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

CitizenM is due to break ground this week on its Miami Worldcenter hotel designed by Gensler and its long-term collaborator Concrete, which will mix feature-rich rooms with a varied amenities offering for guests. The 128,000sq ft (11,900sq m), 12-storey hotel will accommodate 351 guestrooms, all with rain showers, motorised blinds and adaptable lighting colours. Rooms will also feature king-size wall-to-wall beds, widescreen TVs and super-fast Wi-Fi. Guests will be able

DP Architects and interior design specialists Ilya Corporation have joined up to create the Woodleigh Residences – a sprawling, Zen-inspired living community in Singapore. Situated amidst the 10-hectare Biddari Park and the privately accessible Alkaff Lake, the new housing development will boast 667 two- to four-bedroom condos, a swimming pool, and various Japanese-style wellness amenities, including an onsen spa, meditation pavilions, and tatami rooms. Other features of the property will

Architect Bill Bensley is working on a national cultural heritage site in Yên Tu Mountain – considered to be the cradle of Trúc Lâm Zen Buddhism in Vietnam – as part of the Vietnamese government’s strategic development plan for the area. Designed with attention to historical detail – Bensley has created the entire Yên Tu Village in 13th-century style and using 13th-century techniques where possible – the village will include

Plans have been lodged by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) to build a vertical gallery and bird hide in a 19th-century botanical garden in the country's Highlands. London-based architects Denizen Works are behind the proposal for Inverewe Garden, which was first opened in 1862 and features more than 2,500 exotic plants and flowers. The 20m-tall (65.6ft) tower is designed as a "landmark and orientation point to encourage more people

Frozen, Tangled and Peter Pan are coming to Disney's Tokyo theme park, after the operator announced a multi-billion dollar agreement with the Oriental Land Company for the largest expansion in the history of DisneySea. Expected to open in 2022, the development, which has been budgeted at ¥250bn (US$2.26bn, €1.95bn, £1.7bn), will see an eighth port comprising three themed areas opened, as well as a new luxury hotel. The port, says

Steven Holl Architects and arts collective Kamen have won an international design competition to create a 2 million sq ft (200,000sq m) mixed-use district on a former paratrooper airfield in Moscow. Fuksas Architecture and Zaha Hadid Architects were among the rival firms in contention for the vast scheme in Tushino, which will include housing, social spaces and schools alongside spas, pools, cafés and lounges. The site, situated near the Moscow

Three international architecture firms invited to submit designs for a new children’s museum in the Mexico-US border city of El Paso, Texas, will soon learn the outcome of a public vote. Three firms are competing in the contest: the Santa Monica, California-based KoningEizenberg; Norwegian firm Snøhetta; and Mexico’s TEN Arquitectos. El Paso Community Foundation says the new children’s museum will “spark imaginations, curiosity, creativity and critical thinking through immersive, experiential

The colours of the changing seasons in Japan have inspired architect Sun Tianwen to design an eye-catchingly luminous restaurant in the city of Changchun, China. The concept for the 1,300sq m (14,000sq ft) restaurant, called Setsugekka, derives from the ancient Japanese art and design tradition of the same name, which celebrates the motifs of snow, moon and flowers and the passage of time throughout the year. Sun’s restaurant, therefore, features

Architects, developers and local governments must work collectively to ensure that the demand for taller and taller buildings in cities does not constrain sunlight access. That is the view of architect and urban planner Paul Kulig, principal of Perkins + Will in Toronto; a city whose leaders are cracking down on shadowing as sunlight becomes an increasingly precious commodity. “Sun and sunlight have always been critical to the way we

Eight New York parks have been selected for reconstruction as part of the Parks Without Borders campaign to beautify the city’s public spaces. The scheme launched in November 2015 with US$50m (€46.8m, £32.8m) in mayoral funding. The public were invited to vote for the parks they would most like to see improved, following the Parks Without Borders design principles – increasing accessibility, opening sight lines, beautifying edges, adding furnishings and

Hospitality specialists WATG Architects are designing a 160-bedroom Bellagio Shanghai, set to open in early 2017. With a “hip and cool” urban setting, the hotel’s architecture aims to capture the essence of the old and new Shanghai with a modern, tempered interpretation of Art Deco. The hotel will include a five-treatment-room Zen spa with separate male and female wet rooms with sauna and steam, relaxation lounge, indoor pool with tepidarium,

Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut has unveiled his vision for a future where the citizens of the world live underwater in vast self-sufficient ‘oceanscrapers’ made from recycled waste. The futuristic concept – named Aequorea after a bioluminescent jellyfish capable of emitting light – imagines communities living in twisting 250-floor structures that drop to depths of 1,000m (3,300ft). Each of these underwater villages would accommodate 20,000 people and would feature houses, hotels,

Sweden’s famous Icehotel has reopened for its 26th winter and is brimming with hand-crafted, ice-sculpted art. Visitors to the hotel – located in Jukkasjärvi, Lapland – can choose to sleep in an art-themed suite, including one featuring a 3m (10ft) tall elephant carved out of snow. Nineteen of the Icehotel’s 50 rooms feature the unique pieces of ice art created by architects and designers from all over the world. You

Netherlands-based hotel company citizenM has revealed plans to open two new hotels in London during 2014. The first to open will be citizenM Tower of London, a design-led 'pod hotel' which will be built over the exit hall of the Tower Hill London Underground Station. The nine storey hotel will comprise of 370 luxury modular bedrooms over eight floors, a ground floor cafe, bar, living room spaces and a SocietyM