Plans to build a new five-star Peninsula hotel overlooking the gardens of Buckingham Palace in London have been given the green light. Construction will now begin in Q2 2017 on the 190-room Peninsula London – located in the district of Belgravia – which will be the first UK property for the luxury Hong Kong hotel brand. Westminster City Council have approved the design from British studio Hopkins Architects, who envision

Paris-based AccorHotels will buy FRHI – the owner of Raffles, Fairmont and Swissotel – for approximately US$2.9bn (€2.6bn, £1.9bn) in cash and shares. Accor operates Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel and ibis brands, among others, and has around 3,800 properties – nearly 500 of which are luxury and upscale. “This is an outstanding opportunity to add three prestigious brands – Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel – to our portfolio, and a great step

The new branch of Taiwan’s National Palace Museum – one of the most-visited museums in the world – is nearing completion and set to open at the end of December. The National Palace Museum (NPM) Southern Branch, which has been designed by Taiwanese architect Kris Yao of Artech, will focus on Asian art and culture. The new museum is located in the southern county of Chiayi, reflecting wider ongoing efforts

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has launched a new award for the best building in the world. The RIBA International Prize will be open to any building in any country, irrespective of its function or budget. RIBA President Jane Duncan said: “The winning building will demonstrate visionary, innovative thinking and excellence of execution, while making a distinct contribution to its users and to its physical context.” The new

Plans to build the tallest skyscraper in the City of London have been unveiled by Eric Parry Architects, who say it will feature the UK’s highest free public viewing gallery. At a height of 309.6m (1,000ft), Parry’s commercial tower, named 1 Undershaft, will be as tall as its Renzo Piano-designed neighbour The Shard – currently the tallest building in western Europe. It will be located in the heart of the

The 20,000-capacity AEG-MGM indoor arena in Las Vegas, US is set to open to the public on 6 April 2016. Currently being built in the heart of the city, the US$375m (€247m, £342m) venue will become the region's largest indoor sports and entertainment venue and has been earmarked as the possible future home of teams in the National Hockey League and National Basketball Association. Designed by sports architects Populous –

Themed entertainment specialists Zeitgeist Design + Production (ZD+P) have promised Indonesia’s first world-class theme park, using a combination of a dramatic natural setting and cutting-edge technology to create a “Narnia-like” immersive experience never before seen in the region. The US$500m (€464.5m, £331.5m) theme park and resort development just outside the Indonesian capital of Jakarta was announced by the Media Nusantara Citra Group (MNC) in November. “It’s a beautiful site,” said

International innovators and architects NBBJ have revealed their latest unusual design concept: a series of natural ice rinks on London’s River Thames. The firm releases three outside-the-box concept designs every year to inform its commissioned physical projects. The idea is to resurrect a city tradition dating back to the 17th century called the Frost Fair, which would see Londoners take to the frozen waters of the Thames in winter to

Film maker Sir Peter Jackson will invest millions of dollars into a blockbuster movie museum and convention centre in his home town of Wellington, New Zealand. The NZ$134m (US$88.7m, €81.7m, £59.1m), three-storey development, which will cover more than 10,000sq m (107,639sq ft) of prime waterfront land, will be built in the heart of Wellington’s central business district, pending city council approval. Also backed by Weta Workshop co-founder, Sir Richard Taylor

Zaha Hadid Architects have designed a shell-shaped dining pavilion which mixes advanced technology and principles found in nature to create an eating space that doubles as a neofuturistic piece of art. The work, named Volu, was designed by Zaha Hadid and company director Patrik Schumacher for display at the 2015 Design Miami festival in the US state of Florida. The piece was commissioned by real estate developer Robbie Antonio for

Luxury hotel brand Oetker Collection is expanding into the Americas with the launch of two hotels – one in Sao Paulo and one in New York – within the next three years. The New York location is slated to open in Q2 2018 in the former Sony Tower, originally designed by American architect Philip Johnson. The building is an iconic New York landmark, known for its ornamental ‘Chippendale’ roofline and

Chinese developer Dalian Wanda Group has opened a five-star mountainside hotel within its 5.3sq km (2sq mile) international resort in Yunnan province. Beijing architects Office for Architecture + Design (OAD) designed the hotel – the first operated under the Wanda Vista brand – drawing inspiration from the lush surrounding forests of Xishuangbanna prefecture and the traditional architecture of the region. Stone foundations, curving wooden roofs, peacock motifs, simple courtyards and

Mexico City’s Papalote Children’s Museum has unveiled the winning design for its future home; a forest-inspired building that promotes fun, exploration and discovery. Barcelona-based design studio MX_SI and Mexican firm SPRB were awarded first prize in the competition for the project, which attracted 171 entries from around the world. Construction is expected to begin early next year in Iztapalapa district. The new museum building – which will house an expanded

A luxury tented resort will join Nayara Hotels, the Costa Rican wellness brand set in the rainforests of Costa Rica’s Arenal Volcano National Park. Nayara Tented Resort will include 24 tented lodges, each 954sq ft (88sq m), with a master bedroom and en-suite bathroom, along with an adjoining tent that can be arranged as a second bedroom or lounge. Each tent will sit on its own platform, furnished with an

Assemble, a collective based in London who work across the fields of art, architecture and design have become the first non-artists to win the UK’s most prestigious art award; the Turner Prize. Assemble were honoured for an urban regeneration project they organised in Liverpool, using art and design to oppose gentrification and improve the homes and public spaces of local residents in the city’s Granby Four Streets. The Turner awards

A David Rockwell-designed interactive light display in New York’s Winter Garden Atrium has opened, kickstarting a new seasonal tradition for Lower Manhattan based on the concepts of sharing, giving, community and light. Luminaries takes the form of approximately 650 twinkling LED cubic lanterns, which are suspended in a cascading canopy from the ceiling of the 10-storey glass atrium, located within Brookfield Place – better known as the World Financial Center.

A Romanian aquaculture and tourism development company has revealed plans to build the Black Sea's largest holiday resort. AgriEuro Corp owns over 4,000 acres of land in the Danube Delta – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and has earmarked the area as an ideal location for an “all-inclusive entertainment and accommodation resort with an exotic surrounding landscape, a mild climate and unique geographical features.” The company has hired Romanian

US wellness real estate and technology firm Delos has taken a significant step forward in its push to promote health and wellness across the globe by forming a strategic partnership with one of China’s largest real estate developers. Beijing-based company Sino-Ocean Land has pledged its long-term commitment to the WELL Building Standards established by Delos, which aim to transform new indoor environments into places that nurture, sustain and promote human

Seven galleries dedicated to European art and history at London’s Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum will reopen on 9 December following a £12.5m (US$19m, €17m) redesign by architects ZMMA. The entire front wing of the museum has been restored to house more than 1,000 artefacts dating from Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Storage space has been reclaimed to enlarge the galleries by a third to 1,550sq m (16,700sq

Former England football captain David Beckham’s plans to establish a new football franchise in Miami, Florida, are a step closer after Major League Soccer (MLS) approved stadium plans for the project. The Beckham-led consortium of investors – called Miami Beckham United – is in the process of acquiring land in the city's Overtown neighbourhood and is planning to build a 25,000-capacity stadium at the site. The choosing of the Overton

Global colour authority Pantone has announced its 2016 Color of the Year – for the first time, a pairing of two colours: Serenity and Rose Quartz – and said consumers’ need for “connection and wellness” helped influence the choice of colours. The company said the two colours are “a harmonious pairing of inviting shades that embody a mindset of tranquility and inner peace.” “As consumers seek mindfulness and well-being as

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles reopens today (7 December) following a multi-million dollar redevelopment marking its 20th anniversary. The museum closed in October 2014 in readiness for an extensive US$125m (€112m, £80m) transformation both inside and out. The original 1960s building has been painted a bright red and fitted with a ribbon-like stainless steel exterior shell, designed by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. More than 800 LEDs accentuate

The stadium being built for Spanish football club Atletico Madrid appears to be on track after doubts were cast over its viability by local councillors. The stadium, which is located in the east of Madrid, was designed by Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos. Atletico posted a photograph of the semi-constructed stadium to its 1.1m Instagram followers last week (3 December). The picture, titled ‘New stadium’, shows the hollowed-out part of the

Conceptual plans for a new £26m, "super-efficient" swimming pool complex in Exeter, Devon have gone on public view for the first time. The proposals for the Exeter Active centre – designed by Gale & Snowden Architects and driven by Exeter City Council (ECC) – show a 25-metre competition standard, eight-lane pool alongside a four-lane training and recreation pool. Both pools will have moveable floors to provide flexibility for a range

CLAD understands that the award-winning design for China’s new National Maritime Museum, created by Australian practice Cox Rayner Architects, is now likely to be realised in 2017. The project, located in the city of Tianjin, was originally set to open in 2015 but has suffered delays since it was named the Future Project of the Year at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) in 2013. A representative from Cox Rayner told

A Seattle studio that specialises in creating culture and leisure buildings has won the 2016 AIA Architecture Firm Award; the highest honour bestowed by The American Institute of Architects. LMN Architects – founded in 1979 – have designed more than 50 modern, accessible and sustainable arts centres, concert halls, community theatres and music schools across the US. Their recent projects include The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San

Craig Robins, founder of real-estate company Dacra, has kicked off Miami Art Week with a tour of the latest luxury retail openings in the newly developed Design District – while across the water, the Faena District celebrated the opening of its hotel. Faena Hotel Miami Beach launched with a celebratory event on 1 December attended by a slew of celebrities and the project's author, Argentine developer and hotelier Alan Faena.