A Chinese official who helped to build some of China's tallest buildings has been jailed for life for taking almost £2m in bribes.

Kang Huijun, 51, formerly vice governor of Pudong - Shanghai's financial district - took bribes from developers keen to build in the area.

Pudong is home to the tallest skyscraper built in 2008 - the Shanghai World Financial Centre - and is China's financial hub.

Huijin was in charge of all major land deals in the area and would award big contracts and approve land sales for cash payments, which he then used to buy property at below-market value.

He apparently had accumulated more than 12 million yuan (£1.2m) in unjustifiable assets.

According to investigations, he used his connections to get his friends jobs and lived a lavish lifestyle with his wife Wang Xiaoqin - luxury flats and a private-school education for their son in England.

His wife was also jailed for five years for taking 880,000 yuan (£89,000) in bribes.

If, with its recession, 2009 is the year we already hope to forget, then 2008 will be one to bundle up and hold tight. It could well mark a halt to the construction of innovative new eye-catching buildings, at least for a while.

So as Paul Goldberger of the New Yorker puts it in his architectural top 10: "For now, let's take pleasure in those projects that were started in that ancient era when the Dow was at twelve thousand, and we thought the fun would go on forever."

An abundance of cheap labour and a never ending budget allowed Herzog and de Meuron let loose for the 2008 Olympics. This incredible steel latticework stadium was the defining image of the Games and lit a rocket under London Olympic bosses.

  

2. Beijing Capital International Airport 

Not content with having a great stadium, China also built itself the world's biggest airport. Designed by Foster + Partners, it features a soaring aeordynamic roof and dragon-like form representing traditional China. 

3. CCTV Headquarters, Beijing 

China did well at the Olympics and has scooped the pool construction-wise as well this year. But how could I not include this structurally challenging building? Two towers meeting up with a vertical bridge put Arup's engineering know-how to the test.

4. Shanghai World Financial Centre 

Named the year's best skyscraper by a group of international architects, this tower in Shanghai is the second tallest in the world. Nicknamed the bottle opener, it was built with a void at the top to reduce pressure from wind.

5. Experimental Media and Performing Arts Centre (EMPAC, Troy, NY) 

This incredible arts centre is particularly striking for the 1,200 seat concert hall clad in timber and nestled within the main structure. Builders worked with materials running the gamut from steel to wood to create a building that blurs the lines between the traditional and modern.

6. Elm Park, Dublin 

This £300m mixed-use development has transformed the outskirts of Dublin into a sustainable wonderland. Most of the project's energy is generated on site and buildings use site orientation and smart materials to be green.

7. 51 Lime Street, London (Willis Building) 

The sleek and environmentally-efficient Willis Building officially opened in London this year. The development includes two buildings, one 9-storeys and the other a terraced 28-storey tower rated BREEAM Excellent.

8. Bahrain World Trade Centre 

Already an award-winner, this 50-storey tower features two sail-like towers that rise 240m to represent the maritime history of Bahrain. Spectacularly they are joined together by three wind turbines.

9. Agucadoura wave farm, Portugal 

These 130m long sea snakes are Portugal's latest offshore wave farm, capable of powering 1,500 homes. Connected by hinges the snakes bob up and down, pumping fluid through hydraulic motors that turn generators to make power.

 

10. Heathrow Terminal 5, London 

It's opening in March was probably BAA's worst day ever, but the construction of T5 was a boon for builders. Costing £4.3bn, it was the biggest project around and was an exercise in great client-contractor relationships.

While the rest of the world is catching the construction slowdown sniffles, Shanghai seems to have contracted a case of Dubai's mega-building mania.

Three months after opening the world's second tallest skyscraper, the Chinese city will start construction on Saturday of an even taller building - the 632m Shanghai Centre.

The 121-storey steel and glass skyscraper was designed by Gensler and has been nicknamed the Dragon because it will supposedly look like a dragon's tail.

In China, dragons are believed to be able to control the weather, and this skyscraper could possibly do just that.

Designers say its spiral shape will minimise wind resistance and energy consumption and that 54 wind turbines will sit at the top of the building.

Like all developers of super-tall buildings, Gu Jianping, managing director of the Shanghai Tower Construction and Development Group says that by the time the building is open in 2014 the economy will be booming.

"Launching construction at this time will help boost Shanghai's confidence in fighting the financial crisis," he said.

He obviously hasn't heard of the never-fail "skyscraper index".

Pop the champagne, the bottle opener has been named the year's best skyscraper!

The 492m Shanghai World Financial Centre, which opened earlier this year, has been judged the best skyscraper completed this year by an international group of architects.

Likened to a bottle opener because of the void at its top that reduces the stresses of wind pressure, the tall building was recognised for its sleek form and sustainability.

The tower, which is the second tallest building in the world, was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and lays claim to having the world's tallest observation deck.

Architect Tim Johnson, who led the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's selection committee, praised the building's innovative structural design which uses steel trusses to make the building lighter.

The tower's tapered form creates the impression it is dissolving into the heavens, he added.