The Tate Britain’s newly completed £45m renovation is a "triumph of funding" and could usher in a new age of philanthropy, according to Lord Browne, chair of Tate. A total of 95 per cent of the work was funded by private donors, with the majority of support coming from trusts, foundations, individual donors and Tate members – as opposed to big businesses. The Tate’s latest set of renovations sees the

Plans to build an innovative cultural museum designed by Foster + Partners in Abu Dhabi have moved a step closer following the proposal of 10 pre-qualified bids for the site's development. The Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) plans to build the Sheikh Zayed National Museum in the Cultural District area of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. The final deadline for submissions passed on 26 November, though it is not

The William Heath Robinson Trust has turned to crowdfunders, Kickstarter, in its efforts to raise money to open a museum commemorating the artist, illustrator and humorist. The Trust has an extensive collection of artwork, letters and books, but no permanent home. The proposed museum, at West House in Pinner Memorial Park in North East London, UK would display these artefacts in the permanent exhibition space, telling the story of his

Plans to bring a massive entertainment complex and theme park in Houston, Texas, US have taken a step forward after an opening date of Q1 2015 was set. The new complex will consist of Grand Texas Theme Park, Big Rivers Waterpark, Downtown Texas, Wakeboard Lake, Baseball Stadium, hotels and a concert and event center. The US$118m (£76m, €88.8m) Grand Texas Theme Park will include not only a theme park, but

The Queens Museum, New York, has officially reopened following US$69m (£43m, €51m) worth of renovations, which have seen the doubling of museum space, the addition of new gallery and exhibition areas, as well a new artistic facade and an additional educational component being installed. Grimshaw Architects – with Ammann and Whitney – renovated the 105,000 sq ft (9,754sq m) museum in order to integrate the attraction with its location in

The Royal Academy of Arts has moved a step closer to beginning its £36m (US$57.5m, €42.9m) Burlington Gardens redevelopment project, with designs created by David Chipperfield Architects, having been granted £12.7m (US$20.3m, €15.1m) by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The development will see the linking of 6 Burlington Gardens and the nearby Burlington House, to create a centre capable of housing contemporary art shows, a debating chamber and space to display

A two million sq ft (185,806sq m) museum complex is to be built in the Chinese port city of Qingdao, with the cultural centre featuring museums, galleries, art islands and public spaces. The Qingdao Culture and Art Centre, designed by Steven Holl Architects, will house four museums connected by a specially designed light loop that mimics the characteristics of China’s Jiaozhou Bay Bridge - the world’s largest bridge over water.

The world-famous Bauhaus museum, based at the design school’s former campus in Dessau, Germany is offering people the chance to stay in the dormitories once used by the innovational institute. Guests can stay in the school’s Studio Building, which was once occupied by promising architecture and design students in the 1930s. One of the rooms on the site has been reconstructed to resemble its original state, while the other dorms

The Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing, China, designed by innovative firm Steven Holl Architects, has opened its doors to the public, with the centre exploring the viewpoints, structures and materials that influence Chinese painting. The museum is based at the opening of an architectural site in the Laoshan National Forest Park, which houses projects from the Chinese International Practical Exhibition of Architecture (CIPEA) programme. Alongside the museum, the park will feature

Pittsburgh’s iconic Andy Warhol Museum has a new progressive lounge area, innovative multimedia experiences and more retail space at the Andy Warhol Store following a first floor renovation and redesign. Designed by Desmone & Associates Architects and built by F.J Busse Company, the renovations were funded by the Eden Hall Foundation, the Heinz Endowments, Anonymous and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. The work sees the installation of leading audio visual

The Danish Maritime Museum in Helsingor, Denmark has opened its doors to the public following innovative design work from Danish architecture firm BIG, which created the underground museum by incorporating an old dry dock into its structure. BIG originally won the design competition in 2007 and has since set about transforming the area located within the grounds of Denmark’s famous 15th century Kronborg Castle, as part of a project to

The Museum of African Design (MOAD), Johannesburg, South Africa has opened its doors to the public, with the museum looking to create a pan-African cultural hub and connect the city’s existing art and design archives. The museum was created with the aim of challenging some of the problems facing African design and society at large and exhibit design pieces from across the continent. Located in the country’s innovative Maboneng Precinct

The Bass Museum of Art, US is to undergo an expansion with the addition of a new wing dedicated to educational facilities and exhibition space, following a $7.5m (£4.6m, €5.4m) grant from the City of Miami Beach. The expansion is to coincide with the museum’s 50th anniversary next year, with the City providing funding as recognition of the centre’s contribution to the area’s cultural output. The expansion would see the

Sayyid Fatik bin Fahr al Said companies (FBF) and the Arab Malaysia Development Company (AMDC) have signed an agreement to develop Oman’s largest ever indoor theme park at a cost of OMR40m (£64.2m, US$104m, €76m). The 25,000sq ft (2,322sq m) Majarat Oman is expected to be completed by Q1 of 2016 and will feature, a waterpark, entertainment facilities, retail facilities, restaurants, a cinema, conference facilities and a selection of rides.

Work on the Czech Republic’s first 3D planetarium has been completed at the Techmania Science Centre in Plzen, with an opening date of 4 November. The planetarium, which cost CZK150m (£4.95m, US$7.98m, €5.8m) to build will include two large domes for education, a laboratory, workshops and clubs, and is housed inside the heritage listed ASAP Skoda cafeteria, built in 1917. “We have rebuilt a dilapidated building into an ultramodern planetarium

Construction work has begun on the £30m Islands project at Chester Zoo in Cheshire following a groundbreaking ceremony. Set to open in 2015, Islands will fill a previously unoccupied area of the zoo and will feature flora and fauna from the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Bali, Sumatra, Sumba and Sulawesi. There will also be an Indonesian jungle house, one of the largest indoor zoo exhibits in the UK, which will

The Storytelling Architecture Technology Experience (SATE) Conference 2013 kicks off today (3 October) at the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) with Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Centre (ETC) founder, Don Marinelli making the keynote speech, entitled SATE: the reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic of the 21st Century. Organised by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), the conference is an annual, international gathering of themed entertainment and experience design creators, producers, owners

The Serpentine Sackler Gallery, a £14.5m arts and gallery space designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, has opened in London. The Sackler is Hadid’s first permanent structure to be created in central London and features 900 metres of exhibition space, a restaurant and room for socialising. The building is seven minutes’ walk from the main Serpentine Gallery. Located in Kensington Gardens – in an 1805 gunpowder store formerly known as The

The Bavarian Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts and Haus der Kunst have announced that David Chipperfield Architects has won the final round of the competitive tender process for the renovation of the Haus der Kunst art museum, one of Munich’s most iconic and controversial architectural landmarks. David Chipperfield's record in renovating museum buildings within an international context was given as a major reason for the choice. The jury

The Regional Fund for Contemporary Art in the Centre region (FRAC Centre) will open its doors in a new location in France in September, with a striking public reception piece designed by architects Jakob + MacFarlane. The Turbulences, the public entrance area, features a cafeteria, bookshop and auditorium. The prefabricated tubular structure is covered in an anodised aluminium casing and will be programmed with lighting displays. The FRAC Centre will

Italy’s eagerly-awaited science museum, the eco-friendly Museo delle Scienze (MUSE), has opened in Trent, Italy, providing the public with an education about science, nature and the environment. MUSE offers a progressive range of displays, with visitors beginning at the top of the building in the mountains and working their way down to a rainforest at the bottom, as they gain an understanding in how habitats change with altitude. Some of

The Peterson Automotive Museum in Southern California will mark its 20th anniversary in 2014 with an exterior transformation and interior redesign, creating world class facilities displaying the art, culture and heritage associated with automobiles. The museum’s new exterior is designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and will incorporate long ribbons of stainless steel that wrap around the redesigned red building, in order to create imagery linked to speed and the

Plans have been approved to build a huge indoor surf centre in Snowdon, north Wales. Surf Snowdonia will be built on the site of a former aluminium factory and will feature a 30,000sq m (322,000sq ft) Wavegarden lake, 14,000sq m (150,000sq ft) wakeboarding lake, waterslide, restaurant, retail and indoor play facilities. The attraction will also include accommodation, with low impact, sleeping ‘pods’ to be located along the lake’s waterfront. Larger

Plans have been approved to build a huge indoor surf centre in Snowdon, north Wales. Surf Snowdonia will be built on the site of a former aluminium factory and will feature a 30,000sq m (322,000sq ft) Wavegarden lake, 14,000sq m (150,000sq ft) wakeboarding lake, waterslide, restaurant, retail and indoor play facilities. The attraction will also include accommodation, with low impact, sleeping ‘pods’ to be located along the lake’s waterfront. Larger

Hastings Pier will undergo a £14m restoration after the 140-year-old structure was almost completely destroyed by fire in 2010. The Hasting Pier Charity formally took ownership of the derelict pier following a Compulsory Purchase Order issued by Hastings Borough Council, forcing ownership from Panamanian company, Ravenclaw, after it failed to carry out repair work. Renovation work is due to start later this month. It will include a refurbishment of the

Sir David Attenborough, the Eden Project's Tim Smit and science writer Mike Hanlon are supporting plans for Jurassica, a proposed £85m fossil attraction in Portland, Dorset. The attraction would be created by putting a glass roof over the disused Yeolands quarry and would house thousands of fossils which are currently being stored by the Natural History Museum. The attraction is likely to include animatronic dinosaurs and immerse experiences which enable

Chinese billionaire Tony Fung’s A$4.2bn (US$3.75bn, £2.4bn) mega leisure development in Cairns, Australia has moved to the next stage, having been declared a ‘co-ordinated project’ – the first step in the Australian government’s planning approval process. The Aquis Resort at the Great Barrier Reef project would include nine luxury hotels, a 25,000-seater sports stadium, a casino and high-end retail space. The resort would offer 3,750 hotel rooms, 1,180 apartments and