A multistory fire raged up the side of this 1,105-foot skyscraper last night, one of the tallest in Dubai, exacerbated by high winds and casting molten glass and charred masonry from the so-called Torch tower down to the ground below. A few people were treated on the scene for minor injuries and smoke inhalation but no serious casualties have been reported.

The blaze appears to have begun around the 50th floor at 2 AM local time before progressing up the side of the building and ultimately igniting other parts of the facade thanks to windswept debris – arson is not suspected at this time. Remarkably, firefighters managed to catch the fire relatively quickly and put out the inferno in a matter of hours despite unfavorable conditions.

Fire engulfs one of Dubai’s highest residential towers #TorchTower pic.twitter.com/OyFVC78w85

— Asma (@LibyanBentBladi) February 21, 2015

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— ????? ??? (@Humanfirst_) February 21, 2015

Home to over 600 residential units, occupants of the Marina Torch are being temporarily relocated  by its building managers (Kingfield Owner Association Management Services) while damage is assessed. At this time it is not certain when, how or even whether the structure will be restored.

Marina’s #TorchTower after the fire http://t.co/zfY0CsRYvC pic.twitter.com/Bpk1INSNAa

— Gulf News (@gulf_news) February 21, 2015

Salute to heroes @DCDDubai @DubaiPoliceHQ @DCAS_Ambulance for getting everyone out safe #TorchTower #DubaiMarina pic.twitter.com/6SblKogXs9

— megha merani (@dxbmaven) February 21, 2015

While not unheard of historically, skyscraper fires (especially serious ones) are quite rare today, particularly in developed nations where strict building codes and appropriate material usage helps mitigate their risk. Generally they are caused either during construction or due to significant external factors, such as plane crashes (intentional but also accidental) or earthquakes. Images via the AP, EPA, Reuters and WikiMedia.

It would be a mistake to characterize Burning Man as merely a festival in the desert. For one week a year, an entire built environment (dubbed Black Rock City) for tens of thousands of residents emerges out of the flat cracked-sand landscape, only to disappear again at the end.

Photographer and author Philippe Glade has catalogued this temporary architecture in rural Nevada extensively on his blog and in a book covering fifteen years of structural ingenuity in one of the most challenging environments on the planet.

By now you have no doubt seen images of outrageous costumes and crazy art cars, but again: there is more to Black Rock City than those sensational elements – there are equally eye-catching and physically-compelling structures made to house and entertain small groups and massive camps.

Consider this deceptively-simple tension structure, for instance, which provides shade but also allows for breezes to pass through, and culminates in a viewing tower at the top – all lightweight, easy to transport and assemble, but robust enough to withstand high-speed desert winds.

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Beyond Domes 36 Photographs Of Burning Man Architecture

A fireplace … that is a box against the wall, connected to a chimney, which gives off smoke and can burn your house down, right? These examples defy that conventional understanding in all kinds of ways – some burn alternative fuels (including water!) while others hang from the ceiling, fit in a car or can be taken with you for fires-on-the-go.

From Sikken, this fireplace is like a high-grade modular Ikea wonder – the metal fireplace-and-firewood two-in-one (with a convent drawer drawer for fireplace accessories in between) can be added to in all kinds of creative ways with additional shelves, drawers and surface spaces to store all kinds of peripherals and fill up the wall you have reserved for a fireplace.

Anne Colombo has taken fireplace styling to new heights, toying with modern materials and postmodern shapes to capture, diffuse, reflect and transform firelight from burning fires in all kinds of creative and novel ways. This is just a sampling of her creative fireplace design work.

Perfect for showing off in the middle of winter, this built-in Hummer fireplace is the ultimate in unnecessary American luxury. The snow-sports-and-Santa-themed Hummer also comes complete with a color-matched snowmobile, storage for your winter ski-and-snowboard gear, but alas not the lovely lady shown in the images above.

It has been said that in contemporary culture the role of the fireplace – as being the central focus in family gatherings – has been slowly replaced by the television. Well, these fireplaces are fighting fire with fire so to speak, competing aesthetically with the modern iconic television-style box.

Not everyone has an interior design configured to accommodate the introduction of a wall hanging, mounted or even wall-adjacent fireplace. Others might simply enjoy the style of a space-ship-like fireplace platform or luminous orb dangling gracefully from their ceiling above.

Something old, something new, something burning and metal too. Taking the iconic form of the primitive fire – two sticks crossed and burning – this reinvented classic fireplace configuration is nonetheless completely cutting edge in the execution of its form and style.

With all of our modern technology, is it any wonder that someone has figured out a way to make fire from water? Yes, you read that right, the Aqueon fireplace by Heat & Glo actually transforms ordinary tap water into burning fire right before your eyes. The system separates hydrogen from oxygen and burns them both – the former for fuel and the latter for color and brightness. Of course, using water to make fire has the fringe benefit of reducing harmful emissions and negating the need for any kind of flue, hood or other fire venting system.

Fireplaces do not have to be the static, central and fixed furnishing they once were. In fact, some fireplaces can hide in plain sight as low-lying dressers/tables or can even be moved around like an old LP player for use indoors and out – such as the ones by Schulte shown here.

For people who prefer to still keep their fireplace as a middle-of-the-house meeting place, these lovely metal fireplace designs make a subtle but remarkable statement against many backdrops – but may also take over the aesthetic of a room. Though this one is their headline-making fireplace design, there are other creative-but-elegant ones from Arkiane as well.

One of many wall-mounted fireplace designs from Saffreti, this particular creation elegantly slots into any space made available on one’s wall. Because it burns clean fuel directly poured into its housing, it does not require any special hookups, venting or other treatments.

For fans of hi-tech gadgets there are also a number of creative fireplace designs to choose from – though some enjoy only limited production runs as they simply cost too much or target too small of a market. Above are just a few examples of fireplaces integrated with everything from televisions with full music systems to outdoor-enabled fireplace designs with iPod ports.