The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US, is planning a comprehensive revamp of the four-block-long plaza alongside its iconic Fifth Avenue facade in downtown Manhattan. New fountains are to be installed closer to the attraction's front steps to replace ones built in the 1970s as part of the scheme, with the plaza to feature tree-shaded alles. The renovation will be funded by museum trustee and philanthropist David H

Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has confirmed that funding is now in place for work to commence on the new Battle of Bannockburn visitor centre near Stirling this summer. On a visit to Stirling Castle, Salmond said building and landscaping work will commence in early summer, with the preservation of the site's historic monuments also due for this year. Edinburgh-based architects Reiach and Hall led the team behind designs for

Beecher Walker Architects and Layton Construction have been selected by the Living Planet Aquarium board of trustees to build a new home for the attraction in Draper City, Utah, US. The US$18m (£11.4m, EUR13.7m) aquarium building is to be located off Interstate 15 and establish a new home for the attraction, which first opened at The Gateway in 2004. A new 130,000sq ft (12,077sq m) facility will offer significantly more

Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) has revealed the opening dates for three museums that form part of the Saadiyat Cultural District in the United Arab Emirates. Located on the Saadiyat Island development in Abu Dhabi, the first attraction to launch is to be the Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2015. Zayed National Museum will follow a year later. Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will be the third new museum to be unveiled

The new US$35m (£22.5m, EUR27m) Sunnylands Center and Gardens, which forms part of The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in California, US, will open its doors on 1 March. Reich+Petch Design International has worked on the media, wayfinding and exhibits at the 17,000sq ft (1,579sq m) facility, which was designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners. Attractions include a glasses-free 3D tour of the Sunnylands residence and its development over the years,

Detailed plans have been revealed for the relocation of the Design Museum in London from its current location on the south bank of the Thames to the Commonwealth Institute building in Kensington. John Pawson has redesigned the interior of the Grade II*-listed Commonwealth building while Netherlands-based OMA has planned the surrounding residential development. The move will bring the museum into Kensington's cultural quarter, where it will join the V&A, Science

Cheshire-based consulting firm Mather and Co has been appointed to draw up designs for the new National Horseracing Museum at the Palace House Site in Newmarket, Suffolk. The announcement follows a competitive tender process and has seen the group work with the attraction to develop comprehensive interpretation, design and visualisation plans. Proposals will now be submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund for funding support towards the project, which will transform

Miami Science Museum (MSM) has received US$10m (£6.5m, EUR7.8m) challenge grant from the Knight Foundation towards its new building in downtown Miami, US. The funding will be used to help promote science education but will have be matched with an additional US$20m (£12.9m, EUR15.6m) in a bid to encourage further community backing. It is hoped that the Knight Foundation's contribution will engage local residents in exploring science, technology and the

The Mind Museum, the Philippines' first "world-class" science-based attraction which is being developed in Taguig, is scheduled to open its doors to the public in March 2012. Ed Calma of Lor Calma and Partners has designed the new building, with its futuristic and organic appearance inspired by cell growth and molecular structures. When complete, the total covered floorspace of the Mind Museum will span nearly 7,600sq m (81,806sq ft), with

Stanford University's board of trustees has approved plans for a US$30.5m (€23m, £20m) arts museum which will house the university's Anderson Collection. New York-based Ennead Architects have been appointed to design the 30,000sq ft building, which will be one of two new arts buildings at the institution. It will house dedicated museum spaces and a public lobby, as well as offices, a conference room, a library/study area and space for

London-based exhibition and museum designer Casson Mann has announced that it has been tasked with drawing up plans for a new flagship gallery at the National Maritime Museum (NMM), London. The group will work on one of two new permanent galleries that are planned for the attraction - Navy, Nation and Nelson 1688-1815. Exploring the history of the Royal Navy and its role during 18th century Britain, Casson Mann will

Ukrainian vice prime minister and minister of infrastructure Borys Kolesnikov has unveiled plans to develop a new "tourist city" near Yevpatoria over the next three-and-a-half years. Addressing delegates at the recent Inside Ukraine conference, Kolesnikov said the project is part of a national programme to transform the Crimean peninsula into a visitor destination. It is expected the development will be built from scratch and will offer hotel accommodation and opportunities

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) in California, US, has revealed detailed designs for its proposed expansion project, the scope of which has now been increased. The attraction has revealed that it has raised its fundraising goal by 15 per cent to US$555m (£354m, EUR411m) to help create more spaces for education, exhibitions and collections. Building on concept designs unveiled in May, new detailed proposals comprise ground-level galleries and

Casson Mann has revealed that it is working in partnership with Paris-based architects X-Tu on the development of a new international cultural wine centre for Bordeaux, France. The facility, which forms part of a strategy to promote the city as the world's wine capital, is due to open in 2014 and will explore the stories behind wine and its place within culture. It is hoped the Centre for Wine Culture

National Galleries Scotland (NGS) has reopened the Scottish National Portrait Gallery after completing work on an extensive £17.6m refurbishment of Edinburgh attraction. The gallery was initially designed by architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson and was one of the first purpose-built portrait galleries in the world when it opened in 1889. Work has now been carried out by BAM Construction in a two-year scheme to provide new education facilities, including a

Casson Mann has been selected as exhibition designers for the Natural History Museum's new Treasures gallery, which forms part of a wider redevelopment at the London attraction. The gallery will be located at the top of the North Staircase and will open in 2012 in the first phase of the Central Hall scheme, displaying some of the museum's "greatest treasures". Casson Mann will be tasked with creating a space that

Oxford's Ashmolean Museum is to open six new galleries for its Ancient Egypt and Nubia collections tomorrow (26 November), following £5m development project. Designed by Rick Mather Architects, the new facilities have been built by the Oxford-based contractor, Beard, and will present the attraction's collections under six broad themes. The themes are: Egypt at its Origins; Dynastic Egypt and Nubia; Life after Death in Ancient Egypt; the Armarna 'Revolution; Egypt

Chelsea Football Club (CFC) is looking into the possibility of developing a new stadium at London's Battersea Power Station site, which has remained unused since the early 1980s. It follows the recent news that CFC had failed in a bid to acquire the freehold land on which its existing Stamford Bridge venue is located from Chelsea Pitch Owners. The Premier League club has made no decision on whether to leave

Plans have been revealed for a renovation of the 120,000sq ft (11,148sq m) west exhibition wing at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington DC, US. The attraction's centre core and east wing will remain open during the transformation, with proposals including the creation of new galleries, an education centre and interior plazas. Performance spaces and upgraded infrastructure are also planned as part of the overhaul, in addition

Imperial War Museum (IWM) London is to to create new galleries for its First World War collections as part of its plans to commemorate the centenary of the conflict in 2014. The new spaces are due to open in summer 2014 and will improve access to the attraction's extensive collections, allowing more personal artefacts, films and images to go on display. Foster + Partners and exhibition designer Casson Mann are

The historical theme park Puy du Fou in France and the revamped Star Tours 4D experience at Disneyland, California, US were among the attractions to win a Thea award for their achievements in design and theming. Star Tours was given the award for the best refresh of an attraction while Puy du Fou won the prestigious Classic Award. The Thea awards are judged and handed out annually by members of

The Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU) has officially unveiled its new 163,000sq ft (15,143sq m) home at the Rio Tinto Center in Salt Lake City, US, today (18 November). Ennead Architects, GSBS Architects and Design Workshop worked on the design of the Rio Tinto Center, which has been built by Big-D Construction over the last three years. The facility boasts around 51,000sq ft (4,738sq m) of permanent exhibition space,

A new visitor centre, which has been designed by Toronto-based architects Reich and Petch, has opened in Ontario, Canada, as part of a wider project to celebrate the War of 1812. St Lawrence Parks Commission chose the design firm to draw up plans for the new facility, which is located at the Upper Canada Discovery Centre in Morrisburg. It is one of six sites that Reich and Petch has been

Funding for the construction of the new Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton has now been secured after the Government of Canada agreed to contribute towards the project. The federal government committed CA$122.5m (£75.9m, EUR88.6m, US$119.8m) towards the project, with the majority to come through the Building Canada Fund (BCF). A new museum to be located in downtown Edmonton is at the heart of the scheme, which will provide double the

A major international regeneration conference has been told that £300m worth of investment has now been secured towards a project designed to transform Dundee's waterfront. The figure is one third of the £1bn target required to bring about the regeneration of the area, with a number of projects to benefit such as the proposed V&A at Dundee attraction. Dundee Waterfront is one of Scotland's largest regeneration projects and is divided

Jordan's Wadi Rum Resort and China's Zhang Da Qian Museum have been named among the second batch of winners at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards 2011. The second day of the three-day event saw four completed buildings and nine future projects pick up awards, which also included the Glacier Discovery Walk in Canada. Wadi Rum Resort, which has been designed US-based Oppenheim Architecture and Design, was named as the

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US, is to officially open a new-look suite of 15 galleries that houses its collection of Islamic art from around the world on 1 November. Work has been carried out to enlarge and redesign the New Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia, which span 13 centuries. More than 12,000 works of art