German architect Volker Staab has beaten 40 international rivals in a competition to expand an iconic art museum in Berlin. He has designed a new 6,700sq m (72,000sq ft) extension for the Bahaus-Archiv and Museum für Gestaltung, which houses the world’s largest collection of crafts and fine arts from the Bahaus artistic movement. His design incorporates a series of underground galleries and a delicate fire-storey glazed tower; described by one

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities has said it is reviving ambitious US$150m (€136m, £97.8m) plans to develop 'the world’s first underwater museum', which will showcase the submerged ancient ruins of Alexandria. Announced by minister of antiquities Mamdouh al-Damaty, the plans have been in the works for more than seven years after the government decided to turn the ruins, which date back to 365 AD, into a tourist attraction. According to Youssef

SITE Santa Fe, one of the most respected contemporary arts venues in the US, will undergo a radical expansion overseen by New York firm SHoP Architects. The museum – which runs year-round exhibitions, artistic residencies and educational programmes to foster avant-garde art – has occupied a former warehouse in the Santa Fe Railyard since its opening in 1995. SHoP’s planned renovation and expansion will dramatically increase SITE’s size. The studio’s

An expert in the field of architecture and heritage has said that Microsoft’s HoloLens will play a huge part in the future of the sector. Speaking at CyArk’s annual summit, Adrian Ferrier – who heads up product development in visual intelligence solutions for California-based mapping company Trimble Navigation – envisioned an exciting future. He said when applied to the world of architecture, engineering and construction, the HoloLens device can extend

Japanese architecture practice Kengo Kuma & Associates has revealed radical designs for the new Museum of Indigenous Knowledge, to be built in Manila in the Philippines. The museum will cover 4,000 years of history, enabling visitors to experience the cultural and religious heritage of the islands’ indigenous peoples, starting from the Neolithic age. The design has turned traditional museum architecture on its head by creating a jungle-inspired building inside an

Scandinavia’s largest library has opened in Aarhus, as the high-profile regeneration of the Danish city’s historic harbour-front continues. The 30,000sq m (323,000sq ft) building, called Dokk1, has been designed by schmidt hammer lassen architects; the international studio responsible for the RIBA award-winning University of Aberdeen New Library. Dokk1's higher levels are contained with a polygonal structure, which the architects intended to create an impression of rotation and movement. The unconventional

The Musée de l'Homme (Museum of Mankind) has reopened in Paris after undergoing a €90m (US$103m, £66.9m) interior redevelopment. The relaunch comes six years after the institution closed and almost ceased to be amid uncertainty about its future under former President Jacques Chirac. The new design by Bordeaux-based Brochet-Lajus-Pueyo, in conjunction with architectural studio Emmanuel Nebout, takes note of the original design, retaining certain elements while increasing entry of natural

The Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) has been commissioned to convert a historic Moscow power station into a brand new venue exhibiting contemporary Russian arts and culture. The firm - which has recently completed work on the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York - will create the new art space for the V-A-C Foundation on a two hectare plot in the Russian capital’s Red October district. The project

The Frank Gehry-designed Fondation Louis Vuitton has been awarded the prize for ‘Best Architecture & Spatial Design’ at the 2015 Leading Culture Destinations Awards in London. The 126,000sq ft (11,705sq m) museum, which houses Vuitton’s private collection, has become a popular Paris attraction since opening in October 2014. The €100m (US$132m, £80m) building won the prize for Gehry’s famous ‘glass cloud’ design. The ceremony, which took place on 9 October

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have designed a new art gallery for a Norwegian sculpture park which will twist across a river below. The firm’s founding partner, Bjarke Ingels, described the design as the group’s “first experiment with social infrastructure – a building that serves as a bridge – or a cultural institution that serves as a piece of infrastructure.” The 1,400sq m (15,000sq ft) museum will be the new centrepoint

The New-York Historical Society, the city’s oldest museum, has commissioned Czech architect Eva Jiricná to create a new permanent gallery to house its 100-strong collection of Tiffany stained glass lamps. Eva Jiricná Architects Limited (EJAL) were initially appointed by the museum to redevelop the masterplan of its fourth level, which houses a collection of art, furniture and artifacts related to New York. They were then commissioned to design the museum’s

Ground has been broken on a US$45m (€40m, £29m) immersive arts facility in Meridian, Mississippi, designed by Gallagher & Associates and dedicated to film, literature, music, art, dance, theatre and visual arts. The 58,500sq ft (5,435sq m) Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience has been designed to be “totally immersive”, according to principal architect Cybelle Jones, who said the plans would incorporate media, hands-on experiences and interactive art. "What is so

Global design firm Forrec is collaborating with BBC Worldwide on plans for fixed attractions based on some of the British broadcaster's most famous brands. Top Gear, CBeebies, Earth and Walking With Dinosaurs – among the BBC's most recognised IPs – have been proposed as candidates for permanent attractions, it was revealed at the Euro Attractions Show (EAS) in Gothenburg, Sweden. Forrec has been hired to deliver a series of prototypes

Vancouver Art Gallery is in line for a radical redevelopment, but only if the Canadian attraction can fund the multi-million dollar cost of the ambitious plans, which will double the institution’s exhibition footprint. The CA$350m (US$267m, €237.8m, £175.7m) plans, designed by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron, feature a wooden exterior, with rectangular stacks – each varying in size – sitting on top of each other. According to the architects,

Muzeiko – the first children’s museum to be built in post-Soviet Eastern Europe – has opened its doors to the public in Sofia, Bulgaria. Following two years of development, the Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership-designed (LHSA+DP) children’s science discovery centre has been conceived as a “journey moving through time and space”. The 35,000sq ft (3,250sq m) facility is set over three storeys. On the bottom floor, children can

US architects ArandaLasch have unveiled plans for a contemporary arts complex and gardens in Bali, envisioned as a place to experience “art within nature”. Revealed at the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial, the Budidesa Art Park – funded by Chinese-Indonesian entrepreneur Budi Tek – comprises a series of art gardens, a museum complex and residences surrounded by rice paddies near the country’s capital of Denpasar. Budidesa will act as a new

The Eden Project has signed a deal to create a new £100m (US$152m, €135m) Eden centre in China. The UK-based educational charity has teamed up with developer China Jinmao Holdings to design and develop an iconic tourism and education project in the city of Qingdao on the east coast. Grimshaw Architects, designers of the original Eden Project in Cornwall, UK, have been appointed to work on the Chinese version. The

London’s Natural History Museum (NHM) is to undergo a multi-million pound transformation of its grounds as part of an overall redevelopment of the popular tourist attraction. Niall McLaughlin Architects, in collaboration with Kim Wilkie, won a competition to redesign the grounds of the London attraction in April 2014. As part of a larger strategy, NHM is adopting "three great narratives", which will guide visitors around the museum based on the

A £215m (US$329m, €296m) extension for London’s Tate Modern will open next year, the gallery’s director has said. The announcement should assuage fears that construction work for the popular visitor attraction was running behind schedule. The designs have been on the table since 2008, and the extension was originally slated to open in time for the capital’s 2012 Olympic Games. The 11-storey addition, designed by acclaimed architecture firm Herzog &

London’s Science museum has set a November deadline for architects to submit plans for its latest development as part of its ongoing five-year £60m (US$93m, €83m) transformation. In 2015, Zaha Hadid and Muf were awarded separate contracts to redevelop the museum’s Maths Gallery and Interactive Gallery respectively. Now the museum is seeking a world-class architect to work on it Exhibition Road entrance, which will welcome more than 3.3 million people

Newcastle-based architects Jane Darbyshire and David Kendall’s (JDDK) long-touted Landscape Discovery Centre and Youth Hostel at Hadrian's Wall in England’s Northumberland National Park is set to be realised after contractors for the scheme agreed cost proposals, with development now underway. The most recent plans for ‘The Sill’ were announced in October 2014, outlining that the project needed at least £11.2m (US$17.9m, €14.3m) to get it off the ground. A Heritage

The architectural team behind director George Lucas’ Museum of Narrative Art have revealed revised renderings of the plans, which have been drawn up to counter a lawsuit filed by green space advocates. Images by Beijing-based MAD architects, which will be officially presented to the City Council this week, show a significantly smaller but similarly-designed version of the lakefront buildings, with more green space for recreational use. Earlier this month, a

The Broad, a new contemporary art museum, has become the latest addition to the Los Angeles cultural sector, with the free-to-visit attraction opening to the public on Sunday (20 September). Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) in collaboration with Gensler, the museum cost US$140m (€123m, £91.6m), with funding coming from billionaire philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, founders of the The Broad Art Foundation. The dramatic honeycomb structure cladding the

Dalian Sunasia Tourism Holding will invest up to C¥5bn (US$785m, €693m, £506m) into a mixed-use waterfront leisure project, after signing a deal with the Chinese government for the development of the Moby Dick Coastal City in Liaoning province. According to an Investment Framework Agreement signed between Dalian Sunasia and the Wafangdian City People’s Government, the project will sit on 730,000sq m (7.85 millionsq ft) of state-owned land. Included will be

Dubai-based developer Meydan has launched a record-breaking project that will bring Dubai the world’s longest indoor ski slope, biggest gym and tallest residential tower among a host of leisure amenities. The 1.2km-long (0.74 miles) indoor ski slope will eclipse the current record holder, the paltry in comparison 400m (1,312ft) slope at the Mall of the Emirates, which opened in 2005. The record-smashing slope will be the centrepiece of the new

The Flight 93 National Memorial Visitor Center has opened to the public in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, remembering those who lost their lives on United flight 93 during the attacks of 9/11. The memorial opened on 10 September – the day before the 14th anniversary of 9/11. The site has a 4,000sq ft (371 sq m) permanent exhibit and Wall of Names dedicated to the passengers and crew who died as they

An open competition to design a museum near the site of the iconic German art and design school Bauhaus has been jointly won by two teams of international architects. The final proposal for the Bauhaus Museum will be developed by Spain-based architects Gonzalez Hinz Zabala with landscape firm Roser Vives de Delas, as well as Young & Ayata and Misako Murata from the US, after their designs were chosen from