Image: Populous are behind the project's design Chicago Cubs and the City of Mesa have held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction work on a new baseball stadium and spring training facility in Arizona, US. Populous are behind the plans for the US$99m (EUR81m, £64m) scheme, which was given the unanimous backing of Mesa voters in 2010 and includes a refurbished Riverview Park. The 15,000-seat stadium will

A new cultural centre has been unveiled by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) after transforming a derelict building next to the capital's Olympic Park. The Hackney Wick Fish Island Cultural Centre is known as The White Building and will bring together thousands of people through artistic, educational and community activities. Facilities at the former print works include event space for community events; studio space for artists; and a café

Image: AEW Architects designed the new museum A £35m project that includes the construction of a new museum in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, is set to receive the green light when it goes before the local authority this week (18 July). The scheme has been recommended for approval and is to be undertaken in two phases, with the first involving stabilising the cliffs at a site to the south of Clifftown Parade

Image: The new i360 tower overlooking Brighton Marks Barfield's plans for a new 175m (574ft) tower attraction in Brighton, UK, have been given a boost after a £15m (US$23m, EUR19m) loan was agreed by the local authority. Brighton and Hove City Council's decision comes after a two-month risk assessment of the loan plan, with the funding to be borrowed under principles laid down in localism. The loan will come from

Image: Point Yamu will overlook Phang Nga Bay Como Hotels and Resorts has announced the detailed design concept for the Point Yamu resort in Phuket, Thailand - Italian architect and designer Paola Navone 's first hospitality scheme. The beachside development is owned by Christina Ong and is due to launch in mid 2013, with facilities to include Como Shambhala Retreat with eight treatment rooms. Como Hotels and Resorts is working

Image: The new spa features a vintage chic theme The world's first spa themed and designed on Japan's Hello Kitty character has opened at the Town Center Jumeirah shopping mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Sharaf Retail director Fatima Sharaf heads the new 1,850sq ft (172sq m) Hello Kitty Beauty Spa, which hopes to appeal to both high-end and leisure clientèle and is the first character-branded spa in the Middle

Image: A hotel is planned as part of the complex AECOM Technology Corporation has signed a US$27.85m (EUR22.7m, £17.9m) contract to work on the King Khalid Medical City development in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The agreement will see the firm provide architecture, engineering design and production services for the project, with completion currently scheduled for within five years. AECOM will lead a team of regional companies as part of its work

Image: How the proposed new stadium will look Plans for the construction of a new stadium on land next to the University of West England campus at Frenchay, Bristol, have been recommended for approval by the local authority. Bristol Rovers Football Club is working with the university to deliver the Arturus Architects -designed project, which will be discussed by South Gloucestershire Council on 19 July. The scheme is centred around

Image: The museum will be located in Philadelphia The American Revolution Center (ARC) has secured US$10m (EUR8.2m, £6.5m) from the Oneida Indian Nation towards Philadelphia's new Museum of the American Revolution. It comes a month after the non-profit organisation unveiled architectural designs for the new museum, which have been drawn up by New York-based Robert AM Stern Architects. Located near the Independence Hall and Liberty Bell, the 100,000sq ft (9,290sq

Image: The visitor centre will open in autumn 2013 English Heritage has announced that contractor Vinci Construction UK has now moved on site to start work on a £27m transformation of the visitor facilities at Stonehenge, UK. A new visitor centre designed by Denton Corker Marshall is to be built at Airman's Corner, which is 1.5 miles (2.4km) west of the prehistoric landmark and World Heritage Site. Haley Sharpe Design

Image: The £2.9m venue is set to open next month The new £2.9m Parklea Community Sports Facility in Port Glasgow is in line for its official opening next month (August) after the development achieved practical completion. S&P Architects have worked on the scheme - one of five phases in a wider £6.5m project - as lead consultant and designer after being appointed by Inverclyde Council. Barr Construction has also worked

Image: Castle Island – one of the proposed zones A groundbreaking event is to take place on 21 July in order to mark the start of construction work at Adventure World Warsaw - a new theme park at Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland. The development of the 240-hectare (593-acre) attraction is intended to provide Poland with a comparable experience to other European theme parks, such as Europa-Park in Rust, Germany. Companies involved

Image: A spa will open at the resort in September InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort - a new 197-bedroom property overlooking the South China Sea - has opened on the Son Tra Peninsula near Da Nang, Vietnam. Bensley Design Studios has been responsible for the new resort's architectural, interior and landscape design, which has taken Hanoi-based owner Sun Group six years to develop. A spa spanning approximately 1,360sq m (14,639sq

Image: Two 50m swimming pools are proposed A contract has been awarded for the design, build and financing of a new high-performance complex in Toronto, Canada, to be used at the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games. PCL Aquatics Centre 2012 - incorporating PCL Construction, NORR and Counsilman-Hunsaker - has been appointed by Infrastructure Ontario to lead the project following a procurement process. The complex will house the Aquatics Centre and

Image: Kickstarter helped fund New York's +Pool Kickstarter, the world's largest crowd-funding platform for creative projects, has announced that UK-based proposals will be able to take advantage of the service from autumn 2012. The concept is currently restricted to US-based proposals but has now confirmed on Twitter that " people in the UK will be able to launch projects on Kickstarter starting this autumn ". According to Kickstarter, it has

Image: The new £6.9m Novium museum is now open Author Kate Mosse has helped celebrate the official opening of The Novium - a new £6.9m museum developed around the remains of a Roman bath house in Chichester, West Sussex. An official launch event was held on 4 July, before the heritage attraction was unveiled to the public on 8 July. The building has been designed by Keith Williams Architects. The

Image: The NFM includes FootballPlus experiences The National Football Museum (NFM) - an attraction exploring Britain's cultural heritage through football - has opened at its new location within Manchester's iconic Urbis building. Formerly located at Preston's Deepdale stadium, the new visitor destination in the centre of Manchester has taken two years to develop and aims to provide a "unique experience". Mather and Co and Patton Heritage worked on the creation

Image: Gourock's new-look outdoor swimming pool Inverclyde Council has opened Gourock's 103-year-old outdoor swimming pool, following the completion of an extensive £1.8m refurbishment of the facility. Work included the construction of new changing areas and modern pool facilities, as well as the addition of a glass-fronted gym with 65 pieces of equipment and a functional training area. The new gym features equipment from Pulse Fitness, Anytime Leisure and Star Trac.

Image: The British Museum's Citi Money Gallery The British Museum has announced the opening of its new Citi Money Gallery, following a major refurbishment of the space housing the institution's extensive money collection. First opened in 1997, the gallery now incorporates two thematic approaches on either side - the first exploring the issuance of money and the second looking at its cultural significance. Among the firms to work on the

Image: The new museum complex in central Warsaw The new Museum of the History of Polish Jews (MHPJ) - currently being built in the heart of Warsaw and due to open in the second half of 2013 - has secured two major donations. A US$7m (EUR5.7m, £4.5m) grant has been received from the US-based Taube and Koret Foundations, which will go towards the creation of the museum's Core Exhibition. Meanwhile,

Swiss co-operative the Migros Group has unveiled its new high-end health and spa club brand, Elements. Designed speci_ cally for the German market, Elements clubs will measure up to 5,000sq m, including spa and hammam or swimming pool. Eight sites are already in the pipeline, with the first set to open in Munich at the beginning of 2013. The remaining seven clubs will open later in 2013: three further sites

The club has been launched under the new Pure Club Med Gym brand, a concept designed to offer members additional comfort and services. The new club has a top-end, contemporary feel, and was designed by the architectural firm Studio Marc Hertrich & Nicolas Adnet. It operates in a similar way to a private members' club, with a cap of 2,000 members. Facilities at the 1,300sq m club include a gym

Image: Dubai is bidding to host the 2020 World Expo HOK has been appointed to lead the design team responsible for drawing up a masterplan for the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) bid to host the 2020 World Expo in Dubai. Populous, Arup and Thinkwell will work along with the architecture and design consulting firm in preparing a masterplan for the proposed Expo site at Dubai Trade Centre-Jebel Ali. Thinkwell has

Image: How the new-look Westpac Stadium will look The Wellington Regional Stadium Trust has unveiled its new masterplan for the multi-million dollar redevelopment of the New Zealand capital's Westpac Stadium. Populous, the global architectural practice which was involved in the venue's original design, has been involved with drawing up proposals for the new phased scheme. According to the trust, Westpac Stadium faces challenges from Dunedin's new Forsyth Barr Stadium ;

The Shard, a new £2bn (US$3.1bn, EUR2.5bn) mixed-use development designed by Renzo Piano, has become one of Europe's tallest buildings after its official opening in London, UK. Dignitaries such as HRH Prince Andrew and His Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor Al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar, attended the inauguration event yesterday (5 July). A spectacular laser and lightshow marked the opening of The Shard, which was designed in

Image: The consortium has completed the purchase A Malaysia-based consortium including SP Setia, Sime Darby Property and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), has closed a £400m deal for London's Battersea Power Station site. The joint venture was named as the preferred bidder for the iconic former industrial site last month after securing an exclusivity agreement with administrators from Ernst and Young. Battersea Project Holding Company has now been formed as

Image: France rugby's current Stade de France home The French Rugby Federation (FFR) has announced plans for a new 82,000-seat stadium to be built on the site of a former racecourse in Ris-Orangis - 25km (16 miles) south of Paris. A FFR steering committee unanimously backed a bid from the City of Ris-Orangis, the town of Evry Essonne Centre and the General Council of Essonne for the project. The proposed