Australia’s minister for the arts Don Harwin has awarded AU$244m (US$186.2m, €164.8m, £145.4m) to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, with the funding going towards the museum’s grand AU$344m (US$262.5m, €232.4m, £205.2m) expansion. In addition to the government funding, the Sydney gallery is planning to launch a capital campaign later this year, seeking a further AU$100m (US$76.3m, €67.5m, £59.6m) in philanthropic support for the project, of which AU$70m (US$53.4m,

International hospitality firm Entourage Group hopes to speed up Hamburg’s emergence as a serious leisure and hospitality destination with the opening of a new luxury boutique hotel inside a 19th century warehouse on the city’s waterfront. Opening later this year, the 94-room Sir Nikolai has been designed by Dutch practice FG Stijl as a “showcase for artisanal quality and tradition” – with curated art, vintage rugs, unrefined wood and polished

Meis Architects, the studio behind the soon-to-be-constructed AS Roma stadium, has unveiled renderings of a 25,000-capacity stadium being designed for Major League Soccer (MLS) hopeful FC Cincinnati. The plans were unveiled by Dan Meis – founder of Meis Architects – and club owner Carl Lindner III in front of 600 FC Cincinnati season ticket holders. Three sites have been earmarked for the stadium: Oakley, Newport and West End. However, no

Designers and gallerists from around the world have travelled to Basel, Switzerland for the 2017 edition of Design Miami/Basel trade fair. Collectors, curators and critics will join them for the event, in which exhibitions of twentieth and twenty-first century furniture, lighting, jewellery and modern art are showcased alongside lectures and seminars on “the global language of design.” This year 47 galleries representing 11 countries are participating from 13-18 June; unveiling

HOK has been selected to design the first-ever multi-purpose arena on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island – an 18,000-capacity sport and entertainment venue. The flexible Yas Arena can be transformed from an 18,000-capacity venue to an intimate 500-seat theatre depending on the nature of the event it is hosting. Sporting events, concerts, conventions and community gatherings are expected to take place at the arena. As well as standard seating, the arena

A public sauna has opened on the former military island of Lonna, just off the shores of Finnish capital Helsinki. Designed by Helsinki-based architects OOPEAA, the compact 190sq m sauna has been built using natural materials – including handcrafted, untreated wooden logs. Located within a seven-minute boat ride of Helsinki city centre, the sauna has been designed to offer a natural haven within a metropolitan environment. “The sauna represents the

The creation of vibrant and meaningful public spaces will be the focus of the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara have revealed. Meeting the press last week in the Italian city, the duo announced that the 16th International Architecture Exhibition is to be themed ‘Freespace’ and will “celebrate architecture’s proven and enduring contribution to humanity.” Explaining the concept, they said in a statement: “We’re interested in

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will open its fifth property in Europe in 2021, the Rosewood Vienna. Housed in an historic 18th century building that was the former headquarters for Erste Group Bank AG, Rosewood Vienna will be situated in Petersplatz in Vienna’s Old Town. The project’s design will be overseen by BEHF Corporate Architects in Austria and the London-based Alexander Waterworth Interiors firm. Their concept for the hotel's 99 contemporary

Dutch landscape architects West 8 are to develop a 17th century Dutch country estate and royal residence in Soestdijk, it has been announced today (9 June). The Netherlands’ minister of the interior, Roland Plasterk, has revealed that business consortium Made in Holland have succeeded in the bidding war to purchase and redevelop the palace and gardens of Soestdijk Palace. The group wants to transform the historic site into “a platform

Members of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) – the owner of Lord’s Cricket Ground – will be asked if they would be content for a “large-scale” residential development to be built within the venue to fund redevelopment projects. The question will be posed as part of a review carried out by MCC to see if there is appetite for the ground’s Nursery End to be revamped. Two development options have

Hospitality group Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts has opened a “soon-to-be-iconic” hotel at the gateway to Beverly Hills, with interiors designed by the studio of architect and designer Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR). The 12-storey Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills features 170 guestrooms and suites, designed by PYR to interpret Hollywood glamour and the Streamline Moderne style of the 1930s and 40s. Design features range from a triple-height lobby with a contemporary Art

A host of the world’s most high-profile architecture practices have entered the race to design a new branch of the Pompidou Centre art museum in Brussels, Belgium. The studio of Richard Rogers – who designed the landmark Pompidou in Paris in 1977 alongside Renzo Piano – are in contention for the €125m (US$136m, £104m) project, along with 91 other design teams. Among those to make the star-studded longlist are Bjarke

London’s Oval is set to become the largest cricket ground in the UK as a result of an ambitious redevelopment plan. Surrey County Cricket Club, the occupier of the venue, is submitting plans that would see the ground’s capacity increase to 40,000 – larger than the 30,000-seat Lord’s Cricket Ground. The club already has planning permission for a large development next to the Pavilion, named 1 Oval Square, which will

Global sports architects HOK have collaborated with four international rugby players to discuss what is needed in the rugby stadiums of the future. John Rhodes, a director of the practice’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment division, met with Jamie Roberts of Wales, Tim Visser of Scotland, James Horwill of Australia and Danny Care of England to learn from their experiences as players and fans. HOK has released the conversation and

Over 75 million people in 44 cities across Europe could one day be connected by a high-speed Hyperloop network spanning 5,000 kilometres – with nine prospective routes being considered by for the continent. Executives from Hyperloop One – one of the companies attempting to make Canadian-American entrepreneur Elon Musk’s ambition for superfast travel a reality – have met dignitaries and policymakers at its Vision for Europe summit in Amsterdam to

New drone footage has today (8 June) been released showing huge cast stone panels being hung on the curving walls of Kengo Kuma’s V&A Dundee; Scotland's first design museum. In total 2,466 pieces – each weighing between 1.5 and 2.5 tonnes – are being individually fixed into place, secured by two specially designed brackets secured to the building’s reinforced concrete walls. The video shows an engineer inspecting panels fixed to

Global spa management company Resense will manage a 1,540sq m (16,576sq ft) Kempinski Wave Spa, which is designed to envelop guests in natural elements through fresh colours and organic textures. Set to open in October 2017, the 310-bedroom Kempinski Muscat will be nestled within the community of Al Mouj, and encompass six kilometers of coastline. McNally Design International is using earthy woods, weather-worn stone and glass, smooth copper, trickling waters

The countdown has begun in earnest for the 2017 international architecture exposition in Astana, Kazakhstan. On 10 June, visitors will be able to explore the city’s futuristic new Expo City, which includes 28 buildings themed around the concept of ‘Future Energy’. Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) masterplanned the site and have designed several of the buildings. The 174 ha site features exhibition and cultural pavilions (118,620sq m); service

A timber-clad sauna and bathhouse built on stilts has opened to the public in the town of Karlshamn on the southern coast of Sweden. The 200sq m (2,152sq ft) Kallbadhus – Swedish for “the cold bath house” – is located along a wooden beach promenade and sits at a height of three metres above sea level. Designed by Gothenburg-based architects White Arkitekten, the SEK8m (US$925,000, £716,000, €821,000) bath house is

Work has been completed on the rebuilding of Battersea Power Station’s iconic chimneys; the architectural centrepiece of the ongoing 42 acre regeneration of southwest London. The two pairs of original chimneys – built in the 1930s and the 1950s respectively – are very familiar in popular culture, having made appearances in Doctor Who, 1984, Sherlock and Children of Men among other films and television shows. They also featured on the

The masterplan for the AU$28.5m (US$21.4m, €19m, £16.5m) redevelopment of the home of Australian artist Arthur Boyd has been unveiled by Bundanon Trust – the charity managing the property – with the plans expected to more than double visitation to the attraction. Created by Kerstin Thompson Architects (KTA), who won a competition in November from a shortlist of six Australian firms, the masterplan details a new gallery, visitors centre and

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has broken ground on a new building dedicated to modern and contemporary art, designed by Steven Holl Architects. The 165,000sq ft (15,300sq m) Nancy and Rich Kinder Building is the centrepiece of the museum’s wider US$450m (€400m, £348m) expansion, and will house 54,000sq ft (5,000sq m) of gallery space for exhibitions showcasing its collection. The building will be clad in a translucent-glass exterior, which

Ground has broken on the new Tainan Public Library in Taiwan, designed by Dutch architects Mecanoo. The 37,000sq m (398,200sq ft) building – which will feature a transparent stepped facade and below-grade courtyards – will have a 290-seat auditorium, a large conference hall, reading rooms, study spaces, a children’s play area, a café, a conference hall and public meeting spaces. The entrance hall will rise three levels up to show

Thailand-based hospitality company Dusit International has signed a management agreement with property investor Omstone Asia Capital Nepal to operate its first property in Nepal. The Dusit Thani Himalayan Resort & Spa – which will house 44 bedrooms and 20 exclusive villas – is scheduled to open in 2020. While the exact wellness facilities are yet to be confirmed, a spokesperson confirmed the property will have a Devarana-branded spa, providing personalised

Danish landscape architects SLA have won a design competition to develop a national park near the city of Roskilde into a 1,500 ha cultural landscape called The New Hedeland. The design concept is centred around the idea of bringing leisure and culture into the outdoors – creating an experience destination that will be a hotbed of voluntary work and human creativity. Flat fields will be transformed into mountains, new trails

Work has been completed on MVRDV’s latest eye-catching mixed-use building; an irregular tower block in the heart of Poznan, Poland. Baltyk is a 16-storey linear structure with a concrete, entirely glass-fronted façade and clearly exposed aggregate grain. The unusual form means it changes its shape depending on the side it is approached from. The majority of the 25,000sq m (270,000sq ft) building is dedicated to office space, but there is

World-renowned chefs the Roux family will create fine dining experiences for spectators at Tottenham Hotspur’s new-look White Hart Lane stadium when it opens next year. While football fans in Britain are accustomed to enjoying a pie and a pint of beer during a game, Tottenham wants to offer a rather more high-end alternative for those with deep pockets and an appetite for the finer things in life. For 12 matches