Singapore-based hospitality operator Alila is set to open doors on a new property in China’s Venice: the millennia-old “water town” of Wuzhen. The hotel, which was designed by the architectural firm GOA to reflect the minimalist engineering of Wuzhen’s interwoven waterways and canals, comprises 125 suites and villas positioned around a series of indoor and outdoor pools and courtyards. The resort’s other on-site amenities include a yoga studio, gym, spa,

Odile Decq has led a protest today (25 May) at the Venice Architecture Biennale against discrimination faced by women in architecture, releasing a manifesto urging everyone involved in the industry to “make a vow to uphold fairness, transparency and collaboration.” Architects including Alison Brooks, Toshiko Mori, Jeanne Gang, Francine Houben, Louise Braverman and Manuelle Gautrand were among those in attendance as Decq led a flash mob of over 100 people

Pritzker laureate Alejandro Aravena has reflected on the impact of the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, which he curated, in the run up to the 2018 edition the renowned international exhibition, which opens to the public on Saturday (26 May). Two years ago, Aravena’s Biennale, themed ‘Reporting from the Front’, considered major challenges facing the built environment – from natural disasters to financial constraints, pollution, crime, housing shortages and a scarcity

Alison Brooks, Alejandro Aravena, Wang Shu, Bjarke Ingels, Elizabeth Diller, Rafael Moneo, Peter Zumthor and David Chipperfield and are among the big names participating in the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, it has been announced. Curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, founders of Grafton Architects, have revealed more details about their plans for the 16th iteration of the event, which will be open to the public from Saturday 26 May to

An 18th-century restaurant and cafe in Venice’s historic St Mark’s Square has reopened following a major restoration overseen by Philippe Starck. The Michelin-starred Quadri, owned by restaurateurs the Alajmo family since 2010, has been reinterpreted by the French designer as “a Venetian wonderland of mystery, poetry and magic.” He has worked with local artisans – including glassblowers, carpenters, fabric-makers and art restorers – to recover the building’s original architectural details,

The creation of vibrant and meaningful public spaces will be the focus of the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara have revealed. Meeting the press last week in the Italian city, the duo announced that the 16th International Architecture Exhibition is to be themed ‘Freespace’ and will “celebrate architecture’s proven and enduring contribution to humanity.” Explaining the concept, they said in a statement: “We’re interested in

Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, co-founders of Irish studio Grafton Architects, have been appointed as curators of the 16th Venice International Architecture Exhibition in 2018. The duo – who have just claimed the inaugural RIBA International Prize for the UTEC University campus in Lima, Peru – will expand on the social themes explored by Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena at the 2016 Biennale, focusing on how architecture can be used as

The JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Venice, designed by Matteo Thun & Partners, has won the European Hotel Design of the Year prize. The announcement was made at the European Hotel Design Awards, which took place in a star-packed ceremony last night at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel in London. Matteo Thun and his team created a contemporary resort on the man-made Isola delle Rose island – located

This year’s Pritzker Prize winner, Alejandro Aravena, has told CLAD that architects and developers must do more to improve people’s quality of life when developing built environments. In an interview featured in the new issue of CLADmag, the Chilean architect said that even when people’s basic needs are provided for – such as shelter and warmth – a project has not succeeded unless it creates an environment where people can

Tadao Ando has told CLAD about his design for a new contemporary art museum in Paris which will house the vast collection of billionaire businessman François Pinault. Pinault’s plans to transform the French capital’s historic Bourse de la Commerce into the museum were unveiled in April this year. Ando was selected to work on the project following a previous collaboration with Pinault to renovate Venice’s 17th century Punta della Dogana

Vietnamese architect Vo Trong Nghia has told CLAD that real estate developers must push for green design practices if human beings are to survive and prosper. Nghia – who is best known for his intricate bamboo leisure buildings – said humans have become too disconnected from nature, “causing conflict, wars and the destruction of the planet." “Capitalism always requires development, but development needs a lot of energy,” he said. “If

Much of CLAD’s coverage this week was unsurprisingly centred around the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale. The event is the biggest in the industry’s calendar, and CLAD was there to take a look at this year’s pavilions – exploring different challenges and solutions facing built environments around the world – and to meet some of the most influential architects working in leisure. Among the exhibits that caught our eye were Spain’s

MVRDV co-founder Winy Maas has said architects should do more to instil clarity and purpose into their work. Speaking during the Next Creation forum on urbanism and the development of cities in China at the Venice Architecture Biennale, Maas called for “vagueness to be killed” in architecture. “I think every project should be so radical and clear that it shows what it wants to add to the world and how

The international jury of the 15th Venice architecture Biennale has awarded the Golden Lion award for Best National Participation to Spain, for its pavilion Unfinished. The Spanish exhibition was one of 65 national pavilions at this year’s Biennale. Each engaged with festival curator Alejandro Aravena’s chosen theme Reporting From the Front to show examples of problems facing the built environment in their countries and some suggested solutions to these challenges.

Restaurants of the future could look a lot lighter because of Dutch architects MVRDV’s latest creation: a fully transparent glass kitchen. The installation, called Infinity Kitchen, was created as part of a satellite event for the Venice Architecture Biennale commissioned by Weng Ling of the Beijing Centre for the Arts (BCA). The Infinity Kitchen is a proposal for the next stage of kitchen design. It features completely transparent surfaces, shelves,

Norman Foster has unveiled a full scale prototype for a new droneport to be used to deliver medical supplies and other essential equipment across Africa, and said that the vaulted brick structure could have multiple uses, including for leisure developers. Launching the project at the Venice Architecture Biennale, Foster described the structure as a "high tech mud building". The Droneport, which is the first project to be presented by the

Richard Rogers has warned that the “the erosion of public space by the private market is a really serious problem in cities.” In an interview with CLAD at the launch of the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, where his firm RSHP have an exhibition, Rogers urged architects, developers and the public to “defend our public spaces.” “Leisure space, public space, is at the very root of democracy, and architecture is about

Alejandro Aravena has officially launched the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale by firing a broadside at decision makers and architects who put profit ahead of the public good when creating our built environments. “Banality and mediocrity in architecture are as damaging as not responding to basic needs,” said the Pritzker laureate at this morning’s (26 May) press conference for the festival, which he is curating. “Corporate architects [and developers] are the

DGT Architects have been awarded the Grand Prize 2016 by the French Architects Overseas Organisation (AFEX) for their work on Estonia's new national museum. The studio will collect the award on 26 May in Venice to coincide with the opening of the city’s 15th architecture biennale. DGT won an international competition to design the new home for the Estonian National Museum in Tartu by challenging the competition brief. Instead of

Venetian glassmaking association Fondazione Berengo is to host a retrospective of the work of Zaha Hadid, following the architect's death in March at the age of 65. The exhibition will take place Venice’s neo-Gothic Palazzo Franchetti, close to the Grand Canal, during the city’s architecture Biennale from 28 May to 27 November. Hadid’s accomplishments, including recently-completed structures and projects currently under construction, will be represented in the 500sq m (5,400sq

Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha has been announced as the recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement prize at the 2016 Venice Biennale. Da Rocha – whose landmark leisure buildings in his homeland include the Serra Dourada football stadium in Goiania, and the Clube Atlético Paulistano gymnasium and Brazilian Sculpture Museum in Sao Paolo – was nominated for the award by the biennale's curator, Alejandro Aravena. In a

David Chipperfield Architects have been invited to participate in the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale with a contribution on their museum project in the ruined ancient city of Naqa in Sudan. The festival, curated by Alejandro Aravena, will be themed Reporting from the Front and will focus on the myriad of challenges facing architects around the world. Naqa contains the ruins of a former trading city that once belonged to the

The director of the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, Alejandro Aravena, has revealed that challenges facing the built environment will be the focus of this year’s festival. Aravena, who is the winner of this year's Pritzker Prize, has pledged to curate a show that demonstrates “there is not only a need, but also room for action” in improving the environments where people live, work, interact and relax. “There are several battles

The Italian interior designer and architect Matteo Thun has told CLAD about the challenges he faced in transforming a ruined collection of buildings on a Venetian island into a luxury home for the recently-opened JW Marriott Venice Resort + Spa. Speaking in an exclusive interview in the latest edition of CLADmag, Thun revealed he was drawn to the project by the “fantastic challenge” of creating a contemporary resort while respecting

After a soft opening in March, the Matteo Thun & Partners-designed JW Marriott, Venice held its grand opening this month, along with the debut of its on-site 1,715sq m (18,460sq ft) GOCO Spa. The 250-bedroom hotel is located on its own private island, Isola delle Rose. The historic buildings have been sensitively refurbished by Matteo Thun & Partners to incorporate sustainable, modern and elegant design, the company said. “The main

London-based architectural firm Adjaye Associates have designed a temporary pavilion to house a selection of works at the 56th Venice Art Biennale. The biennial event, which was first held in 1895, is a major contemporary art exhibition showcasing creativity from across the world including art, contemporary dance, architecture, cinema and theatre. The vast exhibition is made up of a central pavilion and the Venetian Arsenale (a complex of shipyards and

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts has soft-opened the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa on the private island Isola delle Rose, with the grand opening celebration planned for 24 June 2015. The hotel is situated 15 minutes by speedboat from Piazza San Marco. Architecture practice Matteo Thun & Partners has been in charge of converting historic buildings into a sustainability-focused 266-key luxury hotel, holiday villas, convention centre and a spa