Hello and welcome back to The Weekly LOdown - where we gather our favorite links from the architecture and building industry and share them with you each and every Friday.

This week we’re talking big money, refreshed pallets, architecture in literature and the World Expo. Here’s what we’ve been clicking:

Allison

Architectural Record’s sister publication Engineering News-Record just released a list of the world’s 10 largest construction projects, ranked according to cost. In total, the projects reportedly cost $510  billion dollars! While some seem worth the money, I find it hard to wrap my head around that total…

Julianne

Check out this video showing an unexpected use for pallets created by students at the Aarhus School of Architecture in Denmark. The temporary installation, called Be Palleto! was created from 420 overlapped pallets in the school’s courtyard. The purpose of the pavilion is to improve flow and interaction in the space. They made it look much more inviting and welcoming than I expected a bunch of shipping pallets to look. Have you seen any interesting uses of recycled materials lately?

Alexandra

I just finished reading Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, which tells the story of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago (HIGHLY recommended). The novel incorporates a ton of architectural information, and I was interested to learn more about the protagonist and chief architect on the project, Daniel Burnham. After doing a little research, I came across a website that linked Burnham with something near and dear to me– the city of Pittsburgh! Check out this link to read about Burnham’s architectural influence in our hometown, and don’t forget to pick up a copy of Larson’s novel– one of the most intriguing reads I’ve come across.

Nick

I’m always fascinated by those who build structures intended to connect mankind with the natural world. Check out the amazing Seed Cathedral, a beautiful six-story object consisting of 60,000 transparent rods. Two videos show just how amazing this structure is.

Thanks for reading!