In an effort to combat a failing economy that has plunged a quarter of its population into poverty, Egypt is planning to build a new US$45bn (€42.3bn, £30.6bn) administrative, business and leisure capital east of Cairo to house five million people. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's (SOM) Philip Enquist has been placed in charge of urban design and planning for the mega-development, which will be linked to Cairo through extensive public

Abu Dhabi’s Urban Planning Council (UPC) has approved plans for several new major developments in Abu Dhabi as part of a strategy to make the area more tourist friendly. They include a new African safari experience, waterfront developments and a shopping mall. World Desert Oasis in Al Ain is one of 76 new projects, recently approved by the UPC aiming to enhance Abu Dhabi’s appeal as a tourist destination. Designed

FaulknerBrowns have announced they will design the ‘Beacon of Light’, a sport, wellness and education facility in Sunderland UK. The building will be the permanent home for football club Sunderland AFC (SAFC). The Beacon of Light project is backed by the club's Foundation of Light charity and will be the first of its kind, incorporating sport, health and education in one facility. The site, next to the Stadium of Light

Kinslow, Keith & Todd Architects (KKT) have unveiled concept plans for the Oklahoma Weather Museum in ‘Tornado Alley’ Tulsa, US. The structure, standing at 250-300ft tall, (76-90m) tall, takes design inspiration from a hurricane and has aptly been dubbed ‘Tornado Tower’. The top-heavy spiralling tower would be clad in glass with perforated metal panels, using LED lighting to accent sections and make it appear to rotate. Originally envisaged to house

The City of Vienna has announced a two-stage design competition for the expansion and modernisation of the Wien Museum in the Austrian capital. Designed by the architect Oswald Haerdtl in the 1950s, the Wien Museum is situated on Karlsplatz in the centre of Vienna. The structure has been largely untouched for 30 years, save for a partial renovation in 2000 when the central courtyard was roofed over. As Vienna’s key

International architecture practice Populous have been selected to design the £90m (US$135m, €119m) Bristol Arena in the south-west UK city. The winning team, comprising of Populous (with Feilden Clegg Bradley, BuroHappold and Vanguardia) has been selected from a shortlist of five to design the 12,000 seat multi-use venue. In a statement, Bristol mayor George Ferguson said: “The Populous team presented an innovative design. The new arena shone out as the

Auction house China Guardian has commissioned Büro Ole Scheeren to design its new home. Far from being simply a headquarters, the Guardian Art Centre will include a museum, courtyard, the auction house, event space, an 120-room hotel and several restaurants. Construction is now underway on the mixed-use cultural complex, close to the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD) is also working on the project, which

After much anticipation, Wandsworth Council has revealed the four design teams to be shortlisted for the Nine Elms Bridge Competition in London, UK. With more than 70 entries submitted for the Nine Elms to Pimlico Bridge competition, teams were asked to design a proposal for a new pedestrian and cycle way over London’s River Thames. The four shortlisted design teams are as follows: • Buro Happold Limited – with Marks

James Corner Field Operations (JCFO) has been picked to design the Miami Underline, a 10-mile corridor running below Miami-Dade’s Metrorail. The Underline will be a linear park from Miami River to Dadeland South Station. The project will feature a cycle path/ pedestrian walkway and provide hundreds of acres of green space for public use. Aiming to encourage healthy lifestyles, The Underline will provide an easily accessible place to exercise, create

Following the $91m (€86m, £62m) renovation of Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, in New York, USA, visitors are now offered a truly with interactive and immersive experience, entwined with creative technologies. Masterplanned by Gluckman Mayner Architects alongside Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners with Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) designing the exhibition spaces on the ground, first and second floor galleries – the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum has been completely

The City of New Orleans is currently evaluating private sector proposals for the redevelopment of the World Trade Center building on the banks of the Mississippi. The building has been vacant since the late 1990s and has been subject to three previously unsuccessful redevelopment attempts. Two Canal Street Investors, a finalist for the redevelopment, has unveiled designs for Tricentennial Tower, a 320ft (98m) observation tower and vertical gondola ride –

Kuwait’s leading mixed use property developer, Tamdeen Group, has announced US$700m (€661m, £472m) plans for the Al Khiran project, located in Sabah Al Ahmed Sea City, Kuwait. Al Khiran will be an an eco-friendly, recreational, residential and retail waterfront development. The resort-like project will spread along 350,000sq m (3,800,000sq ft) and it’s hoped it will become a key tourism driver for Kuwait. Although situated on the waterfront, the heart of

Following an epic week at MIPIM, the 25th MIPIM Award winners were announced last night- 12 March. Leisure architecture once again proved to be a frontrunner, with five leisure buildings being recognised. •Center Parcs Woburn Forest, designed by Holder Mathias Architects, in Bedfordshire UK, won the Best Hotel & Tourism Resort Award. Since it’s opening back summer of 2014, Centre Parcs has been causing a stir in the spa world,

The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York, is putting the final touches to its new wing before its grand opening on 20 March. First announced in 2012, the US$64m (€60.2m, £42.9m) development – by Thomas Phifer and Partners – is made up of a 100,000sq ft (9,290sq m) glass structure, which will house its glass collection of contemporary art and design. The architect’s design is a square, minimalist

MIPIM 2015 has nearly reached its climax and the annual Architectural Review Future Project Awards have been announced. Once again, leisure projects are showcasing some of the best new architecture globally. The overall winner of the Architectural Review Future Project Award was given to the ‘Hanging Courtyards’ The Urban Design of Qing Xiang Historical Cultural Block in Changzhou (China) - Southeast University. The scheme used sustainable techniques as well as

Merlin Entertainments has revealed new details about its upcoming fully immersive Shrek's Adventure attraction, which is set to be rolled out worldwide following its July 2015 debut in London's Grade II Listed County Hall. Collins-construction is working on the project build, which has been designed not to impact the listed building. “We’ve built into the rooms so as not to damage the existing building,” said Eddie Saul, creative lead for

Barangaroo South, a complete new city quarter under construction in Sydney, Australia, looks set to be a game changer for the city’s leisure offerings. Developer Lend Lease is pouring AUS$6bn (US$4.6bn, £3bn, €4.3bn) into the 22 hectare site. Leading British architecture firm, Roger Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) have masterplanned six hectares of the built development. From the previous state of a disused container port, RSHP plans to ‘return the

Weedon Architects have revealed the masterplan for the £55m (US$82m, €77.7m) development of Twycross Zoo, UK, an investment to boost visitor numbers and improve animal welfare. Twycross Zoo is the only one in the UK to house all four kinds of great apes. The masterplan will bring bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans all together in the new great ape centre, which will come up over the course of the next

For the first time ever, the World Architecture Festival (WAF) is coming to London in June. WAF, a high-profile architecture festival, will put on an exhibition during the London Festival of Architecture, which runs from 1-30 June 2015. An exclusive exhibition, hosted by WAF, will showcase its 2015 finalists on 24-27 June, in London, prior to the announcement of the winners of the sought after World Architecture Awards. The exhibited

Bjarke Ingels, in conjunction with Rebuild by Design, has laid out plans for ‘The Dryline’ – a leisure-oriented storm barrier for New York City. Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, where more than US$19bn (€17.9bn, £12.6bn) of damage was inflicted on New York, Rebuild by Design – a federally-funded initiative, which is part of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force and the US Department of Housing and

The team behind the upcoming Milan Expo is putting the finishing touches to the world fair before its debut in May. The six-month expo will be the second to be held in Milan and has been five years in the making since its November 2010 announcement. Using the theme feeding the planet, energy for life, the 2015 Expo will bring together more than 140 countries designing pavilions that embrace technology,

The Museum of the Future in Dubai, announced last week by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, will start on site this week. The museum has been designed by architect Shaun Killa, for 16 years a director of Atkins, and responsible for some of the Middle East’s most celebrated buildings. Killa's new architectural practice, Killa Design – which is based in

BRC Imagination Arts is the creative force behind the recent US$4.7m (€4.2m, £3m) revamp of the Ford factory tour, offering visitors a close-up look at the creation of the automaker’s F-150 pickup truck. The Ford Rouge Factory Tour, based at The Henry Ford complex in Dearborn, Michigan, now includes a Manufacturing Innovation Theatre to showcase the build process at the facility. The reimagined theatre is designed to immerse visitors into

Ennead Architects has revealed futuristic plans for the new Shanghai Planetarium after the New York-based design firm won an international contest for its commission. The 38,000sq m (409,000sq ft) development – a part of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum – has been designed to celebrate the continuum of time and space. According to Ennead, the plans mirror both the rich history of Chinese astronomy and the future ambitions of

Dutch architectural firm MVRDV has been granted approval for the restructuring of a mixed-use 1970s complex in Paris, France. Originally designed by Pierre Dufau, the Vandamme Nord, part of a wider urban development, currently houses retail and leisure outlets, as well as the 30-storey Pullman Hotel. MVRDV’s design will "reintroduce the lost human scale and bring back a sense of place within the Montparnasse district." The scheme will focus on

Bromley Council has terminated an exclusivity contract with Chinese investor the ZhongRong Group for the redevelopment of London’s Crystal Palace. A contract, that was originally signed in 2013, expired last month, following ZhongRong’s failure to produce a £5m (€6.8m $7.6m) down-payment to extend the deal for another six months. In March 2014 a shortlist of six architectural heavyweights were revealed to be vying for the Crystal Palace redevelopment, including Zaha

Jacksonville Florida's chances of getting a world-scale aquarium in a downtown location have taken a step forward with the news that a feasibility study is about to be launched – it's a significant step forward for a project that has been two years in the making. Massachusetts-based ConsultEcon will conduct the study on behalf of AquaJax – the group behind the aquarium development. The study will look at cost estimates,