Obscure Swiss Architect Wins Pritzker Prize

Hitler ordered Porsche to replicated Josef Ganz's prototype

(NEWSER) - Adolf Hitler took the original design for the Volkswagen Beetle from the brainchild of a Jewish engineer, the Jerusalem Post reports. Historian Paul Schilperoord claims in his forthcoming book The True History of the Beetle that a prototype Josef Ganz designed in the late '20s had many of the Beetle’s distinctive features, such as a rear-mounted engine. He even called the completed prototype, constructed in 1931, the Maikäfer, or "May-Beetle." More»

Network provides glimpse of megalomaniac's plans for world capital

(NEWSER) - Berlin has opened three vast tunnels under the city built as part of Adolf Hitler's vision of a grandiose Nazi capital, Reuters reports. The tunnels were to house a transit system beneath planned boulevards, squares, and huge buildings, including a Great Hall with room for 180,000 people. The Albert Speer-designed plans for the new capital—known as "Germania"—were halted by the outbreak of World War II. More»

Pritzker jury praises Guthrie designer Jean Nouvel's 'inquisitive mind'

(NEWSER) - The French designer of the Arab World Institute in Paris and Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater has won architecture's top award, the Pritzker Prize, reports the New York Times. Jean Nouvel’s projects "greatly expanded the vocabulary of contemporary architecture,” the Pritzker jury noted. “His inquisitive and agile mind propels him to take risks in each of his projects." More»

Father's shadow hasn't kept Albert Speer from worldwide impact

(NEWSER) - It’s hard to make a name for yourself when you share a name with your father, harder when the father was a famous Nazi architect and friend of Hitler. Urban planner Albert Speer constantly battles the association, keeping a low profile, and, though he has made his mark worldwide, avoiding Berlin. Now, he has his sights on bringing the 2018 Winter Olympics to Munich. More»

Leave a footprint as small as your carry-on at a luxurious eco-hotel

(NEWSER) - Solar-heated pools, energy-conserving lights, composted food scraps . . . hotels aren't all bastions of consumption and waste. Travel+Leisure teamed up with Conservation International to assemble a list of 20 eco-friendly hotels:

1. Spice Island Beach Resort, Grenada
2. Soneva Fushi Resort & Six Senses Spa, Maldives
3. Heritance Kandalama, Sri Lanka