The Old City of Damascus, in Syria, might be a UNESCO World Heritage site, but in recent years money has poured in for new hotels and restaurants.

The 19 finalists for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture are to be announced this afternoon during an event at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Maki and Associates has completed the first building in the world specifically designed for the Aga Khan and his agencies.

The nine projects that won the 2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, announced yesterday, range from a sustainable residential tower in Singapore, to a village school hand-built by local craftspeople in Dinajpur, Bangladesh.

Arrive in KL for the Aga Khan Awards for Architecture, a triennial event, after 20-hour flight via Stockholm. Bleary-eyed, check into the business-chic Traveler’s Hotel, so new the furnishings still have scraps of wrapping tacked on.