Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde has unveiled what is arguably the world’s most artistic cycle path in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Vincent Van Gogh’s death. The high-end cycling highway consists of more than 50,000 solar powered, glow in the dark stones which appear to glitter and swirl in a Van Gogh-like fashion after dark. The installation was inspired by Van Gogh’s famous ‘Starry Night’ oil on

Plans for Paris’ first skyscraper in 42 years were rejected on 17 November, following a ‘secret’ ballot. The ballot itself has been called in to question by Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, who claims the vote – with a result of 78 councillors for and 83 against – was invalid because some opponents violated secrecy rules. Plans for the skyscraper, designed by Swiss outfit Herzog & de Meuron, were revealed back

In a competition run by The Glasgow Institute of Architects, two graduates, James Hand and Nik Klahre, have been named to transform the derelict Springburn Winter Gardens in Glasgow into a community attraction. The category A (Grade I) listed attraction is the last surviving civic building in this area of Northern Glasgow. Designed in 1900 by James Reid, the Garden was closed in 1985 by Glasgow District Council who applied

A pipe dream of turning a former opencast coal site in Kelty, Scotland, into an iconic landscaped art project headed up by Charles Jencks, has been scrapped. The multi-million pound scheme, the ‘Fife Earth Project’, would have seen the former mining site transformed into a major tourist attraction explaining Scottish history and diaspora. Four different landscaped mounds across the 665 acre park would have been used to represent the continents

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, UK, welcomed back members of the public on 13 November following the completion of part of its £13.8m (US$21.5m, €17.3m) refurbishment. An ongoing project to completely refurbish the interior of the 1939 concert hall is being headed up by architects Caruso St. John, who have previously worked on sites such as the Tate Britain and the Barbican in London. Originally designed by Herbert Rowse, the project at

The owner and chair of Queens Park Rangers Football Club (QPR), Tony Fernandes, has said the club must move away from its Loftus Road home if it is to exist as a top flight club. Fernandes’ comments come as QPR is in the midst of a drawn-out legal planning process over a possible new site for a 40,000-capacity stadium at Old Oak Common in West London – three miles away

As part of Visit London and StudioCanal’s campaign for the new Paddington bear film, out on the 28th November, 50 statues of the world's most adventurous bear have been unveiled across London. Each bear has been individually designed by a celebrity or architect. From 4 November to 30 December, tourists can follow in the footsteps of Paddington via a series of trails – leading to statues situated in key locations

Global architecture firm Grimshaw and Australian firm Andrew Burges have won an international competition to design and build a AUS$51m (US$44m, €35m, £28m) park and leisure centre in Sydney. Over 140 teams submitted entries for the competition, run by the City of Sydney. Chosen from a shortlist of five finalists, Grimshaw and Andrew Burges winning design will be a leisure and fitness complex with ‘something for everyone’.

Developer Allied London has revealed plans to redevelop Manchester’s Granada Studios, the former home of Coronation Street, into an event hotel. Studios, rehearsal and production rooms - including the studio where The Beatles played their first ever live TV performance - will be brought to life with a programme of live entertainment, for which guests will be able to buy packages. Development of The Manchester Grande is expected to begin

The brand new International helo Sauna & Spa Academy is offering two-day training sessions for architects and project planners on how to design spas according to the latest trends and efficiency targets. The German thermal spa zone supplier helo created the academy – located in Knüllwald-Wallenstein, Germany – which will teach architects and project planners about the design possibilities for spas – using helo’s range of saunas, heaters, control equipment

After years in the pipeline, designs have finally been released for the National Library of Israel, Jerusalem, by architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron. The Swiss company was appointed to design the library in early 2013, shortly after New York-based designer Rafi Segal was dropped from the job. The National Library will be a redevelopment of its 120-year-old predecessor. Herzog & de Meuron said in a statement: “Our project reflects

Following an open design competition which saw more than 50 entrants, three architecture firms have been narrowed down from a list of ten to potentially design the new Beethoven Concert Hall and Festspielhaus in Bonn, Germany. UK-based David Chipperfield Architects, Kadawittfeldarchitektur from Germany and Valentiny Hvp Architects from Luxembourg have been announced as the top three contenders for the £55m (€67m, US$86m) project. Rendering of Chipperfield’s design at night Chipperfield’s

AFC Wimbledon has submitted a planning application to Merton Council for a new stadium at Plough Lane in South London. The League Two football club is planning to build a 11,000-capacity stadium on the site of Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium – a location the club calls its “spiritual home”. The application has been submitted in partnership with residential builder Galliard Homes and seeks permission to build 600 residential units along with

Holkham Hall on the Holkham Estate in Norfolk has announced plans for a new £4.5m visitor attraction which will focus on agricultural evolution and sustainable food production. The privately-owned, 18th century estate is well respected for its environmentally responsible approach to farming and its 'inseparable links’ with the local community. The project will have a strong educational bias and will focus on how Holkham has evolved its farming practices over

British architect and designer Thomas Heatherwick from Heatherwick Studios, and landscape architecture firm Mathews Nielsen have been chosen to design ‘Pier 55’ – a US$170m (€136m, £109m) floating park on the Hudson River. ‘Pier 55’ will be situated 186ft (57m) away from the bank of the Hudson River and will be accessible by an undulating platform. More like an island, the pier will be a fully fledged 1.1-hectare (2.7 acres)

Bjarke Ingels' Copenhagen and New York-based architecture firm, BIG, is tipped to design a new public square as part Rafael Viñoly’s £8bn (US$13bn, €10bn) masterplan for Battersea Power Station, London. Although no official report has been released, the Architects Journal has reported that BIG will be making their UK debut with ‘Malaysia Square’ – a large piece of public realm design that will act as the ‘front door’ to the

A shortlist has been announced consisting of five top architectural firms to design the Bristol Arena, a £90m (US$150m, €112m) venue on an old oil depot site near Temple Meads Station. Following the announcement of a design competition from the RIBA and Bristol City Council in August 2014, a shortlist has been released. The following multi-disciplinary design teams have been shortlisted: - A consortium of; Grimshaw, MANICA Architecture, Thornton Tomasetti,

A proposed masterplan for the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C, was unveiled this week by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), re-imagining the South Mall campus and the area around the Smithsonian’s iconic ‘Castle’. Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution is one of the world’s largest museum and research complexes, boasting the National Zoological Park and several research facilities, as well as 19 museums and galleries. It is expected that the

London’s controversial Garden Bridge, designed by Thomas Heatherwick and Dan Pearson, has been given the green light by Lambeth Council. Lord Mervyn Davies, chair of the Garden Bridge Trust, said: “This is a great day for the Garden Bridge. The decision by Lambeth council has helped further drive the momentum behind this iconic project, taking us ever closer to reaching our goal.” The £175m (US$294m, €216m) bridge, which will cross

Several high profile architects have been asked to compete in a newly launched competition to design the New National Gallery and Ludwig Museum in Budapest, Hungary. A previous open competition for the project was recently abandoned, as the jury had "not found any entry suitable for implementation based on the assessment criteria". The studios invited to compete consist of a star-studded line up, with Jean Nouvel, David Chipperfield, Mecanoo, Nieto

London’s Gherkin skyscraper has been bought by Brazilian billionaire Joseph Safra for a fee of £700m. The Foster & Parners-designed building, first opened in 2004 and standing 180m (590ft) high, was acquired by the Safra Group, owned by Safra, “While only 10 years old, this building is already a London icon that is distinguished from others in the market, with excellent value growth potential,” said a statement from the Safra

The sustainable community called Serenbe outside Georgia's capital Atlanta, US, is developing a new ‘hamlet’ focused on wellness and healthy living, with special assisted-living services for older adults. With its organic farm and land-use plan that encourages conservation of agricultural land, Serenbe is a real estate development that preserves and invests in agricultural land use. Owned by Serenbe – and founded by Steve and Marie Nygren – the first house

London-based Marks Barfield Architects has won an international design competition for a eco-heritage project based on the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. The firm is working with exhibition designers Real Studios and environmental engineer Ritchie Daffin to build a visitor centre on nearby Mahe, providing an experience for one of the most unique coral reef ecosystems anywhere in the world. The reef was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in

One of the largest spas in the Four Seasons portfolio is set to open in early 2015 at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay in the centre of the Kingdom’s capital city, Manama. Scheduled to launch on 1 March 2015, the 273-bedroom hotel – designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill – rises 68 stories above the Bahrain Bay on its own 12-acre oval-shaped man-made island. Restaurants, meeting spaces, terraces, gardens

Real Madrid FC is pressing ahead with plans for a full redevelopment of the iconic Santiago Bernabeu stadium, complete with a skin of LEDs around the stadium, museum and nearby theme park development. Expected to take six years to complete, Real Madrid’s home stadium, redesigned by architectural firm GMP-Architekten, will be wrapped in LEDs – which will effectively operate as a huge TV screen to air the club’s greatest moments

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has launched an unprecedented city-wide competition for urban regeneration in the French capital. Under the ‘Call for Innovative Urban Projects’ banner, 23 city-owned sites across the capital have been designated for development; the mayor is asking for teams of startups, associations, investors, companies, collectives, artists, architects and designers to ‘prefigure what the Paris of tomorrow might be.’ Elected in May, the mayor has laid

Lamu Island on the north coast of Kenya is about to undergo a drastic transformation with a KES2.3tn (US$25bn, €19.9bn, £15.6bn) mixed-use development planned to include the largest container port on the East African seaboard, complete with a “Las Vegas-style city” and an international airport. The development – the largest infrastructure project in the history of East Africa – will include roads, railways, and oil pipelines from Lamu across northern