Counterspace have been chosen to design the Serpentine Pavilion for 2020 with a design based on gathering spaces and community places around London that will be accompanied by a public programme across the city. Now in its 20th year, the annual pavilion commission is described by the Serpentine as "a global platform for experimental projects by some of the world's greatest architects." This year's architects from the Johannesburg-based practice –

Seeing Spheres, a new and permanent artwork by Olafur Eliasson featuring five reflective silver orbs has been opened on San Francisco's waterfront. The Mission Bay installation by the Danish-Icelandic artist is situated at a plaza next to the city's new Chase Center sports complex, where the Golden State Warriors basketball team will play. Each sphere is a 5m (16.4ft) high orb made of polished, hydroformed steel, each supporting a flat,

Australian property company Northstar Developments has unveiled plans to construct a floating island oasis in the shallows of the Swan River in Perth. Designed to be a watersports and general leisure destination, the Swan River Deck–if approved–would be a jellyfish and algae-free zone, comprising multiple naturally heated pools, an outdoor cinema, a sand-bar for sunbathing, a top platform for dining and lounging, and a green-roofed conference hall with rooms inside

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has unveiled plans for its upcoming S$180m (US$138m, £99m) business school, which – on completion in 2021 – will become the largest wooden building in Asia. The six-story, 40,000sq m building – part of the administration’s desire to construct the “greenest university campus in the world” – will be co-designed by RSP Architects Planners & Engineers and Toyo Ito & Associates Architects. RSP said the objective

Construction is nearing completion on “a world-class, signature lifestyle destination” at Singapore’s Changi Airport, which has been designed to boost the city-state’s appeal as a stopover point for global travellers. Conceived as the world’s most ambitious airport leisure attraction, the complex, called The Jewel, is being built inside an enormous glass dome covering a 40m-high indoor waterfall and a five-storey ‘forest valley’ with 2,500 trees and 100,000 shrubs. The building

A planning application has been submitted for a classic car museum in Oxfordshire, UK, with American vintage car collector and philanthropist Peter Mullin behind the £35m (US$48m, €39.5m) plans. Mullin, founder of the M Financial Group and Chairman of its subsidiary, M Financial Holdings, is an avid car collector, establishing in 2010, the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California and also serving as the President of the American Bugatti Club.

The £1bn (€1.3bn $1.42bn) Swansea Tidal Lagoon – an innovative renewable energy scheme which could also feature an oyster hatchery, restaurant, visitor centre and watersport centre – has taken a significant step forward after the UK government granted planning permission. Proposals from developer Tidal Lagoon Power (TLP) for the world’s first tidal lagoon to generate clean electricity are being masterplanned by LDA Design – the firm which also worked on

Young architects and students are being invited to design a public watersports facility for a popular tourist destination in Macedonia. Budding architects can compete for their design to be used for a new sports and entertainment centre at Lake Ohrid on the west side Macedonia. The competition is calling on entrants to draw inspiration from the history, natural landscape and culture of the area. The lake is encircled by beaches,

The city of Vilnius in Lithuania is stepping up its push into the European ski market with the announcement it will build a new cultural/sports venue – the Vilnius Beacon – with design by Studio Libeskind. This is the first ski resort by the practice. The development is backed by the City of Vilnius, the State Trade Co and Start Vilnius Co, which took over responsibility for the location –

Swansea Bay could soon boast a tidal lagoon featuring an international watersport centre and oyster hatchery as part of radical redevelopment plans. London 2012 Olympic Park designer LDA Design has released its masterplan for Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, featuring the world’s first, man-made energy-generating lagoon, which would provide clean, renewable power for over 120,000 homes and could be connected to the national grid by 2018. Inspired by traditional fishing warehouses

A new £5m (US$7.55m, €5.83m) watersport development has been launched on the Colwyn Bay waterfront in north Wales. The development features the new Porth Eirias building, which has been constructed on a one hectare (107,639sq ft, 10,000 sq m) platform on top of a groyne. Built by local company Wynne Construction, it will provide a hub for watersport activities in Colwyn Bay and will include a bistro, café, changing areas

Conwy Council has announced North Wales-based Wynne Construction has been awarded the contract to deliver a new watersports development on Colwyn Bay Promenade. The firm, which was recently involved with the construction of the £6.5m Parc Eirias Events Centre in Colwyn Bay, is expected to take nine months to complete the new facility. A single-storey watersports centre designed by K2 Architects will house a café/bistro and an educational/conference facility, as

Construction work on a major new motorsport complex near Austin, Texas, has been halted until a contract for hosting the US Formula One Grand Prix in 2012 is completed. The Circuit of The Americas confirmed that all work at the venue has been suspended as the race contract between Formula One and the venue had not yet been received. In addition to a 3.4-mile (5.5km) Hermann Tilke-designed circuit, the facility