China’s latest piece of ‘duplitecture’ – architectural replicas of tourist areas and attractions around the world – will be a CN¥10.8bn (US$1.7bn, €1.3bn, £1bn) recreation of Queenstown in New Zealand, alongside imitations of Davos in Switzerland and a Scottish-style town. The planned ski resort will be built with a “Queenstown-type feel” and will sit near another “mini-Queenstown” which will feature a scenic man-made blue lake, ski fields, a forest train,

Plans for a £500m regeneration project in Birmingham – introducing new leisure facilities, a hotel offering, retail space and offices – have moved a step further ahead after a constructor was chosen to begin enabling work on the first phase of the project this autumn. Wolverhampton-based firm Carillion has been elected to work on the 17-acre Paradise Circus mixed-use scheme, which is being developed by Paradise Circus General Partner: a

Plans for the Philadelphia 76ers to create a new practice facility and office building along the waterfront of Camden, New Jersey, have taken a step forward, after the US state's Economic Development Authority (EDA) approved US$82m (€60.5m, £48.8m) in tax breaks for the team. The agreement will see instalments of US$8.2m (€6m, £4.8m) paid out annually over a 10-year period to cover state corporate business taxes, on the premise that

The construction of the new Minnesota Vikings stadium has been given a further boost after the venue was awarded the 2018 NFL Super Bowl. Expected to be complete by 2016, the Vikings Stadium has been designed by architects HKS, along with a Vikings Stadium Consortium made up of Studio Hive, Studio Five & Lawal Scott Erickson Architects. The 65,000-capacity stadium, thought to be running up a cost of around US$1bn

London’s mini-Holland concept, pioneered by the London Cycling Campaign (LCC), has shifted up a gear since its inception. Now, with further formulated plans, the three bid winning boroughs have had architectural figureheads appointed to each project. Supported by Transport for London (TFL), London mayor Boris Johnson and several prominent architects, three outer London boroughs are being given £30m (US$50m, €37m) each to revolutionise their cycling habits. Each of the boroughs

Dubai city officials and architect Fernando Donis are at loggerheads following the unveiling of plans for a unique new attraction in Dubai. Donis, a Mexican architect, won the Dubai Municipality competition to design a new public monument in 2009 and now, five years later, new images have been released of the redesigned structure. The “Dubai Frame” will be 150m (492ft) tall and 100m (328ft) wide, with a walkway between the

A safari park set to replace Dubai Zoo is scheduled for a 2015 opening, according to park officials. Plans to replace Dubai’s current zoo have been on the cards for nearly a decade, with plans going back as far as early 2005, while the project has been scrutinised, reworked and revised for a method of relocating around 1,000 animals from their existing habitats. Dubai Municipality is carrying out the 120

The United States Tennis Association is seeking to further its development of the sport following plans to introduce a US$60m (€44.1m, £35.7m) training complex in Orlando, Florida. The 63-acre project will be based in the Lake Nona area, supplying USTA and its members with the use of over 100 courts. The centre will house the USTA's Community Tennis and Player Development divisions, which are primarily based in New York. The

Plans for a US$477m (€350.5m, £284.5m) downtown arena for the Sacramento Kings basketball team are likely to soon become a reality, following the City Council’s recent decision to approve development plans. The new venue has been designed by architects AECOM and will seat in the region of 18,500 people when completed. Once work gets underway later this year at the Downtown Plaza complex, it is believed that Turner Construction will

Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) has unveiled plans for a 20-year, £50m (US$83m, €61m) expansion of Headingley, in order to safeguard the ground’s status as an international venue. The project, drawn up between the club, Leeds City Council, Leeds Rugby and DLA Architecture, will see the ground’s capacity increased from 17,090 to 20,362 and consist of six phases. Once complete, the stadium will feature a new progressive pavilion, as well

Developer Almacantar, alongside Rafael Viñoly Architects, has gained planning permission for a £450m (US$755m, €554m) mixed use development scheme to be built in London’s Marble Arch. Westminster City Council has approved a bid to demolish the 1967 skyscraper currently standing on the site, with plans to replace it with two new towers, designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, overlooking Hyde Park. The first tower – 17 storeys in height – will

The realisation of a new stadium for Greek football club AEK Athens FC is looking more likely, following positive discussions between its board and parliamentary opposition group Syriza The second largest party in the Greek parliament had originally been opposed to the idea of the Thanassis Kyratsous-designed stadium, but it now appears the group will vote in favour of Article 81, which concerns the building of the new stadium. The

Construction work is progressing on architects Herzog & de Meuro’s new football stadium in Bordeaux, France, with the venue being completed in time for use in the Euro 2016 championships. Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux will provide seating for up to 42,000 spectators, with an expected competition date due in 2015 to provide adequate preparation time for the next European football tournament beginning a year later. The construction of the project

The San Francisco 49ers American football side has released a raft of new details ahead of the scheduled opening of the team’s new US$1.2bn (€881m, £715m) Levi’s Stadium, including a new museum dedicated to the team. As the project nears completion, the team has revealed details of a 20,000sq ft (1,858sq m) 49ers Museum, which will be open daily and will give fans the chance to use a pass-and-kick simulator,

The world’s second richest man, Carlos Slim, is poised to open a four-storey underground aquarium in Mexico City at a cost of approximately MX$250m (US$20m, €14.6m, £11.9m). The 37,700sq ft (3,500sq m) Inbursa Aquarium is home to 5,000 marine animals (eventually to increase to 10,000) and features 230 different species (to increase to 307) of sea creatures, split across twelve different ecological zones through its 48 showrooms and five big

The Atlanta Braves baseball team has moved a step closer to sealing a move to their future home after Cobb County Commissioners gave unanimous approval for American Builders 2017 to operate as construction manager for the new ballpark, set to open in February 2017. American Builders 2017 – a joint venture between Brasfield & Gorie, Mortenson Construction, Barton Malow Company and New South Construction – will oversee the build on

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded a £4.42m (US$7.4m, €5.4m) grant to restore Pitzhanger Manor, West London, to turn it into a tourist attraction. The former home of architect Sir John Soane, will undergo a major redevelopment in a bid to turn the building into a “world class attraction”. The project, led by Ealing Council, will include a full restoration of the manor, upgrading the 1939 art gallery extension

Plans for a €177m (US$240.6m, £143.5m) 17,000-seat addition to Dutch football side Feyenoord’s new ground have been rejected in favour of a brand new 70,000-all seater stadium costing €200m (US$271m, £162m). The newest set of plans – proposed by a consortium of BAM, Eneco Energie and Siemens – would see a brand new 70,000-all seater stadium built at a cost of €200m (US$271m, £162m). Red Kuip – a fan backed

Japanese sports chiefs have green lighted Tokyo’s controversial stadium development for the 2020 Olympic Games. Despite fierce opposition from some of Japan's most prolific architects, including the former Pritzker Prize winner Toyoo Ito, plans for the Tokyo Olympic Stadium have been given the go ahead. The government-affiliated Japan Sport Council have released new design proposals reducing the project's size by more than 20 per cent and cutting the estimated cost

Thomas Heatherwick’s £175m (US$294m, €216m) pedestrian footbridge, spanning from Temple Station to Queen’s Walk on the Southbank in London, has been submitted for planning. After the announcement in December last year that £30m (US$50m, €37m) of government funding would be available for the development as part of the National Infrastructure Plan, the project has continued to gather pace. The bridge is to become a new green space for London and

A row has erupted over David Beckham’s vision for a major football stadium located on the last publicly accessible waterfront in Miami, Florida. The proposed stadium, designed by Arquitectonica and 360 Architecture, is based on an open-air design with an undulating roof and a maximum capacity of 35,000. Despite John Alschuler – Beckham’s real estate advisor – commenting that the stadium would “create jobs and opportunities for local businesses”, the

The Southbank Centre, London, is to receive funding from Arts Council England to carry out part of the much need conservation project across the site. The £16.7m grant will fund the repair and maintenance of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery. Starting in 2015, the project will begin to address an accumulated backlog of £24m worth of repairs. Arts Council England will meet 70 per cent

Niall McLaughlin Architects (NMA) and Purcell have won a competition to build a new national museum for religion and religious art at Auckland Castle, County Durham. Auckland Castle, considered to be the third most historically-significant ecclesiastical complex in Europe, is in the process of being transformed into a major visitor attraction by its owner, businessman and philanthropist, Jonathan Ruffer. Shortlisted for the 2013 Stirling Prize, NMA will be heading up

In an exclusive interview with AM2, Jamie Christon, MD of Chester Zoo, UK, has revealed the masterplan for the attraction’s second wave of expansion which will follow the completion of the zoo’s Islands project in December this year. Islands will open to the public in May 2015. The 111 acre (50 hectare) zoo has earmarked an additional 389 acres (157.4 hectares) of space for its second wave of development. Christon

The Babcock Galleries at The National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard have opened to the public following a £4.5m renovation. The opening coincides with the centenary of the First World War, with the Galleries house to host a new permanent exhibition which explores 100 years of life in the Navy and the personal stories from those who served at sea. The project, led by architects Purcell

Nobu Hospitality – a chain famous for its Michelin-starred sushi, celebrity partners including Robert de Niro, and its glitterati clientele – is opening its first hotel in Europe. The site, located in the Shoreditch area of London, will be built in the chain's signature ‘east meets west’ style. London-based Ben Adams Architects and Californian Studio PCH are collaborating on the overall design of the project. The hotel, currently under construction,

A new £370m mixed-use ‘village’ is to be built in Islington on the site of the former North London Sorting Centre, which has been operated by the Royal Mail since 1904. Developer Sager Group is behind the plans for the 500,000sq ft (46,452sq m) mixed use Islington Square project, which will feature 170,000sq ft (15,794sq m) of retail and leisure space along with 356 residential units. CZWG Architects assisted with