The Studio Museum in Harlem – an institute promoting the work of artists of African descent – could move from its century-old headquarters, with plans by the architectural team of Adjaye Associates to develop a new US$122m (€110m, £79.1m) home in New York City. The conceptual design for the five-storey museum building by British-Tanzanian architect David Adjaye – which will be submitted to the city’s public design commission on 14

The Sahara desert may not be the most obvious location to build a futuristic ‘vertical city,’ but French architects OXO’s latest design aims to kick sand in the face of such a tough challenge. Comprising eight per cent of the world’s land area, the Sahara is expanding south, forcing many of the four million people who live there to migrate – and so a sustainable city is proposed as a

Planning permission has been granted for a major mixed-use development in Edinburgh, UK, which will see a luxury hotel, 30 restaurants and a multi-screen cinema created. Allan Murray Architects and BDP masterplanned the £850m ($1.3bn, €1.2bn) Edinburgh St James scheme which is located in a World Heritage Site at the Scottish city’s St James Quarter. The five-star hotel, designed by London-based Jestico & Whiles as the centrepiece of the project,

The Vucedol Culture Museum by Radionica Arhitekture has opened its doors to the public after more than a decade of development. It was completed in 2013 but only opened on 30 June. The museum has set up shop at Vucedol on the bank of the river Danube in eastern Croatia, one of Europe’s most important archaeological sites. The HRK179m (US$26.2m, €23.6m, £16.7m) building is made up of a series of

Renzo Piano’s designs for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures are to be realised, after Los Angeles City Council gave the final stamp of approval for the US$300m (€263.5m, £190.4m) development. With planning permission now granted, museum representatives hope to open the facility to the public by 2017. The council voted unanimously 13-0 in the development’s favour, with construction potentially starting by the of this summer. The Academy Museum's architectural

The Museum of London has been awarded £200,000 ($314,453, €281,571) to set up an architectural competition to choose a practice to design its new home at nearby Smithfield Market. The Greater London Authority (GLA) designated the funds as part of its backing for the proposed relocation, on behalf of London’s mayor, Boris Johnson. The museum will now appoint an architect and other consultants to develop the design of the new

Willmott Dixon Interiors have been named winners of a £20m (US$31.5m, €28.2m) contract to fit out London’s Design Museum, which is planning an £80m (US$126m, €113m) move to the former Commonwealth Institute building in Kensington. The Grade II-listed building will become the new home for the Design Museum, which is dedicated to contemporary design and architecture. The interior vision, imagined by British architect John Pawson, will include provision of new

Architect Shigeru Ban’s newly-opened art museum in Japan has been designed to serve as an outside space to be freely used by all – connecting the interior galleries to the surrounding city area. Oita Prefectural Art Museum (OPAM) features a collection of more than 5,000 works by Japanese painters and sculptors, and is touted as a museum of encounters and of the five senses. It is located in the city

Leisure architecture projects from the likes of Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects, BIG and Populous have made the 2015 shortlist for the World Building of the Year. Organised by the World Architecture Festival, 338 projects in total have made the shortlist in a variety of categories, with both major international firms and smaller companies taking their place. There are entries included from 46 countries. Aside from the overall World

Snøhetta has debuted a temporary exhibition at Copenhagen's Danish Architecture Centre, examining the firm’s connection to art, culture and landscape. As part of an exhibition series, World Architecture – Snøhetta opened to the public on 18 June and will run until 27 September 2015. Visitors can look into the process behind Snøhetta’s works, as well as see the new material possibilities brought about by modern technology. The experience offers a

The long-awaited Louvre Abu Dhabi will now open its doors at the end of 2016, according to the president of its sister site in Paris. Speaking at Paris’ Louvre Museum in France, Jean-Luc Martinez said that the US$653m (€512.9m, £404.6m) development on Saadiyat Island would be delayed until the end of next year. Dubai-based construction firm Arabtec Holdings has been tasked with the build, with French architect Jean Nouvel designing

A museum celebrating the Olympic legacy of Brazil will open in Rio de Janeiro in time for next year’s 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. To be built on the Barra da Tijuca, just behind the location of the Athletes' Village, the development will tell the story of the Rio 2016 Games and the wider history of Brazil at the Olympics, Paralympics and Winter Olympics as part of the country’s legacy

After months of secrecy, Washington D.C.’s International Spy Museum has officially revealed plans for a US$162m (€143.2m, £102.1m) move to property developers JBG Companies’ L’Enfant Plaza. Designed by London-based Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners – with design development by Gallagher and Associates’ Washington office – the spy museum is currently seeking funding for the project, with US$65m (€57.4m, £41m) coming from the museum’s owners, US$15m (€13.2m, £9.5m) tentatively coming from

French architecture firm Moreau Kusunoki have been named winners of the Guggenheim Helsinki competition. The €126m (£100m, US$160.5m) museum - titled Lighthouse - would be built on the Helsinki waterfront overlooking South Harbor and formed of Japanese-style pavilions, with a striking lighthouse tower constructed from charred timber and glass. The building's angular pavilions and flared roofs would be connected by an interior street and served by a harbour promenade, while

Foster and Partners, Nouvel and OMA have been shortlisted to design and build the AU$428.3m (US$332.679m, GB£209.84m, €293.893m) Western Australian Museum, along with their respective teams. Foster and Partners, responsible for the British Museum's Great Court, is working with local architects Hames Sharley in a bid led by local contractor John Holland. Ateliers Jean Nouvel, responsible for the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris, is working with local architects Cameron

Following an 11-year campaign to save a heritage theme park in Margate, Kent, UK, Dreamland has finally reopened its doors to the public, reimagined and ready to welcome a new generation of visitors to the vintage attraction. Creative designer Wayne Hemingway MBE is behind the £18m (US$27m, €24m) restoration of the attraction. Hemingway’s specialist area is bringing new life to old concepts, with a focus on the social and affordable

Designer Thomas Heatherwick's transformation of the historic Grain Silo Complex in Cape Town, South Africa, will include a 5-star hotel called The Silo. The hotel will be operator The Royal Portfolio's fifth property, adding to its range of exclusive hotels, lodges and villas in South Africa. The Silo, so named because it is being built in the grain elevator portion of the historic Grain Silo Complex, will be situated directly

German firm GMP Architekten and Spanish architecture firm Nieto Sobejano have been selected to design Guangzhou Museum and Guangzhou Science Museum respectively as part of the Chinese city’s new cultural hub. GMP’s Guangzhou Museum will be located near to the distinctive Canton Tower. The design includes references to the Chigang Pagoda – a famous structure built in 1619 – which lies to the north of the museum near the Pearl

Architects Atelier Alter and Hordor Design Group have collaborated to create the new Qujing Culture Center in Yunnan, China. The museum will house some of China’s oldest and most precious artefacts, including a collection that dates back to the start of life on earth. The building has been designed to create an 'anti-gravity' feel – its huge structural parts are stepped out to mirror the stairs below and balanced on

Architects MVRDV have been chosen to create a new Cultural Cluster in Zaanstad city in the Netherlands, following a design competition. The Zaandstad Cultural Cluster is part of Dutch architect Sjoerd Soeters' urban plan designed to add local character to the inner city with a ‘new Zaan style’, drawing inspiration from traditional Dutch architecture. The 7,500sq m (80,729sq ft) Cultural Cluster will house local cultural institutions, each represented by a

A music library and performance venue in Seoul, South Korea – designed by Moongyu Choi of Ga.a Architects – has opened its doors, with a collection of more than 10,000 vinyls and 3,000 books available. With masterplanning by Choi and interior design by Gensler, the library is made up of large glass panels over two storeys. There is also a surrounding open-air space from which visitors can enjoy the sounds

The OMA-designed Garage Museum of Contemporary Art has launched in Moscow, Russia, with stars including George Lucas, Woody Allen, Miuccia Prada, Stella McCartney, Harvey Weinstein and Karlie Kloss on hand for the opening night. The building will house the gallery founded by Dasha Zhukova – wife of Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich – and becomes the capital city’s first post-Soviet and not-for-profit contemporary art space. Architect Rem Koolhaas and

Work is underway on a £12m (US$18.6m, €16.6m) extension for Tate St Ives in Cornwall, UK. Jamie Fobert Architects has designed a major expansion for the modern art museum which will double its gallery space. As well as 500sq m (5,382 sq ft) more gallery space, the new building will house a collection care suite, where larger works can be handled and looked after. The existing gallery, which opened in

The Long Museum in Shanghai – designed by Atelier Deshaus – has been revealed in stunning new imagery by British architectural photographers Hufton+Crow. Deshaus’ design, which was shortlisted for The Designs of the Year 2015 awards architecture category, has been brought to life in the duo’s imagery. The museum is located next to the Huangpu River, Xuhui District, on a site that was formerly used for coal transportation and its

A new public park at London’s Battersea Power Station development will include industrial furniture in a nod to the site's past, as well as event lawns, festival spaces and terraced gardens running alongside the River Thames. Details of LDA Design’s 24,281sq m (261,360sq ft) park have now been revealed, with planning consent having been granted earlier this year. The architectural practice said its designs combined “industrial references, traditional park features

A beach made from a mishmash of construction materials and an ocean comprised of 750,000 recyclable plastic balls is being created in the heart of Washington, D.C. Brooklyn-based design studio Snarkitecture has created the 10,000sq ft (929sq m) interactive architectural exhibit – the BEACH – for the National Building Museum. It follows in the footsteps of a life-sized maze designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, which was installed in the museum’s

Glenn Howells Architects (GHA) is to design a new building for the English National Ballet in London as part of the development of London City Island. The English National Ballet School will take up residence in its new home in Q3 2018. It will be be located at the heart of the new creative quarter. Spanning 12 acres, the London City Island mixed-use development will include restaurants, shops, spaces for