Architecture and design news

Bas Smets has designed a cooling water garden for Vitra / Vitra/Julien Lanoo

Bas Smets brings water and wilderness to Vitra

by Liz Terry | 20 Jun 2026

Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra has unveiled a major landscape project designed to improve biodiversity, manage water and increase climate resilience across the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Created by Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets, the new Water Garden soft opened on 17 June during Art Basel and to the public from 18 June. The official launch will take place on 4 July as part of the Vitra Campus Summer Festival. The garden forms the latest phase of a long-term

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Museum founders Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç / ©2026 Refik Anadol Studio

'Data chocolate', dreams made real and artworks shaped by visitors’ emotions: Refik Anadol’s AI art museum launches in Los Angeles

by Magali Robathan | 19 Jun 2026

“For 5,000 years humans have been emotionally moved by artworks, but the relationship has always flowed in one direction,” said Refik Anadol, artist and co-founder of the world’s first AI art museum. “While developing Dataland we asked ourselves, ‘Is it possible for artworks to feel us back?’” Dataland, the Museum of AI Arts, opens on June 20 2026 at the Frank Gehry-designed Grand LA in Downtown Los Angeles. Its inaugural exhibition Machine Dreams: Rainforest, aims to answer Anadol’s question. Co-founded

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London Museum's new site aims to be 'London's shared space in the middle of it all' / Secchi Smith

London Museum reveals 2026 opening date for new Smithfield home

by Magali Robathan | 19 Jun 2026

The London Museum’s new site will open in Smithfield, East London, on 28 November 2026. The new museum, designed by Asif Khan and Stanton Williams, alongside conservation architects Julian Harrap, will tell the story of London and its history, and will also act as a social space for residents and visitors. Items on permanent display will include the vest worn by King Charles I at his execution, Emmeline Pankhurst’s hunger strike medal and Banksy’s Piranhas artwork. The Museum of London

Architecture and design news

Eve Music Hall – the building 'has only fronts' / BIG

BIG unveils Eve Music Hall as Croatia venue nears completion

by Liz Terry | 04 Jun 2026

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has unveiled its design for Eve Music Hall in Čepin, eastern Croatia, as construction progresses towards completion ahead of the opening, which is scheduled for March 2027. The 10,000sq m venue is being developed as a new cultural, entertainment and events destination for the Slavonia region and is BIG's first completed project in Croatia, as well as its first completed music performance venue. Designed to accommodate almost 4,000 guests indoors and up to 25,000 people for

Architecture and design news

(L-R) Brad Shelton, VP of story and creative; Bob Rogers, founder; Carmel Lewis, president; Christian Lachel, chief creative officer; and Matthew Solari, VP of story and creative / BRC Imagination Arts

Bob Rogers hands BRC to long-serving leadership team

by Liz Terry | 04 Jun 2026

Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while remaining actively involved with the company. Ownership has transferred to president Carmel Lewis, chief creative officer Christian Lachel and vice presidents of story and creative, Brad Shelton and Matthew Solari. The move formalises a leadership structure that the company says has been operating in practice for some time. Rogers, who founded BRC 45 years

Architecture and design news

Madrid's Olympic Aquatic Centre is the focus of a major regeneration project / Atlético de Madrid

Work gets underway on Madrid's €800 million leisure complex

by Kath Hudson | 01 Jun 2026

Work is underway in Madrid on one of Europe’s most significant multi-functional complexes, combining sport, entertainment, culture and education.

The €800 million initiative to regenerate the former Olympic Aquatic Centre in the north-east of the city, next to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium, is being led by Barsento – a joint venture between Live Nation Entertainment, Oak View Group and Atlético de Madrid. The project will be developed on a 115-hectare municipal site granted on a

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The property will have a forest shower / Auko

All-inclusive eco-wellness development Auko to open near Vietnam’s Son Doong caves

by Helen Andrews | 28 May 2026

Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing. Van Phu Real Estate Development JSC owns the property, which is set along the Son River in the UNESCO-listed landscape of Phong Nha–Ke Bang National Park. The site borders the world’s largest cave system by volume (38.5 million cubic metres), the Son Doong caves. Guests will be invited to switch off their

Architecture and design news

The 2,800sq m spa has a vitality pool and a 23-metre pool can also be found on the rooftop / Joe Thomas

Four Seasons’ Naples Beach Club opens 2,800sq m Sanctuary spa inspired by indigenous Calusa people

by Helen Andrews | 28 May 2026

Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary, with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s Southwest coast – the Calusa. The spa, which is set across three levels, was created by Champalimaud Design and uses a layered palette of natural materials, soft textures and luminous light to echo Naples’ shoreline. The reception features a hand-painted tile mural created in collaboration with an artisan workshop in

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Puy du Fou has ambitions to build an attraction in the UK / Shutterstock/photofort 77

Universal and Puy du Fou projects point to rise of Oxford–Cambridge corridor

by Liz Terry | 27 May 2026

A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’ planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism investment.

For years, the corridor has been associated primarily with science, technology, housing and university-led economic growth. However, the clustering of large-scale visitor attraction projects along the route of East West Rail suggests the region is evolving

Architecture and design news

The new theatre features Penguins, Sharks and Octopi / © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez, © John Downer Productions Ltd, 2024 Photography Frederique Olivier/JDP © 2012

Shedd Aquarium upgrades its visitor experience with new Immersion Theater

by Liz Terry | 22 May 2026

Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional revenue opportunities.

The attraction has transformed the aquarium’s Phelps Auditorium into a multi-sensory venue combining panoramic projection, environmental effects and interactive technology.