Architects Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh have created an intricate maze at the heart of Genk’s c-mine arts centre in Belgium, using the ‘age-old’ form of the labyrinth to create a structure exploring space and architecture. The Belgian duo, collectively known as Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, have created ‘Labyrinth’, a sculptural-spatial intervention based on the artists' interest in fundamental architectural typologies. Using unique compositions of wall and void, the labyrinth

“With big projects like this one, there's always going to be controversy,” said Nicolas Moreau, co-founder of Moreau Kusunoki, the Paris-based practice that won the competition to design the Guggenheim Helsinki. Moreau Kusunoki – founded by husband and wife team Nicolas Moreau and Hiroko Kusunoki – were announced as the winners of the Guggenheim Helsinki competition in June. Their design features a series of linked pavilions and a glass-topped 'lighthouse-style'

El Equipo Creativo has completed the interior design for Barcelona restaurant, Disfrutar, giving it a distinctly Mediterranean flavour. Ceramics, in different formats, have been used to give each part of the restaurant – the bar, the kitchen and the patio - its own identity. “The client wanted to transmit naturalness, humility and respect for the history and heritage of the Mediterranean,” said the architects. “In each space it is transformed

Italian architectural practise, Archea Associati, has created a ceramic museum in Liling, China, comprised of a number of vase-like structures. Set for completion later this year, the volumes are arranged in a circular plan and clad in a variety of patterns and colours. The architects say the inspiration was the city’s ceramic heritage and the client’s wish to include various functions on the site, including a museum, a hotel and

Elephants at the Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park at Zoo Zurich, in Switzerland, now have an architecturally designed enclosure, thanks to Markus Schietsch Architekten, who designed an elaborate new habitat. The 73,000sq ft (6,782sq m) enclosure includes shelter within a wood and ETFE geodesic dome, with a glass enclosed swimming pool. A series of open air spaces, with rocky terrain and dense vegetation, are connected to this sheltered habitat. The impressive

A monumental aerial sculpture created by Echelman Studio has been suspended over Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway, bringing art to the city's skies. Commissioned by The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, As If It Were Already Here is the signature contemporary art installation in the Greenway Conservancy’s Public Art Program, running from May until October. Made out of 100 miles of twine, the sculpture soars 600ft (183m) in the air, spanning the

UNStudio have been chosen to design a new city centre theatre in Den Bosch, the Netherlands. The design competition involved the local residents voting for one of two finalists and UNStudio received 57 per cent of the vote, seeing off competition from Rotterdam studio Ector Hoogstad Architects. The Theatre on the Parade will be located on the large and lively public square, which was an important consideration in the design:

McInnes Usher McKnight Architects' (MUMA) “highly-original” extension and refurbishment of Manchester’s Whitworth art gallery has made the shortlist of six for this year's Stirling Prize. It was described by award organisers, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), as “a project for all seasons, where art, nature and architecture combine” which “could be the eulogy for a building which is neither high-key nor overtly fashionable”. The Whitworth reopened on 14

A competition for the development of a 6,000sq m (64,583sq ft) visitor attraction based on the fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen has been launched in Odense, Denmark. Part of a downtown regeneration of Odense, the contest comes two years after an initial contest kicked off on the same site for a ‘House of Fairytales’. Transborder Studio, Rodion Kitaev and London-based Leith Kerr Architecture were named winners of the previous contest,

City dwellers in Melbourne will get to experience the sensation of being in a forest canopy thanks to a new temporary pavilion designed by Amanda Levete’s AL_A studio. It will open in October in the Australian city’s Queen Victoria Gardens as the second edition of the annual MPavilion architecture commission and design event. Built using the latest nautical-engineering technology, a series of carbon-fibre poles that bend and sway in the

The Hong Kong Museum of Art is to close in August for a four-year HK$930m (US$120m, €109m, £78m) renovation, which will nearly double the amount of exhibition space available to the 53-year-old institute. Scheduled to reopen in 2019, the museum’s main exhibition area will be expanded to 10,000sq m (107,600sq ft), with an additional three galleries also being developed, increasing the total number to 10. The re-christened Hong Kong Art

Design Hotels’ latest property aims to offer an authentic and quintessential Italian experience having secured the services of designer Alessandro Agrati. Filario Hotel & Residences is located by Lake Como, in Lezzeno, Italy, and features 21 rooms and apartments, each with their own private terrace. In creating the hotel’s décor, Agrati implemented his signature style of “dressing” interiors with textiles and light and strong-tempered objects. Guestrooms have been designed to

British architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners have won a competition to build a research and conservation facility for the Louvre. The new facility will be built in in Liévin in northern France and will house around 250,000 works of art from more than 60 different French locations. The Musée du Louvre and the Nord-Pas de Calais region announced that RSH+P, known for the British Museum’s new World Conservation and

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

Proposals to regenerate wasteland in the heart of London’s Shoreditch through a mixed-use scheme are being carried forward by developers Hammerson and Ballymore, aided by a phalanx of top designers. The Bishopsgate Goodsyard development would see the creation of the mixed-use complex just a stone’s throw from hipster hangout Brick Lane, comprising 1,356 new homes, offices, 200,000sq ft (18,580sq m) of commercial space, a 2.4 acre public park, plus a

A twisted temporary pavilion from J. Mayer H. is helping the German city of Karlsruhe celebrate the 300th anniversary of its founding. The KA300 pavilion features a large auditorium with a stage and its design is a nod to the strictly geometric, radial layout of the Baroque planned city of Karlsruhe, with the palace as its focal point. Erected in the city's castle gardens, the event pavilion will host concerts,

Herzog and De Meuron’s Triangle Tower – which features a 120-room four-star hotel and panoramic restaurant – is to become Paris’ first skyscraper for more than 40 years after getting the green light from the city council. The controversial pyramid-shaped structure was initially rejected by councillors, but the November 2014 vote was annulled by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo. In the re-run, the project was approved after receiving 87 votes in

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

The team behind an ambitious New York design project to create the ‘world's first underground park’ have turned to Kickstarter to raise US$200,000 (€179,000, £127,000) for technical development for the complex scheme. The US$60m (€53.8m, £38.2m) Lowline project, designed by James Ramsey of Raad Studio, would see the transformation of an abandoned, underground trolley terminal in Manhattan's Lower East Side. It would harness solar power to become a fully-lit public

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

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

Spanish architecture studio SelgasCano’s colourful Serpentine Pavilion in London’s Kensington Gardens is to open this week. It is the fifteenth incarnation of the pavilion commission, with different architects creating a temporary structure outside the Serpentine Gallery every year. The aim is to both celebrate innovative designs in contemporary architecture and provide a space for people to meet and experience live events. Led by husband-and-wife duo José Selgas and Lucía Cano,

A Miami parking garage will feature five unique facades designed by five different architects all to be incorporated into the same plan to turn the facility into an art piece in its own right. Miami Beach real estate developer Dacra has proposed that a team made up of architects Keenan/Riley, Work Architecture Company, Clavel Arquitectos, Nicolas Buffe, and Jürgen Mayer-Hermann – all under the supervision of Terry Riley of the