The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) has selected OMA and KOO to plan its US$95m (€85.1m, £75m) Center for the Arts. The 88,000 sq ft (8,175.4 sq m) complex will have a translucent roof with embedded photovoltaics that will reflect light from the performance halls. The facility – to be located on the school's north-west campus – will comprise a 500-seat concert hall and a 270-seat auditorium, as well

The Neri & Hu-designed Aranya Art Center (AAC) has finally opened to the public in Qinhuangdao, China. Situated opposite the Bohai Sea in an affluent resort community known as the "Gold Coast", the cultural hub comprises a café, an amphitheatre, a rooftop viewing area, and multiple galleries. The building, which is composed almost entirely of concrete, also features a neo-Brutalist, pixellated façade. According to Neri & Hu, the appearance of

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Tennessee has appointed Swiss architecture practice Herzog & de Meuron to design "Brooks on the Bluff", its new US$105m (€93.9m, £82.6m) home. The future art facility, which will overlook the Mississippi River, will boast 112,000 sq ft (10,405 sq m) of space and feature galleries, classrooms, a theatre, a café, museum shop, and sculpture garden. Memphis-based studio archimania, who have previously worked to

Marriott International has concluded the final phase of expansion and renovations at its recently rebranded South Florida property, JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort and Spa in Aventura, Florida. Formerly Turnberry Isle Miami, the resort is part of Marriott's Autograph Collection. The extensive works have seen a doubling of capacity to 685 rooms, extensive renovation of amenities and the overhauling of two golf courses. Central to the property's pivot to resort

The long-anticipated Pacific Visions wing at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, is set to open to the public on 24 May. Devised by Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis (EHDD), the two-floor annex boasts a unique design that takes cues from the motion and biodiversity of the Pacific Ocean. "In designing this new wing," the architects explained, "we embraced the concept of fluidity – both in the

The city of Paris has selected London-based landscape design practice Gustafson Porter + Bowman (GP+B) to lead a €72m (US$80.3m, £63.5m) expansion of the public realm around the Eiffel Tower. Expected to dramatically enhance and diversify the visitor experience at the iconic building, the project will see a variety of new spaces created, including a green amphitheatre at the Place du Trocadéro and two plazas – one on each side

Design practice SO-IL and landscape architects West 8 have won a competition to redesign ArtPark – a 37-acre cultural hub and events venue located on the Niagara Gorge in Lewiston, New York. The aim is for ArtPark to become an internationally recognized, financially sustainable destination and a location for the intersection of art, performance, and community. The overhaul will see the 1970s-era attraction gain a renovated main stage, an outdoor

Architecture firms Snøhetta and Blight Rayner have won an international competition to design an AU$150m (US$103.8m, €90m, £81.4m) theatre for the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in Brisbane, Australia. Set to open in 2022, the pivotal facility, which will turn QPAC into the largest performing arts centre in Australia, will feature two studios, foyer spaces, and an expansive glass façade. "The building will glow by night and sparkle by day

The long-awaited International Spy Museum (SPY) – has officially opened to the public in Washington, D.C. Designed by Rogers Stirk + Partners and Hickok Cole Architects, the revamped 11,400 sq m facility features the world's largest collection of espionage artefacts. The firms' US$162m (€144.7m, £126.5m) intervention saw the museum gain a rooftop terrace, retail and lobby areas, and three floors of exhibits. The attraction also boasts a new set of

Danish architecture office Henning Larsen have won an international competition to design a 5.5 million sq m waterfront district in Shenzhen, China. Described by the firm as a "polycentric megacity", the new quarter will feature a vast swath of public land with a microclimate shaped by tree-lined boulevards, plazas, and gardens. According to the architects, the "leisure city" aspect of the development will comprise multiple cultural attractions, among which will

Polish architect Daniel Libeskind has released images of his breathtaking designs for "Ngaren" – a world history museum commissioned by famed paleoanthropologist, Professor Richard Leakey. Set to rise in the rugged hills of Kenya's Rift Valley – widely recognised as the cradle of human life – the jagged-shaped building will chart the course of sapient evolution with narrative-led exhibits that address misconceptions about extinction, climate change, war, and overpopulation. Speaking

New York-based architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) have unveiled the first series of renderings of "The Tide", a linear park planned for London's Greenwich Peninsula. The future leisure area will comprise 500 hectares of Thameside public realm and feature an array of contemporary art installations, sculpture gardens, terraces, and promenades. The space will also play host to a number of audio wellness portals (designed by BeBox), eateries, and

Sir David Adjaye has been selected to design the new Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and Cultural Center (KNMACC) following a global competition that brought together 47 of the world's most prestigious architecture firms. Planned for New Delhi, the attraction – Adjaye's first cultural commission in India – will house a 6,000-piece collection of South Asian contemporary art as well as facilities for music and creative education. Adjaye's "veil of

Emirati developer Emaar Properties has announced plans for an AED25bn (US$6.8bn, €6bn, £5.2bn) waterfront leisure district in Dubai. Called "Mina Rashid", the government-backed scheme will see the creation of numerous luxury facilities and properties, including art galleries, villas, a museum, a floating yacht club, a theatre, and the city's largest swimming pool. Sirdhana, the development's on-site residential complex, will comprise an as-yet-undisclosed number of one- to three-bedroom condos, plus a

Danish architects Effekt and global engineering consultancy Arup Associates have completed a tornado-shaped observation tower at the Camp Adventure Climbing Park in Denmark. The structure, which rises 45 metres above the Gisselfeld Klosters Skove – a preserved forest outside Copenhagen – features a winding ramp designed to accommodate visitors of all physical abilities. The tower also is linked to a 900-metre boardwalk that snakes through the nature park. According to

The Statue of Liberty Museum is set to make its long-awaited debut on 16 May. Designed by FXCollaborative, the 26,000 sq ft (2,415.4 sq m) attraction – said to be the largest addition to Liberty Island since the Statue of Liberty – will boast a number of exhibits produced by ESI Design, including an immersive theatre space and a gallery with the landmark's original torch. Other highlights will include an

London-based architects Sergison Bates have won an international contest to design a new performing arts centre in the medieval quarter of Leuven, Belgium. The €60m (US$67.1m, £51.6m) project will see the Sint-Pieters Hospital, which dates to the 11th century, transformed into a 10,000 sq m multi-use structure with concert halls, rehearsal rooms, and lounge areas. "This will be more like a cultural platform than a conventional arts venue," explained the

A concept design for a "world-class" visitor centre at a Norwegian salmon farm has been unveiled by Danish exhibition design company Kvorning Design & Communication. It's hoped that The Salmon Eye visitor centre at seafood company Eide Fjordbruk's fish farming site in Hardangerfjord, Norway, will draw attention to and increase dialogue about standards of aquaculture, encouraging innovation. Should the project go forward following approval from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries,

Berlin-based art and design team Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann, co-founders of Studio Other Spaces (SOS), have been commissioned to transform a 1960s-era courtyard into a canopied community hall at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York. The new atrium – dubbed Common sky – is expected to further augment the institution's US$160m (€142.6m, £122.8m) expansion, which is being led by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and which

The Moshe Safdie-designed Jewel Changi Airport – an atmospheric leisure complex and air terminus in Singapore – has finally opened its doors to the public. The result of a four-year construction process, the US$1.25bn (€1.1bn, £958m) structure is roofed by a unique glass and steel geodesic dome that links to its crowning feature, a 40-metre-tall waterfall dubbed the "Rain Vortex". The impressive complex – a city in its own right

The Shed – the long-awaited movable events space and one of the crowning structures of the Hudson Yards development – has finally opened to the public. The multi-use arts venue, which was co-designed by Rockwell Group and Diller Scofidio+Renfro (DS+R) kicked off its events programme with The Soundtrack of America, a five-night concert celebrating African-American music. The production was conceived and developed by British filmmaker Steve McQueen in collaboration with

The Techniquest science discovery centre in Wales is building a £5.7m (US$7.4m, €6.6m) expansion that will more than double its exhibition space and use a remarkable power source – fish. Techniquest’s new building, called Science Capital, sits on Cardiff Bay in the Welsh capital and the centre has consulted a number of STEM, energy and marine biology specialists across Wales for the Scale-ectric power project. Bream, carp and rudd in

The Chinese government has commissioned Scandinavian architecture firm Snøhetta to design the Shanghai Grand Opera House. Described by the architects as an "accessible canvas for global visitors, local citizens, and artists", the new opera building, which will rise on the banks of the Huangpu River, will comprise a 2,000-seat auditorium, two smaller performance halls, restaurants, exhibition areas, libraries, and cinemas. Key structure elements of the future landmark will be its

The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) has submitted plans to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) for the MSG Sphere – a multi-use entertainment complex slated to become the city's largest music venue. The 21,500-capacity arena will be situated on a 4.7-acre site in Stratford and play host to a variety of events, such as concerts, conferences, and sporting matches. Its campus will also comprise restaurants, parks, retail areas, a

OPEN Architecture have transformed five decommissioned oil containers into the Tank Museum Shanghai – an art gallery and exhibition complex. The new 60,000 sq m attraction, which is situated near an airfield that was active in the 1920s and '30s, also includes a landscaped concourse and "urban forest", as well as retail shops and restaurants. "While paying tribute to the site's industrial past," the architects outlined in a statement, "the

Cultural space developments in the Gulf region continue apace with the opening of a new US$434m (€383m, £328.7m) museum in Doha, Qatar. Designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, the museum resembles a desert rose and has been described as representing a kind of fantasy. "To imagine a desert rose as a basis for a design was a very advanced idea, even a utopian one," said Nouvel. He continued: "To construct

British design practice Hugh Broughton Architects have completed an £8.5m (US$11.2m, €10m) refurbishment of Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Also known as the English 'Sistine Chapel', the renovated space features a restored Baroque fresco as well an adjoining undercroft that houses a cafe, art gallery, and visitor centre. Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the scheme was reportedly one of the largest open-access renovation