An open international architecture competition has been launched to design a future Science City in Egypt. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a major library and cultural centre, has organised the single phase, open contest to receive conceptual designs and masterplans for a 125,000sq m (1.35m sq ft) scientific complex designed to promote scientific knowledge to the public. The city will house interactive science exhibitions, a museum, a planetarium, an observation tower, research

The project architect responsible for Zaha Hadid’s Messner Mountain Museum Corones in Italy has told CLAD that cultural buildings have an important role to play in the reinvigoration of ski resorts. Peter Irmsche, who is interviewed in the latest issue of CLADmag, explained how Hadid’s museum – one of her final completed projects before her untimely death on 31 March this year – has increased the popularity of Italy’s Kronplatz

The Association for the Promotion and Exhibition of the Arts in Lebanon (APEAL) has revealed the shortlist for an architectural design competition to build a new “modern and contemporary” art museum in the heart of Beirut, Lebanon. The contest was open to architects of Lebanese origin from around the globe, and 66 submissions from 16 countries were received. These were whittled down to a final shortlist of 13, who are

Acclaimed artist Cornelia Parker has taken inspiration from the paintings of Edward Hopper and the ominous Bates mansion from Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho to create a large-scale roof garden commission for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. For the fourth year running, the Met has organised a site-specific rooftop exhibit mixing architecture, art and design. The Roof Garden Commission: Cornelia Parker, Transitional Object (PsychoBarn), which opens to the

The founder of design studio Blue Sky Hospitality Henry Chebaane has told CLAD that interior designers should not be afraid of “outside the box” thinking if they are to create livelier and more authentic hotels, bars, restaurants and leisure spaces. Chebaane and his design firm, Blue Sky Hospitality, are known for their creative and unorthodox designs, and have just launched a typically quirky Asian restaurant called Kojawan on the top

The first ever project of pioneering engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel – London’s underwater Thames Tunnel – has this week opened to the public as a new cultural attraction and concert hall. The 19th century tunnel – the first in the world built underwater – is now used as part of the city’s rail network. It was built in 1843 by a teenage Brunel with his father, Marc, to connect the

A floating park designed by Thomas Heatherwick for New York’s Hudson River has overcome a major hurdle after a judge in Manhattan dismissed a lawsuit seeking to halt the project. According to the New York Times, civic group City Club of New York filed the action, claiming the US$130m (€1115.4m, £91.8m) project was not transparent, had not been subjected to enough public scrutiny, and should face a new environmental review.

Kengo Kuma architects have unveiled their latest completed project: an angular wooden cultural centre near the Japanese Alps in snowy Nagano prefecture. The project was commissioned to coincide with a new high-speed railway line connecting the small city of Iiyama to the Hokuriku region on Japan’s main island. Both openings have been planned to revive the city's economic prospects. Kuma’s building is formed of three volumes: two events halls for

While the Smithsonian is stalling on plans to move to London’s Olympicopolis site, the British Museum is looking at the possibility of a satellite site at the upcoming cultural hub. For the Washington-based Smithsonian, which has 19 affiliates in the US, uncertainty over costs to open a new 3,750sq m (40,300sq ft) satellite facility within the new cultural quarter on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has delayed a final decision.

A controversial restoration of an ancient Spanish castle has been awarded an international architecture prize, despite being lambasted by a national heritage group as “lamentable”. Spanish studio Carquero Arquitectura’s modernist reinterpretation and renovation of Matrera Castle was the Popular Choice winner at the Architizer A+ Awards, which promotes and celebrates “meaningful architecture”. The 1,000 year-old stricture, which was falling into ruin, was propped up by a white cuboid structure, formed

The board of the Serpentine Galleries in London – famous for organising the architectural Serpentine Pavilion programme – has announced the appointment of entrepreneur Yana Peel as the organisation’s new CEO, in place of departing director Julia Peyton-Jones. Peel, previously a trustee at the galleries, is the co-founder of the Outset Contemporary Art Fund and CEO of live debate forum Intelligence Squared. In her new role, she will work alongside

Ground has broken on the latest project of Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron: a new home for the National Library of Israel. The new building – which will replace the library’s current 1950s home, described as “outdated and barely serviceable” – is located in Jerusalem’s National District adjacent to Israel’s parliament building. When it opens in 2020, it will protect, preserve and showcase the country’s cultural and intellectual books,

Beijing-based innovators MAD Architects have designed a flowing, translucent installation for the 2016 Milan Design Week in the famous courtyard of the city’s university. The sculptural piece, called Invisible Border, forms a rippling canopy descending across the Cortile d’Onore courtyard from a loggia to the ground, establishing a shelter for people to gather, socialise and contemplate their surroundings. “Architects usually create borders by defining spaces – what is inside and

Daniel Libeskind yesterday (11 April) publicly revealed for the first time that he has been developing a Kurdistan Museum in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region. The Polish American architect spoke out about the secretive, long-gestating project during an appearance at Bloomberg Design Week in San Francisco. The project was commissioned by the prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani – who approached Libeskind seven years ago

Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto has designed an immersive installation called Forest of Light for Milan Design Week. A darkened space is illuminated by towering cones of light that respond to visitors’ movements. Fog and specially-composed sounds add an atmospheric effect, and mirrored walls have been installed to create the illusion of an infinite landscape, where the conical spotlights form countless abstract trees. “People meander through this forest, as if lured

The Center for Architecture in Portland, Oregon, is to launch the first major US exhibition on international architecture studio Snøhetta and their work around the world. Named Snøhetta: People, Process, Projects, the exhibition will explore the practice's culture and design philosophy and follows on from a similar event held last year at the Danish Architecture Centre in Copenhagen. It will be launched on 17 April 2016 to kick off Design

Four young American entrepreneurs are building a unique, crowdsourced ski resort on Utah’s Powder Mountain with arts and culture at its core. The collective, called Summit, are overseeing the construction of a new ski village on the site of a mountainside ranch, which will feature restaurants, cafés, artisan stores and artists’ workshops. The village will also house the headquarters of the Summit Series community – a movement formed by the

Dutch exhibition designers Kossmann.dejong have created a show celebrating the “spectacular” interior designs of the Amsterdam School of architecture in the early 20th century. The exhibition, called Living in the Amsterdam School: Designing for the Interior 1910-1930, will open in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam tomorrow (9 April). The Amsterdam School – which grew out of international Expressionist architecture – is famous internationally for the progressive buildings its followers produced,

Dutch architects MVRDV have announced an eye-catching temporary installation for Rotterdam: a giant staircase leading from the plaza outside the city’s central train station to the top of an adjacent historic building. Called The Stairs, the 29m (95ft) tall, 57m (187ft) long installation will be open from 16 May to 12 June 2016. It has been commissioned as part of an event called Rotterdam celebrates the city, which marks the

The development of the new Western Australian Museum building in Perth has reached a significant milestone, with a design team led by international architects OMA now in negotiations to oversee the project. Multi-disciplinary practice Hassell and British constructors Brookfield Multiplex have joined Rem Koolhaas’ studio to design and build the museum, which will house the state’s scientific and cultural collections. The design team overcame competition from firms including Foster +

An expensive and long-awaited cultural centre and metro station created by French architects Patrick Berger and Jacques Anziutti on the site of a historic Paris marketplace has been officially unveiled. The design at Les Halles is known as the Canopy due to its enormous umbrella-like glass roof, which comprises 18,000 pieces of glass supported by 7,000 tonnes of steel. Construction on the €1bn (US$1.42bn, £806.7m) project, funded by the City

The Park, a brand new entertainment district in Nevada, offers visitors a new way to soak up the famous Las Vegas Strip, according to developer MGM Resorts International. The Park, which opened on 4 April and cost US$100m (€88m, £71m), is a dining and entertainment zone located in landscaped gardens beside the 20,000-seat T-Mobile arena. The pedestrianised area offers a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the busy Strip.

For their latest project – a 20,000-capacity indoor multipurpose arena – global architects Populous had to “out-Vegas Las Vegas.” That’s the view of studio principal Kurt Amundsen, who has talked in detail about the creation of the high-profile T-Mobile Arena, which opens to the public in the US city on Wednesday (6 April). The US$375m (€329.5m, £263m) venue will become the region's largest indoor sports and entertainment venue and has

The UK’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has revealed new details of its biggest ever international collaboration: a design museum in Shenzhen, China, created by Japanese architecture studio Maki & Associates. The new museum, called Design Society, is scheduled to open in early 2017 within a larger cultural complex called the Sea World Culture and Arts Centre. The V&A has now announced it will curate a special gallery devoted to

The residents of a luxury apartment building in London will be able to enjoy their very own exclusive David Bailey art gallery, as the worlds of leisure, fashion and high-end property collide. Development company Frogmore & Galliard Homes have said the permanent gallery – located at The Chilterns development in the inner-city Marylebone area – is the first in the city to be located within a private luxury apartment building.

Artist Bruce Munro has created a gigantic art installation at the foot of Uluru in Australia, using 50,000 solar-powered flowers to create a sea of colour at the cultural landmark. The vast field of light, which opens on 1 April, is the latest of Munro’s public light works; he has also done similar installations at London’s V&A Museum and at locations across the UK, US and Mexico. During the nights,

British architect David Adjaye is collaborating with an energy company, a team of top international artists and the City of Newark to create a 30ft high ‘Art Wall’ for the US metropolis. The project is designed to beautify the protective façade of an electrical switching station in the city’s Fairmount Heights community, which is operated by the Public Service Enterprise Group. It will create construction jobs, provide opportunities for artists