In the pipeline since 1999, Panama’s Biomuseo has finally opened to the public. Designed by famous architect Frank Gehry, the museum aims to celebrate the history of Central America's isthmus as one of the world's most diverse ecosystems. Situated near the mouth of the Panama Canal, the impressive structure houses eight galleries with 4,000sq m (43,055 sq ft) of exhibition space. These eight galleries are fully interactive, immersing visitors in

America’s Alcatraz - one of the world’s most notorious prisons and now a top tourist attraction - is to play host to an art and sculpture exhibition by dissident artist Ai Weiwei. Opening to the public on the 27 September, seven new installations by Ai Weiwei, a Chinese activist and artist, will be on display throughout Alcatraz prison. The multimedia exhibition, named @Large, aims to explore human rights and freedom

Tom Dixon and Design Research Studio (DRS) have unveiled Europe’s first Mondrian Hotel by Morgans Hotel Group on London’s Southbank. Located in Platner-designed Sea Containers House along the River Thames, the building was originally conceived to hold a luxury hotel but ended up as offices due to its location. Giving part of the structure back for its intended use is Tom Dixon and DRS, who have created a 359-bedroom hotel

Oslo-based architecture and design firm Snøhetta has unveiled plans for its competition-winning Central Library and Plaza in Calgary, Canada. Following a contest to design the project in November 2013, Snøhetta and Dialog (a Canadian firm) beat 38 other teams to the job with their public orientated offering. The 21,925sq m (235,999sq ft) library has been inspired by the nearby foothills surrounding the city. Covered with a geometric patterned facade, natural

Oslo-based architecture and design firm Snøhetta has unveiled plans for its competition-winning Central Library and Plaza in Calgary, Canada. Following a contest to design the project in November 2013, Snøhetta and Dialog (a Canadian firm) beat 38 other teams to the job with their public orientated offering. The 21,925sq m (235,999sq ft) library has been inspired by the nearby foothills surrounding the city. Covered with a geometric patterned facade, natural

Internationally renowned gin brand, Bombay Sapphire, is set to open up its new home, a distillery and visitor centre in Laverstock, Hampshire. Opening its doors on 1 October, the Laverstock Mill has been completely renovated and fitted out for its new purpose of housing Bombay Sapphire’s headquarters and distillery. With a full range of behind the scenes visitor experiences, the new site is to showcase the story behind Bombay Sapphire,

Since opening in May 2014, the emotive 9/11 Memorial Museum, NYC, has seen more than one million visitors walk through its doors. Designed by David Brody Bond Architects in conjunction with Snøhetta, the 9/11 Memorial Museum provides a space for telling the story of the 9/11 attacks and their repercussions. And the tasteful approach to the difficult subject matter has seen the attraction more than fulfill visitor number expectations. With

Hadrian’s Wall’s 1960s-era visitor centre will bow out to make way for a brand new facility after plans got the go-ahead from authorities. The English border village of Once Brewed, which serves the stream of hardy walkers who tackle the 117.5km (73 mile) trek across the historic wall, will be home to an £11.2m ($17.9m, €14.3m) development. The Sill National Landscape Discovery Centre, imagined by Newcastle-based architects Jane Darbyshire and

Plans for the first phase of a £100m regeneration project in South Shields have been approved by South Tyneside Council's planning committee. The 365 Master Plan project, drawn up between Muse Developments and South Tyneside Council, will see the transformation of South Shields town centre over a series of phases. Construction work can now begin on the first phase, which features the construction of a new FaulknerBrowns-designed Central Library and

Developer British Land has signed an agreement with Plymouth City Council to develop Drake Circus Leisure, a £40m leisure scheme next to its Drake Circus Shopping Centre in Plymouth city centre. The proposed development will include a 12-screen cinema operated by Cineworld, 13 restaurant units and 450 car park spaces, while the site’s current coach station is to be relocated. The move comes as the owners of the Drake Circus

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris Architects (AHMM) has released new images of its proposed masterplan for the former BBC headquarters site in the White City area of London. Developer Stanhope has commissioned AHMM to be in charge of the redevelopment at the site, with work due to start in Q2 2015. Following its transformation, the site will include office and studio space for the BBC, a range of entertainment and leisure

Anantara Resorts Hotels & Spas will operate a luxury waterfront hotel in Dubai’s Culture Village district to launch in early 2018, directly facing the Dubai Creek. The 270-bedroom hotel is being developed by Dubai Properties Group, a subsidiary of state-owned Dubai Holding and is being designed by lead architecture company DAS. The project will break ground in Q4 of this year. This will be Dubai Properties’ third project after the

The Hotel Saint-Barth Isle de France is set to join the Cheval Blanc portfolio when it opens on 15 October, featuring the first Guerlain treatments to reach the Caribbean at its re-imagined spa. Acquired by Cheval Blanc brand owner LVMH in July 2013, the main 40-bedroom hotel has since been operated by LVMH Hotel Management. The existing spa, which took four months to build back in 2002, was re-designed in

South Korean capital Seoul has become home to a new progressive art museum following the opening of the Arario Museum in Space attraction, located inside the city’s famed Space building overlooking Changgyeong Palace. The Space site was originally designed by pioneering South Korean architect Kim Swoo-geun and was previously home to the architect’s Space Group firm. The launch of the new museum comes as art collector and founder of Arario

Liverpool FC’s plans to increase capacity of the club’s Anfield Stadium by around 13,000 seats have been given the green light by Liverpool City Council (LCC). LCC’s planning committee met earlier today (23 September and resolved to grant planning permission for the expansion of the Main Stand by 8,300 seats and the Anfield Road Stand by 4,800. Construction will begin next year for completion by the 2016-17 season and will

Up to 34 Transport for London (TfL)-owned “ghost” train tunnels running beneath the UK capital could soon be transformed into an array of attractions and leisure sites, according to reports. It is understood that TfL is preparing to invite companies to bid to take part in the transformation of several disused Underground and Overground Stations, as well as old horse tunnels that run below the city. Ajit Chambers, a former

Spas need to be designed more like homes, according to Bill Bensley, owner of spa design company Bensley Design Studios. In a letter to Spa Business, Bensley highlighted the challenge for the spa design will be to avoid repetition: “Long gone are the days of scented candles and floating flowers. Spas, as we know them, will fade away.” Instead, a more homely feel is advocated by Bensley, “with lots of

Following a lengthy competition process ending in 2013, French architect Jean Nouvel and the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD) have begun work on the greatly-anticipated National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) in Beijing. Located in Beijing's Olympic Park – a legacy from the 2008 Games – the NAMOC will occupy 130,000sq m (1,399,308sq ft) of space as part of a new cultural district in the park itself, near to

Skateboarders in London’s South Bank Undercroft have won their 17-month battle to keep the space under Queen Elizabeth Hall designated for skateboarding, BMX riding, graffiti and urban activities. On 18 September, details of a binding agreement between the Long Live Southbank campaign, the Southbank Centre and Lambeth Council were released; meaning that both parties will withdraw from further legal action and the site will remain open, free of charge, for

Officially opened to the public yesterday (21 September), the third and northernmost phase of the New York High Line elevated park is now complete. Designed by James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and planting designer Piet Oudolf, the High Line project has been underway since the disused rail structure was initially saved from demolition in the late 90s. Now for the first time, the northernmost section of the

The 2014 Asian Games began today (19 September) at South Korea’s Incheon Asiad Main Stadium with a colourful opening ceremony being staged at the 70,000-seat arena. From now until 4 October, almost 10,000 athletes from 45 countries will compete in 439 events across 36 sports and disciplines. Both the opening and closing ceremony, plus all of the athletics events, will be staged in the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium, which has

Bjarke Ingels, and his architecture firm BIG, have unveiled plans for a public promenade mixed-use scheme to be built in Aarhus – Denmark’s second largest city. Known as ‘Aarhus Island’, the scheme will be stretched along Aarhus harbour and features over 200 residential units, plus a series of public spaces including swimming pools, and areas for recreational activities. Each aspect of the design has been carefully manipulated with interventions that

Work has now officially begun on the £9.3m Queen’s Park Sports Centre in Chesterfield, with a ceremony confirming the start of the construction process last week. The project recently received a boost when £2m of extra funding was awarded by Sport England to help push the project along and extend original plans for its facilities, with other investors including main backers Chesterfield Borough Council and Chesterfield College, which has agreed

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science (formerly known as the Miami Science Museum), which is nearing the halfway stage of moving to a new US$275m (€212m, £168.5m) facility in downtown Miami, has received a donation of US$5m (€3.9m, £3.1m) to fund health and wellness programmes when the new facility launches in 2016. To be located inside the new science museum, the Baptist Health People & Science Gallery will

The Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban has won an international competition to design and build the new Tainan Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan. Pritzker Prize-winner Ban has designed several well known museums, the most recent being the Aspen Art Museum, USA. The Tainan Museum of Fine Arts project aims to promote the development of Taiwan’s emerging cultural significance by recognising its arts and heritage. The new museum will have a particular

Borrowing and visitor numbers to the UK's new £189m (US$307m, €237m) Library of Birmingham – designed as both a library and a visitor attraction – by Mecanoo Architects, have doubled in comparison to its predecessor, the old Central Library. The Library of Birmingham, which opened on to the public on 3 September 2013, has had more than 2.7 million people visit come through its doors over the last year. Figures

Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Starwood in California's Napa Valley, is expected to open in October 2015 once a multimillion renovation is complete. The property is being transformed from the former Grandview Hotel & Spa into a 57-guestroom hotel which is owned and being developed by Spring Mountain Hotel – a joint venture between real estate development company Presidio Companies and Las Alcobas Hotel Group. To be conceived