Following a two-year fundraising campaign, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) is closing in on its financial target to build a 235,000sq ft (21,800sq m) new wing. The US$610m (€513m, £401m) figure would fund the new wing – which would house works by the likes of Andy Warhol, Mark Rothko and David Hockney – and secure the future of the museum for many years to come. The expanded

By 2020, a new super museum will be constructed in central Copenhagen, dubbed the Natural History Museum of Denmark. Blending together three of the city's existing institutions, the Natural History Museum, the Geological Museum and the Botanical Museum, the new facility is expected to be one of the largest of its kind in the world. Following a recent DKR550m (€73.933m, US$91m, £58.1m) grant from several private foundations, the University of

A large hourglass has been installed in Turin, Italy’s, Piazza San Carlo, counting down progress as the €50m (US$62.3m, £39.7m) redevelopment of the city’s Egyptian Museum reaches its final stages. Scheduled to fully reopen on 1 April 2015, Museo Egizio or the Egyptian Museum of Turin is one of the world’s oldest Egyptian museums. Founded in 1824, it ranks second only to its counterpart in Cairo. The museum is at

An international team, led by New York-based Steven Holl Architects, has been chosen to design the Mumbai City Museum North Wing. Steven Holl Architects has been chosen to almost double the size of the Mumbai City Museum, otherwise known as the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, from a shortlist of eight architectural heavy weights. Organised by Malcolm Reading Consultants, the competition drew more than 100 entrants. Malcolm Reading commented: “In Steven

Architecture firm Soare & Yokina Arhitecti Asociati (SYAA) has won a competition to design the new nature-themed science museum complex in Constanta, Romania. Bucharest-based SYAA will design the 80,000sq m (860,000sq ft) Muzeul Stiintei si al Naturii Constanta, which will be the largest such complex in the Black Sea region and is being funded by the Territorial Council of Constanta. The development follows a ‘green’ theme The main structure features

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has green-lighted more than £21m in funding for a variety of heritage projects across the UK, including the renovation of a World War One social club, construction of Scotland’s first building conservation centre and the creation of an aerospace centre. Among the projects that have received funding, some of the most notable include: Bristol Aerospace Centre Bristol Aerospace Centre gained the largest slice of the

Work has started on South Korea’s first integrated resort – Paradise City in Incheon – which is scheduled open next to Incheon International Airport in the first half of 2017. A number of the industry’s leading architecture and design practices have been working on the US$1.7bn (€1.4bn, £1.1bn) casino, hotel, spa and theme park project, including WATG, GA Design International, Hirsch Bedner Associates, Hawkins Brown, Lifescapes International and Gansam Architects.

Madrid-based architecture practice, SelgasCano Studio, has been chosen to design the 15th Serpentine Pavilion in London’s Kensington Gardens. Announced on 4 December, the spanish practice's appointment follows on from last year's Pavilion designed by Smiljan Radic. As a much-anticipated landmark in London over the summer months, the Pavilion is one of the top ten most visited architectural and design exhibitions in the world, according to the Serpentine Gallery. Although well-known

Five cities – Dundee, Bilbao, Curitiba, Helsinki and Turin – have been designated UNESCO Cities of Design for their significant contributions to the international design industry. City of Design status, only previously awarded to 12 other cities, recognises significant input to the worldwide design industry and aims to foster the development of local creative industries. It also aims to build relationships between fellow Cities of Design, in areas such as

Paris-based AWP architecture firm has won a competition, launched in June 2014, to design a new public space and hub along the River Tyne in Newcastle, UK. Malmo Quay, situated in the Ouseburn Valley in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, will be a landmark and cycle hub. The site will provide new space for outdoor sports with a community hall, restaurants and cafés, community spaces, working areas, and an open air cinema – which

Architecture practice EFFEKT has won a competition to create an innovative new street sports and cultural facility in an old train depot in Esbjerg, Denmark. The project will transform a disused train engine depot in Esbjerg into a new destination for street sports, cultural creativity and the community. Realdania, a non-profit organisation, have set itself the task of creating three new cultural hubs filling some of the void left by

Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde has unveiled what is arguably the world’s most artistic cycle path in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Vincent Van Gogh’s death. The high-end cycling highway consists of more than 50,000 solar powered, glow in the dark stones which appear to glitter and swirl in a Van Gogh-like fashion after dark. The installation was inspired by Van Gogh’s famous ‘Starry Night’ oil on

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, UK, welcomed back members of the public on 13 November following the completion of part of its £13.8m (US$21.5m, €17.3m) refurbishment. An ongoing project to completely refurbish the interior of the 1939 concert hall is being headed up by architects Caruso St. John, who have previously worked on sites such as the Tate Britain and the Barbican in London. Originally designed by Herbert Rowse, the project at

As part of Visit London and StudioCanal’s campaign for the new Paddington bear film, out on the 28th November, 50 statues of the world's most adventurous bear have been unveiled across London. Each bear has been individually designed by a celebrity or architect. From 4 November to 30 December, tourists can follow in the footsteps of Paddington via a series of trails – leading to statues situated in key locations

A proposed masterplan for the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C, was unveiled this week by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), re-imagining the South Mall campus and the area around the Smithsonian’s iconic ‘Castle’. Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution is one of the world’s largest museum and research complexes, boasting the National Zoological Park and several research facilities, as well as 19 museums and galleries. It is expected that the

Several high profile architects have been asked to compete in a newly launched competition to design the New National Gallery and Ludwig Museum in Budapest, Hungary. A previous open competition for the project was recently abandoned, as the jury had "not found any entry suitable for implementation based on the assessment criteria". The studios invited to compete consist of a star-studded line up, with Jean Nouvel, David Chipperfield, Mecanoo, Nieto

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has launched an unprecedented city-wide competition for urban regeneration in the French capital. Under the ‘Call for Innovative Urban Projects’ banner, 23 city-owned sites across the capital have been designated for development; the mayor is asking for teams of startups, associations, investors, companies, collectives, artists, architects and designers to ‘prefigure what the Paris of tomorrow might be.’ Elected in May, the mayor has laid

Renzo Piano’s dramatic new building for the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York’s Meatpacking District has entered the final phase of construction, with work set to be completed in time for its long-scheduled opening in Spring 2015. The museum - founded by American socialite Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in 1931 - is moving from its old Madison Avenue property to the significantly larger new building in order to display

The first images for the legacy project of director George Lucas – the US$300m (€220m, £179m) Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (LMNA) in Chicago – have been revealed by architectural firm MAD Architects. To be built on prime lakefront land next to Soldier Field, the architectural concept for the LMNA “explores the relationship between nature and the urban environment”. Inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van

The new wing of the Contemporary Art Museum Gösta Serlachius in Finland, designed by Spanish architectural firm MX_SI, has been opened after three years of planning and development. MX_SI won a competition back in 2011 to design and build the extension for the visitor attraction in Mänttä, which is now a fully functioning part of the museum, playing host to the new entrance, foyer, restaurant, conservation facilities and a shop.

The AU$450m (US$394.4m, £246m, €312.2m) revamp of the Sydney Modern art gallery in New South Wales, Australia has taken a step forward after its director announced 12 highly acclaimed architecture firms as potential designers for the project. In January the former Art Gallery of New South Wales will know which high-profile architect has been entrusted with its future when an expert panel will select five of the visions to take

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an end to China’s abstract and strange-looking architectural structures, calling for morally inspiring art to “cultivate taste and clean up undesirable work styles.” During a recent speech at a literary symposium in Beijing, Xi said buildings such as the CCTV headquarters, which is one of Beijing’s most iconic towers should no longer be built in the city. Xi also commented that Chinese art

Work on the upcoming Louvre Abu Dhabi has progressed, with construction of the mammoth US$653m (€512.9m, £404.6m) structure’s dome roof now complete. Building work on the dome started in December 2013 and the elaborate roof currently sits on 120 temporary support towers, which will be replaced with four permanent support pillars and the dome will be clad in aluminium. The construction of all the 9,200sq m (99,000sq ft) museum’s galleries

From 2016, London’s Design Museum will be offering free entry to permanent exhibitions following its move to a new site in Kensington. Chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, visited the Museum’s new site on 17 October and announced plans to support opening the doors for free under the VAT refund scheme for museums and galleries. The Design Museum will join more than 50 other museums across the UK capital opening

The first major museum to be built in Morocco since it gained independence from France in 1956 has opened in Rabat. Showcasing modern and contemporary works by Moroccan artists, the Musée Mohammed VI d'Art Moderne et Contemporain (Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art) – now partnered with the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC and the Louvre in Paris – had been under construction for a decade following a

Haworth Tompkins’ Everyman Theatre has beaten the likes of the London Aquatic Centre and the Shard to be crowned this year's RIBA Stirling Prize winner. The London-based practice had to fight off stiff competition from other illustrious firms and their projects including Zaha Hadid’s aforementioned Aquatic Centre and Renzo Piano’s Shard, as well as Mecanoo’s Library of Birmingham, O’Donnell + Tuomey's Saw Swee Hock and Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios' Manchester

The town of Spijkenisse in southwest Holland is now home to a new theatre designed by Ben van Berkel, UNStudio’s founding architect. The Theatre de Stoep is designed to consider the two contrasting facets of the theatre archetype, as a place of wonder and illusion at the same time as being a place of community and social interaction. The theatre boasts progressive shapes and smooth curves typical of UNStudio’s work.