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.

Internationally renowned gin brand, Bombay Sapphire, is set to open up its new home, a distillery and visitor centre in Laverstock, Hampshire. Opening its doors on 1 October, the Laverstock Mill has been completely renovated and fitted out for its new purpose of housing Bombay Sapphire’s headquarters and distillery. With a full range of behind the scenes visitor experiences, the new site is to showcase the story behind Bombay Sapphire,

Since opening in May 2014, the emotive 9/11 Memorial Museum, NYC, has seen more than one million visitors walk through its doors. Designed by David Brody Bond Architects in conjunction with Snøhetta, the 9/11 Memorial Museum provides a space for telling the story of the 9/11 attacks and their repercussions. And the tasteful approach to the difficult subject matter has seen the attraction more than fulfill visitor number expectations. With

South Korean capital Seoul has become home to a new progressive art museum following the opening of the Arario Museum in Space attraction, located inside the city’s famed Space building overlooking Changgyeong Palace. The Space site was originally designed by pioneering South Korean architect Kim Swoo-geun and was previously home to the architect’s Space Group firm. The launch of the new museum comes as art collector and founder of Arario

Up to 34 Transport for London (TfL)-owned “ghost” train tunnels running beneath the UK capital could soon be transformed into an array of attractions and leisure sites, according to reports. It is understood that TfL is preparing to invite companies to bid to take part in the transformation of several disused Underground and Overground Stations, as well as old horse tunnels that run below the city. Ajit Chambers, a former

Following a lengthy competition process ending in 2013, French architect Jean Nouvel and the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD) have begun work on the greatly-anticipated National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) in Beijing. Located in Beijing's Olympic Park – a legacy from the 2008 Games – the NAMOC will occupy 130,000sq m (1,399,308sq ft) of space as part of a new cultural district in the park itself, near to

Skateboarders in London’s South Bank Undercroft have won their 17-month battle to keep the space under Queen Elizabeth Hall designated for skateboarding, BMX riding, graffiti and urban activities. On 18 September, details of a binding agreement between the Long Live Southbank campaign, the Southbank Centre and Lambeth Council were released; meaning that both parties will withdraw from further legal action and the site will remain open, free of charge, for

Officially opened to the public yesterday (21 September), the third and northernmost phase of the New York High Line elevated park is now complete. Designed by James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and planting designer Piet Oudolf, the High Line project has been underway since the disused rail structure was initially saved from demolition in the late 90s. Now for the first time, the northernmost section of the

Bjarke Ingels, and his architecture firm BIG, have unveiled plans for a public promenade mixed-use scheme to be built in Aarhus – Denmark’s second largest city. Known as ‘Aarhus Island’, the scheme will be stretched along Aarhus harbour and features over 200 residential units, plus a series of public spaces including swimming pools, and areas for recreational activities. Each aspect of the design has been carefully manipulated with interventions that

The Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban has won an international competition to design and build the new Tainan Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan. Pritzker Prize-winner Ban has designed several well known museums, the most recent being the Aspen Art Museum, USA. The Tainan Museum of Fine Arts project aims to promote the development of Taiwan’s emerging cultural significance by recognising its arts and heritage. The new museum will have a particular

The evolution of London’s Science Museum is now well underway, with several ‘starchitects’ being named to design its new galleries, while a new exhibition space is now set to open on 25 October. Universal Design Studio’s Communication Gallery The impending gallery, designed by Universal Design Studio, is the first in the UK to be entirely dedicated to the history of information and communication technologies. Boasting 2,000sq m (21,528sq ft) of