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

The new 39-storey, 286-bedroom Reverie Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam has soft-opened, with an official opening scheduled for September. Designed by architect Kent Lui of Kent Lui Tactics, the hotel combines couture style with bespoke, Italian design. Unique design elements abound, including a colourful ceiling installation of individual pieces of hand-blown glass in the street-level lobby, which, intertwined, echo the geographic silhouette of Vietnam. Each of the 286

Scottish destination property Portavadie is opening a 1,991sq m (21,431sq ft) spa and leisure centre in the coming months that takes full advantage of its views over Loch Fyne on Scotland’s west coast. Designed by Largs, Ayrshire-based Stewart Associates, the spa uses glass, local stone, white oak and walnut to create a natural setting that is “sympathetic to the view at all times,” and creates a feeling of “understated luxury,”

The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) will move into a new home on 31 January 2016 in downtown Berkley, bringing the two institutions under one roof for the first time since 1999. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the US$112m (£72.5m, €100m) 83,000sq ft (7, 710sq m) project integrates a pre-existing 48,000sq ft (4,459sq m) art deco building – the former 1939 printing plant

The Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) have unveiled an alternate proposal to the territory of Gibraltar’s Europa Stadium plan, revealing designs that would allow the team’s existing stadium to be upgraded. The alternate plan by John Linares Architects would feature Victoria Stadium at the heart of a wider sports village, with four UEFA/FIFA compliant football pitches, as well as a multi-purpose sports facility. The GSD’s plan would also create an educational

The estimated US$72m (€65m; £47m) Playa Largo resort in Key Largo, part of the Marriott Autograph collection, is set to open late this year and will be the first new-build property on the island in 21 years. The Florida Keys property, owned by Shaner Hotel Group, will include a 6,000sq ft (557sq m) OceanSpa. Prime Hospitality are the architects for the project, while The Gettys Group are responsible for the

British architects Short & Associates and MJP Architects have created a new underground events space for the wine suppliers to the British royal family. London’s MJP Architects and Lincolnshire-based Short & Associates designed and created a new cellar underneath Berry Bros. & Rudd’s historic shop, from which they have been supplying wine to the royal family since the reign of King George III in the early 19th century. The Sussex

A competition for the development of a 6,000sq m (64,583sq ft) visitor attraction based on the fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen has been launched in Odense, Denmark. Part of a downtown regeneration of Odense, the contest comes two years after an initial contest kicked off on the same site for a ‘House of Fairytales’. Transborder Studio, Rodion Kitaev and London-based Leith Kerr Architecture were named winners of the previous contest,

The Proper Hotel in Austin, Texas, is slated to open in 2017 and will include a 243-bedroom hotel, 100 residences, and a spa. The location is part of a new line of hotels unveiled this year by Proper Hotels CEO Brad Korzen, the creator and former CEO of the Viceroy Hotel Group. Proper Hotels aims to design, brand and operate “bespoke hospitality experiences that bring a modern approach to a

Chester Zoo has debuted its new £40m (US$62.2m, €56.4m) Islands development by Dan Pearlman, creating a highly-immersive, themed adventure across a series of Indonesian islands and making the visitor attraction one of the largest and most important zoos anywhere in the world. Phase one of the Islands development, which accounts for around 50 per cent of the total expansion, sets visitors off on a journey through Indonesia, putting the spotlight

City dwellers in Melbourne will get to experience the sensation of being in a forest canopy thanks to a new temporary pavilion designed by Amanda Levete’s AL_A studio. It will open in October in the Australian city’s Queen Victoria Gardens as the second edition of the annual MPavilion architecture commission and design event. Built using the latest nautical-engineering technology, a series of carbon-fibre poles that bend and sway in the

Bristol Rovers’ £40m (US$62.2m, €56.4m) plan to move into a new stadium across the city has collapsed after supermarket chain Sainsbury’s won its High Court battle over the purchase of its current home. The initial plan had been for Sainsbury’s to buy the team’s 12,000-seat Memorial Stadium in 2011 and lease it back to the club while a new 21,700-seat stadium was developed in the north of Bristol. The supermarket

Starwood Hotels is opening the Westin Hamburg next year in the highly anticipated Elbe Philharmonic complex. The 10-storey, 205-bedroom Westin Hamburg Hotel, designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, is due to open in October 2016. The Elbe Philharmonic complex, built around a historical warehouse on the banks of the river Elbe and also designed by Herzog & De Meuron, will include three concert halls, 45 private apartments, and

ReardonSmith has returned the Lanesborough hotel in London to its former glory following a complete renovation. Acting as lead design consultant and architect, ReardonSmith partnered with the Alberto Pinto agency and several specialist craft companies to rejuvenate the hotel near Hyde Park Corner. The aim of the works was to re-establish the Georgian property, which was converted into a hotel over 20 years ago, as London’s finest hotel. As part

New York-based architect Rogers Partners’ designs for a new pier in St. Petersburg, Florida, have been approved by the city council. Landscape architect Ken Smith and local firm ASD are also part of the The Pier Park design team. The project combines a large transparent building located at the end of the pier with a collection of smaller experiences in “zones of activities” positioned along its entire 1,380ft (420.6m) length.

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, has revealed finalised plans for its US$200m (€108.8m, £130m) facility expansion as part of a larger ongoing US$650m (€587.6m, £422.2m) Advancement Campaign. Based on initial work by Rick Mather Architects, with subsequent work from Richard Olcott of Ennead Architects, the museum will gain a new 40,000sq ft (3,716sq m) wing for galleries and temporary exhibition space, while a new 80,000sq ft (7,432sq

A new 160-room hotel in Melbourne will give guests the chance to stay the night with Beyoncé – or at least inside a curvy skyscraper inspired by the global superstar. Australian architect Elenberg Fraser’s 226m (741ft) high Premier Tower features a series of curves and bulges and its form pays homage to Beyoncé’s ‘Ghost’ music video – in which naked dancers gyrate while wrapped in stretchy fabric.

The Hong Kong Museum of Art is to close in August for a four-year HK$930m (US$120m, €109m, £78m) renovation, which will nearly double the amount of exhibition space available to the 53-year-old institute. Scheduled to reopen in 2019, the museum’s main exhibition area will be expanded to 10,000sq m (107,600sq ft), with an additional three galleries also being developed, increasing the total number to 10. The re-christened Hong Kong Art

Swissotel has opened a new resort on a private beach in Turgutreis, just outside Bodrum, Turkey. Designed by Gokhan Avcioglu of Turkish design studio GAD International, The Swissotel Bodrum Beach includes 66 bedrooms and suites along with 72 private serviced residences. Avcioglu has used sweeping lines in his design to fuse the Aegean coast’s rolling landscape with the local tangerine gardens, blending the structure with the natural landscape by using