Work on the eye-catching Réalimenter Masséna (Recharge Masséna) project, the spiralling design of which has been likened to both mythological and real-life structures, such as the towers of Babel and Pisa, is now slated to begin in 2020. The mid-rise, which is expected to implement practices derived from the circular economy model, will serve as a culinary hub, community attraction, and urban farm. Set to rise near the grounds of

The first phase of construction on the Malley Sports Center – a 10,000-capacity complex taking shape in Lausanne, Switzerland is expected to wrap in August. Designed by Swiss architecture office Pont12, the multipurpose building will serve as a venue for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic games (YOG) and the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships, which will be held in 2021. Leisure facilities at Malley will include three ice rinks, a

International design practice Ennead Architects have won a competition to build a futuristic laboratory and nature reserve on the Yangtze River near Shanghai, China. The new 427,000 sq ft (39,669 sq m) facility, which will resemble rippling waves and feature indoor and outdoor habitats, will primarily function as a breeding and research centre, housing endangered populations of finless porpoises – the Yangtze's only extant aquatic mammal – and sturgeon, one

A new cultural centre that incorporates an art museum, science centre, a book mall, and a youth centre has finished construction in Shenzhen, China. Designed by architects Mecanoo, the Longgang Cultural Centre is located along a long, narrow strip in the city and is comprised of four angular red buildings, each housing one of its four main elements. The art museum showcases a number of public artworks on its upper

Queensyard – a British-American dining concept created by restaurant company D&D London – is set to open on 15 March at the expansive Hudson Yards development in Manhattan, New York. Featuring interiors outfitted by American design studio CetraRuddy, the 11,142 sq ft (1,035 sq m) space will be situated on the fourth floor of Hudson Yards' retail building, and will provide scenic views of the property's key landmarks, including the

The Green Ark, Belgium's winning concept for the 2020 World Expo in Dubai, will function as both an exhibit of biophilic architecture and an illustration of the country's green future. Designed by Belgian bureaux Vincent Callebaut Architectures and Assar Architects, the future building will feature merchandise shops, a brasserie, terrace, and a naturally ventilated agora. Set to be constructed from sustainable materials, the Ark will also have an oasis-like garden

Work has started on the Xinhu Hangzhou Prism, a polyhedral high-rise taking shape in Hangzhou, an emerging technological hub in China's Zhejiang province. Designed by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), the 52,000 sq m building will feature a concave pixel-like facade and comprise residential facilities, a hotel, retail units, and an atrium garden with a playground. According to OMA, the tower's skyward pinnacle will serve as an emblematic representation

The Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel – formerly the Principal Edinburgh Charlotte Square – has opened in Edinburgh, Scotland. Overhauled by London-based studio Goddard Littlefair, who also led the Principal's award-winning £25m (US$32.7m, €29.1m) outfitting in 2017, the hotel features 184 rooms and 15 suites, plus a spa, gym, and BABA bar. Other offers at the Grade II-listed retreat include in-room yoga mats and free fitness classes. Managed by luxury hospitality

The Stratford, previously called The Manhatten Loft Gardens, a 42-storey hotel and residential building in Stratford, London is scheduled to open its doors in May. Situated opposite Stratford Westfield City, a stone's throw from Olympic Park, MLG was designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM), and will feature 146 guest rooms, 248 loft apartments, and two restaurants, plus a gym, spa, and cinema. The cantilevered structure will also feature a

International architecture firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM) have unveiled their designs for a first-of-a-kind floating eco-park in Chicago. The scheme will see sections of the Chicago River and shoreline transformed into a nature reserve and leisure attraction for urban dwellers looking for a temporary escape from city life. Called "Wild Mile Chicago", the project – which is being supported by Chicago's Department of Planning and Development, as well as

Work on the Raffles City Chongquing – a megatall mixed-use destination taking shape on the shores of the Yangtze River – is set to come to a close this year. Once complete, the Moshe Safdie-designed complex, which is being developed by Chinese real estate company CapitaLand, will feature multiple plazas and terraces, 1,400 residential apartments, an InterContinental hotel, a 5,600 sq m multiplex, a 235,000 sq m shopping mall, and

Lux Resorts & Hotels has unveiled its latest Maldivian opening, Lux North Male Atoll, which includes 67 contemporary whitewashed double-storey penthouses and a vibrant South Beach aesthetic. Set back from the resort, the translucent overwater Lux Me Spa features a menu where the healing power of touch, water therapy, and breath-work come into play. The Lux Me Spa includes five overwater spa treatment villas, one overwater beauty salon with a

Dutch design firm MVRDV have revealed renderings of their plan to create an open-air marketplace and urban escape in Tainan, Taiwan. The new attraction, which recently broke ground, will be divided into two areas: a ground-floor trading area – set to host vending stalls and kiosks – and a rooftop park. Landscaped to resemble terraced paddy fields, the green expanse will function as a recreational retreat and feature benches, picnic

Japanese architect Arata Isozaki has been named this year's recipient of the Pritzker Prize – widely considered the highest honour in the world of architecture. Isozaki, 88, has enjoyed a six-decades-long career that goes back to postwar Japan. An early populariser of Metabolism – a postmodernist architecture style developed in the 1960s – Isozaki drew influence from diverse cultures, including "the Islamic world, villages in the deep mountains of China,

Mixed media artist Damien Hirst has completed work on the "Empathy Suite" – a kaleidoscopic penthouse in the newly renovated Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Furnished with a diverse assortment of Hirst's sculptures and paintings – including a vitrine of sharks immersed in formaldehyde – the two-bedroom apartment, which provides panoramic cityscape views, also comprises a salt relaxation room, a jacuzzi, massage tables, a bar, a fitness studio, and

Jewel Changi Airport – long-praised as representing a new paradigm in passenger experience design – is scheduled to open its doors this spring in Singapore. Planned by Safdie Architects and delivered by BuroHappold Engineering, the first-of-its-kind transit hub will double as an attraction and boast several publicly accessible and "community-centric" leisure facilities and hospitality outlets, including boutique hotels and restaurants, a 40-metre-high indoor waterfall, and a five-storey "paradise garden". Shaped

Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas is entering the luxury hospitality sector on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius with Anantara Mauritius Resort – a new property on the southeastern coast, which is scheduled to open in Q4 2019. Anantara Mauritius Resort is being developed in partnership with Currimjee Jeewanjee & Co, a local entrepreneurial family-owned business operating in a number of sectors, including telecoms, cable TV, food and beverages, commercial

The Transport Museum of Hungary is building a new home in Budapest and has chosen New York architecture practice Diller Scofidio + Renfro to design it, following a competition. The firm beat out rivals including AL_A, Caruso St John, David Chipperfield, and Foster and Partners among others for the museum's new home, which will be based on a former rail maintenance depot site in the Kobanya region in east Budapest.

The government of Flevoland has approved a master plan devised by Dutch architects Mecanoo to transform Nationaal park Nieuw Land into the largest man-made natural park in the world. Mecanoo's intervention will see the 29,000-hectare polder – which comprises four loosely connected areas of wetlands near greater Amsterdam – combined into one contiguous attraction with bike and walking trails, a parkway, sightseeing towers, and bird reserves. The architects will also

French ecological architect Vincent Callebaut has won a competition to redesign ancient thermal baths in the Savoyard town of Aix-les-Bains, France. Dubbed "Ecume des Ondes" (Foam of Waves), Callebaut's proposal features a many-storied, heavily foliaged structure with waveform green terraces. Other elements of the spa centre include a retail galleria dedicated to wellbeing, a rooftop restaurant with an aquaponic urban farm, and a viewing centre for the site's Roman ruins,

Architecture bureau RKW Architektur (RKW) have unveiled renderings of the "Neue Deutsche Oper am Rhein" (New Opera on the Rhine) – multifunctional art, culture, and hospitality venue proposed for the Rhine embankment promenade in Düsseldorf, Germany. If approved, the riverside opera house – shaped to reflect the city's cosmopolitan history – will feature a built-in 310-room hotel, a 1,500-seat audience hall, a top-floor swimming pool, and multiple dining areas. In

Danish design firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have revealed the latest changes to their vision for the proposed Howard Terminal Ballpark in Oakland, California. Set to replace the Brutalist-style Oakland Coliseum, the new sports complex, which will be the home of the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball (MLB) team, will have a circular instead of jewel box shape in order to "boost fans' experience". In a statement, Dave Kaval, president

A new visitor centre is in the offing for London's famous replica of the Golden Hinde warship, which was captained by British naval officer Sir Francis Drake – the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. The centre has been designed by London-based architectural practice SPPARC and will feature an accessible education facility exploring the vessel's history, as well as an exhibition space and viewing galleries. SPPARC's dual-level, 1,125 sq m

Italian architecture practice Studio Fuksas have been tapped to revitalise Monaco's Fontvieille neighbourhood by creating a 45,000 sq m vertical park. The new elevated space – expected to function as a green corridor and pedestrian zone for the district – will be located near a public rose garden dedicated to Princess Grace of Monaco and will feature five storeys of tiered terraces, each comprising commercial outlets, rest areas, and walking

Scandinavian architecture practice Snøhetta have revealed the first renderings of their proposed design for the Bolzano Museum Quarter in South Tyrol, Italy. The cultural attraction, which – if greenlit – will be picturesquely situated atop Virgolo mountain, will also serve as a satellite facility, housing artefacts from the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology and the Municipal Museum of Bolzano as well as exhibition spaces for Otzi the Iceman – a

The Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) Angkor – once the official residence of the French governor of the Cambodian protectorate, and a pied-à-terre for journalists and émigrés – is set to reopen its doors this spring, following a US$60m (€52.7m, £45m) renovation. Designed to evoke the "tropical modernism" of present-day Siem Reap, the mansion-like hotel will be managed by international hospitality group Avani Hotels and Resorts and feature 60 new rooms

Construction on the Universal Hip Hop Museum (UHHM) – the first institution of its kind in the US – is expected to begin by the end of 2019 in the Bronx, the birthplace of hip hop music. Supported by a team of acclaimed rap stars and disc jockeys, among whom are LL Cool J, Ice-T, and Kurtis Blow, UHHM will celebrate the genre's enduring resonance and cultural significance with various