Amanda Levete Architects (AL_A) has been appointed to lead the Exhibition Road scheme at London's Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, following an international contest. The London-based practice held off six other shortlisted entries for the project, which is to include the creation of new galleries and a public courtyard for installations and events. An entrance to the attraction will also be created on Exhibition Road as part of the scheme,

A total of six schemes have been shortlisted from more than 340 entrants for the European Union (EU) Prize for Contemporary Architecture - the Mies van der Rohe Award. The award was first launched in 1987 and is co-funded by the EU Culture Programme and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, with Stansted Airport among the previous winners. Among the shortlisted projects in the running for the EUR60,000 (£52,000) prize

Seven shortlisted design proposals for the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum's Exhibition Road project have gone on display at the attraction's Sackler Centre. The scheme will lead to the creation of a new purpose-built gallery for the museum to host a programme of temporary exhibitions, as well as a public courtyard and a new entrance. Amanda Levete Architects, Tony Fretton Architects and Jamie Fobert Architects - all based in London

A new US$5m (£3.1m) wing has been unveiled at the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park, Florida, US. The attraction - home to a 'comprehensive' collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany materials - has received a 12,000sq ft (1,115sq m) extension as part of the scheme. Long-term public access will now be provided to the restored Daffodil Terrace from Louis Comfort's Long Island home at Laurelton Hall.

Plans for the multi-million pound extension of the Whitworth Art Gallery at the University of Manchester have been awarded £8m by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The £12m MUMA-designed scheme will see the attraction's public space doubled in size, which will open up 396sq m (4,263sq ft) of new gallery space. A new North Wing will house a landscape gallery, exhibiting Whitworth Art Gallery's most important artworks, as well as

A groundbreaking ceremony is to be held on 18 February to mark the start of construction work on the new multi-million pound Leeds Arena. BAM Construction has been selected to build the Populous-designed venue, having already carried out preparatory work at the Claypit Lane site. When complete, the venue will be able to accommodate 13,500 spectators and is designed to ensure seats are no more than 68m (223ft) from the

A team comprising Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), TNT Nuuk, Ramboll Nuuk and Arkitekti has been chosen to design a new national gallery in Greenland. BIG's concept for the 3,000sq m (32,292sq ft) Greenland National Gallery of Art was selected ahead of five rival entries, following a design competition. Located on a slope overlooking a fjord, the attraction will feature a combination of historical and contemporary artworks under one roof. Greenland

Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), a new 9,500sq m (102,257sq ft) attraction designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects, has opened in Tasmania, Australia. Located on a 3.5-hectare (8.6-acre) peninsula overlooking the Derwent River, the museum is a three-level building excavated into the cliff face adjacent to Hobart's waterfront. MONA boasts a total of 6,000sq m (64,583sq ft) of gallery space, which incorporates 1,300 sq m (13,993sq ft) of touring

A major new art gallery currently being developed in Wakefield - The Hepworth Wakefield - is scheduled to open its doors to the public on 21 May. Wakefield Council said the launch of the David Chipperfield Architects-designed waterfront attraction would provide a milestone in the regeneration of the area. Laing O'Rourke is building the new gallery, which will feature an auditorium, learning areas and a garden alongside displays of historic

Work has been completed on a new £12m purpose-built venue in Leeds, which will provide a new home for Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre. Wates Construction built the new six-storey building, which has been designed by Strategic Design Alliance - a partnership between Leeds City Council and Jacobs Architecture. Housing one of the largest dance rehearsal spaces outside London, the venue features seven dance studios - including a 230-seat

Plans have been unveiled for the proposed new Broad Art Foundation Museum in Los Angeles. The three-storey structure, scheduled to open in winter 2012/2013 with construction beginning later this year, will be home to two important collections of postwar and contemporary art assembled by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad. It will also house The Broad Art Foundation's lending library, where works from the 2,000-piece Broad Collections are made available to

Newcastle-based Surgo Construction has been appointed to deliver a £4.75m restoration of the city's Theatre Royal ahead of its 175th anniversary in 2012. Work is to be undertaken between March and September in order to restore the auditorium to Frank Matcham's original 1901 design. The scheme will also include selective demolition of post-Matcham interior features; repairs to the roof; and the restoration of screens, partitions and barriers. Surgo Construction will

The Scottish Government has revealed that it will invest nearly £5m in the V&A at Dundee development over the next two years. Japan-based architect Kengo Kuma is behind the design of the new attraction, which is to be developed at Craig Harbour as part of a wider regeneration of the city's waterfront. The funding will now allow the project partners - Dundee City Council; the Universities of Dundee and Abertay

Plans for the development of a new £4.7m youth centre in Luton, Bedfordshire, are to move forward after the government confirmed capital funding towards the scheme. TOKKO - designed by Max Rengifo of AStudio Architecture - will feature a climbing wall; performance spaces; a games and IT area; and multi-use studios. Training and counselling rooms; a rooftop zen garden; a beauty and fashion studio are also proposed, along with a

Diller Scofidio + Renfro's designs for the Broad Art Foundation - a new contemporary art museum in Los Angeles, US - have been unveiled. Located on Grand Avenue, the three-storey attraction will feature a honeycomb "veil" that wraps around the building and will house around 2,000 works. The 120,000sq ft (11,148sq m) museum will feature 40,000sq ft (3,716sq m) of column-free gallery space and a lecture hall seating up to

A US$36m (£23.2m, €27.8m) museum in St Petersburg, Florida, US - dedicated to the work of Spanish artist Salvador Dali - is to open on 11 January. The Dali Museum has been designed by Yann Weymouth of HOK Architects to include more than 900 triangular-shaped glass panels. More than 2,100 works by the artist, including nearly 100 oil paintings, will be on show at the attraction - the largest collection

A historic 1930s cinema in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire - recognised as having a unique art deco interior - has received a £680,000 grant. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is providing support towards the repair and conservation of the Grade II-listed Regal Cinema. A two-year programme of community activities is also proposed for the venue, which was acquired by Tenbury Town Council in 1972. Anne Jenkins, head of the HLF for

Ditchling Museum - an attraction in East Sussex housing a number of works by early 20th century artists - has received £835,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The grant will provide 34 per cent of the total cost of plans to revamp the museum and its collections, including the creation of new education spaces. A wider programme of activities, events and workshops are also planned, while the cart lodge

Margate's Turner Contemporary, a new £17.4m gallery dedicated to artist JMW Turner, has been officially handed over by Kent County Council (KCC). Construction work is now complete at the David Chipperfield-designed attraction, which been transferred over to the trust that will operate the venue. The handover comes after it was confirmed that Turner Contemporary will open its doors on 16 April 2011. R Durtnell and Sons has delivered the new

The new £21m Robert Burns Birthplace Museum (RBBM) has been unveiled by the National Trust of Scotland (NTS) in Alloway, Ayrshire. A 500sq m (5,382sq ft) exhibition space includes four areas - Identity, Inspiration, Fame and Creative Work - to explore the bard's life. The museum, which replaces the former Burns National Heritage Park, brings together a number of sites in Alloway with a connection to Burns. NTS has worked

Bangor University's (BU) plans for the development of a major new arts and innovation complex have received a £27.5m boost. The Welsh Assembly Government and European Regional Development Fund will help fund the £35m Pontio project, which will provide a "major focus" for Welsh culture. Due to open in early 2013, the proposed complex has been designed by consultants Atkins, Arup and Grimshaw Architects. Facilities will include an Innovation Hub;

Tate has announced that work on a £45m scheme to transform its original London gallery - Tate Britain - is to get underway in February 2011. Designed to help conserve the Sidney Smith-designed building,, the scheme will also entail a major upgrade of the the Grade II*-listed attraction's galleries. Caruso St John Architects' plans include the reconstruction of nine galleries in the southern part of the building and the revamp

Communities secretary Eric Pickles has approved developer Peel Holdings' plans for the £4.5bn transformation of Wallasey and Birkenhead Docks. Wirral Waters is one of the largest planning applications in the UK and was given the go ahead by Wirral Council in August, but had to go before the government. However, Pickles' decision to opt against calling in the scheme for further review means that a public inquiry will not be

Derbyshire County Council (DCC) has confirmed that work has started on the creation of a new £1.9m sports hall for Aldercar Community Language College, Langley Mill. Buchans has been appointed to deliver the facility, which was designed by ETC Design and will incorporate four new badminton courts and a fitness room. Changing facilities and two classrooms are also proposed as part of the scheme, which is being funded by the

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has reopened its new theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon following a £112.8m development programme. At the centre of the new-look Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) is a 1,040-seat main auditorium and a thrust stage, which has halved the distance of the furthest seat from the stage to 15m (49ft). The four-year development also included the creation of a Rooftop Restaurant to offer views overlooking the River Avon; a

The venue for the 2010 football World Cup final - Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa - has been named as the World's Best Sport Building. Designed by Populous and Boogertman + Partners, the 94,000-seat venue received the accolade at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards 2010 in Barcelona, Spain. WAF Awards judges said of Soccer City Stadium: "It is a genuine example of a building forming deep and

The US$150m (£93m) expansion of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, US, is to open on Friday 26 November. The five-storey, 100,000sq ft museum will boast three floors of core exhibition space, which will explore more than 350 years of American Jewish history, while another floor will be dedicated to changing exhibits. The concourse will be entirely devoted to education: with classrooms, a theatre and a resource