FIFA, the international governing body for football, is planning to establish a new museum dedicated to the sport as part of an expansion of its Zurich base in Switzerland. Zurich City Council was informed of the proposals on 11 April in a meeting held at FIFA's base, although a design plan will need to receive validation from Zurich Municipal Council. FIFA's executive committee has already agreed to invest approximately CHF180m

A groundbreaking ceremony has been held to mark the start of work on a new USD1.02bn (£634m, EUR774m) stadium in Santa Clara, US - the new home of San Francisco 49ers. The 1.85 million sq ft (171,871sq m) complex will have a seating capacity of around 68,500 and will be able to host a wide range of sports, as well as entertainment events when complete. Due to open in August

Hammersmith and Fulham Council's (HFC) cabinet will consider a progress report into the proposed inclusion of two estates in a major redevelopment of London's Earls Court site. The findings from a recent public consultation and draft terms for the Conditional Land Sale Agreement with developer and landowner Capital and Counties are contained in the report. HFC said that if the project does proceed, it will be centred on a masterplan

The Seri Chenang Resort and Spa will open on the Malaysian island of Langkawi on 30 June. The privately-owned, RM5m (US$1.6m, 1.2m euro, £1m) boutique resort will offer accommodation in six luxury villas and also features a large spa villa. Created by the resort's owner, entrepreneur Dato Zainal Abidin, the design of each villa has been influenced by the architecture of traditional homes from six separate Malaysian states. The individual

Plans for a new AU$25.8m (£16.8m, EUR20.5m, US$26.8m) theatre complex in Bendigo, Australia, have taken a step forward after detailed plans for the scheme were released. Heritage and planning permits have also been lodged by Bendigo Senior Secondary College and the City of Greater Bendigo for the scheme, which will be located at the city's historic gaol site. Y2 Architects are behind the design of the theatre, which incorporate an

Chapter Hotels, the UK-based hospitality operator unveiled in 2010, has announced plans to open its second property within a 19th century former Exeter hospital building on 25 June. The 59-bedroom Magdalen Chapter is to occupy the city's West England Eye Hospital after a sympathetic restoration led by Bath-based architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. Facilities will include The Spa, which will boast four treatment rooms offering massages and mini-treatments from locally-based

A new report has found that Turner Contemporary in Margate, a £17.4m gallery dedicated to the life of artist JMW Turner, has generated £13.8m of value for the Kent economy. The research was published to coincide with the first anniversary of the attraction's launch on 16 April 2011 and also showed that nearly 500,000 people had visited since it opened. David Chipperfield Architects designed the iconic seafront gallery, which was

Helsinki mayor Jussi Pajunen has formally offered financial backing to plans for the establishment of a fourth European Guggenheim museum in the Finnish capital. The news comes as no surprise as Pajunen has been among the most vocal supporters of the project, which is headed jointly by the Helsinki City Council and the Guggenheim Foundation. Pajunen has now outlined a financial package which will see the council provide 2.8m euros

The construction of a new cable car link spanning the River Thames in London has reached its latest milestone with the installation of the 1.1km (0.7-mile) steel cable by Mace. Work has also been completed on the erection of the three main towers that form part of the Emirates Air Line and will allow 34 cabins to cross the river at a height of 90m (295ft). The multi-million pound, Wilkinson

A team from Planit-IE, the Cheshire-based landscape architecture group, has been appointed to design the next stage of a major redevelopment of the Lake District Visitor Centre. The visitor centre - Brockhole - is located on the shores of Lake Windermere and Planit-IE has already worked on creative ideas for land-side works around a jetty opened last year. Among the ideas already raised include a new adventure play area; treetop

Atkins, the UK-based design and engineering consulting firm, has completed the masterplan for a major new world-class healthcare facility in Oman, The Medical City (TMC). TMC is the largest private healthcare infrastructure development in the country and is fronted by Apex Medical Group, with the complex to occupy an 800,000sq m (8.6 million sq ft) site by the Arabian Sea. Facilities will include a 375-bedroom hotel and a spa, although

Singapore-based developer KOP Properties has received planning permission to convert the landmark 10 Trinity Square building in central London into a new luxury development. Work is expected to get underway on the transformation of the Grade II*-listed property during the third quarter of this year, with the Woods Bagot -designed project also involving Beijing, China-based Reignwood Group. A 120-bedroom hotel; a spa; a members' club; 41 serviced residences; a restaurant;

Pod Hotel will open its second location near Grand Central Terminal in New York City, US, in June, which will be modelled on the concept's successful Pod 51 property. The new hotel - Pod 39 - will contain 367 bedrooms ranging from 60-120sq ft (5.6-11.1m) in size and which have been custom-designed to offer comfort and functionality. Unlike the original Pod 51 hotel, Pod 39 will also offer en-suite bathrooms

Xiangshan Hot Spring and Wellness Center, a new US$25m (€19m, £16m) oceanfront spa and 'bathing attraction', is scheduled to open in China in August 2013. Located next to the Hilton Ningbo Xiangshan Resort, the centre is designed by US-based WATG and Thailand-based GOCO Hospitality and will incorporate a 6,000sq m (64,583sq ft) standalone building. The building will house 24 treatment rooms - including two suites and a spa pavilion. Meanwhile,

Construction work has begun on the Ring of Harmony wheel attraction at Shenfu New Town near Fushun, China. The 505ft (153m)-tall attraction will form the centrepiece of Shenfu, an entirely new town being built in the Liaoning province between the cities of Shenyang and Fushun. The wheel has been designed by California, US-based Goddard Group which has also produced part of the master plan for the 10sq km (3.86sq mile)

The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded £4.2m towards the proposed redevelopment of the Palace House site, Newmarket, into the Home of Horseracing National Heritage Centre. Forest Heath District Council (FHDC) is working with the National Horseracing Museum (NHM) to deliver the project, which includes a full restoration of the Palace House Stables. Earlier this year, Cheshire-based Mather and Co confirmed it had been appointed to develop comprehensive interpretation, design and

The Oetker Collection is to expand its portfolio of "masterpiece hotels" with the launch of the new Palais Namaskar Hotel and Spa in Marrakech, Morocco tomorrow (6 April). Built to follow the principles of Feng Shui, the hotel is nestled amid 50,000sq m (538,196sq ft) of scented Balinese-inspired gardens that are complemented by waterfalls and lakes. Facilities include the 650sq m (6,997sq ft) Le Spa Namaskar, which includes four individual

Austria-based Loisium Wine and Spa Resorts will open its second spa hotel in Ehrenhausen, Southern Styria, Austria in June. The 105-bedroom hotel will include a Wine Spa, two wine-themed restaurants and a wine bar. The 1,400sq m (15,000sq ft) spa will have eight treatment cabins - including two couples' suites - a relaxation area, a sauna area with five saunas, heated outdoor pool with experience showers and a fitness zone

Florida, US-based audio-visual integration firm Technomedia Solutions has been appointed by Merlin Entertainments to work on the new Legoland-branded waterpark in Winter Haven. The firm has been awarded the audio-visual systems design-build contract for the waterpark development, which will be located adjacent to Legoland Florida - opened last October. Due to open ahead of this summer, the waterpark will comprise a wave pool; a Build-A-Raft lazy river; tube slides; body

Plans to undertake an "extensive" expansion and renovation of Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, US, have received the approval of the attraction's board of trustees. The H&A Architects -designed project is to form part of a US$45m (£28.2m, EUR33.7m) capital programme currently in its "quiet phase" and which has also included the new Chrysler Museum Glass Studio. Work will commence in July this year and will see 8,000sq

Double Olympic rowing gold medallist James Cracknell will officially launch the £15m SeaCity Museum next week (10 April) as part of Southampton's new Cultural Quarter. The new attraction - housed within the city's former Grade II*-listed Magistrates' Court - has been designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and delivered by Kier Southern. SeaCity Museum comprises two permanent galleries examining Southampton's status as a "Gateway to the World" and its maritime heritage

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) in Sydney has reopened following the completion of a "significant" AU$53m (£34.3m, EUR41.2m, US$55m) redevelopment. Sydney-based Sam Marshall has worked with the New South Wales Government Architect on the design of the new-look attraction, which has added 4,500sq m (43,438sq ft) of space. The expansion has increased MCA's size by nearly 50 per cent and has included three new galleries, a refurbishment of

The new Water Polo Arena, which is to stage men's and women's water polo events during the London 2012 Games, has become one of the last Olympic Park venues to be completed. Built in just 13 months, the 5,000-seat venue's design incorporates a silver-coloured wrap and an inflatable roof. After the Games, it will be dismantled and its elements reused across the UK. The Water Polo Arena is sited to

Laura Ashley has announced plans to open a new boutique hotel as a showcase for the UK-based fashion and homeware brand's products and design services. In its results for the 52 weeks to 28 January, the company confirmed it had acquired a hotel in Hertfordshire last November for £5.8m as part of an expansion of its marketing strategy. Further details about the composition and facility mix of Laura Ashley's new

Olympic swimmer Chris Cook has helped mark the official start of construction work on a new £31m leisure, business support and community facility in the heart of Redcar. Willmott Dixon has been appointed to build the new complex, which has been designed by leisure specialists S&P Architects in collaboration with Plus Three Architecture. A fitness suite and a junior gym will be among the facilities at the development, along with

Work will begin later this year on the US$30m (22m euro, £19m) Ocean Wonders: Sharks! exhibition, the first phase of a US$150m (112m euro, £94m) expansion of the New York Aquarium in New York, US. The 50,000sq ft (4,600sq m) Ocean Wonders exhibit will accommodate 115 species of marine animals, including more than 40 sharks. Housed in an iconic new building and expected to be completed in 2015, the expansion

Titanic Belfast, a new £97m (EUR116.2m, US$154.8m) attraction in Northern Ireland, UK, has opened 100 yards from where the ill-fated liner was launched a century ago. The 14,000sq m (150,695sq ft) building accommodates nine interpretative galleries that will transport visitors back to post-Edwardian Belfast to explore the history of and story behind Titanic. Event Communications has worked on the attraction content of Titanic Belfast, with the nine areas including The