Two giant glass floors 42m (138ft) above the Thames have opened at Tower Bridge as part of a new attraction marking its 120th birthday. The scheme by Purcell Architects took a year to implement and now offers visitors a completely new view of the bridge, the river and the lifting process from high-level walkways across the Thames. “Purcell is delighted to have contributed to such a unique project, which is

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

Plans for Paris’ first skyscraper in 42 years were rejected on 17 November, following a ‘secret’ ballot. The ballot itself has been called in to question by Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, who claims the vote – with a result of 78 councillors for and 83 against – was invalid because some opponents violated secrecy rules. Plans for the skyscraper, designed by Swiss outfit Herzog & de Meuron, were revealed back

A pipe dream of turning a former opencast coal site in Kelty, Scotland, into an iconic landscaped art project headed up by Charles Jencks, has been scrapped. The multi-million pound scheme, the ‘Fife Earth Project’, would have seen the former mining site transformed into a major tourist attraction explaining Scottish history and diaspora. Four different landscaped mounds across the 665 acre park would have been used to represent the continents

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

Global architecture firm Grimshaw and Australian firm Andrew Burges have won an international competition to design and build a AUS$51m (US$44m, €35m, £28m) park and leisure centre in Sydney. Over 140 teams submitted entries for the competition, run by the City of Sydney. Chosen from a shortlist of five finalists, Grimshaw and Andrew Burges winning design will be a leisure and fitness complex with ‘something for everyone’.

Following an open design competition which saw more than 50 entrants, three architecture firms have been narrowed down from a list of ten to potentially design the new Beethoven Concert Hall and Festspielhaus in Bonn, Germany. UK-based David Chipperfield Architects, Kadawittfeldarchitektur from Germany and Valentiny Hvp Architects from Luxembourg have been announced as the top three contenders for the £55m (€67m, US$86m) project. Rendering of Chipperfield’s design at night Chipperfield’s

Holkham Hall on the Holkham Estate in Norfolk has announced plans for a new £4.5m visitor attraction which will focus on agricultural evolution and sustainable food production. The privately-owned, 18th century estate is well respected for its environmentally responsible approach to farming and its 'inseparable links’ with the local community. The project will have a strong educational bias and will focus on how Holkham has evolved its farming practices over

British architect and designer Thomas Heatherwick from Heatherwick Studios, and landscape architecture firm Mathews Nielsen have been chosen to design ‘Pier 55’ – a US$170m (€136m, £109m) floating park on the Hudson River. ‘Pier 55’ will be situated 186ft (57m) away from the bank of the Hudson River and will be accessible by an undulating platform. More like an island, the pier will be a fully fledged 1.1-hectare (2.7 acres)

A shortlist has been announced consisting of five top architectural firms to design the Bristol Arena, a £90m (US$150m, €112m) venue on an old oil depot site near Temple Meads Station. Following the announcement of a design competition from the RIBA and Bristol City Council in August 2014, a shortlist has been released. The following multi-disciplinary design teams have been shortlisted: - A consortium of; Grimshaw, MANICA Architecture, Thornton Tomasetti,

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

London’s controversial Garden Bridge, designed by Thomas Heatherwick and Dan Pearson, has been given the green light by Lambeth Council. Lord Mervyn Davies, chair of the Garden Bridge Trust, said: “This is a great day for the Garden Bridge. The decision by Lambeth council has helped further drive the momentum behind this iconic project, taking us ever closer to reaching our goal.” The £175m (US$294m, €216m) bridge, which will cross

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

London-based Marks Barfield Architects has won an international design competition for a eco-heritage project based on the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. The firm is working with exhibition designers Real Studios and environmental engineer Ritchie Daffin to build a visitor centre on nearby Mahe, providing an experience for one of the most unique coral reef ecosystems anywhere in the world. The reef was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in

Real Madrid FC is pressing ahead with plans for a full redevelopment of the iconic Santiago Bernabeu stadium, complete with a skin of LEDs around the stadium, museum and nearby theme park development. Expected to take six years to complete, Real Madrid’s home stadium, redesigned by architectural firm GMP-Architekten, will be wrapped in LEDs – which will effectively operate as a huge TV screen to air the club’s greatest moments

Lamu Island on the north coast of Kenya is about to undergo a drastic transformation with a KES2.3tn (US$25bn, €19.9bn, £15.6bn) mixed-use development planned to include the largest container port on the East African seaboard, complete with a “Las Vegas-style city” and an international airport. The development – the largest infrastructure project in the history of East Africa – will include roads, railways, and oil pipelines from Lamu across northern

Following AHR’s July 2014 global launch, the architecture and design practice has been given planning permission for the first phase of the ‘Green Block’, the 2017 Expo Village in Astana, Kazakhstan. Green Block Astana is a 100,000sq m (1,076,391sq ft) site that has been masterplanned by AHR. Drawing inspiration from nature and the cellular structure of a leaf, the plan aims to address the nuances of the local climate. Containing

Emaar Properties and Dubai Holdings have announced plans to build “the tallest twin towers in the world” as part of a 2.3sq m (6sq km) mega development in the Dubai Creek Harbour district, UAE. The development will encompass the two towers – which will have to stand higher than 88 storeys to beat Kuala Lumpur’s current record – and six other luxury residential towers, each 40 storeys tall. As well

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

A stylish new science museum and business centre has opened in Japan’s industrial Komatsu city as part of a regional regeneration programme which will boost tourism and trade. Science Hills Komatsu is built on a 14,428sq m (155,300sq ft) site of a disused mining equipment factory once operated by the multinational manufacturing corporation Komatsu Limited and now owned by the city’s government. The design of the museum, by Mari Ito

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

Competition entries are currently being sought for ‘Hello Nature!’ – a site located at the foot of Mt Omneberget in northern Sweden – which is looking for ”structures that celebrate nature” involving elements of “both education and recreation, or business and pleasure.” Combo Competitions – founded by London-based Swedish architect Per Linde – has placed emphasis on the ideas presented in proposals, rather than aesthetics alone. Combo Competitions’ main driver

Multiple images for each of the 1,715 entries for the Guggenheim coming to Helsinki, Finland, have been released by the upcoming museum, with a huge number of anonymous stage-one entries showcased. The €126m (£100m, US$160.5m) waterfront project is officially the most popular architectural contest in history, attracting more entries than the contest for the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, which was won by Heneghan Peng from 1,557 submissions. Competition organiser

New plans have been released for the London-based Geffrye Museum’s £15m (US$24m, €18.9m) transformation, which will create new spaces for the museum’s collections and library. The plans by architecture firm Wright & Wright include a gallery, café and conference facilities, as well as a rejuvenation of the current public spaces. The plans will create around 40 per cent additional space within the 18th century Grade I listed museum’s walls, by

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