens of skyscrapers sprouting in the Arab Gulf, home to 22 of the world's 50 tallest buildings under construction, 16 of those in Dubai alone.

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Drive east and you see the same, an undulent landscape carpeted with buildings completed or under construction, roads thick with traffic, and a few forlorn patches of the original Atlantic Forest or more recently transplanted eucalyptus trees to break up the relentless jumble of concrete.

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The Moscow city government lowered the maximum allowable height of buildings in the historic center of the city from 100 to 75 meters, although buildings which are already under construction will not be lowered.

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Such collapses of buildings and other infrastructure projects under construction are fairly common in India.

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But now they have a rival tower under construction, and at least five other buildings that will eventually rise to 60 stories.

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Other buildings will be completed soon, and though there aren't many now under construction to follow them, Gordon Brown's determination to shift civil-service jobs out of London will dampen demand in the years ahead.

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