The Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) has been commissioned to convert a historic Moscow power station into a brand new venue exhibiting contemporary Russian arts and culture. The firm - which has recently completed work on the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York - will create the new art space for the V-A-C Foundation on a two hectare plot in the Russian capital’s Red October district. The project

The Frank Gehry-designed Fondation Louis Vuitton has been awarded the prize for ‘Best Architecture & Spatial Design’ at the 2015 Leading Culture Destinations Awards in London. The 126,000sq ft (11,705sq m) museum, which houses Vuitton’s private collection, has become a popular Paris attraction since opening in October 2014. The €100m (US$132m, £80m) building won the prize for Gehry’s famous ‘glass cloud’ design. The ceremony, which took place on 9 October

The Galgorm Resort & Spa in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, has opened a new Thermal Spa Village, which means the resort now boasts 75,000sq ft (6,968sq m) of picturesque riverside spa facilities. The Thermal Spa Village was launched at the same time as the resort added another 48 guestrooms, designed by architect Douglas Wallace, bringing the total offering to 122. Spa consultant Jennifer Gorman helped create the Thermal Spa Village, which

French-born London artist and designer Henry Chebaane has said he wants his surreal and surprising new bar in Baku, Azerbaijan, to become a word-of-mouth sensation. Pivnaya Apteka – conceived and designed by Chebaane’s Blue Sky Hospitality design studio and operated by Azerbaijan’s Saffron Restaurant Group – is a mind-bending blend of bar, bistro, brewery and a pickling lab that can "both create and cure hangovers". Speaking exclusively to CLAD, Chebaane

Hilton Worldwide has secured a deal to open a new five-star hotel and apartment complex in Dubai, which will feature an artificial beach and rainforest for guests to enjoy. The Rosemont Hotel and Residences will be owned by Royal International and managed by Hilton Worldwide under the Curio - A Collection by Hilton brand; their first property in the UAE. It will open for business in 2018. The Canadian firm

After a near two-decade delay, Cincinnati Zoo’s US$34m (€30m, £22m) Africa exhibit will enter its final phase of development after meeting a US$7.3m (€6.4m, £4.7m) target to build a new state-of-the-art hippo exhibit. Set to house two Nile hippos, the paddock – designed by architects Cornette-Violetta – will include an underwater viewing area for visitors, employing a multi-million dollar bespoke filtration system designed to manage the large amount of waste

Dutch firm Neutelings Riedijk Architects have been commissioned to design a new high-rise residential and leisure complex on the site of an old Russian car factory. The 39,000sq m (419,000sq ft), 75m (246ft) high ZIL Tower will be located beside the Moskva River, 5km (3 miles) from the centre of Moscow. The site was once the home of an automobile plant owned by the Russian company ZIL, which manufactured trucks,

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have designed a new art gallery for a Norwegian sculpture park which will twist across a river below. The firm’s founding partner, Bjarke Ingels, described the design as the group’s “first experiment with social infrastructure – a building that serves as a bridge – or a cultural institution that serves as a piece of infrastructure.” The 1,400sq m (15,000sq ft) museum will be the new centrepoint

The New-York Historical Society, the city’s oldest museum, has commissioned Czech architect Eva Jiricná to create a new permanent gallery to house its 100-strong collection of Tiffany stained glass lamps. Eva Jiricná Architects Limited (EJAL) were initially appointed by the museum to redevelop the masterplan of its fourth level, which houses a collection of art, furniture and artifacts related to New York. They were then commissioned to design the museum’s

The JW Marriott will open a location in Los Cabos, Mexico next month, with a 21,000sq ft (1,951sq m) Jasha Spa with 12 treatment rooms. Designed by architect Jim Olson in collaboration with Mexico City-based design firm IDEA Asociados, the 299-room JW Marriott Los Cabos is situated in the Puerto Los Cabos community, amid the desert dunes of Baja California Sur, Mexico. The spa will include an outdoor garden and

French architecture studio New-Territories has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a unique hybrid architecture project in the Thai province of Krabi. When completed, people and birds will both live in the structure. Called MMYST (Make Me Younger, Shelter Temptation), the building will combine a small hotel with a manufactured habitat for Swiftlets – small birds which are native to Thailand. It will sit within the boundary of the region’s

Building work has begun on a multi-functional sports complex in the Chinese city of Sizhou, west of Shanghai. Designed by architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners, the SIP Sports Park will include three national-standard venues – a 45,000-seat stadium, an indoor pool with 3,000 seats and a 15,000-seat indoor arena. The sports venues will be surrounded by residential quarters, a hotel and a leisure district offering community sports facilities and

A 1940s mansion in the Mexican city of Guadalajara has been transformed into the city's first design-led hotel, Casa Fayette. Casa Fayette sits in Guadalajara’s booming Lafayette district. It comprises of a new nine-floor modernist tower – which houses a rooftop spa and the hotel's 37 rooms and suites – and the original mansion's Art Deco structure. The latter contains a retro-inspired bar and restaurant. The hotel was designed by

The Mandarin Oriental Marrakech, set amid 20 hectares of landscaped gardens and 100,000 roses, is now open. The hotel features 54 private villas inspired by Berber and Moorish influences, all with secluded walled gardens, swimming pools and hot tubs, as well as nine suites – seven with their own rooftop plunge pool. The 1,800sq m (19,375sq ft) Spa at the Mandarin Oriental Marrakech was designed by French duo Gilles &

The SANAA-designed Grace Farms complex – a multipurpose facility which features a gymnasium, library and several performance spaces – officially opened on 9 October in New Canaan, Connecticut, US. The Grace Farms Foundation – a non-profit organisation established in 2009 to support initiatives in the areas of faith, the arts, justice and community – celebrated the milestone with a two-day celebration, which included a special performance by the Paul Taylor

The UK’s first glow-in-the-dark skateboard park has opened in Liverpool ahead of the city’s 2016 biennial arts festival. The permanent sculpture, which is named Evertro, opened to the public on 6 October. It has been designed by South Korean artist Koo Jeong A in association with developer Wheelscape Skateparks. The central bowl of the facility is coated in a phosphorescent paint, so when evening falls, the park glows a luminous

Golden State Warriors has secured a site for its planned sports and entertainment complex in Mission Bay, San Francisco. The defending National Basketball Association (NBA) champion has purchased a 12-acre plot from technology firm Salesforce and is hoping to have its new home ready in time for the 2018-19 season. Plans for the site include an 18,000-capacity indoor arena anchoring an entertainment district with restaurants, cafes, offices, public plazas and

Dutch architectural firm Groosman has unveiled a new Rwandan art and cultural centre which will feature two huge cantilevered wings. The Rotterdam-based studio worked with engineers Geelhoed Group on the design of the Kigali Art & Culture Centre, which will be located on the outskirts of Rwanda's hilly capital. The cross-shaped block will be decorated with traditional African geometric patterns and will feature two cantilevered sections overhanging an elevated plaza,

Ground has been broken on a US$45m (€40m, £29m) immersive arts facility in Meridian, Mississippi, designed by Gallagher & Associates and dedicated to film, literature, music, art, dance, theatre and visual arts. The 58,500sq ft (5,435sq m) Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience has been designed to be “totally immersive”, according to principal architect Cybelle Jones, who said the plans would incorporate media, hands-on experiences and interactive art. "What is so

The Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale has unveiled a new spa perched seven floors above the Atlantic Ocean. Part of a US$8m (€7m, £5.2m) renovation, the spa now features an expanded and updated look, courtesy of New York-based Dash Design. The firm was charged with bringing to life under-utilised space in the former spa, allowing for more guest services. The upgrade spa compliments the aesthetics of the oceanfront with tones of aqua

The city of Gulfport in Mississippi has selected architects Eley Guild Hardy to design one of the largest aquariums in the US as part of a US$120m (€96.4m, £75.6m) mixed-use mega development. The aquarium will cost US$100m (€80m, £63m) – US$12.5m (€10.9m, £8.1m) of which is in approved bonds that can be applied toward construction costs – according to the city’s chief administrative officer, John Kelly, and will replace the

Canyon Ranch will build its first international resort, the Canyon Ranch Wellness Resort at Kaplankaya, which is set to open in July 2016 on the Turkish Riviera near Bodrum. A 107,500sq ft (10,000sq m) Canyon Ranch Spa, Fitness and Wellness Center will include 40 treatment rooms. It will showcase treatments combining traditional and Eastern medicine practices, for the integrative wellness experience the brand is known for. Designed by Barcelona-based architectural

Global design firm Forrec is collaborating with BBC Worldwide on plans for fixed attractions based on some of the British broadcaster's most famous brands. Top Gear, CBeebies, Earth and Walking With Dinosaurs – among the BBC's most recognised IPs – have been proposed as candidates for permanent attractions, it was revealed at the Euro Attractions Show (EAS) in Gothenburg, Sweden. Forrec has been hired to deliver a series of prototypes

Vancouver Art Gallery is in line for a radical redevelopment, but only if the Canadian attraction can fund the multi-million dollar cost of the ambitious plans, which will double the institution’s exhibition footprint. The CA$350m (US$267m, €237.8m, £175.7m) plans, designed by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron, feature a wooden exterior, with rectangular stacks – each varying in size – sitting on top of each other. According to the architects,

Boasting a grand tradition of hosting celebrities including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Sophia Loren, The Palace Hotel in San Francisco has undergone a full US$40m (€35m, £26m) refurbishment, including a reimagination of its famed Garden Court. The Palace Hotel, operated by Starwood with owner partner Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts, has been known for more than a century as a centre of San Francisco style and society. The Palace Hotel

US tycoon Donald Trump is aiming to step up the £200m refurbishment of the Turnberry golf resort in South Ayrshire, Scotland, bringing in a team of constructors and designers to realise his vision for the hotel element. Trump bought the resort for a reported £36m in April 2014 and has pledged the Turnberry will be ‘a canvas like no other’ when redevelopment work is complete. To that end, he has

Make Architects have unveiled images of the new Temple House hotel in Chengdu, China, which is sited in a restored monastery. This is the third in operator Swire’s House Collective portfolio, following The Opposite House in Beijing and The Upper House in Hong Kong. Located in the heart of Chengdu within the Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu, the project was jointly developed by Sino-Ocean Land and Swire Properties. The hotel includes