Yayoi Kusama – the Japanese artist famed for her use of repetitive patterns and bold colours – has announced the opening of her own art museum, in Tokyo, Japan. The five-storey museum building, designed by architecture firm Kume Sekkei, has already been erected in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, but the purpose of the structure had been kept under wraps. Two of the storeys will be devoted to exhibiting Kusama’s

Swiss artist Felice Varini and the Chilean architecture practice Pezo von Ellrichshausen have been commissioned to design an ambitious temporary outdoor structure in the historic heart of Hull, UK. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and Hull UK City of Culture 2017 have commissioned the duo as part of the Hull 2017 'Look Up' programme of public art installations intended to bring new life to public spaces across the

London mayor Sadiq Khan wants the UK capital to become the world’s first “National Park City”, laying out £9m (US$11.6m, €9.9m) plans to boost the number of trees and green infrastructure within the city. Called the Greener City Fund, the mayor has said he will use planning regulations to protect the Green Belt and incorporate into new developments more green roofs, green walls, rain gardens and wildlife habitats. The fund

Danish studio AART Architects have won an international design competition to create a new visitor centre for one of Norway's largest open-air museums. In the 1800's, Bergen was the largest wooden city in Europe, with timber houses forming the setting for vibrant streets and squares. This historic urban environment is celebrated at the Gamle Bergen Museum (the Old Bergen Museum), which organised the competition to identify a design for its

The Centre Pompidou will establish a branch within Shanghai’s forthcoming West Bund Art Museum, designed by British architect David Chipperfield. The state-owned West Bund Group, which is developing the city’s Xuhui Waterfront, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Centre Pompidou to initiate a renewable cultural cooperation project between France and China from 2019-2024. More than 20 exhibitions and events will take place at the Centre Pompidou Shanghai (West

Northumberland’s long-awaited Landscape Discovery Centre and Youth Hostel at Hadrian’s Wall – known as “The Sill” – will open to the public this weekend (29 July) after more than three years of development for the British heritage attraction. Designed by Newcastle-based architects Jane Darbyshire and David Kendall (JDDK), the £14.8m (US$19.4m, €16.6m) project was given the go-ahead in October 2014, with the public opening to take place during National Parks’

The developer of a new branch of the Pompidou Centre art museum in the centre of Brussels, Belgium, has revealed the seven-strong shortlist of architects in contention to win the prestigious commission. Diller Scofidio + Renfro, OMA and 51N4E are among the studios who will now develop a project outline by 23 December 2017. An international panel, led by architect Roger Diener, will choose a winner in Q1 2018. The

The founder of Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Tasmania has unveiled detailed plans to build a neighbouring 172 room, 5-star hotel suspended over the River Derwent. David Walsh has commissioned Fender Katsalidis Architects, who designed Mona’s understated Berriedale home, to draw up the design for the project, called HOMO (HOtel at MOna). In addition to guest rooms, it will also include a conference centre, a 1,075

Bjarke Ingels Group’s (BIG) transformation of a former German WWII bunker into a cultural complex camouflaged among the protected dunes of Blåvand, western Denmark, has opened to the public. Conceived as “a sanctuary in the sand”, the 82,000sq m (882,600sq ft) museum, called Tirpitz, has been successfully completed three years after construction began. Upon arrival, visitors first see the bunker, which was one of hundreds of coastal defences and fortifications

London’s Natural History Museum has completed a major revamp of its main hall, with its blue whale skeleton replacing the national institution’s much-loved Diplodocus replica – a sight which has welcomed visitors to the museum for more than 37 years. The museum made the move as it aims to refresh its image, wanting to be known for living science rather than its fossil collection, with a focus on “authenticity” and

A constantly evolving installation that adapts to heat, sunlight and the number of visitors has opened at the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) sister institution in Long Island City. Jenny Sabin Studio have created 'Lumen' in the courtyard of MoMA PS1 as part of the annual Young Architects Program, which offers emerging architectural talent the opportunity to design and present innovative temporary, outdoor installations. The structure, on display until 4

The first design images have been released showing Tadao Ando’s plans to convert Paris’ historic Bourse de la Commerce building into a new contemporary art museum for the collection of billionaire businessman François Pinault. The Bourse, built in the 19th-century by architect François-Joseph Bélanger, is a circular structure topped with a high glass dome located close to the recently revamped Les Halles culture centre. Ando plans to install a 9m

Music fans can now get a taste of what it would be like to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with a new US$14m (€12.3m, £10.8m) visitor experience at the iconic Cleveland, Ohio, attraction set to launch on Saturday (1 July). The I.M Pei-designed Hall of Fame is currently undergoing a multi-year transformation led by BRC Imagination Arts. In addition to its new Power of Rock

The largest building project undertaken by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in over 100 years opens to the public on Friday (30 June). Architect Amanda Levete and her firm AL_A have designed the new V&A Exhibition Road Quarter – comprising of a courtyard, a vast underground exhibition gallery and a new entrance to the museum. The project has redeveloped 2,200sq m of underused space, providing the V&A with 6,400sq

A historic fine art museum in Nantes, France, will re-open to the public tomorrow (23 June) following a major transformation by British architecture practice Stanton Williams. The firm have designed several extensions to the Musée d'arts de Nantes’ original 19th Century ‘Palais’ building and 17th Century Oratory Chapel – creating an additional 4,000sq m (430,000sq ft) of space for artworks to be exhibited. The €48.8m (US$545m, £430m) project was conceived

Houston’s Holocaust Museum has announced plans to nearly triple in size following a US$15m (€13.5m, £11.8m) gift from longtime patrons Lester and Sue Smith. The Smith’s donation goes towards the museum’s ongoing US$49.4m (€43.9m, £39.6m) capital fundraising campaign, which includes in addition to costs for the redevelopment, US$11.7m (€10.5m, £9.2m) in endowment funds. Expanding in size to 57,000sq ft (5,300sq m), the US$33.8m (€30.3m, £26.6m) expansion will see two thirds

Seattle’s iconic Space Needle is about to undergo a major renovation, with a refitted observation deck, glass-floored restaurant and new elevators to be installed in a modernisation of the structure. Opened in 1962 for that year’s World’s Fair, the John Graham-designed structure has become a staple of the Seattle skyline. US firm Olson Kundig Architects are behind the US$100m (€89.4m, £78.3m) renovation of the observation tower, which will completely revamp

Ground has broken on a new contemporary art museum in San Antonio, Texas, with a design by British architect Sir David Adjaye that was inspired by an artist’s dream. The modern crimson-hued building, called Ruby City, will house the Linda Pace Foundation’s growing collection of more than 800 paintings, sculptures, installations and video works by contemporary artists from around the world. Pace, who died in 2007, was an artist and

Greek architect Theoni Xanthi has won an international design competition for a new archaeology museum in Cyprus, which will house the nation’s treasures. The New Cyprus Museum will replace the country’s current archaeological institution in Nicosia. That building was established in the late 1800s and now lacks enough space to house the museum’s growing collection of antiquities. Its €49m (US$54.6m, £43m) replacement will occupy the site of the old Nicosia

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,

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

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

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

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

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has completed the first phase of its major renovation programme, and unveiled its final plans for a multi-year expansion designed by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, alongside Gensler. The renovation of the museum’s east section, which began in February 2016, is now finished. Galleries and public spaces have been enhanced on three floors with the reconfiguration of 15,000sq ft of space

Northern Ireland’s popular Titanic Belfast attraction has submitted plans to expand its facility, with the operator casting its eye towards the hospitality side of its business. The plans, submitted to Belfast City Council propose the extension, integration and alteration of titanic pavilions, with a single storey extension of pavilions three and four. The plans also include a change of use, from retail to additional conferencing facilities, as well as a