• “We Would Be Happy to Contribute to the Development of the City”: Filippo Innocenti on the Possibility of Zaha Hadid Architects Working in Armenia

  For the entire day on Thursday, September 24, Yerevan became a meeting point for architects, developers and people accustomed to looking at the city from a slightly different perspective — both literally and conceptually. At the SHARE Armenia 2026 forum, one of the key speakers was Filippo Innocenti, director of the world-renowned British architecture firm Zaha Hadid Architects...

• Mark Zuckerberg Buys 19th-Century Irish Castle for Tens of Millions of Dollars

  Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have purchased a Gothic castle in Ireland...

• Populous Unveils Design for the World's Largest Football Stadium Ahead of the 2030 World Cup

  As Morocco gears up to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, the country has presented a monumental design for the Grand Stade Hassan II, Hypebeast reports...

• The Rebirth of a Masterpiece: Casa Batlló Unveils Gaudí’s Hidden Living Spaces

  The grand unveiling was preceded by three years of painstaking restoration work that closely resembled an archaeological excavation. Craftsmen and conservators meticulously peeled back numerous 20th-century layers to uncover and display the remarkably well-preserved 1906 architecture...

• A forgotten skyscraper for New York: Antoni Gaudí's project "comes to life" after 118 years

  More than a century after the great Antoni Gaudí conceived one of his most grand, yet never realized projects—a fantastic skyscraper in New York known as "Hotel Attraction"—the building has finally "appeared" in Manhattan. Belgian artist and photographer Thierry Leshanter has recreated the legendary tower using neural networks...

• World’s Longest Asymmetric Bridge, Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, Opens in Taiwan

  Taiwan has officially commissioned a unique infrastructure marvel—the Danjiang Bridge. As of today, it stands as the world’s longest single-tower, asymmetric cable-stayed bridge. Stretching 920 meters in length, the structure surpasses the height of Dubai’s famous Burj Khalifa skyscraper (828 m)....

• Secret Tour of the Sagrada Família: 5 Divine Mysteries and Hidden Treasures of the Great Cathedral

  With spires resembling sandcastles, lush flora frozen in stone, kaleidoscopic interiors, and hiding places hidden in plain sight, Barcelona’s world-famous Sagrada Família never ceases to amaze even its regular parishioners...

• "You Need a Psychiatrist": Architect Claps Back at Criticism over 'Sodomized' Gargoyle at Spain’s Oldest Hotel

  An architectural face-lift at one of Spain’s oldest and most famous late-Gothic hotels has spiraled into an international scandal and a breeding ground for savage jokes...

In the Chinese municipality of Chongqing, a new outdoor escalator stretching over half a mile has officially opened, climbing steeply through the city’s hilly terrain.

Named the “Goddess,” the architectural feat appears to soar into the sky. The impressive structure runs through the center of Wushan, starting at the base of a steep slope and rising almost vertically, giving the impression that it nearly touches the clouds. Even video footage struggles to capture its full scale and grandeur.

According to the Financial Times, a full ride from bottom to top takes nearly 21 minutes, making it likely the longest outdoor escalator of its kind in the world.

“As far as I know, there are no similar projects nationwide — none exceeding or equaling ours, neither under construction nor previously launched,” said Huang Wei, head of the design team and engineer at China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group. “It’s the first of its kind.”

The “Goddess” is not a single continuous escalator; it consists of roughly two dozen individual escalators and lifts, all integrated into a single system. The moving stairways were produced by Swiss company Schindler at its northern Shanghai factory. Schindler’s Chinese division has supplied around 1,400 escalators to the Chongqing metro system.

The project has already become a local attraction, even in a city known for its iconic 1990s Crown escalator. Reports indicate that around 9,000 people use the Goddess daily, paying roughly $0.43 per hour for a one-way trip. During last month’s Spring Festival, the escalator was used by approximately 450,000 people, officials said.

Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram