The Madeira Story Centre in Funchal, Madeira, has been forced to close due to the heavy flooding on the island. The site, the island's first visitor centre, features exhibition spaces housed in a number of buildings and include a storyline of João Gonçalves Zarco's discovery of the Madeiran archipelago in 1418. The attraction was opened in 2005 by Blandy Group at a cost of around €6.4m (£4.5m. US$8.5m). The construction

Work has begun on a AUD$25m (£14.3m, US$22.4m, €16.5m) project to reconnect the city with the beach in Surfers Paradise on Australia's Gold Coast. Funded by AUD$20m (£11.5m, US$18m, €13.2m) from the Gold Coast City Council and AUD$5m (£2.9m, US$4.5m, €3.3m) from the Queensland State Government, the Surfers Paradise Foreshore Masterplan is part of a AUD$90m (£51.5m, US$80.8m, €59.4m) 'economic stimulus' package to improve infrastructure in the city and create

Merseyside-based developer Langtree has started work a £3.7m scheme to transform Liverpool's derelict International Garden Festival site, more than a quarter of a century after it first opened. The proposed restoration of the site, which has received investment from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), is set to take 12 months to complete and will help to create a major new visitor attraction. Landscape architects Planit have helped to draw

The 878-room JW Marriott Hotel Los Angeles - a cornerstone of the city's US$2.5bn (£1.6bn, €1.84bn) L.A. LIVE sports, residential and entertainment district - has opened. The 4m sq ft property, which plans to be LEED-certified, shares space with the 123-room Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles and The Ritz-Carlton Residences in a 54-storey tower designed by Gensler. One of the tallest mix-use buildings in downtown Los Angeles and situated opposite the Los

London's Olympic organisers have been given the green light by Greenwich Council to use the Royal Artillery Barracks and the O2 Arena as host venues during the 2012 Games. The Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich will stage Olympic and Paralympic shooting events, as well as the Paralympic archery competition. Meanwhile, the O2 Arena will host gymnastics, basketball and wheelchair basketball. Plans submitted by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) in partnership

Plans for the transformation of an "unpopular" waterfront site in Bournemouth, Dorset, have taken a step forward after the local authority agreed a timetable for the scheme. A range of ideas for the redevelopment of the town's IMAX building are set to be considered by Bournemouth Borough Council (BBC) after it completed the acquisition of the property earlier this month. Proposals put forward by members of the public - including

Ross Sanders, the founder of pub company Urban & Country Leisure (UCL), is to open a night club in London called "DIU". The entrepreneur has raised £2m in funding for the new venture, which will be run as a separate entity to the UCL estate. Located on Greek Street in the capital's Soho district, the club is scheduled to open in March. The interior of the club has been designed

Property company Frogmore has been given the green light to develop a new 80-bedroom hotel in central London, which will be run by restaurant operator D&D London as part of a 35-year lease agreement. Plans for the 72,000sq ft (6,689sq m) property, which were drawn up by Allies and Morrison, were approved by the London Borough of Islington and include a bar and grill and a rooftop restaurant and bar

London-based design company Seymourpowell has revealed designs for its new vertical airship concept, which could transport passengers from London to New York in 37 hours. According to the company, its vision for the Aircruise is based on the premise that 'slow is the new fast' and would provide an environmentally-sustainable mode of transport powered by solar energy and lifted by hydrogen. Capable of accommodating 100 passengers, initial plans for Aircruise

Major improvements are set to be carried out to the area surrounding the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool as part of a new £6m programme of work due to start in March. The junction of Mount Pleasant and Hope Street will undergo renovation work to create a new public space in front of the cathedral, which will see Upper Mount Pleasant restricted to buses, taxis and car parking access. Funding has

Ireland-based contractor SOL Golf Course Construction has been appointed to build a new championship links course at US tycoon Donald Trump's £1bn golf resort in Scotland. SOL, which has recently completed a golf course at Lough Erne Golf Club in Ireland, will work alongside Trump International's golf course architect, Martin Hawtree on all aspects of the golfing element of the resort development. Michael O'Leary, managing director of SOL, said: "We

InterContinental Hotels Group has opened what is its first sustainable hotel in Canada and the first of its type in Quebec. The Holiday Inn Express and Suites Saint-Hyacinthe has been built to meet the criteria of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System for its sustainable practices. In addition to featuring a high efficiency energy distribution system, an ultra-insulated building, and LED and low voltage

A new US$6.5m (£4.1m, €4.7m) indoor sports complex could be developed on a 9-acre (3.6-hectare) site in Cleveland, Ohio, US, under plans announced by a local non-profit organisation. Fast Track Cycling (FTC) has secured a real estate purchase option with the City of Cleveland for the construction of the 150,000 sq ft (13,935m) facility, which will boast a 250m wood cycling track and 75,000sq ft (6,968sq m) of turf playing

London mayor Boris Johnson has welcomed plans for £5.5bn redevelopment of Battersea Power Station but called for more work to be done on the scheme to ensure it meets the city's planning strategy. In his report to Wandsworth Council, the mayor advised that parts of the Rafael Viñoly-designed development fail to comply with policies set out in the London Plan, with concerns over a lack of affordable housing and children's

Plans have been unveiled for a new €30m (£26m, US$42m) football stadium in Budapest, Hungary. The 22,000-capacity venue, designed by S.A.M.O architects, will be the new home of the city's Ferencváros Football Club and is scheduled to open in 2012. UK-based Capita Symonds will provide project management, cost management and design services including structures, acoustics, health & safety, m&e and transport planning. The stadium will anchor a larger, €400m (US$560m,

A landscape architect and urban designer selected to lead the regeneration of Oakengates, Shropshire, has outlined plans for the future of the town at a public meeting. Cornwall-based David Orr aims to work in partnership with local residents to develop a masterplan for a "modern and thriving town", following the launch of the Oakengates Town Partnership. Orr plans to include residents, businesses and Telford and Wrekin Council on the development

Penarth Arts and Crafts (PAC), the organisation behind plans for the £3.9m restoration of a Grade II-listed pier pavilion in Penarth, South Wales, has received additional funding from the Vale of Glamorgan Council (VGC). The council has agreed to contribute a £15,000 grant towards the scheme, following a decision by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) last November to award PAC a first-round pass worth £99,600 to help develop detailed proposals

Elstree Golf and Country Club in Hertfordshire will undergo a £2.5m redevelopment after Hertsmere Borough Council approved plans submitted by architects Bell Phillips Kimble. Work on the site will begin in March 2010 and will include the construction of a new two-storey clubhouse incorporating a bar and restaurant, changing facilities, a pro-shop and offices to replace the existing clubhouse. The club’s 30-bay driving range will also be refurbished, with new

A large mixed-use development for La Défense in Paris has been revised, with new architectural practice Foster + Partners driving the scheme. Called Hermitage Plaza and designed by Foster + Partners, the twin tower buildings will take the form of interlocking triangles which face one another and enclose a large public piazza. As the towers rise, they will turn outwards to offer residents sweeping views across the city from large

Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz has reported that award-winning architect Frank Gehry is withdrawing from the Museum of Tolerance and Human Dignity project in Jerusalem. The scheme aims to promote tolerance amongst Jewish populations within Israel, including Ashkenazim, Mizrahim, Ethiopians, Russians, and others, and is being sponsored by the Simon Wiesenthal Foundation, a Jewish human rights organisation. It has attracted controversy because it is being erected on the grounds of an old

Jamie Oliver and New York chef Adam Perry-Lang are to open a new restaurant at One New Change in the City of London. The business will be headed up by restaurant operator, Kevin Bacon. The new venue, situated opposite St. Paul's Cathedral and due to open in October 2010, is as yet un-named and will also have a retail outlet. The One New Change building will also be offering eight

Glasgow's Grand Central Hotel, which was acquired by operator Principal Hayley, in spring 2009, is set to reopen in September, following the completion of a major £20m refurbishment scheme. When complete, the 350,000sq ft (32,516sq m) property will boast 240 bedrooms, a Champagne bar overlooking the city's Central Station, a deli, a restaurant and a bar, as well as 21 meeting rooms and the revamped Grand Ballroom of Glasgow. A

Stoke-on-Trent City Council (STCC) has announced that six design teams have been shortlisted to lead plans for a multi-million pound refurbishment of the city's public squares and streets. Aecom; BDP; Camlin Lonsdale Landscape Architects; Gillespies; Nicholas de Jong Associates and Planit are the firms to be selected by the council to draw up more detailed plans as part of a wider £1.5bn transformation of the area. Covering around 80,000sq m

Work on a new £46.5m regional sports and leisure complex in Plymouth, Devon, could start next month if the appointment of Balfour Beatty as the main contractor is approved by Plymouth City Council (PCC). A report due to go before the council's cabinet on 19 January has recommended that the London-based construction company from a shortlist of five to deliver the new Life Centre, which has been designed by Archial.

A new fitness suite is set to open this month at Ealing Squash and Fitness Club in London, following the completion of a £450,000 scheme to expand the site's existing gym facility. The fitness suite has doubled in size from 1,800sq ft (167.2sq m) to 3,600 sq ft (334.4sq m) after three existing squash courts were converted to create a new two-level facility with free weights zone. Life Fitness has

Multi-media company Thinkwell has conceived and developed the winning entry in an international competition designed to revitalise Seoul Grand Park in South Korea. Seoul Grand Park is a 560-hectare site containing two zoos, The Seoul Museum of Modern Art, the SeoulLand amusement park and a rose garden. The Seoul Metropolitan Government sponsored the competition to gather ideas for improving the public space for citizens and to better position it as

Hotel and restaurant group Whitbread has revealed plans to open its second green Premier Inn hotel and its first low-carbon restaurant. The launches are part of the group's Good Together corporate sustainability programme, which aims to cut carbon emissions by a quarter (26 per cent) by 2020. Whitbread will build a environmentally-friendly, 60-bedroom Premier Inn hotel in burgess Hill, West Sussex. Scheduled to open in Autumn 2010, the hotel has