Work on Bjarke Ingels Group’s (BIG) Panda House at the Copenhagen Zoo is in full swing and is expected to be completed in time for the bears' arrival next spring. The unique 2,500 sq m enclosure, which is shaped like the famous dualistic yin-yang symbol, will house two giant pandas in two distinct habitats. A hybrid environment, the €20m (US$22m, £17m) exhibit will feature a hilly terrain of Nordic plants,

Chinese starchitects MAD have released images of their newest project – a spiral staircase and observation deck in Rotterdam. Set to rise in the city’s historic Katendrecht peninsula, once the site of one of Europe’s oldest Chinatowns, the structure will be built as an extension of Rotterdam's Fenix Warehouse II, which is currently being transformed into a migration history museum. In a statement, the Netherlands-based Droom en Daad Foundation –

Dutch architecture practice UNStudio have unveiled renderings for the Lyric Theatre Complex – an expansive cultural venue currently being constructed in Hong Kong's West Kowloon Cultural District. The mammoth complex, which will occupy roughly 41,000 sq m of the city’s waterfront, will include a 1,450-seat Lyric Theatre inspired by European "Baroque-era" extravagance; a 600-seat Medium Theatre for smaller-scale productions; and a 270-seat Studio Theatre for intimate performances. The arts facility

Finnish ice hockey team Helsingin IFK (HIFK) are helming a development team to build what is projected to become one of Finland’s most popular leisure attractions: Garden Helsinki. The complex, major parts of which will be situated "almost entirely underground", will feature a number of sports, hospitality, and recreational facilities including an 11,000-seat indoor arena, 200-room hotel, ice rink, gym, hotel, and spa. On-site restaurants and residential apartments will also

A concert hall designed by architecture firm Studio Seilern is slated to debut next year in Andermatt, Switzerland. Erstwhile a wartime bunker, the 1,412 sq m auditorium – once complete – will be able to accommodate major orchestral ensembles and seat up to 700 guests. The hall is being built in the centre of the Andermatt resort village, a wellness destination which boasts attractions like the Chedi Andermatt, a retreat

The second day of the World Architecture Festival Awards (WAF) saw a number of restaurants, hotels, and cultural spaces celebrated in multiple categories. In the Culture Future Projects category, Studio 44’s Museum of the Defence and Siege of Leningrad took the top prize. Created to commemorate the Siege of Leningrad, arguably one of the most violent episodes of WWII, the building features an in-depth 'Chamber of Diaries' which narrates the

BIG and Heatherwick Studio were among the winners on day one of the World Architecture Festival Awards in Amsterdam. The Audemars Piguet Hotel des Horlogers – designed by architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), has been named the best building in the Future Projects Leisure Led Development award category at this year’s World Architecture Festival (WAF). The hotel, which is being constructed alongside the BIG-designed Audemars Piguet luxury watch museum

The MahaNakhon SkyWalk – an observation deck designed by German architecture studio Buro Ole Scheeren – has opened in Bangkok. Located a heartstopping 314 metres above the ground atop the 77-storey King Power MahaNakhon complex, the deck – dubbed the "Skytray" – features a walkable glass platform and bar, providing panoramic views of the surrounding urban landscape. Speaking on the opening, Scheeren said: "The idea behind MahaNakhon was to take

London-based architecture firm Grimshaw have unveiled renderings of Eden Project North (EPN), a marine-centred recreational complex and leisure attraction in Morecambe, UK. Conceptualised for environmental charity Eden Project International, the new destination will take the form of a series of mussel-shaped pavilions on the Morecambe seafront. EPN will also feature a number of amenities and facilities intended to enhance well-being, including lidos, performance halls, gardens, and observatories. The development is

Foster + Partners have unveiled images for the Tulip Tower, an observatory and event space intended to become the City of London’s next cultural attraction. The 305-metre skyscraper, which will stand alongside the now iconic Gherkin building, will be an office-free venue, providing panoramic views of the city. Developed by J. Hafra Group as part of the City Corporation of London’s Cultural Mile public engagement initiative, the complex will feature

Steven Chilton Architects (SCA) have unveiled the first set of renderings for their mesmerising Puzzle Ball Theatre in Guangzhou, China. The 2,000-seat conceptual structure, which – if constructed – would serve as a venue for performances by Belgian drama company Dragone, is inspired by Chinese puzzle balls. These objects, which often appeared in Victorian-era cabinets of curiosities, are made from a single block of ivory and feature intricate tracery and

Swiss architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron have unveiled their plans to redesign the Klein Titlis, a 50-year-old mountaintop observatory station in Switzerland. The firm’s plan – dubbed Titlis 3020 – will see the current structure gain a new antenna tower and expanded gondola station in addition to an underground tunnel which will offer visitors a close-up glimpse of the glacier’s inner 'heart'. Other amenities and facilities will include an

Architecture firm Weiss/Manfredi have released the latest set of renderings for the Baker Museum Repair and Expansion Project – the first stage in the renovation of the Artis–Naples campus in Florida. The work is required to repair damage caused by Hurricane Irma, which flooded two floors of the institution in 2017. The estimated US$70m (€61.3m, £53.5m) Weiss/Manfredi redesign features storm-resistant stone and metal cladding. Other updates to the 8.5-acre cultural

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has unveiled plans to create two interconnected sites at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – a brand-new museum at Stratford Waterfront, and a new collection and research centre at Here East. Describing the move as "revolutionising how its collection of art is accessed and explored", the project has been named V&A East. The V&A's main site is located in Kensington, London and is the

The International Spy Museum (SPY) has announced plans to relocate to a new, larger property next year. The 16-year-old attraction, which houses extensive collections of spycraft artefacts and highlights the global history of tradecraft, will move to a 140,000sq ft building on L’Enfant Plaza near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Designed by architects Rogers, Stirk, Harbour + Partners, the new facility will be twice the size of the current

Swiss architectural firm Herzog and de Meuron have released new renderings of their Kulturforum (Culture Forum), an extension of the Berlin-based Neue Nationalgalerie. The future structure, which in 2016 was selected to become the city’s Museum of the 20th Century, will be a stylistic hybrid, taking inspiration from public and private buildings like warehouses, barnyards, and railway concourses as well as the nearby Matthäus-kirche (Matthew's Church). Likening the Kulturforum to

The Arts District in El Paso, Texas is to welcome a new addition in the form of the El Paso Children’s Museum, which will sit between the El Paso Museum of History and the El Paso Museum of Art. Norway-based architectural practice Snøhetta have been selected to design the new museum, which will aim to engage children and families from El Paso, Ciudad Juarez, the American southwest, and the nearby

Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC) has released details of three new attractions planned for the iconic London building, which is currently under renovation. The additions will include a large events venue, a 109 metre-high glass elevator which travels up one of the famous chimneys and a 250-person capacity immersive space in a former control room. All three spaces will open as part of the second phase of the building's

A dramatic mountain-top arts centre has been built in the Yanshan mountains in China. The Hilltop Gallery – also known as the Phoenix Valley Summit Art Centre – was designed by the Chinese architecture studio, deep Architects (DA). The undulating structure follows the topography of the mountainside and has been built in concrete, bamboo, and terracotta. The 2,600 sq m building has a ballroom, theatre, open cooking area, lounge and

American artist James Turrell has recently unveiled Skyspace: Lech – the latest iteration of his Skyspace series, which was first developed in the 1970s. Located 1,780m (5,800ft) above sea level in the Arlsberg mountains of Austria, the tumulus-like structure–dubbed the lightroom on the mountain – was produced in collaboration with German architectural firm, Baumshlager-Eberle. Turrell, who draws artistic and spiritual inspiration from religious sites like the Egyptian pyramids, Machu Picchu,

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has been selected to reimagine the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Building in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The firm contended against 47 contestants from around the globe in a competition organised by the Sverdlovsk Region’s Ministry of Construction. Located in the midst of the Ural mountains, the proposed sonic wave-inspired concert hall–which, not surprisingly, has already drawn comparisons to a spaceship–will comprise a 1,600-seat auditorium as well as a 400-seat chamber

Frida Escobedo, the youngest person yet to design a temporary Pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery in London, has recently sold her creation to international spa and wellness company, Therme Group. According to Architects' Journal, Therme Group, which is perhaps most famous for operating Therme Bucharest–the largest thermal leisure facility ever developed in Europe on a greenfield site–made overtures to and later reached a deal with Escobedo’s Mexico-based firm in order

Australian property company Northstar Developments has unveiled plans to construct a floating island oasis in the shallows of the Swan River in Perth. Designed to be a watersports and general leisure destination, the Swan River Deck–if approved–would be a jellyfish and algae-free zone, comprising multiple naturally heated pools, an outdoor cinema, a sand-bar for sunbathing, a top platform for dining and lounging, and a green-roofed conference hall with rooms inside

MLK Boston – a non-profit which supports cultural programmes focused on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr – has unveiled the final designs for a memorial to the late activist and his wife, Coretta Scott King. The competition, first announced in December 2017, received 126 submissions; five made the final cut. Once chosen, the winning design will stand near the Massachusetts State House, in the 50-acre Boston Common. Among

Architectural firms Snøhetta and DIALOG have completed construction on Calgary’s New Central public library. The US$146m (€127m, £112m) building, has been created to "inspire Calgarians for the next 100 years", with an opening date set for 1 November. The city’s mayor, Naheed Nenshi, said the new centre, which is based at the intersection of downtown Calgary and the East Village neighbourhood, would have a "starring role" in putting Calgary on

Work is almost complete on what will soon be the world's largest underwater restaurant, with the Snøhetta-designed project in Norway on track to open next year. Called 'Under', work on the concrete, 600sq m (6,500sq ft) structure, reached a milestone in July when engineers began the “sinking process”, which saw the building lowered into the North Sea at the southernmost point of the Norwegian coastline by the village of Bål.

British artist Es Devlin has been selected to design the UK Pavilion for the upcoming 2020 Dubai Expo. Known for working with a range of media – often mapping light and projected film onto kinetic sculptural forms – Devlin is the first woman to be awarded the honour since the contest’s inception in the mid-nineteenth century. The pavilion's design will showcase Britain’s contributions to the artificial intelligence (AI) and space