British architects HawkinsBrown have won planning and listed building consent for their regeneration of a complex of Victorian-era mill buildings in Yorkshire to form an arts-led leisure district. Their 130,000sq ft (12,000sq m) masterplan for the Rutland Mills project will deliver studio space for artists, designers and musicians; restaurants; event and gallery space, a retail zone; a hotel; and several areas of public realm. The mixed-use district will be sited

A theme park based on The Moomins will open in Japan’s Saitama Prefecture in March 2019, after its developers confirmed construction plans for the nature attraction in the city of Hanno. Called Moomin Valley Park, the attraction will sit on an area around Lake Miyazawako, owing to the area’s resemblance to the nature-rich homeland of the Moomins. The 190,000sq m (2,000,000sq ft) park will celebrate Nordic culture, with plans calling

A unique construction created for U2’s most recent world tour has been purchased by Salt Lake City's Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, where it will now become a permanent fixture at the Utah attraction. From the mind of the late Mark Fisher of London-based architects Stufish, the 250-ton, 165ft-tall (50m) ‘Claw’ was designed by the firm and created by construction company Stageco, with three different versions built for the three-year tour.

China’s central planning body has warned developers about the country’s ongoing theme park boom, raising concerns over potentially unpayable debts and low grade or copycat developments, as new parks continue to spring up across the country. As of the end of 2015, China had 59 parks planned or under construction, with the figure now thought to be in the hundreds. This explosion in theme park development in the country is

Montreal’s contemporary art museum has unveiled the design for its new home, after selecting the winning proposal from a hard-fought architecture competition. Quebec studios Saucier+Perrotte Architectes and GLCRM & Associés Architectes unanimously swayed the judges with a vision described as “luminous and relevant”. The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MAC), located in the city’s Quartier des spectacles, is one of Canada’s most important national museums, dedicated exclusively to the promotion

The Dutch municipality of Den Helder has today (12 April) announced MVRDV as the winners in a competition to design a new public installation on the city’s northern dike representing the connection between city and sea. The design, called SeaSaw, is a viewing platform that takes the shape of an infinite loop, with visitors able to walk across it in either direction. Den Helder is located on the country’s northernmost

Bjarke Ingels Group are designing a hotel next to their forthcoming Audemars Piguet watchmaking museum in the village of Le Brassus, Switzerland. As with that subtly spiralling attraction – which is due to open in 2019 – the new project, Hotel des Horlogers, will be integrated into the topography of the landscape. Five zigzagging room slabs will expand into a gently sloping exterior path, leading directly to the museum and

New details have been announced for the entertainment arena being developed in Swansea as part of a £1.3bn leisure investment designed to reinvigorate the Welsh city centre's cultural scene. Swansea City and County Council has announced the signing of a deal with live entertainment company the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) to operate Swansea Arena, construction of which will begin this year. Architecture practice ACME is designing the 8,825sq m (95,000sq

Architecture and planning practice FXCollaborative have been selected by the Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) to transform a historic New York church into the attraction’s new home. The 1903 building, located on 96th Street in Manhattan, was originally designed by architects Carrère & Hastings to house the First Church of Christ, Scientist. The site has now been acquired by the museum, which wants to adapt it into “an ever-evolving place

A blueprint designed to create a sustainable tourism model for, and to protect, the world heritage of Edinburgh has been revealed, with the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh World Heritage and Historic Environment Scotland uniting to develop the five-year masterplan. Edinburgh is made up of two distinct areas – the Old Town and the New Town. The former is dominated by a medieval fortress, while the latter has been developed

BRC Imagination Arts is undertaking the renovation of a museum dedicated to the life of circus showman PT Barnum. Based in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the original 1893 museum suffered damages after being hit by a series of fires, tornadoes and hurricanes over the years. The new-look attraction will use state-of-the-art technology and special effects, original artefacts, cinema and visitor immersion in exhibits and installations that inspire guests and educate them about

Work is set to begin on Australia's first surf park, after Urbnsurf – the company driving the plans – secured AU$28.3m (US$18, €15m, £13m) in funding to develop a site in the city of Melbourne. The firm has already secured planning consent for a site adjacent to Melbourne Airport and now expects construction work to begin during April 2018. Described as a "sports, leisure and entertainment facility", Urbnsurf Melbourne will

The new home for Brazil’s 50-year-old Museum of Image and Sound (MIS) is entering the final stages of its development, with the Diller Scofidio + Renfro-designed (DS+R) building taking shape on Rio’s beachfront. Opened in 1965, MIS offers a vast archive of photographs, film, documents and sound recordings reflecting the cultural history of Rio. In 2009, DS+F were selected from a number of world-class architects, beating the likes of Daniel

Visitors to Chicago’s historic Navy Pier will soon be able to enjoy a new streamlined experience for its children’s museum, which is currently undergoing an extensive design overhaul. Reimagined by local firm Krueck+Sexton Architects (K+S), the Chicago Children’s Museum redevelopment plan calls for a cleaner, less cluttered appearance, with refreshed exhibition spaces and a significantly more streamlined visitor experience, relocating all access to the main floor of the museum. “The

The first renderings have been released showing what the Madison Square Garden Company’s (MSG) striking spherical entertainment venue will look like in London. Designed by Populous, the MSG Sphere London has been conceived as the conglomerate’s first international arena, and an “iconic venue that will feature game-changing technologies and pioneer the next generation of transformative, immersive experiences.” It will host concerts, live shows, expos, esports and other large-scale events. MSG

The developers of EuropaCity in Paris have provided a first glimpse at the eight key leisure buildings that will be constructed for the €3.1bn (US$3.8bn, £2.7bn) project. Following a competitive six-month competition process, several established and emerging architecture practices from France and further afield have been selected to work on the accommodation and attractions that will form the cultural heart of the vast scheme – which has been masterplanned by

After a long and difficult construction process, Miami’s Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science opened to the public last May. However, with only the first phase of the major attraction completed, more problems are arising, with construction firm Skanska filing a lawsuit against the museum. With the US$300m (€244.5m, £213.6m) building project facing so many financial shortfalls over the years, the contractor alleges it was not paid for work

A much-hyped movie museum in the home city of famed director Sir Peter Jackson could be in need of a reshoot, with the movie mogul calling for a temporary cut on the long-delayed project after locking horns with the city council. Located in a prime tourism spot, opposite the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the proposed Movie Museum development includes the visitor attraction occupying two floors of the

The Blue Lagoon in Iceland, one of the 25 Wonders of the World, has undergone a significant expansion with the opening of its first luxury opening, the Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland. A four-year endeavour, the Retreat is the result of a partnership between Blue Lagoon; Basalt Architects, the firm that designed the complex and made significant contributions to its interior design; and Design Group Italia, the agency that conceived

SMAR Architecture Studio have won the international design competition to create a Science Island attraction in Kaunas, Lithuania. The practice, with offices in Australia and Spain, were selected ahead of SimpsonHaugh and Donghua Chen Studio for the prestigious €25m (US$30.6m, £21.8m) project, which will be officially known as the National Science and Innovation Centre. Expected to open a year in advance of Kaunas’ tenure as European Capital of Culture 2022,

Plans to revitalise a 19-mile strech of the Lower LA River have been revealed, with new renderings showing how desolate concrete stretches – famously providing the dystopian backdrop to Terminator 2 – could be transformed into vibrant community hubs. Architecture firm Perkins+Will have worked with the County of Los Angeles, Tetra Tech Engineers and the LA River Working Group – formed of 13 stakeholder communities – to create the Lower

Experimental New York design studio Snarkitecture are returning to Washington D.C.’s National Building Museum, three years after their enormous ball pit became a huge attraction for the institution. The museum has announced the New York collective will create a sprawling Fun House in its Great Hall for the 2018 edition of its annual Summer Block Party, from 4 July to 3 September. The freestanding structure will recall and re-imagine the

A new attraction has opened up high on the Rock of Gibraltar, with Star Wars actor Mark Hamill on-hand to launch the aptly-named Skywalk to the public. Sitting 340m (103m) above sea level, the new attraction offers 360-degree views of the British overseas territory, with views spanning three countries and two continents. The new attraction links up with the existing Upper Rock Nature Reserve, Windsor Suspension Bridge and the Apes’

London architects Sergison Bates have won the international competition to convert the Citroën Yser Garage in Brussels – once Europe’s largest car factory – into a new branch of the Pompidou Centre art museum. The firm, along with Zurich studio EM2N and Brussels practice Aarchitecten, have been selected ahead of the likes of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Christ & Gantenbein and OMA for the high-profile commission – the largest new

A new museum exploring the life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel has opened its doors to the general public in Bristol. Called Being Brunel, the £7.2m (US$10.1m, €8.2m) museum explore the life of the man who is known as one of the greatest minds in the history of engineering, hailed as the “genius who built Britain”. The new attraction, designed by local firm Alec French Architects, is made up of six

The US’s largest aquarium has revealed details about its major expansion plan, with a new saltwater gallery home to a variety of different sharks at its heart. The Georgia Aquarium first announced the plans in February, naming PGAV Destinations as lead architect on the project, which will cover 41,000sq ft (3,809sq m) and is slated to open in 2020. In a new release, aquarium president and CEO, Joesph Handy, said

Remote holiday specialists Off the Map Travel have created another of their mobile semi-transparent glamping cabins, designed to be towed into the remote wilderness of the Arctic Circle so that guests can experience the Northern Lights from the comfort of their beds. Three rooms, each set on skis, have been made available for booking until mid-April 2018. They are situated in the Aurora Wilderness Camp, six kilometres east of Kilpisjärvi,