Wellscape is a new company, spearheaded by industry figure Brian Paris, set to revolutionise spa, wellness and hospitality guest journeys with advanced immersive visual environments. After collaborating with a team skilled in creating VR settings for film and TV, Paris is using AI and high-resolution LED panels to bring healing spaces to life with naturescapes, light, scent and soundscapes – some of which are composed by wellness music provider Myndstream.

A new visitor attraction at London's Marble Arch is set to anchor ambitious plans to "reimagine" the city's famous Oxford Street shopping district. The planned Marble Arch Hill visitor attraction, designed by architects MVRDV, is part of plans to attract people back to Oxford Street following the coronavirus pandemic. Considered Europe’s busiest shopping street, Oxford Street has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19 measures. Plans are already underway to diversify

A new urban lagoon and park, designed by MVRDV, has opened in the preserved ruin of a shopping mall in central Tainan, Taiwan. The China-Town Mall was built next to the Tainan Canal in 1983, the rise of online shopping means it no longer serves its purpose. Instead, the Urban Development Bureau of the Tainan City Government commissioned MVRDV to create Tainan Spring as a new public space and as

MVRDV is one of two finalists in a competition to design the Shimao ShenKong International Centre, with a proposal that combines stacked terraces, curved organic forms and lush greenery. The competition sought designs for a municipal facility for Universiade New Town in China that would accommodate a variety of different amenities and green spaces. MVRDV'S 101,300sq m (1 million sq ft) Shenzhen Terraces proposal was conceived as a new urban

MVRDV 's design for a new campus for Chinese technology firm Tencent is, in reality, an urban district in which for employees to live, work and play, with cutting edge smart city technology and nature deeply integrated into its design. Tencent began plans for a new headquarters shortly after completing their current headquarters in Shenzhen, China, due to the speed on its growth. Located the city's Qianhai Bay area, MVDRV's

MVRDV 's design for a new campus for Chinese technology firm Tencent is, in reality, an urban district in which for employees to live, work and play, with cutting edge smart city technology and nature deeply integrated into its design. Tencent began plans for a new headquarters shortly after completing their current headquarters in Shenzhen, China, due to the speed on its growth. Located the city's Qianhai Bay area, MVDRV's

MVRDV have unveiled the design for a new venue at the Jaarbeurs exhibition, event and conference centre in Utrecht that is aimed at also providing a "garden in the city", incorporating a rooftop garden, green spaces and mixed-use elements. Jaarbeurs briefed MVRDV to create a green, sustainable and innovative venue that would also help to boost the neighbourhood. The resulting 120,000sq m (1,300,000sq ft) venue will be the cornerstone of

MVRDV, working with local studio NOW Architects, have won a competition to redevelop Seoul's Tancheon waterfront as a public park called The Weaves, with a mix of natural ecosystems, pathways and places for recreation. Commissioned by the government of Seoul, the project covers a 630,000sq m (6,800,000sq ft) area between the city's former Olympic Stadium and its central business district in Gangnam, as well as a stretch along the Han

MVRDV has completed the WERK12 mixed-use building in Munich, Germany, with elements that can be adapted for use by different tenants. The 7,700sq m (83,000sq ft) development has a varied group of tenants, including restaurants and bars on the ground floor a three-storey gym with a one-storey swimming pool on the middle floors and offices at the top. The façade was designed in collaboration with local artists Christian Engelmann and

Google has created a virtual reality tour of the Palace of Versailles, allowing people to explore the architecture, artworks and history of the former home of French royalty wherever they are in the world. The Versailles: The Palace is Yours exhibit takes visitors on a tour of rooms including the Royal Grand Apartments, the Chapel and the Opera. It was created using a technique called photogrammetry, via which 3D models

Construction work has begun on Pixel, a new residential-led, mixed-use project in Abu Dhabi's new Maker's District. Designed by MVRDV, the development aims to provide residents with a lifestyle based around outdoor living and community spirit – an innovative approach in the Emirates, as it deviates from the prevalent typology of disconnected towers. The 85,000sq m (915,000sq ft) development features 525 apartments, shops, offices, and amenities situated around a lively

Ieoh Ming Pei, the architect who conceived the Louvre Pyramid, has died. Born in Guangzhou, China in 1917, Pei emigrated to the US in 1940, establishing his own practice, I.M. Pei and Associates in 1955. The firm soon went on to design a number of celebrated projects, the most famous of which was arguably the now iconic Louvre Pyramid, which was commissioned by French president François Mitterrand in 1989. At

Dutch design firm MVRDV have revealed renderings of their plan to create an open-air marketplace and urban escape in Tainan, Taiwan. The new attraction, which recently broke ground, will be divided into two areas: a ground-floor trading area – set to host vending stalls and kiosks – and a rooftop park. Landscaped to resemble terraced paddy fields, the green expanse will function as a recreational retreat and feature benches, picnic

Dutch architecture practice MVRDV have unveiled renderings of an eye-catching twin tower development planned for central Taipei. Dubbed a "Times Square for Taiwan" the firm's Twin Towers, which will occupy defunct or underused areas around Taipei's main station, will feature two cinemas and hotels, as well as a series of retail outlets and offices. The 434,000 sq m mixed-use site – designed to appear as stacks of multicoloured blocks –

Dutch architects MVRDV have won an international competition to build Vanke 3D City, a mixed-use development with a number of what the design practice have termed "three dimensional" public areas. The 250-metre tower, which will overlook Shenzhen Bay in China, will take the form of eight porous but interlinked blocks. The complex will also feature landscaped gardens, atriums, hotels, apartments, and offices, some of which will be built in open-air,

Rotterdam-based architectural firm MVRDV has completed construction on the Imprint, a two-building, 9,800-square-metre indoor theme park and nightclub located less than a kilometre from Incheon Airport in Seoul, South Korea. Visually, the Imprint is a windowless structure comprising 3,869 glass-fibre reinforced concrete panels. According to Winy Mass, MVDRV’s co-founder, these features were introduced in order to create a façade that would imitate other buildings in the area. “By placing, as

Some of the world’s most renowned architectural practices have submitted entries to a design competition for a new building in Melbourne, Australia. Situated in the city’s Southbank area, the new building will be a mixed-use tower development. Six entrants, including Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), MAD Architects, Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and MVRDV have submitted entries. BIG, in partnership with Fender Katsalidis Architects, are proposing a mega 359.6m-high two-building development

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

MVRDV founders Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries have announced the opening of a new office in Spaces Réaumur, Paris, reflecting the firm’s long line of forthcoming projects in France. This year, construction has already begun on the reconstruction of the Part-Dieu shopping centre in Lyon and the extensive renovation of the Gaite-Montparnasse shopping centre in Paris, with a porous façade connecting the mall to the street,

The Dutch municipality of Den Helder has today (12 April) announced MVRDV as the winners in a competition to design a new public installation on the city’s northern dike representing the connection between city and sea. The design, called SeaSaw, is a viewing platform that takes the shape of an infinite loop, with visitors able to walk across it in either direction. Den Helder is located on the country’s northernmost

Plans have been revealed for an 80m-long river crossing in a historic Chinese town, designed by Dutch architects MVRDV as “a landmark for fostering daily life and social activities”. The firm has won a competition for the Dawn Bridge project, which will connect the old town of Zhujiajiao, near Shanghai, with new residential developments. Conceived as a 24m-wide dual crossing for vehicles and pedestrians, the bridge will be separated along

Dutch architects MVRDV have added to their extensive list of future projects after winning an international design competition for a major mixed-use complex in Moscow’s city centre. The scheme, called Silhouette, will consist of luxury apartments of various configurations and sizes, a sports centre, flexible workspaces, an events space and a public sky deck. The design of the 52,000sq m (560,000sq ft), 78m (256ft) tall building is inspired by the

Dutch architects MVRDV have revealed designs for their inaugural project in the United Arab Emirates – a mixed-use residential and leisure district for Abu Dhabi’s high-profile Makers District. Called Pixel, the 76,000sq m (818,000sq ft) development will consist of seven ‘pixelated’ mid-rise towers organised around a lively public plaza designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), which steers people towards an adjacent beach, waterfront promenade, marina and public events space. MVRDV’s

Dutch architects MVRDV have completed the Tianjin Binhai Library in China, a 33,700sq m (362,700sq ft) cultural centre featuring a luminous spherical auditorium which doubles as an enormous mirrored ‘eye’. Floor-to-ceiling bookcases cascade organically around the auditorium, forming the building's main spatial device, while also creating stairs, seating, the layered ceiling and louvres on the façade. The five-storey building holds 1.2 million books, which can be taken to a multitude

Dutch architects MVRDV are have announced a large-scale leisure project in Shanghai that will see the firm meld nature, culture and entertainment in a huge public park on an island in the Yangtze River. Zhangjiang Future Park will become a new focal point for the district of Pudong, with communal public facilities built into a series of green landscaped buildings surrounded by 10,000sq m (107,600sq ft) of plazas converging towards

A Gothenburg warehouse will be transformed into a 16,500sq m (177,600sq ft) mixed-use hub, with Dutch architects MVRDV on design duties. Working in collaboration with BSK Arkitekter, the practice will convert the multi-storey industrial structure into Magasin 113 – “a lively cultural development with both private and public functions.” The project is located in the heart of Frihamnen RiverCity – the largest urban development project in Sweden, and indeed Scandinavia

The long-delayed and even longer-awaited Louvre Abu Dhabi has finally been given its launch date, with the Jean Nouvel-designed cultural institution opening to the public on 11 November. A string of setbacks dating back by more than decade have delayed the AED4.3bn (US$1.2bn, €1bn, £914m) project, which anchors the under-development Saadiyat Cultural District – where one day the Zayed National Museum designed by Foster and Partners and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi