Architecture firm OMA has revealed designs for an ambitious underwater sculpture park which will stretch across seven miles off the coast of Miami Beach, Florida, US. Called ReefLine, the park is being developed by BlueLab Preservation Society in partnership with the City of Miami Beach and Coral Morphologic. It will feature art installations located around 20ft under water, which can only be viewed while snorkeling or diving. Conceived by cultural

Austrian developer Josef Kleindienst’s US$5bn mega-resort project, The Heart of Europe, in Dubai is on track to complete phase one of construction, despite COVID-19. The Heart of Europe is claimed to feature the world’s first floating underwater spa as well as 15 unique hotels and resorts spread across six islands designed to showcase European culture, heritage and lifestyle experiences through architecture, events and new technology, such as the world’s first

Kengo Kuma & Associates, working with K2LD Architects, have won a competition to create the Singapore Founders’ Memorial with a design that "draws from monuments of the past and the context of the present to create a space for the future." The Founders' Memorial International Architectural Design Competition was launched in January 2019. It sought an integrated building and garden experience, with exhibition galleries, landscaped spaces and art installations, as

Studio RHE is converting a 1.5ac (0.6ha) underground bunker that developer General Projects suggests may once have been occupied by MI5 into a subterranean mixed-use destination. Located in Vauxhall, London, Storybox will provide 58,000sq ft (5,400sq m) of flexible space for creative industries workspaces, as well as occupiers like pod hotels, urban farms, R&D labs and fitness clubs. It has been designed with cultural, educational and research bodies in mind

Fox Browne Creative have created a treehouse-like overnight retreat for the &Beyond Ngala Private Game Reserve in South Africa that will give guests the chance to sleep under the stars in the Kruger National Park. The Ngala Tree House is to be offered in addition to two existing lodges that &Beyond has at the reserve and can accommodate up to two adults and two children aged between 10 and 16.

Cyclists in Belgium's Limburg province are being brought closer to nature in a variety of innovative and unusual ways. "25 years ago Belgian Limburg was the first region worldwide to develop a cycle node network, where you cycle from junction to junction," explained Igor Philtjens, Minister for Regional Tourism, chairman of Visit Limburg and the driving force behind the projects. "We were a pioneer in recreational cycling tourism, but over

Construction has begun on the International African American Museum, which has been designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners to honour the site at which enslaved Africans were brought into the US. Initially proposed in 2000 and now scheduled for completion in late 2021, the 41,800sq ft (3,900sq m) facility is being constructed on Gadsden’s Wharf in Charleston, South Carolina. It is estimated that up to 80 per cent of

Arab Engineering Bureau have designed new hotel and residences towers for Rosewood Hotels & Resorts that are based on underwater forms and the local coral formations in Qatar's Lusail City. The two adjacent towers will be wrapped in perforated white façades that will be both an aesthetic feature and a means of moderating solar gain. According to Rosewood: "The organic architectural design approach is aimed at respecting the site and

Upwards construction of Aston Martin's first real estate project is now well underway, with eight levels expected to be complete by Christmas and four floors of amenities planned among the tower's upper floors. Developed by G and G Business Developments, Aston Martin Residences will rise 818ft (249m) and 66 storeys in its Miami location. It will contain around 390 apartments ranging from 700sq ft (65sq m) to 19,000sq ft (1,765sq

Danish architecture studio Cobe has designed an undulating public square in Copenhagen that provides bicycle parking underneath its hills, introduces greenery to the area and can be used as a space for events. Karen Blixens Plads, at the University of Copenhagen, combines spaces for sitting and meeting with landscaped beds for trees and plants. A total of around 2,000 bikes can be stored in the square, with two-thirds covered in

Pullman ’s Maldives Maamutaa Resort will open two villas with underwater bedrooms this November, allowing guests to see the island’s vibrant marine life up close during their stay. The resort, designed by Blink Design Group with interiors by Miaja Design Group, opened at the end of September and is spread across 18 hectares of landscaped garden in the Gaafu Alifu Atoll. It has 122 villas that are either beachside or

A telescope that once belonged to Sir Isaac Newton, the microscope used by Robert Hooke to create the captivating drawings of insects and plants in his book Micrographia, and a range of objects commissioned by England's King George III upon his coronation, are among the exhibits at a new permanent gallery in London's Science Museum. The Science City 1550–1800: The Linbury Gallery exhibition, which is due to open in September,

Under – an underwater restaurant and research facility that evokes the romance and wonder of Captain Nemo's Nautilus – has opened in Lindesnes, Norway. Conceptualised by Scandinavian design firm Snøhetta, the grey-coloured building, which was shaped to appear like a sunken periscope, can accommodate up to 40 guests and is protected from sea waves by fortress-like concrete walls. Under's interiors, illuminated by greenish LEDs, also add realism to the space,

Work has started on the what is expected to become Miami’s next "world-class trail". Designed by landscape architecture firm James Corner Field Operations, the 10-mile (16 km) Underline – Miami’s first integrated transport mobility corridor – will create new public realm beneath the city’s Metrorail guideway. Set to link Miamians to eight Metrorail stations and 250 miles of trails, the park – which has been likened to New York City’s

MURAKA – the world’s first underwater residence – has opened at Hilton Hotels’ Conrad Rangali in the Maldives. The new US$15m (€13.3m, £11.6m) space, which is set five metres beneath the Indian Ocean, spreads over two levels and features three bedrooms, a gym, bar, and infinity pool. Guests at the Crown Company-designed villa also have round-the-clock access to a butler who resides on the premises. Other amenities at Conrad Maldives

The Shimao Wonderland InterContinental (IHG), the world’s first underground hotel, has opened in Songjiang, around 22 miles (35 km) from Shanghai in the Sheshan Mountain Range. Built in a 100m (328ft)-deep abandoned quarry, the hotel, which has been in development for a decade, was designed by Studio JADE+QA and the British architectural firm Atkins. Situated around a manmade lake and amid cascading waterfalls, the 18-storey, 336-guest room structure will be

Lux Resorts is launching a new brand, Salt, and the first property is set to open in November on the east coast of Mauritius. The 59-bedroom Salt of Palmar is designed to add a humanistic approach to hospitality for the “culturally curious traveller”, and to connect guests to locals and their way of life. Salt guests will be immersed into Mauritian life, with the opportunity to connect directly with locals

Work is almost complete on what will soon be the world's largest underwater restaurant, with the Snøhetta-designed project in Norway on track to open next year. Called 'Under', work on the concrete, 600sq m (6,500sq ft) structure, reached a milestone in July when engineers began the “sinking process”, which saw the building lowered into the North Sea at the southernmost point of the Norwegian coastline by the village of Bål.

Airbnb has offered an exclusive meet and greet with Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, which will include a visit to his under-construction Tokyo Olympic stadium. Five guests were given the opportunity to book the rare experience on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, with the places quickly snapped up. The lucky few will begin their special ‘Airbnb Experience’ with a tour of Kuma’s studio in Tokyo’s Aoyama neighbourhood. The architect will

Carneros Resort and Spa in Napa Valley, California, has transformed the 5,919sq foot spa after a US$3.5m (€3m, £2.7m) renovation. Designed by Oakland-based Nina Ciappa Interiors and design firm TLCD Architecture, the spa includes a new entrance, airy guest reception and retail space, expanded relaxation area, and newly designed treatment rooms and suites. “We are constantly striving to enhance the guest experience at Carneros Resort and Spa and offer the

Domes Miramare – a resort in Corfu originally built for the Onassis family in the late 1960s – has emerged from a renovation, and will operate under Marriott’s Luxury Collection brand from 1 August. The beachfront retreat is one of a trio of Domes Resorts in Greece, and currently features a boutique spa, with plans for a larger one in the future. The current spa includes three treatment rooms –

The Brisbane Transit Centre – often cited as the Australian city’s ugliest building – is to be demolished to make way for a metro station and leisure district, dominated by an entertainment area from architects Populous. The project was confirmed in last week’s Queensland State Budget 2018-9, with deputy premier and treasurer Jackie Trad pledging that “the western gateway to the city will be totally transformed.” When complete, the new

The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island hotel has announced the submersion of what it claims is the world's first undersea residence, which will be completed in Q4 2018. Crown Company, which owns the hotel, has invested US$15m in The Miraka (meaning ‘coral’ in Dhivehi, the local language of the Maldives). The company’s director, Ahmed Saleem, is the named architect, and the project is being constructed by New Zealand aquarium technology firm

Those with deep pockets and a passion for the world of aviation have been presented a rare opportunity to own a piece of flight history, with the entire contents of Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 1 about to go under the hammer in London. Lots up for grabs include airport furniture, working baggage carousels, check-in desks, the terminal’s signage and clocks, and a series of large murals created in the 1950s by

Architect Claudio Carbone will oversee a complete renovation of Switzerland’s Grand Hotel Quellenhof in Bad Ragaz as part of an extensive investment programme of around 40m Swiss Francs (US$42m, €34m, £30m). Part of the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, the five-star wellbeing and medical health resort first opened in 1869, and includes 106 suites, which have hosted film stars, statesmen and royalty. CEO Patrick Vogler said the forthcoming renovations will “complete

One of the design team responsible for realising Ai Weiwei’s huge ‘security fence’ installations across New York has told CLADglobal the popularity of the project demonstrates why cities and developers would be “mad” not to commission creativity. Dan Tobin, the founder of international creative design and delivery studio Urban Art Projects (UAP), said that boundary-pushing art “sparks conversations, activates communities, creates memories, celebrates different cultures, drives tourism and enables micro

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have revealed their latest major US project – a sports and entertainment neighbourhood in Texas under a dramatic chequered roofscape. Ambitious plans for the 1.3 million sq ft (121,000sq m) East Austin District were announced today (5 December) by Austin Sports & Entertainment, founded by sports media executives Andrew Nestor and Sean Foley. Located at the home of rodeo in Austin, the new complex is described