The UK government has announced a £250m (US$322m, €290m) Culture Investment Fund for England. The funding package will be spent on infrastructure projects in the culture, museums and libraries sectors. More than £125m (US$161m, €145m) of the fund is earmarked for investment in improvements to regional museums and libraries. As the recipient of the largest single contribution from the fund (£18.5m US$23.8m, €21.4m), the National Railway Museum in York will

Enhanced designs have been submitted for a £42m waterpark and aquatic complex in Derby, UK. Original plans for the Moorways complex – designed by architects FaulknerBrowns – were approved in early 2018, but the current administration which took control of Derby City Council (DCC) in May 2018 ordered a review of the project. The original plans have now been extended to include more waterleisure space, including a waterpark featuring two

US-based boutique fitness operator Solidcore has revealed plans for five new clubs for New York City. Adding to its existing NYC flagship studio in Chelsea, the new locations will be situated in SoHo, NoMad (North of Madison Square Park), Williamsburg, Hell's Kitchen and NoLIta (North of Little Italy). The openings are part of Solidcore's commitment to open 100 studios in US markets by the end of 2020. It currently has

The Ullen Centre for Contemporary Art (UCCA) has opened a sandcastle-like museum outside Beijing on China’s Gold Coast. Located in the Aranya Gold Coast Community on the shore of the Bohai Sea, UCCA Dune is the region’s first major contemporary art institution. Designed by Li Hu and Huang Wenjing of OPEN Architecture, UCCA Dune was created to evoke the sensation of "children’s tireless digging in the sand". It is almost

The International Spy Museum (SPY) has announced plans to relocate to a new, larger property next year. The 16-year-old attraction, which houses extensive collections of spycraft artefacts and highlights the global history of tradecraft, will move to a 140,000sq ft building on L’Enfant Plaza near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Designed by architects Rogers, Stirk, Harbour + Partners, the new facility will be twice the size of the current

Birmingham is set to be officially announced as the host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games tomorrow (21 December). Multiple reports state a deal between the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), the DCMS and Birmingham City Council has been struck, with a press conference scheduled tomorrow at Perry Bar to be attended by CGF President Louise Martin. Birmingham was the only interested city to submit a bid before the original deadline of

Architecture and design studio Rockwell Group have completed a 6,000 capacity music and arts venue in Washington DC, anchoring a new mile-long neighbourhood along a channel of the Potomac River. Designed in collaboration with developers PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette, The Anthem is a 130,000sq ft (39,624sq m) space dedicated to indie and alternative music as well as conventions, art exhibitions, seminars, banquets and fashion shows. Rockwell Group were inspired

David Rockwell’s design studio have completed a Los Angeles hotel that pays homage to the city’s iconic mid-century modern architecture. The 178-bedroom Dream Hollywood Hotel is located on the city’s Selma Avenue, close to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in the shadow of the Hollywood Hills. Rockwell Group and operator Dream Hotels sought to bring something of the glamour of Tinseltown to the hotel, mixed with a dose of

International spa and wellness consultancy and management company GOCO Hospitality is in the process of creating a GOCO Retreat across 750 acres (304 hectares) in the West Virginia countryside, not far from Washington DC. GOCO Retreat Dawson Lake will focus heavily on the area’s natural mineral springs, and will include both a 70-bedroom wellness hotel and 150 residences – all houses. Each of the 150 houses will be located on

Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise DC United has secured a US$25m (£19.3m, €22m) funding package to make its soon-to-be-built new stadium more energy efficient. The package has been agreed with the mayor of Washington DC Muriel Bowser and the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). Funding will go towards the installation of energy efficient equipment at the 20,000-capacity Audi Field venue, such as 884kw solar panels and stormwater retention system.

Landscape architecture studio James Corner Field Operations have been appointed to “restore, reimagine and revitalise” a one-mile stretch of Washington D.C’s historic Chesapeake and Ohio National Historical Park. The practice will work with local group Georgetown Heritage and the National Park Service to masterplan a section of the park focused around a canal network. The park’s locks, towpath, plazas, stones, landscaped areas and street crossings will be improved to “maximise

Culture, health and movement are the focus at MVRDV’s new community centre in Copenhagen, which encourages adults and children alike to enjoy a better quality of life through physical activity. Slides, fireman's poles, labyrinths, nets and climbing walls provide a means of navigating around the Ku.Be House of Culture and Movement, which is being opened today by Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. The project, designed in collaboration with ADEPT, is

Massage and body treatment practice Wonder Woman Wellness has launched a pop-up office at the pioneering Washington, D.C. tiny house community Micro Showcase. Founded by Brian Levy, Micro Showcase has a growing display of micro structures – all under 350sq ft (32.5sq m) – and showcases micro tech (sustainable technologies), micro furnishings (space saving solutions) and micro grow (an orchard, garden and apiary). It also includes Levy’s Minim House, designed

Architects OMA and landscape architects OLIN have been selected to design the 11th Street Bridge Park, an elevated park in Washington D.C, US. Chosen from a shortlist of four architecture and design teams – including Balmori Associates / Cooper, Robertson & Partners, Stoss Landscape Urbanism / Höweler + Yoon Architecture and Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT) / NEXT Architects – OMA + OLIN will be transforming the aged freeway bridge

Plans for an £11m leisure centre and swimming pool in West Bromwich are underway following the signing of a contract between Sandwell Council and DC Leisure. DC Leisure will design, build, manage and maintain the town centre complex, due to open in summer 2014. The leisure centre will have a 25m pool with a learner pool, a sauna and steamroom, a four-court sports hall, a 100-station fitness suite, two dance

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RCBC) has moved forward with efforts to offload the site of the town's existing leisure centre at Majuba Road and Lobster Road. It comes as specialist drilling machinery returns to the site of a replacement facility, which is being built as part of a new £31m leisure, business support and community complex. Members of the council's cabinet resolved to proceed with a marketing process detailed

Image: The community hub plans have been approved The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has gained planning approval for a new "ecology-themed" community hub to the north of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Located amid the parklands of the North Park area, it is thought the new building and kids' play space will become a new attraction. It has been designed by erect architecture. Some of the UK's most "imaginative"

Image: West Bromwich's new £11m leisure complex DC Leisure has been confirmed as Sandwell Council's preferred bidder to design and build a new £11m leisure centre and swimming pool complex in West Bromwich. The facility is currently scheduled to open in early 2014 and will be delivered by DC Leisure in conjunction with Pellikaan Construction. Work is due to begin next year, subject to planning approval. A 25m swimming pool

Image: Erect Architecture are behind the designs Plans for a new community hub in the northern part of London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park have been submitted by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). The facility will be located in the North Park - one of the first areas to reopen after the 2012 Games - and will provide a local ecology-themed community building and play space. Erect Architecture are behind

Olympic swimmer Chris Cook has helped mark the official start of construction work on a new £31m leisure, business support and community facility in the heart of Redcar. Willmott Dixon has been appointed to build the new complex, which has been designed by leisure specialists S&P Architects in collaboration with Plus Three Architecture. A fitness suite and a junior gym will be among the facilities at the development, along with

Hertfordshire-based construction group Willmott Dixon has been appointed to build a new £31m leisure, business support and community facility in Redcar, north east England. The scheme - designed by Plus3 Architects and S&P Architects - was given final approval by planning officials at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RCBC) last September. A six-lane, 25m swimming pool, a training pool and a learner pool will form part of the new complex,

DC Leisure has been appointed by Birmingham City Council (BCC) to operate and manage the city's first new public swimming pool to be built for more than 20 years. The £12.2m Harborne Pool and Fitness Centre will remain under local authority ownership, with facilities to include a 25m main pool; a learner pool; and a 60-station adult gym. An interactive children's fitness suite and an aerobics and dance studio are

Hertfordshire-based contractor Willmott Dixon has revealed that it is set to deliver a major new £33m leisure, business support and community facility in the heart of Redcar. The group said it had been appointed through the Scape framework on the first of a two-stage contract to build complex on behalf of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. It is hoped Willmott Dixon will start work in the New Year, working with

Plans for a £31m leisure, business support and community facility in Redcar have received final approval from planners at the local authority Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is to develop the facility on a site between Kirkleatham Street and Coatham Road, which will include a six-lane, 25m swimming pool, a training pool and a learner pool; a fitness suite; and a junior gym. Other facilities at the complex - designed

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RCBC) has confirmed that demolition work at the site of a planned £31m leisure, business support and community hub has been completed. Detailed proposals for the S&P Architects and Plus3 Architects-designed project have been submitted for consideration already, with councillors set to reach a decision by late 2011. The area between Kirkleatham Street and Coatham Road will house a complex including a 25m, six-lane swimming

Detailed proposals for a major new £31m leisure, business support and community facility in the heart of Redcar have been submitted to the local planning authority for consideration. Outline plans drawn up by S&P Architects and Plus3 Architects were given the green light by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RCBC) earlier this summer. Middlesbrough-based Buckler Demolition has already commenced work to clear the site at Kirkleatham Street and Coatham Road,

Demolition work has started on site of Redcar's new £8.3m 'Hub' for the creative industry, which will bring about the transformation of the town's derelict Palace Theatre. Surgo Construction has been chosen by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RBBC) to oversee the two-month demolition phase, with construction work to start in the autumn. Newcastle-based xsite architecture are involved with the project, which will lead to the creation of a new