If you thought Twin Peaks was suspenseful, test your mettle on the new glass-bottomed Brave Man’s Bridge connecting two cliffs in the Hunan province of China and spanning nearly 1,000 feet.

Located in the Shiniuzhai National Geological Park (images by Sina), the bridge employees a new type of glass 25 times stronger than the ordinary variety, achieving its structural purpose despite being just 1 inch thick.

Framed in steel, the converted bridge previously held wooden walking platforms, but to compete with the rise of glass walkways around the world these were swapped out for glass equivalents.

While there are other similarly glass-bottomed bridges arcing out over canyons or crossing natural expanses, this is the longest glass suspension bridge to date. Its engineers have assured the public that it is safe, even if feisty tourists jump on the panels.

Update: just days after opening, a mug dropped by a tourist has already cracked one of the glass panels, though without compromising its structural integrity.  Lee Dong Hai posted about his experience on social media: “I was almost at the end and suddenly I heard a sound, my foot shook a little. I looked down and I saw that there was a crack in the floor.”

Though the circumstances of their liberation seem somewhat more political than practical, the thousands of fish set to be freed into the wild may not care much about the reasons for the positive change in venue either way.

The ruins of the New World Mall in Bangkok, Thailand, were initially introduced by area vendors to a mixture of tilapia, carp and catfish after their roof collapsed, for indirectly obvious reasons: the stagnant water that subsequently collected in the void space had become breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The resulting informal fishery was fueled by tourists who came to see the strange site, which in turn captured the attention of the local government – as it turns out, abandoned buildings are not what most places want to be known for.

Presumably due to the high profile of the case, the fish are being treated with great care: caught in nets, they are being rounded by Bangkok Metropolitan Administration staff and sent to various lakes and streams around the region.

As to the structure itself: officials have called for its demolition and a court has ordered the corporation behind the failed structure (which never got proper permits) to pay for the draining, destruction and cleaning of the site. Update and images via CityLabs.

Using the unique regional shapes of structures to his advantage, street artist ROA has created a series of large-scale works as part of a neighborhood art project in Djerba, Tunisia, drawing 150 artists from 30 countries.

While a number of impressive and well-known painters and muralists contributed to Djerbahood, ROA’s work is particularly site-specific, drawing on the architectural details (like domes) present in the regional landscape, mainly in deserted buildings.

The artist’s signature creatures, as usual, vary with the locality as well – in this case his work features a combination of desert and sea animals, reflecting the water-surrounded space as well as the dry land of the area.

The largest island in North Africa, Djerba has become a true open-air museum, contrasting authenticity and tradition with a space for expression by artists of various cultures. This project was made in part to appeal to tourists, aiming to draw in additional visitors from Europe and around the world. Additional work by ROA includes urban street animals in Mexico and Panama City as well as London.

A massive mixed use project in Rotterdam by MVRDV, this newly-opened building wraps vertically around an open central space but also features one of the largest works of art in the Netherlands: an incredible digital display spanning over 100,000 square feet of the interior surface area.

The closed-but-open solution is a response to new Dutch legislation requiring produce markets to be enclosed, balanced with a desire to keep an open-air feeling to the space.  The resulting design with its vibrantly-colored displays makes the place seem inviting from the outside, drawing people in to visit the nearly 100 shopping stalls within. The complex is expected to have over 5 million annual visitors.

Glazed on two sides with transparent glass, apartments wraps the others sides and top of the structure, giving over 200 residents views down into the market below as well as balconies toward the outside world on the exterior skin of the structure. The suspended glass panels are held in tension by thin wires, making the supports as invisible as possible while providing protection against strong winter winds.

From the firm’s press release: “The large mural which covers the vaulted interior, ‘Cornucopia’ by artists Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam has a total surface of 11.000 m² and shows oversized images of market produce which can be bought at the market, as well as flowers and insects referencing the work of Dutch still life masters from the 17th century. In order to achieve the required sharpness, the image was rendered by Pixar software. It was printed onto perforated aluminium panels, then attached to acoustic panels for noise control. The print resolution of the art work is comparable to a glossy magazine.”

More about the layout: “Markthal comprises 96 fresh food stalls and shop units, ranging from Rotterdam based businesses and market vendors to established local heroes. They will offer a diverse range of products: from fresh fish to game, from cappuccino to cheese, from Chinese to Dutch, from ice cream to local produce, from bargains to exclusive slow food. The ground and first floor accommodate 20 retail units, restaurants and cafés. All shops are food-related and include a crockery- and a wine shop. A supermarket is located on the 1st underground level allowing the shoppers to complete their shopping under one roof.”

The Olympics have a long history of leaving a mixed legacy in their wake but the story of Sochi is particularly strange – it was never completely finished in the first place, and is already nearly abandoned less than a year after it hosted the Winter Games of 2014.

Already located in a remote area of Russia (albeit near the country’s largest resort area), it is perhaps no surprise that this Olympic Village would not be sustainable after serving as a venue. Russian photographer Alexander Belenkiy recently visited to document the deserted architecture of the area.

His photos show what you might expect – empty streets, sidewalks, buildings and parking structures, many showing signs of degradation and disuse. Anyone who tuned into the media attention during and in the run-up to the games knows that the facilities were also in many cases shoddily constructed or incomplete to begin with. Even when the place was occupied, its buildings were haunted by stories of electrical outages as well as journalists and participants trapped in elevators and bathrooms.

Stylistically, the architecture is a strange mix of contemporary and chistorical with elements of rural-town traditionalism, resort-village detailing and decorative columns, colors and facades spanning and mixing various movements and periods. Without upkeep, though, these eclectic remixes may not be long for this world.

This was Russia’s first time hosting the Winter Olympic Games, but it had to start largely from scratch: “The site of a training centre for aspiring Olympic athletes, in 2008, the city had no world-class level athletic facilities fit for international competition. To get the city ready for the Olympics, the Russian government committed a $12 billion investment package. According to some estimates, the investments necessary to bring the location up to Olympic standards may have exceeded that of any previous Olympic games. By January 2014 the construction costs had been reported to exceed the $50 billion mark, making it the most expensive Olympic Games in history.”