Raise the Cloud: An ensemble of glowing spheres anchored by lightweight, transparent towers, will float over the Olympic games in London come 2012. The Cloud is a new kind of architectural landmark that will be built through grassroots fundraising and social networking efforts. (You can visit their Facebook page here to begin contributing.) It was designed by a multidisciplinary team that includes architects Carlo Ratti and Walter Nicolino of carlorattiassociati, Alex Haw, an independent architect based in London, artist Tomas Saraceno, lightweight structures expert Joerg Schlaich, engineering company ARUP, landscape architects Agence Ter, Internet giant Google and graphic designers Studio FM and GMJ.

"The physical growth of the cloud is linked to the distributed fundraising online," says Ratti. The vision is that it will continue to grow in that matter, becoming a symbol of "global ownership."