An opening date of 23 June 2017 has been announced for Renzo Piano’s first completed building in Spain: the Botín Center art museum in Santander. Designed in collaboration with Luis Vidal Architects, the building was described by Botín Foundation director general Inigo Sáenz de Miera on 30 March as “a unique place for art, and an engine that generates economic, social and cultural wealth for northern Spain.” The building is

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has officially kickstarted “a new phase of transformation and renewal”, with construction underway on an important phase of architect Frank Gehry’s wide-reaching masterplan for the institution’s main building. Around 67,000sq ft (6,225sq m) of public space – including 11,500sq ft (1,070sq m) for new American Art galleries and 11,500sq ft for contemporary art exhibitions – is being added to the museum as part of Gehry’s

Architect Margot Krasojevic has designed an ice rink facility on a Russian lake that will use the power of the sun and geothermal energy to keep the surface frozen all year round. The ‘Liquid Skating Photovoltaic Ice Skating Rink’ will be located high in the mountains of the Kamchatka peninsula – a popular tourist hotspot due to its volcanic terrain, nature reserves and hot springs. Krasojevic’s client, China Film House,

London practice Serie Architects have revealed new images of their design for the Jameel Arts Centre (JAC) in Dubai and confirmed the facility will open next year. Located at the tip of Dubai’s Cultural Village, overlooking Dubai Creek, the 10,000sq m (107,000sq ft) non-profit centre will house art galleries, studios, an artist residence, a creative enterprise incubator, a sculpture garden, a roof terrace and a restaurant. It will present curated

A museum complex designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) partly on the site of a former German WWII bunker is nearing completion in Blåvand, western Denmark. The Museum Center Blåvand – which CLAD understands could open as early as June – integrates four independent institutions that are embedded in the dunes around the Tirpitz bunker, which was constructed by Nazi Germany during the war and survived the Allies’ bombing campaigns.

Plans are underway to create a vintage-themed recreational complex as an ode to the golden days of automobile travel, at a disused gas station on one of France’s most iconic routes. The Bel Air service station on the former N6 route (now renamed the D973) was once a popular – and necessary – stop on the journey from Paris to the French Riviera. However, when the A6 connecting Paris and

Concrete – a multi-functional cultural space designed by OMA for Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue – officially opened to the public yesterday (15 March). Located in the Al Qouz industrial area, Alserkal Avenue was founded in 2007, with the aim of promoting cultural initiatives in the region. In the intervening years it has become the emirate’s most important arts hub, with twenty-five galleries and art spaces. OMA were commissioned to address the

A crack team of robots have comprehensively renovated a community art gallery in Shanghai, predominantly using recycled bricks. The innovative project is the work of Chinese design studio Archi-Union Architects, who programmed the robots to build a new exterior facade for the West Bund Art Exhibition Area in the city’s Xuhui district. Grey-green bricks were taken from the existing gallery building, which had been deemed unfit for purpose, and carefully

Construction on a number of major new attractions in Shanghai will begin before the year is out, according to city officials. Dozens of museums and art galleries are to be built across a 67,000sq m (721,000sq ft) area in Jiading District – forming the Haishang Cultural Museum Complex. According to the Shanghai Daily newspaper, the local government is concerned that too many of Shanghai’s museums and theatres are located an

After 30 years, Gordon Dorrett is stepping down as CEO and president of Forrec, with Cale Heit taking over from October 2017. Heit, who serves as executive vice president of operations at the experience design and architecture firm, started with Forrec as a landscape architect 25 years ago. He worked his way up through the ranks to lead the theme parks business before taking his current role. Dorrett, who joined

Danish toymaker the LEGO Group has revealed new photographs, renderings and an aerial drone video of its forthcoming Bjarke Ingels-designed brand museum in the city of Billund, where the company was founded 85 years ago. The visitor attraction – built to resemble a giant stack of Lego bricks – is rapidly taking shape, and an opening date of 28 September has been announced. Consisting of 21 huge multi-coloured blocks built

A new museum celebrating French art, aesthetics and urbanity is set to be built in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, with a design by Pritzker-winning architect Frank Gehry. The building, described as “a major new cultural institution with international influence”, will be part-funded by the luxury goods billionaire Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, who launched the project at a press conference on Wednesday (8 March) alongside Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo

The Delta Development Group has signed an initial agreement to drive forward plans for a Dutch-inspired theme park and leisure destination near Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The scope of the project has also widened to include plans for on-site hotels providing up to 4,000 rooms. Delta signed the deal with the City of Haarlemmermeer, a large suburb south of Amsterdam and the municipality where Schiphol Airport is located. Concept drawings

Those eagerly anticipating the colonisation of the Moon will be delighted to know they’ll be able to get a dose of culture 384,400km away from Earth’s atmosphere, after artists Julio Orto and Joey Cannizzaro proposed The Museum of Contemporary Art on the Moon, or MoCAM as it would be known. Offering fantastic views of Earth, the duo have already purchased a 20 acre plot of land on the Moon, located

Scottish football club Celtic have announced plans for a hotel and museum complex to be built next to the 47-time Scottish Premier League (SPL) champions’ home ground. The proposal, which also includes a ticket office and retail store, will be submitted to Glasgow City Council for approval, with the development to come up outside the main stand of Celtic Park. “The application is part of Celtic’s long-standing masterplan for the

The public consultation process for the proposed Hong Kong Palace Museum has been extended and new designs of the building released, as backers of the project strive to win support for the controversial scheme. A 10,000sq m (107,600sq ft) site on Hong Kong’s western harbour front has been earmarked to house the museum, which would display artefacts on long-term loan from Beijing’s famous Palace Museum under the terms of a

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has released a new video exploring the architectural inspiration and complex engineering challenges facing its forthcoming branch in Dundee, Scotland. The new film features interviews with the building's architect Kengo Kuma, the executive director of Dundee City Council Mike Galloway and some of the engineers and builders charged with realising the ambitious vision for a cultural landmark capable of reigniting the city’s waterfront. They

New York practice Jenny Sabin Studio have won the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) annual Young Architects Program, with their design of a socially and environmentally responsive installation that adapts to the densities of bodies, heat and sunlight. Opening at MoMA’s sister institution, MoMA PS1, in Long Island City on 27 June, the structure – called Lumen – will bathe visitors in a responsive photo-luminescent glow at night, and emit

A Polar Ocean World for Shanghai along with a ski park and planetarium have been identified as part of a larger masterplan to redevelop the city’s Pudong area, drawing up to 10 million visitors annually. The development, which also includes two universities and college campuses will feature the 300,000sq m (3.2 million sq ft) Shanghai Polar Ocean World, housing four interactive animal exhibits, three theatres and 15 further entertainment facilities.

International architects Snøhetta have “blended extroversion and introversion” in their design for the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Saudi Arabia; the very first project of its kind in the kingdom. Project manager Tae-Young Yoon told CLAD that the studio’s biggest challenge was creating both a landmark and a building that “speaks to each individual person” who visits it. “The extrovert part derives from what people want and expect

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) will design a new factory and visitor experience for mineral water company San Pellegrino, after finishing top of an international competition for the project. The studio revealed their sinuous design for the 17,500sq m (188,000sq ft) complex, which will “guide visitors through the 30-year journey of the natural mineral water,” is inspired by “the serpentine run of the Brembo river and the sloping Alpine mountainsides.” San

Plans to build a landmark new home for the Nobel Center in Stockholm’s historic inner city have taken a major step forward, with the county administrative board approving a detailed local plan for the project and rejecting appeals against it. The project, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, has been narrowly supported by the city council in the past. However, it has faced continued opposition and legal challenges from local campaigners

The Hammer Museum will increase its exhibition space by 60 per cent, announcing plans for a 40,000sq ft (3,700sq m) expansion and renovation of its existing Los Angeles home by 2020. LA-based architecture firm Michael Maltzan (MMA) will head up the project, which will feature two new major galleries, with one specifically for works on paper, emphasising the museum’s growing collection of photographs and drawings. The multi-year plan will enhance

Danish architecture firm Kvorning Design & Communication have unveiled designs for a new visitor centre in Delphi, Greece, with experiences above and below ground chronicling the history of the Vagonetto-Fokis Mining Park. The attraction, which has allowed visitors to follow the lives of miners and visit a real underground gallery since it opened in 2003, will open its new visitor centre in September. The museum’s exhibits are inspired by the

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation’s deputy director is to step down from his role in order to launch a new independent design studio with his brother. Ari Wiseman, who took up his role in January 2010, will start the studio with artist brother David, which will be dedicated to the creation and exhibition of projects with galleries, museums and other artists; and programmes that foster dialogue about design

Dutch design agency NorthernLight is working on the redevelopment of Sochi’s Olympic Vilage, which is turning its former media centre from the 2014 Winter Olympics into a science and art park. The redevelopment of Sirius Park, which has been at the heart of Russia’s talent development programme, will take place in two phases, ultimately becoming the country’s largest educational attraction at 50,000sq m (538,000sq ft). Phase one of development will

Twenty-five is the magic number for the long-awaited Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation (MOXI), which will launch on the 25 February after receiving US$25m (€23.2m, £19.8m) in capital funding. The project also took more than 25 years to complete, after being first proposed in 1990 when the Children’s Museum of Santa Barbara incorporated as a non-profit organisation. The 25,000sq ft (2,300sq m) MOXI broke ground in 2014. The signature