Construction work has begun on a £13m redevelopment project which will look to transform the V&A Museum of Childhood into the UK’s "premier national museum" entirely dedicated to children. Designed by De Matos Ryan and AOC Architecture, the revamp of the iconic Grade II* listed site in Bethnal Green, London, UK will provide the museum with an entirely new visitor experience. Plans include three new galleries – called Play, Imagine

Creating an "unforgettable first museum experience for children" is the aim of the V&A Museum of Childhood in London, which has announced it will close in May 2020 for a two-year, £13m (US$16.9m, €15.7m) transformation by AOC. The museum said the "reimagination" of its collections, galleries, building and public programme will turn it into a "world-leading centre of creativity for children". Creativity is a major theme for the planned renovation,

Integrated Field have created a children's hospital aimed at making the experience of being in hospital less daunting, more comfortable and much more fun for its little patients by introducing elements for play and recreation. The 6,000sq m (64,600sq ft) EKH Children's Hospital is located in Thailand's Samut Sakhon province and opened towards the end of 2019 after a two-year design and build process. Recognising that hospitals can be such

Speaking in the new edition of CLADmag, designer André Fu reveals how he found inspiration for his designs for the new St. Regis hotel. “I was born in Hong Kong and so designing the hotel made me question exactly what my home town means to me,” he explained. “I wanted to go deeper than the stereotypical concept of lanterns, junks and temples and tap into my own memories of the

The PortAventura theme park in Spain has announced it will develop PortAventura Dreams, a 9,000sq m (29,527sq ft) village of eight homes offering entertainment and fun for children with serious illnesses and their families. PortAventura Dreams, which is due to open in September, will cost around €3m (US$3.38m, £2.65m) to create. Families of up to six people will be offered six-day stays, free of charge, with access to PortAventura's three

The V&A Museum of Childhood (MOC) in East London has chosen architecture firm AOC to design the new interiors for its £13.5m (US$17.8m, €15.7m) overhaul project. Working alongside base build and exterior architects De Matos Ryan, AOC will open up and modernise the Grade 2-listed building in Bethnal Green in London’s East End, creating three new galleries and more space so that the museum can display a significantly larger amount

The Arts District in El Paso, Texas is to welcome a new addition in the form of the El Paso Children’s Museum, which will sit between the El Paso Museum of History and the El Paso Museum of Art. Norway-based architectural practice Snøhetta have been selected to design the new museum, which will aim to engage children and families from El Paso, Ciudad Juarez, the American southwest, and the nearby

Architecture and planning practice FXCollaborative have been selected by the Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) to transform a historic New York church into the attraction’s new home. The 1903 building, located on 96th Street in Manhattan, was originally designed by architects Carrère & Hastings to house the First Church of Christ, Scientist. The site has now been acquired by the museum, which wants to adapt it into “an ever-evolving place

Visitors to Chicago’s historic Navy Pier will soon be able to enjoy a new streamlined experience for its children’s museum, which is currently undergoing an extensive design overhaul. Reimagined by local firm Krueck+Sexton Architects (K+S), the Chicago Children’s Museum redevelopment plan calls for a cleaner, less cluttered appearance, with refreshed exhibition spaces and a significantly more streamlined visitor experience, relocating all access to the main floor of the museum. “The

A child-friendly approach to urban planning is a vital part of creating inclusive cities that work better for everyone. That is the conclusion of global architecture and engineering firm Arup, which has published a new report warning that cities risk economic and cultural damage if they fail to address the needs of children aged 17 and under. The authors of ‘Cities Alive: Designing for Urban Childhoods’ argue that children’s ability

The International Garden Festival has begun in Quebec’s Redford Gardens, with six award-winning garden installations open to the public for the first time. The projects – which were chosen ahead of 156 rival submissions in a special competition to be included in the 18th edition of the festival – are displayed alongside a number of other commissioned gardens created by more than 70 architects and landscape designers from various disciplines.

NFL quarterback Andrew Luck is playing a part in creating a US$35m (€31.5m, £26m) hands-on indoor/outdoor sports exhibit for The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts star, who majored in architectural design, has been working with the museum and Ratio Architects to create the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience, which he called a “sports utopia” that every child would want when it opens in Q2 2018. “For me,

Swiss architecture studio Evolution Design have unveiled their latest completed project: a village sports centre whose interiors are almost completely covered in vibrant primary colours. The walls and floor of the the Neumatt Centre’s main sports hall are bright green; the changing rooms are painted in rainbow-like shades of blue, yellow, red and orange; and large windows reflect the blue of the sky. “If you want to encourage people to

Japan is leading the way in the establishment of child-friendly cities with young people being given a say in the design of their urban environments. UNICEF launched its Child Friendly City (CFC) initiative in 1996 as a way of implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at local levels. Cities in which children are able to live happily and safely, express their opinions, influence decision making and

Mexico City’s Papalote Children’s Museum has unveiled the winning design for its future home; a forest-inspired building that promotes fun, exploration and discovery. Barcelona-based design studio MX_SI and Mexican firm SPRB were awarded first prize in the competition for the project, which attracted 171 entries from around the world. Construction is expected to begin early next year in Iztapalapa district. The new museum building – which will house an expanded

Muzeiko – the first children’s museum to be built in post-Soviet Eastern Europe – has opened its doors to the public in Sofia, Bulgaria. Following two years of development, the Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership-designed (LHSA+DP) children’s science discovery centre has been conceived as a “journey moving through time and space”. The 35,000sq ft (3,250sq m) facility is set over three storeys. On the bottom floor, children can

Jack Rouse Associates (JRA) is finalising work on a science and technology focused children’s museum in the US ahead of its opening in Q3 of this year. JRA is providing final concept, schematic and detail design for the 8,000sq ft (743sq m) exhibit space at the US$6m (€5.3m, £3.8m) Children’s Museum of Siouxland in Sioux City, Iowa. Targeting children aged between six months and 10 years, the 15,000sq ft (1,394sq

An Australian national park could be designed by primary school pupils using the video game Minecraft. The government of South Australia has launched a competition asking students to create their perfect national park using the popular game, or to suggest changes to an existing state park. Minecraft allows players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D pixelated world. With AU$8.9m ($6.9m, €6.4m, £4.6m) set aside for park

Minnesota Children’s Museum has revealed new renderings for its US$28m (€24.1m, £18.4m) expansion, designed to reimagine existing galleries, plus add new amenities and engaging activities for visitors. The expansion will increase the museum’s size to around 74,000sq ft (6,874sq m) and will include new interactive exhibits for children. Additional exhibits will include expanded air and water play space, as well as a new obstacle course comprising a four-storey climbing structure,

Image: The Minnesota Children's Museum The Minnesota Children’s Museum is in line for a US$26m (£16m, 20m euro) revamp, which will include a physical adventure gallery, an entire floor dedicated to imagination and creativity and numerous galleries with content incorporating the latest research on early learning. Meyer Scherer & Rockcastle of Minneapolis have been appointed as design architects, who have more than 30 years’ experience designing spaces for children, including

More than one million Lego bricks have been used to construct a new children's centre in Hillingdon, West London, which opened on 19 November. Legoland Windsor modellers and WHAT_architecture worked with Hillingdon Council to build the Cowley St Laurence facility. Children using the venue will be encouraged to use natural resources to play, while services will also include parenting support and financial advice. Hillingdon Council cabinet member for education and

Tim Foster Architects has been appointed to redevelop Polka Children's Theatre in Wimbledon, south London, following a two-stage design competition and the completion of a feasibility study. Plans for the venue include the construction of a new domed structure at the rear of the site to house a new auditorium for children aged between one and five-years-old, while the existing auditorium will be remodelled. The Polka Children's Theatre scheme also