“With big projects like this one, there's always going to be controversy,” said Nicolas Moreau, co-founder of Moreau Kusunoki, the Paris-based practice that won the competition to design the Guggenheim Helsinki. Moreau Kusunoki – founded by husband and wife team Nicolas Moreau and Hiroko Kusunoki – were announced as the winners of the Guggenheim Helsinki competition in June. Their design features a series of linked pavilions and a glass-topped 'lighthouse-style'

Zaha Hadid’s latest project – the final instalment of six mountain-top museums in Italy’s Dolomites curated by explorer Reinhold Messner – has welcomed its first visitors, offering stunning views of the surrounding mountains. Built into the mountain rock at a height of 2,275m (7,463ft) above sea level, Messner Mountain Museum Corones is dedicated to the discipline of mountaineering and offers unique views of both the Dolomites and the Alps. Zaha

Great Scotland Yard, the famous former headquarters of London’s police force where criminals such as Jack the Ripper were investigated, is to become a five-star hotel having been bought by Indian billionaire Yusuffali Kader. As part of the £110m (US$171m, €154m) deal, developer Galliard Homes will sell the historic property to Kader’s retail, hospitality and property conglomerate Lulu Group International once it has carried out a ‘lavish’ £50m (US$78m, €70m)

El Equipo Creativo has completed the interior design for Barcelona restaurant, Disfrutar, giving it a distinctly Mediterranean flavour. Ceramics, in different formats, have been used to give each part of the restaurant – the bar, the kitchen and the patio - its own identity. “The client wanted to transmit naturalness, humility and respect for the history and heritage of the Mediterranean,” said the architects. “In each space it is transformed

Italian architectural practise, Archea Associati, has created a ceramic museum in Liling, China, comprised of a number of vase-like structures. Set for completion later this year, the volumes are arranged in a circular plan and clad in a variety of patterns and colours. The architects say the inspiration was the city’s ceramic heritage and the client’s wish to include various functions on the site, including a museum, a hotel and

Eco-champion Sir Tim Smit’s proposal for his ‘Ark’ project, planned to be a centrepiece for Devon as a second Eden Project in the UK, has secured the £150m (US$235m, €212m) needed to fund development. According to Smit, the “money is in place” for Eden Westwood, which would comprise a tourism and leisure complex near Tiverton in Devon, focusing on the “key strengths and attributes” of the county. The majority of

Austrian spa design and equipment manufacturer Thermarium have designed a three-level, 10,500sq m (113,000sq ft) spa complex called The Well about 11 miles (17km) south of Oslo in Kolbotn, Norway in conjunction Norwegian architects Halvorsen & Riene. The privately-owned spa, billed as the largest in Norway, will include five areas designed to transport guests to different spa cultures, as well as unique, cutting-edge lighting technology to enhance relaxation. It is

Resorts World Birmingham, a £150m (US$234m, €213m) mixed-use leisure and entertainment complex is in the final stages of fit-out and is counting down to opening. Once complete, the seven-storey, 538,000sq ft (49,982sq m) resort will feature the 178-bedroom, five-suite, boutique Genting Hotel; an outlet shopping centre; an 11-screen Cineworld cinema, which will include IMAX and 3D screens; a casino; a wide range of internationally-themed restaurants and bars; and a multi-use

After a soft opening in March, the Matteo Thun & Partners-designed JW Marriott, Venice held its grand opening this month, along with the debut of its on-site 1,715sq m (18,460sq ft) GOCO Spa. The 250-bedroom hotel is located on its own private island, Isola delle Rose. The historic buildings have been sensitively refurbished by Matteo Thun & Partners to incorporate sustainable, modern and elegant design, the company said. “The main

Elephants at the Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park at Zoo Zurich, in Switzerland, now have an architecturally designed enclosure, thanks to Markus Schietsch Architekten, who designed an elaborate new habitat. The 73,000sq ft (6,782sq m) enclosure includes shelter within a wood and ETFE geodesic dome, with a glass enclosed swimming pool. A series of open air spaces, with rocky terrain and dense vegetation, are connected to this sheltered habitat. The impressive

Forest Green Rovers Football Club (FGR) has revealed ambitious plans to build a £100m, eco-friendly sports and green technology complex which would include a new 5,000-capacity stadium. The club currently plays in the National League – the fifth tier of English football – and the Eco Park project is part of a strategy to establish FGR as a Football League club. FGR is working together with Stroud-based green energy company

Concorde is to be the crown jewel in a £16m (US$25m, €23m) aerospace museum, after the proposed attraction in Bristol, UK, was granted planning permission by local authorities. To be housed on the former Filton Airfield – one of the birthplaces of the British aviation industry – the Bristol Aerospace Centre by Purcell will be comprised of two refurbished World War One aircraft hangars, which will be transformed into a

Howard Backen and a team from Saulsalito, California-based Backen, Gillam and Kroeger Architects have designed a new 14,000sq ft (1,300sq m), all-suite spa spa for Meadowood Napa Valley, due to open in Q4 2015, with interior design by Leslie Hemmings from the same firm. Settled on a private estate in Napa Valley surrounded by a 250-acre valley, Meadowood includes 85 guestrooms, suites and cottages, along with two championship croquet lawns,

Designs from Hopkins Architects, Amanda Levete and Arup (two entries) are among those in final contention for a new £40m pedestrian and cycle bridge across London's River Thames intended to boost active commuting. Active design has been a hot topic in recent months, especially in light of new research which found cities which strive to promote physical activity gain a significant economic advantage. A study from cycling charity Sustrans, meanwhile,

A monumental aerial sculpture created by Echelman Studio has been suspended over Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway, bringing art to the city's skies. Commissioned by The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, As If It Were Already Here is the signature contemporary art installation in the Greenway Conservancy’s Public Art Program, running from May until October. Made out of 100 miles of twine, the sculpture soars 600ft (183m) in the air, spanning the

Miami Beckham United, the group behind proposals to launch an Major League Soccer (MLS) club in Miami, has secured a site for a 25,000-capacity stadium following an 18-month search. Led by former England captain David Beckham, the group has selected a site in the Little Havana district, next to Marlins Park – the home of Major League Baseball club Miami Marlins. While exact details of the stadium and its designers

UNStudio have been chosen to design a new city centre theatre in Den Bosch, the Netherlands. The design competition involved the local residents voting for one of two finalists and UNStudio received 57 per cent of the vote, seeing off competition from Rotterdam studio Ector Hoogstad Architects. The Theatre on the Parade will be located on the large and lively public square, which was an important consideration in the design:

After announcing plans in January to develop a new US$40m (€34m, £26.3m) facility overlooking the Missouri River, the Gateway to Science Center in Bismarck, North Dakota, has revealed new details for its ambitious project as it aims to expand its appeal to a wider audience. Scheduled to open in Q1 of 2017, a team made up of US-based HGA architects and North Dakota-based JLG architects are behind the designs for

Following the devastation caused by April’s Nepal earthquake the Architects Foundation (AF) – an arm of the American Institute of Architects – has outlined plans to rebuild parts of the Himalayan nation, with like-for-like earthquake-resilient design principles being implemented. The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action, sees the AF partner with disaster relief NPO All Hands Volunteers (AHV), to execute the replicable US$3m (€2.8m, £1.9m) reconstruction plan for Nepal,

A sauna – billed as the world’s largest at 180sq m (1,938sq ft) – has opened on a remote Norwegian beach on an island in the Arctic Circle as part of a cultural programme of art and music. Jointly built by Norway-based Rintala Eggertsson Architects and artist and designer Joar Nango, the glass-fronted Agora Sauna holds more than 100 people and looks out onto the Arctic Sea, offering views of

Hopkins Architects have designed a new £500m five-star hotel in Belgravia, central London, which is expected to to open in 2021 if planning permission is granted. The plans for the Peninsula London – which would be the first UK property for the luxury Asian hotel brand – feature a 190-bedroom hotel, with some of the rooms overlooking the gardens of Buckingham Palace. The hotel would also feature a spa, retailing,

Just days after appearing to receive final government approval, Zaha Hadid’s plans for Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium have been dropped – but the architect says the project’s spiralling costs are not down to its design. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said the project would now “start over from zero” with the decision taken after “listening to the voices of the people and the athletes”. The estimated cost for the stadium had

Starwood has broken ground on Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, in Los Cabos, Mexico, designed by Mexico City-based Sordo Madaleno Architects. The 131-key resort, owned by Quinta del Golfo de Cortez, will span 33 acres and is slated to open in June 2017. Situated at the southern tip of Baja California Sur, the property features five distinct six-floor buildings. In designing the building, Sordo Madaleno collaborated with landscape architects Gabayet

The tallest building on the west coast of the US will soon open an observation deck and sky-high restaurant in an bid turn the Los Angeles tower into a tourist attraction capable of drawing 500,000 visitors a year. The US Bank Tower, which first opened in 1989 at a cost of US$350m (€317.5m, £224m), was developed by the architectural team of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and Ellerbe Becket. The

Plans are back on track for a new Warner Bros theme park in Abu Dhabi, as the number of attractions in the Middle East continues to grow. The multi-billion dollar deal was announced in 2007, but stalled during the global recession. The scheme will include the creation of a 19-ride theme park and a hotel, along with multiplex cinemas, jointly owned by Warner Bros, Abu Dhabi-based property developer Aldar Properties

McInnes Usher McKnight Architects' (MUMA) “highly-original” extension and refurbishment of Manchester’s Whitworth art gallery has made the shortlist of six for this year's Stirling Prize. It was described by award organisers, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), as “a project for all seasons, where art, nature and architecture combine” which “could be the eulogy for a building which is neither high-key nor overtly fashionable”. The Whitworth reopened on 14

Located at the southernmost tip of South America, a new research centre promoting sustainable tourism will be designed by Ennead Architects. The New York-based studio will work with Chilean architects Cristian Sanhueza and Cristian Ostertag to create the Cape Horn Sub-Antarctic Center, having won the commission from the Chilean Regional Government following a public competition. It will be located within the UNESCO Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve in Puerto Williams, a