Vessel – the sculptural urban landmark Heatherwick Studio have designed as the centrepiece for New York’s Hudson Yards development – topped out yesterday (6 December) after eight months of construction. The honeycomb-like structure, described by its creators as “one of the most complex pieces of steelwork ever made” has reached its full 150ft (46m) height, revealing how it will ultimately provide a one-mile vertical climbing experience. New construction images reveal

British conservation charity the National Trust has announced that architecture practice Allies and Morrison will reimagine and rebuild Surrey’s Clandon Park, a historic Palladian mansion gutted by a fire in 2015. The firm was selected ahead of five other rivals in an international design competition, organised by Malcolm Reading Consultants. However, in an unusual move, one of the other shortlisted practices, Purcell, has joined the winning ticket as conservation architect.

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have revealed their latest major US project – a sports and entertainment neighbourhood in Texas under a dramatic chequered roofscape. Ambitious plans for the 1.3 million sq ft (121,000sq m) East Austin District were announced today (5 December) by Austin Sports & Entertainment, founded by sports media executives Andrew Nestor and Sean Foley. Located at the home of rodeo in Austin, the new complex is described

Decommissioned Navy equipment could soon be used to create a family-friendly centre dedicated to maritime life after plans were submitted to develop a US$43m (€36.3m, £32m) attraction in Chicago, Illinois. Plans for Navyseum show an interactive, two-storey attraction that will span 130,000sq ft (12,000sq m) and combine a museum with an interactive playspace. Themed experience zones are connected using bridges, tubes, slides, overlook decks, and openings to offer a fun,

A cultural hub designed by Japanese Pritzker-winning architect Fumihiko Maki has opened in Chinese megacity Shenzhen in partnership with the V&A – the first collaboration between a British museum and a Chinese partner. The Sea World Culture and Arts Center (SWCAC), located in Shenzhen Bay, is formed of three white cantilevered volumes atop a deconstructed plinth. A tilted landscaped roof, open to the public, provides panoramic views while pathways extend

With its year as UK City of Culture coming to a close, Hull is wrapping up 12 months of public artworks by using light and sound to turn The Deep aquarium into a giant art installation. From 8 December the iconic aquarium, designed by Terry Farrell and Partners, will be lit up as its architecture and façade receive a virtual remodelling. Called Floe, images will be projected onto the side

Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde has been announced as a speaker at next year's TIDE conference at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE). Roosegaarde is an internationally acclaimed creative thinker and founder of the Studio Roosegaarde, a social design lab that develops smart and sustainable products for “the cities of tomorrow”. His projects include the Smart Highway, a solar-powered road that glows at night, and the Smog Free Project, the world’s

Designers GSM Project have delivered three exhibition spaces for the new Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, allowing visitors to “discover innovations and technology through immersive experiences”. The three galleries include 19 integrated interactive and media displays and a number of large-scale exhibits. The first gallery, ‘Into the Great Outdoors’, showcases more than 100 years of technological developments geared toward conquering and roaming vast landscape – from bicycles to

Tokyo Disney could undergo its biggest expansion in over two decades, as operator Oriental Land is reportedly in discussions over a ¥300bn (US$2.68bn, €2.25bn, £1.98bbn) mega-development for the resort. According to multiple news sources in Japan, the plans are not part of the previous ¥250bn (US$2.22bn, €1.88bn, £1.65bn), 10-year expansion plan for Tokyo Disney, which includes new attractions based on Beauty and the Beast and Big Hero 6, as well

The ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, has greenlit plans for a 3.3km (2.1 miles) beachfront development incorporating new sports facilities, pedestrian areas, public services and landscaping. The Sharjah Urban Planning Council’s (SUPC) has proposed the project – which will include dedicated cycling paths, exercise areas and places for family activities – as part of its wider strategic plan to use leisure and regeneration to attract more

A vacant plot located along the Harlem River waterfront in New York has been earmarked as the site for a major new residential and leisure development – including a home for the city’s first dedicated hip hop museum. The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has announced a raft of ambitious plans for its new Bronx Point destination, including public open spaces, a hi-tech multiplex theatre, education facilities for

A former ski village in Sheffield, UK, will be reinvented as a sports attraction after a £22.5m (US$30.2m, €25.5m) plan was announced to breathe new life into the site. Working in partnership with Continuum Attractions, Sheffield City Council will resurrect the 48-acre (194,000sq m) site as a sports, leisure and entertainment venue under the Extreme brand. The first phase of the plan will see the restoration of the disused ski

Australian architecture studio Group GSA have won a design competition to create an information hub for the ski resort hosting events during the 2022 Winter Olympics. The Four Seasons Town Reception Center will welcome spectators to Fulong Four Seasons Resort – the Olympic venue located 90km (56 miles) northwest of Beijing in the city of Chongli, Hebei province. Fulong is a master-planned, year-round community featuring 37 ski trails – the

Visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of Apple’s futuristic new US$5bn (€4.18bn, £3.7bn) HQ can now get closer than ever before, with the opening of a new visitor centre overlooking Foster + Partner’s vaunted doughnut-shaped design. Designed as “an exclusive public gateway to Apple Park”, the centre opened to the public last week along Tantau Avenue in Cupertino, California. With Foster + Partners again on design duties, the building is

Liseberg CEO Andreas Andersen has provided an update on the park’s planned €200m (US$238.8m, £178.8m) expansion, with work on the project expected to start in 2019 as the park attempts to diversify its product offering to expand its operational season. The historic attraction in Gothenburg, Sweden, celebrates its centenary in 2023. In the build-up to this milestone, plans for a new indoor waterpark and hotel earlier were unveiled earlier this

The US$1.85bn (€1.56bn, £1.39bn) Nickelodeon-branded cultural resort coming to Foshan, Southern China, will be project managed by AECOM after a deal was signed at this year’s IAAPA Attractions Expo. Part of the Foshan Cultural and Ecological Coastal Project – an initiative to enhance the culture, tourism, sports, science and technology sectors to the city of Foshan – the development will cover 750 acres, 250 of which will be dedicated to

With admirers from Steve McQueen to Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood to George Clooney, Pink to David Beckham – the iconic Triumph motorbike will be celebrated by all thanks to a new attraction opened in Hinckley, Leicester. The Triumph Factory Visitor Experience is laid out across eight themed zones, aimed at engaging its guests with the story of the historic manufacturer and demonstrating its prowess in design and engineering. Edinburgh-based Studio

Canada’s Méga Parc attraction is to undergo a major steampunk-themed makeover, with a record-breaking gravity coaster travelling through a spokeless Ferris wheel at the heart of the CA$52m (US$41m, €34.6m, £30.8m) redevelopment. Built in Quebec in the 1980s, Méga Parc is the second-largest indoor theme park in Canada. Its overhaul will see the park transformed, with the majority of existing rides replaced and the park to be themed on steampunk

Veteran Walt Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde has revealed his secret to storytelling in theme parks, saying that to successfully utilise an IP, attractions creators must put visitors at the centre of their own immersive fantasy world. Recently celebrating the launch of his latest Disney project – Pandora ‘The World of Avatar’ at Orlando’s Animal Kingdom – Rhode said that creators of attractions based on film IPs such as Avatar or

Plans for a botanic garden sheltered beneath a duo of biomes in the Omani desert have been unveiled by Arup, Grimshaw Architects and Haley Sharpe Design (hsd). The Oman Botanic Garden spans 420 hectares (1,037 acres) on the Arabian Peninsula and consists of two boomerang-shaped glass biomes, a visitor centre and education and research facilities. Located in the north of the country, 35km (22m) from Muscat at the foot of

Artist Asad Raza has created an indoor tennis court with a difference: it sits within a deconsecrated 16th-century church. Rather than an excitable crowd of spectators, players in the San Paolo Converso arena will be surrounded by murals of Saint Paul. Otherwise, though, the space is set up like a typical court – complete with lines, netting, racquets, chairs, a jug of iced jasmine tea and even coaches to practice

Designs for a new gallery dedicated to ancient Egypt have been released by Bolton Museum and exhibition designers Leach Studio. Work is already underway on the £3.8m (€4.3m, US$5m) addition to the museum, in the English town of Bolton, Lancashire, with the venue set to re-open in 2018 following essential roof repairs and electrical works. The Eternal Egypt gallery will showcase Egyptian artefacts, a replica Pharaoh tomb, and explain how

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London has made an unusual acquisition – a section of a former council estate that’s set to be demolished. The piece of the building that the museum has acquired consists of a three-storey maisonette flat, its exterior walkway and sections of concrete stairway, which was part of Robin Hood Gardens in Poplar, East London. It’s being taken apart and will be delivered to

Architecture and design studio Rockwell Group have completed a 6,000 capacity music and arts venue in Washington DC, anchoring a new mile-long neighbourhood along a channel of the Potomac River. Designed in collaboration with developers PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette, The Anthem is a 130,000sq ft (39,624sq m) space dedicated to indie and alternative music as well as conventions, art exhibitions, seminars, banquets and fashion shows. Rockwell Group were inspired

French architect Jean Nouvel has revealed a preview of the 1,050ft (320m) high tapering tower he has designed for New York, with renderings showing the development that will fill a condo with culture. Building work on the project, called 53W53, has reached the 58th floor, and it is already towering over the adjacent Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), which will be incorporated into the new development. New computer visualisations illustrating

American architect and former Disney executive Wing T Chao will receive the Pioneer Award from The International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) for services to entertainment design. The annual award, established in 1996, recognises an individual “who has made an outstanding contribution, achievement and or improvement in the hospitality industry”. Chao worked for Disney for 37 years from 1972, with his roles including vice chair of development for Walt Disney

Plans have been unveiled in China to build the world’s highest planetarium – set to open at the Tibet Museum of Natural Sciences in 2019. Dubbed “the roof of the world”, the museum in the provincial capital of Lhasa, sits 4,000m (13,123ft) above sea level, passing through the three permanent exhibition halls of the Natural Science Museum, the Science Museum and the Cultural Exhibition Hall. It also features a theatre