The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), the developer behind ultra-luxury Saudi tourism destination Amaala, has now signed over 300 contracts worth more than SAR 6.62 bn (US$1.7bn, €1.7bn £1.5bn). Underpinned by sustainability, Amaala is being designed for ultra-high net worth individuals and will centre on wellness and sports, arts and culture and sea, sun and lifestyle. Spanning 4,155sq m of the Saudi Arabian coastline, Amaala will be spread across three

The International Museum Construction Congress (IMCC) will take place in the Norwegian capital city, Oslo, from 6 to 8 November 2022. Now in its seventh edition, the three-day IMCC is designed for international museum leaders, architects, project managers, museum leaders and any other professionals involved in the construction, renovation and expansion of museums. The planning committee for this year's event is chaired by Göran Joryd, project manager for the new

New concept designs and visuals have been released for the Eureka! Mersey project – a £11.75m children's visitor attraction being developed in Liverpool, UK. The science and discovery centre is being developed by Eureka! – the national children's museum – in partnership with Merseytravel, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Wirral Council. Designed by a team led by K2 Architects, the £11.75m science attraction is set to take over

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

Construction has begun on a bicycle and pedestrian bridge connecting the areas of Blauwestad and Winschoten in the Netherlands that, at 800m (2,600ft), will be the longest cycling bridge in Europe. Designed by Nol Molenaar, the Blauwe Loper (literally, 'the Blue Carpet') will span part of the Oldambtmeer artificial lake, the Winschoterdiep canal, the A7 road and a nature reserve, providing users with a variety of views. It was conceived

RJDL have created a café that is not only constructed from recycled shipping containers for sustainability, but that is designed in such a way as to espouse their use in construction for that reason. The Infinity Café is laid out in the shape of the infinity symbol, with the theme used to "emphasise the infinite possibilities of using a shipping container as a structural unit". Covering an area of 2,880sq

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

MAD Architects are in the third and final stage of construction for the Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Center mixed-use development in Nanjing, China, with completion due this year. According to MAD, "The scheme seeks to restore the spiritual harmony between humanity and nature through the integration of contemplative spaces that, while immersing inhabitants in nature, still meets the conveniences of modern-day living." Covering 560,000sq m (6 million sq ft), the vast

Construction of the planned new Sacramento Republic FC stadium, designed by HNTB, has moved a step closer with the approval by the city council of a $27m (€24m, £21m) loan to pay for infrastructure work around the site. The $300m (€271m, £232m), 20,000-capacity stadium will be located on a 31ac (13ha) site in the Railyards area of the city, which is being redeveloped as a 244ac (99ha) mixed-use urban community.

Construction work is due to begin on the 760 ha (1,878ac) JTP -designed "Ecopolis" eco-district in Kazan, Russia, which is aimed at promoting a lifestyle of health and wellbeing. Sited on a former artillery base in the city's Kirov district, the masterplan takes advantage of its forest setting and proximity to the River Volga. It is laid out as a landscaped ring with a series of clustered developments around which

The opening of the new Humboldt Forum museum in Berlin has been delayed until 2020 due to construction delays. Housed inside a reconstructed Prussian palace in the east of the city, the museum – which is named after the explorer and polymath Alexander von Humboldt – was due to open in September 2019. However, in a status update, it was admitted "it would be unrealistic to expect the building to

Work has started on the Xinhu Hangzhou Prism, a polyhedral high-rise taking shape in Hangzhou, an emerging technological hub in China's Zhejiang province. Designed by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), the 52,000 sq m building will feature a concave pixel-like facade and comprise residential facilities, a hotel, retail units, and an atrium garden with a playground. According to OMA, the tower's skyward pinnacle will serve as an emblematic representation

MAD Architects' Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Centre (NZHC) – a mixed-use development inspired by the highest mountain range in the world – is on track for completion in 2020. First conceived in 2012, the 560,000 sq m complex – which is located in Nanjing, China – was designed to represent what MAD have described as the Chinese concept of "shanshui", a merging of "humanity and nature". Once complete, the property will

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

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.

Work has begun on Stefano Boeri Architetti's Blloku Cube, the first building to break ground as part of the the Tirana 2030 regeneration scheme. Based in Tirana’s upscale Ish-Blloku district, the seven-storey structure – which will include retail, office, and restaurant spaces – will feature a radiant cladding composed of anodised aluminium. This metallic 'skin' will use sunlight to produce a broad spectrum of colours, ostensibly alluding to Stefano Boeri’s

A unique new art gallery that is buried in a sand dune is close to completing construction on the coast of Bohai Bay in northern China. Spanning a total area of 10,000 sqf (930sq m), the museum will accommodate a number of galleries of varying size, multiple studios and a café when it opens later this year. Operated by Chinese contemporary art institution UCCA in partnership with museum architects OPEN

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

The first foundation stone has been laid to mark the beginning of construction of Hamburg Innovation Port, a 60,000sq m (645,800sq ft) mixed-use development for the city’s inner harbour. Designed by MVRDV, the project connects existing port typologies and office buildings with public leisure spaces, with bridges and walkways linking the amenities. “There is a park, a boulevard, a square, shared spaces and a waterside promenade that invites office workers

Ground has broken on a new museum in Winnipeg that will be the largest single gallery space in the world devoted to Inuit art, culture, and history. Designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture, the 400,000sq ft (37,000sq m) Inuit Art Centre (IAC) is an addition to the existing Winnipeg Art Gallery, created by Canadian architect Gustavo Da Roza and opened in 1971. The new additions will be connected to the main

Work is set to begin on Australia's first surf park, after Urbnsurf – the company driving the plans – secured AU$28.3m (US$18, €15m, £13m) in funding to develop a site in the city of Melbourne. The firm has already secured planning consent for a site adjacent to Melbourne Airport and now expects construction work to begin during April 2018. Described as a "sports, leisure and entertainment facility", Urbnsurf Melbourne will

After a long and difficult construction process, Miami’s Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science opened to the public last May. However, with only the first phase of the major attraction completed, more problems are arising, with construction firm Skanska filing a lawsuit against the museum. With the US$300m (€244.5m, £213.6m) building project facing so many financial shortfalls over the years, the contractor alleges it was not paid for work

Architect Steven Holl has blamed “a crisis of ignorance in high places” for a lack of progress in adopting environmental building practices, reserving particular ire for US president Donald Trump, who he predicted will be impeached. In a sweeping interview with CLADglobal, Holl argued that politicians through to developers, architects and contractors must do more to “get free from our dependence on non-renewable fuels” throughout the design and construction process.

A dramatic drone video released by international design studio Ennead Architects has offered a glimpse at their planetarium for the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum taking shape in the Chinese city. The footage provides a sweeping overview of the 38,000sq m (409,000sq ft) structure as it rises from the ground in the city’s Lingang district. Construction began on the project in November 2016, and completion is scheduled by 2020.

The official groundbreaking has taken place for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art – Star Wars creator George Lucas’ long-awaited cultural venture in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park. The 300,000sq ft (27,800sq m) museum will celebrate the art of visual storytelling – from comic art, paintings and illustrations to photography, filmmaking and drawings – with collection galleries, exhibition spaces and two theatres displaying original works of art, digital technologies and daily

Global architects Perkins+Will have launched a list of the most “prolific and problematic” substances that people encounter every day in the built environment. Hosted on the firm’s ‘Material Transparency’ website, the compilation is described as “a user-friendly digital database that allows professionals to search for key substances and chemicals of concern using filters like project type, product type, and health and environmental impacts.” An earlier ‘Precaution List’ was developed by

Construction has begun on a 75,000sq m (807,300sq ft) green-terraced, mixed-use building located in Amsterdam’s Central Business District – the latest leisure project from Dutch architects MVRDV. The studio’s design for developer OVG Real Estate – which was selected by the Municipality of Amsterdam in 2015 following an international competition – includes shops, bars, restaurants, cultural facilities, apartments, offices and a sky bar spread across a sprawling forested man-made valley.