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Examine the benefits of less square footage. Small houses represent a movement toward simplicity and efficient design.

2010 was a rollercoaster year for Spain. Hit hard by the economic crisis, a real estate implosion, and a surging unemployment rate, the country just couldn’t seem to catch a break. However, in this bleak economic landscape, one sign of promising growth stands out. The Torre Sacyr Vallehermoso building has reached 100% capacity for the first time since its completion in 2007. The Torre Sacyr Vallehermoso is one of the so-called “Four Towers” belonging to Madrid’s new Cuatro Torres Business Area, the brainchild of Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón.

Anchoring your backyard or patio with a fire pit provides warmth and a welcoming glow for outdoor entertaining or just relaxing.

Frank Gehry’s high-profile Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas draws attention -- and dollars -- to the cause of treating memory disorders.

On the southeastern tail of Ontario, the 175-year-young city of Toronto is home to 2.5 million Canadians, making it the largest city in the country. Rodolphe el-Khoury, an architecture professor at the University of Toronto, said in a 2008 interview that he noticed an underlying rural tone in Toronto's architectural identity. “It’s a kind of tension between a cosmopolitan international culture and a more Ontario-based kind of heritage,” described el-Khoury. What Toronto is known for is its skyscrapers – it is second only to New York as having the most in North America. Along with the skyscrapers, progressive-minded young people who champion environmental friendliness inhabit downtown Toronto.

Boundary-stretching architecture is helping the once oppressed city of Baku, Azerbaijan, reinvent itself. DIA Holding has several major building projects underway; in addition to the high-profile Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects, the company is responsible for the Flame Towers project, designed by HOK.

The final step in most ceramic tile projects is to seal the sanded grout. Unsealed grout gets stained and dirty, moldy and mildewed. This simple home maintenance task should be performed every six or 12 months and will save you lots of time scrubbing.

Sealed grout is waterproof and easier to maintain, which makes for a better looking floor. Sealed grout holds its color better and will prevent water from leaking around your tiles. Sealing sanded grout is also a quick DIY project that you should do once or twice a year to keep your tile floors and bathrooms looking sharp. It only requires grout sealer and a brush. Watch this episode of 60 Simple Seconds for a brush-up on how to seal sanded grout.

Bothered by squeaky floors? You shouldn't have to live with that. Find out how to fix a squeaky floor here.

In early 1979, the fabricator and installer for the atrium steel of the new Kansas City Hyatt hotel proposed changes to the connection details for the support of the skywalk system. The original design was thought to be expensive to manufacture and problematic to install. The engineer responded by providing preliminary sketches of the fabricator's proposal without performing basic calculations. These sketches were returned to the fabricator, who assumed these to be the final and approved shop drawings.  The revised and ill-fated connection detail was put into production and installed.  In 1981, the Kansas City Hyatt skywalk collapsed, causing the deaths of 114 people and injuring more than 200.  The ensuing investigations concluded that the fault lay in the engineer's failure to properly review shop drawings and provide adequate communications between the structural engineer and the fabricator of the structural steel for the atrium and skywalk.

Only you and those around you know what color your thumb is. For those of you without a green thumb, plants have a few environmental needs to grow and stay alive: temperature, water, soil, and sunlight. When Mother Nature doesn't provide these, you need to. That all seems rather easy, right? Whether you are planting a new garden or adding to an existing one, a little knowledge, planning, and preparation will go a long way toward earning your green thumb and determining the future success of your garden.

Not long ago, 1100 Lincoln Road was just another city block in Florida, with all the trappings one would expect: heavy traffic, wide medians, and lots of palm trees. Developer Robert Wennett saw that it had potential -- especially considering its history as Miami’s one-time commercial center (its revitalization occurred in the 1990s) and its link to the city’s most well-known architect, Morris Lapidus. The site is at the western end of Lincoln Road’s eight-block promenade, which runs perpendicular to the waterfront. Known as 1111 Lincoln Road, the main part of the urban redevelopment consists of a plaza flanked by three major buildings.

Previously in our series on painting, we looked at set-up and interior painting tips, as well as exterior paint failure due to moisture. Although most homeowners will want to leave exterior painting to the professionals, we will discuss exterior painting work that DIYers can perform. At the least, gaining an understanding of exterior painting will benefit homeowners when they're making decisions about home maintenance and improvement.