Universal Studios has broken ground on its largest ever theme park project – a CN¥50bn (US$7.4bn, €6.65bn, £6bn) development set to open in Beijing in 2020. While Disney and Wanda battle for theme park supremacy in China, Universal has now entered the race, with the massive investment to cover 4sq km (2.5sq m) in Tongzhou – an eastern district of Beijing. With ground breaking on the development this week, once

Architecture practice Cebra have unveiled concepts for a new cultural attraction focusing on the historic connection between Denmark, Greenland and the Arctic. The iceberg-esque form, located in the harbour of Danish town Hundested, covers 3,000sq m (32,300sq ft) and will aim to communicate the relationship between the three locations in historic, contemporary and future contexts. Knud Rasmussen – Denmark’s famed polar explorer and researcher – is the inspiration for the

Design and technology consultancy Hirsch & Mann are set to transform everyday pedestrian crossings into playful multi-sensory experiences after winning the 2016 Playable City Award. Artists, designers, architects, technologists and creative practitioners from all over the world were invited to propose distinctive ideas to reuse city infrastructure and utilise smart city technologies “to put people and play at the heart of the future city.” Eight projects out of 81 applications

A major milestone in the construction of Kengo Kuma’s V&A Museum of Design Dundee in Scotland has been reached, with the completion of the upper floor revealing an extensive public area which will house galleries, learning spaces and a restaurant. At the ground floor level V&A Dundee will be formed of two separate buildings located on Dundee’s waterfront. The newly-completed second floor connects these two together, and houses many of

Five years on from its inception, Southend Council is searching for an architect to develop a £49m (US$59.6m, €54m) museum to house the Saxon King’s relics, launching a £1.3m (US$1.6m, €1.44m) bid to find a suitable candidate for the UK project. First touted in 2011, the council is searching for an architect-led design team to create a museum to display the golden relics discovered in the unknown Saxon King’s burial

The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) will celebrate its centenary in 2018 by renovating the RAF Museum in London into “a world-class visitor facility.” Nex–Architecture and Agence Ter Landscape Architects have been commissioned to revamp the historic site, which sits on the edge of the former Hendon Aerodrome in the city’s Colindale area. The airfield was one of the first in the country and was instrumental during the Battle

Dutch architects Mecanoo have taken inspiration from the UK’s Eden Project to propose an expansive experimental garden in the grounds of the Netherlands' Soestdijk Palace. The Dutch government recently launched a competition to redevelop the royal residence and estate, located in the town of Baarn. In response, Mecanoo have partnered with exhibition designers Kossmann.dejong and engineering consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV to develop their vision for an eco-attraction, called Eden Soestdijk. An

Architecture studio WilkinsonEyre have been selected to develop a brand new railway museum in Leicester, UK, after a period of public consultation. The new museum is a partnership between Great Central Railway, Leicester City Council and the York’s National Railway Museum. Located next to the historic railway terminus at Leicester North station, it will house significant locomotives and carriages from the UK’s national collection. Six candidates were in the running

Swiss studios Herzog & de Meuron and Vogt Landscape Architects have won the keenly-contested design competition for the Museum of the 20th Century in Berlin. Over 40 firms – including Sou Fujimoto, Zaha Hadid Architects, David Chipperfield, OMA, Snøhetta and SANAA – were invited to submit their proposals for the site, which will be located within the city’s cultural forum complex. The €200m (US$218.8m, £179.4m) museum will house a number

The saga of George Lucas’ long-running attempt to build a Museum of Narrative Arts in the US has taken another surprising twist, with concept designs released for locations in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Star Wars creator has been trying to establish the museum – which will explore how imagery tells stories from illustration to comics and films – for several years. His ambition to build it on

London’s Science Museum has kicked off the search for a lead designer to create its new London Science City Gallery. Applications are open until 21 November for firms to make their interest known. The selected practice will be responsible for the full coordination of design, engineering and services for the project. The gallery will explore London’s central role in the scientific advances in the 17th and 18th centuries. The exhibition

Newmarket’s £14m (US$17.1m, €15.7m) UK National Horse Racing Museum has opened to the public more than 25 years on from its original inception. Celebrating more than 350 years of sporting history, exhibition designers Mather & Co are behind the plans, which gained Heritage Lottery funding in 2012 worth £4.25m (US$5.1m, €4.7m), with funding also coming from Forest Heath (£1.3m), Suffolk County Council (£1m), the Wellcome Trust and a number of

Kengo Kuma has urged architects and developers to locate new museums in the centre of communities to better connect them with local life. Speaking exclusively to CLAD, the Japanese architect explained that his first priority when designing a new museum is to “pick up an experience of the place.” “The role of architects in the 21st century is to create a link between people and art,” he said. “We should

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) are to build a cultural and research complex for a Unesco World Heritage site in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. The firm have won first prize in the competition to build the Urban Heritage Administration Centre, which will incorporate a permanent exhibition gallery, library, lecture hall, educational and meeting spaces and a scientific institution for conducting field research for ongoing digs in the Wadi Hanifah valley. The 8,780sq

New York studio Selldorf Architects will lead a major upgrade and expansion of art museum and research institution The Frick Collection. Originally housed primarily in the New York residence of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick – who left his vast collection of old master paintings to the institution – the Frick Collection now encompasses several buildings, wings and gardens that have not undergone a significant upgrade in almost

Nicholas Garrison – lead architect for the Statue of Liberty’s new museum on its home of Liberty Island – has said he wants his vision to “inspire people” just as the famous monument has for more than 130 years. The US$70m (€63.7m, £57m) museum, designed to celebrate the Statue of Liberty, will transform Liberty Island into a full-fledged visitor attraction, according to Garrison, who is principal for architecture practice FXFOWLE.

Italian architecture practice Studio Fuksas have completed the largest new building in Rome in over 50 years: a convention hall and hotel nicknamed The Cloud. Opening this month after nearly two decades in development, the New Rome/EUR Convention Hall will host exhibitions and conferences expected to bring in as much as €400m (US$437m, £358m) annually to the city of Rome. Located south of the city’s core, the complex is open

Architecture practice Perkins + Will is leading development for Detroit’s recently announced US$50m (€45.6m, £40.6m) Motown Museum – a 50,000sq ft (4,650sq m) tourist destination dedicated to the music genre. The museum announced on Monday (17 October) a capital campaign to add 40,000sq ft (3,700sq m) to the existing 10,000sq ft (929sq m) space. Planned improvements include new interactive exhibits, a theatre, recording studios and an enlarged museum store. When

Olympic stadiums and facilities should be protected with their own cultural heritage listing, a leading member of the International Association for Sport and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) has argued. Speaking at the Olympic Museum’s new stadium design exhibition in Lausanne, Dr Miranda Kiuri, who is also an architect and researcher at the University of Liege, called on UNESCO to introduce a new listing category for stadiums that have a strong cultural,

The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, India, has inaugurated a new museum dedicated to socialist political leader Jayaprakash Narayan. Shri Akhilesh Yadav declared the JN Interpretation Centre, also known as the Museum of Socialism, open on 11 October – 114 years on from the birth of Narayan, who fought for independence and social reform in India. Designed by architecture studios Archohm and Design Factory India, and constructed by the Lucknow

Ma Yansong and MAD Architects have unveiled their design for a brand new China Philharmonic Hall in Beijing. Located in the bustling business district of Sanlitun next to the multipurpose Beijing Workers Stadium, the building will take the form of a curving 11,600sq m (125,000sq ft) structure covered by a translucent curtain facade. Lush trees and lotus ponds will be installed around the south side of the site in order

Following an extensive renovation, the acclaimed Freemark Abbey winery in California’s Napa Valley has reopened to reveal a total transformation of its century-old stone building, which now houses a high-end restaurant and visitor centre. San Francisco firms SB Architects and BraytonHughes Design Studio led the design of the project, which pays homage to Freemark Abbey’s past while introducing several complementary contemporary features. The original stonework dating from 1886 is highlighted

Lesna in Poland, is set to welcome a “first-of-its-kind” immersive learning experience and conference next month, dubbed by its creators “The College of Extraordinary Experiences”. Taking place between 10 and 13 November, the event brings together some of the most high-profile experience designers in the world to share with delegates how to stage engaging, memorable and extraordinary experiences, using the grand setting of Lesna’s Czocha Castle as the backdrop. “The

This weekend some of the Big Apple’s most architecturally and culturally significant sites will be opened to visitors for the annual Open House New York Weekend, which celebrates the city’s architecture and urban design. Enhanced levels of access will be granted at more than 250 different sites across the five boroughs – from historic to contemporary and from residential to industrial – for ‘tours, talks, and exploration”. A major focus

Design firm Snøhetta will create a strategy to redevelop the 16-acre riverfront campus of The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland, it has been announced today (14 October). Multiple firms, including local studios, will join Snøhetta’s design team to create a long-term masterplan for the site. OMSI is seeking how to best develop its property to enhance its economic and environmental benefit, while highlighting the museum’s role

Malta’s first science centre, a €26m (US$28.7m, £23.5m) investment named Esplora, is fast approaching its official opening date of 28 October. The interactive science centre is located in a former naval hospital in Kalkara. Located in town's Grand Harbour, the new attraction overlooks the historic capital city of Valletta. Esplora, which is supported by the Malta Council for Science and Technology and received €12m (US$13.2m, £10.8m) in funding from the

Ground has been broken on the Santiago Calatrava-designed Dubai skyscraper, set to be the world's tallest when it opens in 2020. The groundbreaking ceremony, which took place this week in Dubai’s Creek Harbour development, marks the start of construction for a building that will top the city’s own Burj Khalifa, giving it the record of world’s tallest tower. Emaar Properties and Dubai Holdings are behind the US$1bn (€910m, £823m) plans,