International architecture practice Populous have been selected to design the £90m (US$135m, €119m) Bristol Arena in the south-west UK city. The winning team, comprising of Populous (with Feilden Clegg Bradley, BuroHappold and Vanguardia) has been selected from a shortlist of five to design the 12,000 seat multi-use venue. In a statement, Bristol mayor George Ferguson said: “The Populous team presented an innovative design. The new arena shone out as the

Auction house China Guardian has commissioned Büro Ole Scheeren to design its new home. Far from being simply a headquarters, the Guardian Art Centre will include a museum, courtyard, the auction house, event space, an 120-room hotel and several restaurants. Construction is now underway on the mixed-use cultural complex, close to the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD) is also working on the project, which

After much anticipation, Wandsworth Council has revealed the four design teams to be shortlisted for the Nine Elms Bridge Competition in London, UK. With more than 70 entries submitted for the Nine Elms to Pimlico Bridge competition, teams were asked to design a proposal for a new pedestrian and cycle way over London’s River Thames. The four shortlisted design teams are as follows: • Buro Happold Limited – with Marks

James Corner Field Operations (JCFO) has been picked to design the Miami Underline, a 10-mile corridor running below Miami-Dade’s Metrorail. The Underline will be a linear park from Miami River to Dadeland South Station. The project will feature a cycle path/ pedestrian walkway and provide hundreds of acres of green space for public use. Aiming to encourage healthy lifestyles, The Underline will provide an easily accessible place to exercise, create

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) has revealed plans for sibling towers in Colombia’s capital, with more than 10,000sqm (108,000sq ft) of public space connecting them. The project, named ATRIO, is one of the most significant real-estate ventures in Colombia’s recent history. It has two towers, at 200 metres (656 feet) and 268 metres (879 feet) tall, which will be predominantly offices, with some commercial and retail space. However, the

Maison Souquet, a five-star boutique hotel with spa, has opened in the heart of Paris, near the famous Moulin Rouge. Designed by Jacques Garcia and part of the Maisons Particulières Group, the boutique hotel contains 20 bespoke rooms, each as opulent as the next. Garcia’s interiors ooze hedonism and bring the hotel’s legacy into glamorised focus. Previously used as a 'pleasure house' during La Belle Époque, Maison Souquet’s atmosphere remains

Following the $91m (€86m, £62m) renovation of Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, in New York, USA, visitors are now offered a truly with interactive and immersive experience, entwined with creative technologies. Masterplanned by Gluckman Mayner Architects alongside Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners with Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) designing the exhibition spaces on the ground, first and second floor galleries – the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum has been completely

The City of New Orleans is currently evaluating private sector proposals for the redevelopment of the World Trade Center building on the banks of the Mississippi. The building has been vacant since the late 1990s and has been subject to three previously unsuccessful redevelopment attempts. Two Canal Street Investors, a finalist for the redevelopment, has unveiled designs for Tricentennial Tower, a 320ft (98m) observation tower and vertical gondola ride –

Kuwait’s leading mixed use property developer, Tamdeen Group, has announced US$700m (€661m, £472m) plans for the Al Khiran project, located in Sabah Al Ahmed Sea City, Kuwait. Al Khiran will be an an eco-friendly, recreational, residential and retail waterfront development. The resort-like project will spread along 350,000sq m (3,800,000sq ft) and it’s hoped it will become a key tourism driver for Kuwait. Although situated on the waterfront, the heart of

Following an epic week at MIPIM, the 25th MIPIM Award winners were announced last night- 12 March. Leisure architecture once again proved to be a frontrunner, with five leisure buildings being recognised. •Center Parcs Woburn Forest, designed by Holder Mathias Architects, in Bedfordshire UK, won the Best Hotel & Tourism Resort Award. Since it’s opening back summer of 2014, Centre Parcs has been causing a stir in the spa world,

The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York, is putting the final touches to its new wing before its grand opening on 20 March. First announced in 2012, the US$64m (€60.2m, £42.9m) development – by Thomas Phifer and Partners – is made up of a 100,000sq ft (9,290sq m) glass structure, which will house its glass collection of contemporary art and design. The architect’s design is a square, minimalist

MIPIM 2015 has nearly reached its climax and the annual Architectural Review Future Project Awards have been announced. Once again, leisure projects are showcasing some of the best new architecture globally. The overall winner of the Architectural Review Future Project Award was given to the ‘Hanging Courtyards’ The Urban Design of Qing Xiang Historical Cultural Block in Changzhou (China) - Southeast University. The scheme used sustainable techniques as well as

Under the umbrella of Kenya Vision 2030, The DLR Group have released designs for a 30,000 seat stadium for Kenyatta University, near Nairobi, Kenya. Currently at the concept phase, DLR Group have carried out masterplanning, sustainable consulting and architecture services for the scheme so far. Kenya's Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts intends for 20 new stadia to be built by 2030, and DLR’s proposed scheme fits the bill. Situated

Sustainable Chinese hospitality brand Naked Retreats is embarking on expansion beyond its flagship resort, Naked Home Village, to capture more of the Chinese market. In an article for Spa Business, Naked Retreats founders South African entrepreneur Grant Horsfield and Hong-Kong-born architect Delphine Yip, revealed plans to expand and transform the original Naked Home Village outside Shanghai into Naked Castle – which is due to open later this year with 80

Merlin Entertainments has revealed new details about its upcoming fully immersive Shrek's Adventure attraction, which is set to be rolled out worldwide following its July 2015 debut in London's Grade II Listed County Hall. Collins-construction is working on the project build, which has been designed not to impact the listed building. “We’ve built into the rooms so as not to damage the existing building,” said Eddie Saul, creative lead for

Barangaroo South, a complete new city quarter under construction in Sydney, Australia, looks set to be a game changer for the city’s leisure offerings. Developer Lend Lease is pouring AUS$6bn (US$4.6bn, £3bn, €4.3bn) into the 22 hectare site. Leading British architecture firm, Roger Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) have masterplanned six hectares of the built development. From the previous state of a disused container port, RSHP plans to ‘return the

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has chosen David Chipperfield Architects to design and oversee the gutting and rebuilding of its new south-west wing which houses modern and contemporary art. It’s thought completion will be timed to coincide with the museums’s 150th anniversary in 2020. New York’s museums are competing with ever more ambitious plans and in so doing, forging New York City into one of the most

A proposed US$100m-plus (€93m, £66m) resort and spa in Rancho Mirage, California, has received approval from the city’s Architectural Review Board – following amendments made to the project’s design by Derek Sola from architecture firm Gensler. The 24-acre (10-hectare) Thunderbird Resort and Spa plans will be sent to the city’s planning commission for approval. The ‘six-star’ resort – which will be tucked into the landscape with the mountains serving as

Weedon Architects have revealed the masterplan for the £55m (US$82m, €77.7m) development of Twycross Zoo, UK, an investment to boost visitor numbers and improve animal welfare. Twycross Zoo is the only one in the UK to house all four kinds of great apes. The masterplan will bring bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans all together in the new great ape centre, which will come up over the course of the next

For the first time ever, the World Architecture Festival (WAF) is coming to London in June. WAF, a high-profile architecture festival, will put on an exhibition during the London Festival of Architecture, which runs from 1-30 June 2015. An exclusive exhibition, hosted by WAF, will showcase its 2015 finalists on 24-27 June, in London, prior to the announcement of the winners of the sought after World Architecture Awards. The exhibited

Bjarke Ingels, in conjunction with Rebuild by Design, has laid out plans for ‘The Dryline’ – a leisure-oriented storm barrier for New York City. Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, where more than US$19bn (€17.9bn, £12.6bn) of damage was inflicted on New York, Rebuild by Design – a federally-funded initiative, which is part of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force and the US Department of Housing and

Arendon Development Company has announced that architecture firms John Pawson, Richard Meier and Eva Jiricná will be designing elements of a large mixed-use scheme, the Oaks Prague, in the Czech Republic. The development, masterplanned by EDSA with Chapman Taylor and John Thompson and Partners, is based on a village concept, with wellness and healthy living built into its core. London-based firm, John Pawson, is drawing up plans for the epicentre

The team behind the upcoming Milan Expo is putting the finishing touches to the world fair before its debut in May. The six-month expo will be the second to be held in Milan and has been five years in the making since its November 2010 announcement. Using the theme feeding the planet, energy for life, the 2015 Expo will bring together more than 140 countries designing pavilions that embrace technology,

Following a lengthy competition process, Foster + Partners has been chosen to be the lead architect for the Lusail Stadium, the centrepiece of the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar. Working in conjunction with stadium specialists Populous and ARUP on the project, the Foster + Partners-designed stadium will be located in Lusail City, north of Doha, and will have a capacity of around 85,000. It's expected that the stadium will

Starwood Hotels & Resorts will debut its first St Regis-branded property in Istanbul, Turkey in March – designed by award-winning Turkish architect Emre Arolat in an Art Deco style reminiscent of the city’s artistic 1920s era. Housing an extensive selection of artwork from the Demsa Collection of Art – a private collection belonging to the Demsa Group that also owns the hotel itself – the property has 118 bedrooms and

The Museum of the Future in Dubai, announced last week by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, will start on site this week. The museum has been designed by architect Shaun Killa, for 16 years a director of Atkins, and responsible for some of the Middle East’s most celebrated buildings. Killa's new architectural practice, Killa Design – which is based in

BRC Imagination Arts is the creative force behind the recent US$4.7m (€4.2m, £3m) revamp of the Ford factory tour, offering visitors a close-up look at the creation of the automaker’s F-150 pickup truck. The Ford Rouge Factory Tour, based at The Henry Ford complex in Dearborn, Michigan, now includes a Manufacturing Innovation Theatre to showcase the build process at the facility. The reimagined theatre is designed to immerse visitors into