Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) have claimed the Japan Sports Council are withholding payment for the studio’s design for the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo unless the architects give up the copyright to the designs and sign a confidentiality clause. The revelations – confirmed to CLAD by the architects – mark the latest escalation in an increasingly bitter fallout between ZHA and the JSC over the decision to drop the architects

On the back of successful events in Sydney, Berlin and Lyon, London will welcome a new international light festival when Lumiere kicks off this evening (14 January). Taking place until 17 January, Lumiere London will showcase renowned artists from across the world, with the event expected to draw thousands of visitors to the UK capital. Installations for the event have been spread across the city in 30 prime locations, including

The Viceroy Hotel Group will open a “mischievous, provocative and rebellious” hotel in San Francisco which is designed to celebrate the city’s tradition of counter culture. Hotel Zeppelin will be located in a renovated hotel building near the city’s Union Square when it opens in Q1 2016. Seattle studio Dawson Design Associates have been appointed to design the interiors, which Viceroy said will “foster innovation, collaboration and an inspirational experience

The US has taken first place in the updated World Design Rankings, which rates countries based on the number of awards won by their citizens in international arts, architecture and design competitions. The rankings aim to promote global design culture through advocating good design and highlighting the design potential of countries worldwide. The list is based on the aggregated scores of participants from 2010 to the present day. At the

The Museum of London has officially started its search for an architect to design its proposed new home inside a vacant Victorian market. Design competition organiser Malcolm Reading Consultants has been appointed to lead the search. A two-stage contest will begin in February 2016. A panel will be selected to create a shortlist and the winning architect will be announced by the end of Q2 2016. The museum and the

The glass viewing pod for a vertical cable car billed as “the world’s tallest moving observation attraction” was completed yesterday (13 January) on the UK’s Brighton beach. The 162m (531ft) tall British Airways i360, conceived and designed by Marks Barfield Architects – creators of the London Eye – has now entered the final construction phase before opening in late Q2 2016. The final piece of glass has now been fixed

Alejandro Aravena of Chile has been selected as the 2016 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate. The Pritzker Prize – widely regarded as architecture's highest accolade – honours a living architect or architects “whose built work demonstrates a combination of talent, vision, and commitment, and who has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment.” Since 2001, Aravena has been executive director of the Santiago-based studio Elemental. The firm,

In an exclusive interview with CLAD, New York-based designer Clodagh has revealed her inspiration for the design of the Six Senses Douro Valley resort, which recently opened in Portugal. The resort and spa – the first to be operated by Six Senses in Europe – is located in a 22-acre, 19th century vineyard set within a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Speaking in the latest issue of CLADmag, Clodagh said the

Spanish artist Jorge Mañes Rubio has revealed he is creating a portable design museum for one of the world’s largest slums. The idea for the project – being developed in collaboration with urban research and action collective (URBZ) and art critic Amanda Pinatih – came after Rubio visited the Mumbai district Dharavi, and was inspired by the nomadic workers and craftsmen who live and work there. The area – featured

Dramatic drone footage of the ongoing construction of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium has been released. The short film shows workers installing the structure's first 70ft (21m) high steel truss, which will support the unique retractable roof of the HOK-designed stadium.

A German architecture firm, an Austrian artist and a Sharjah-based development company in the UAE have joined forces to open a butterfly-themed landscape park. Al Noor Island, located in Sharjah’s Khalid Lagoon, has been developed by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) to “redefine the very meaning of an Arab city”. The culture and leisure park – which was officially opened by Sharjah's ruler, Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed

British architecture firm Flanagan Lawrence have won a design competition to renovate a 1970s Polish theatre with their vision for an “acoustically optimised outdoor performance space.” The studio have proposed the installation of a curving roof canopy of inflatable panels, which will envelop the stage and auditorium of the 2,500-capacity outdoor Summer Theatre in the city of Szczecin’s Kasprowicza Park. “The real inspiration from our point of view was to

The city government of the Taiwanese city of Tainan will unveil a design partner for a NT$1.7bn (£34.5m, US$50m, €46m) baseball development at the end of the month. A tender process for the 25,000-capacity arena opened last October, with the deadline set for 15 January. The architect chosen to work on the project will then be announced on 28 January. International standard baseball facilities, an electronic scoreboard and a total

National Football League (NFL) franchise the St Louis Rams has been granted relocation to Los Angeles after a decisive vote by the league’s board. The Rams will return to the city for the start of the 2016 season, with its new US$1.86bn (£1.3bn, €1.69bn) stadium in Inglewood due to open in 2019. The 80,000-capacity ground, located at Hollywood Park, will form part of a new mixed-use development designed by architects

The Well – a new three-storey, 10,500sq m (113,000sq ft) spa complex just outside Oslo – has opened to the public. Located in Kolbotn, 11 miles (17km) south of the capital, the privately-owned spa, billed as the largest in Norway, has been designed to transport guests to different spa cultures from around the world. Austrian spa design and equipment manufacturer Thermarium conceptualised and designed the wet spa, pool and treatment

The recently-completed Shanghai Tower, designed by Global architecture firm Gensler, has been officially recognised as the world’s second-tallest building. Located in Shanghai's Pudong business district, the 632m (2,000ft) spiralling structure – which contains a hotel, cultural facilities, a six-storey retail zone and an observation deck – has been designed to symbolise China’s global emergence and is now the tallest building in the country. According to the Council on Tall Buildings

Gareth Hoskins, one of leisure architecture’s brightest stars, has died at the age of 48 following a heart attack. The founder and MD of Glasgow-based Hoskins Architects passed away on Saturday 9 January. According to reports, he suffered the attack during a fencing match the weekend before and was being kept in an induced coma. The architect – awarded an OBE in 2010 for his services to architecture – was

New research published by the University of Warwick in England suggests that urban architecture may have a far greater impact on our wellbeing than previously thought. While many studies have linked an abundance of green space with physical and mental wellbeing, new evidence suggests that the cohesion of architecture and design in our every day environments plays an equally important role in health and happiness. Using Scenic-Or-Not – a website

The world of architecture will hold its collective breath at 10am Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday 13 January, as the 2016 winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize is announced. The prize – widely regarded as architecture's highest accolade – honours a living architect or architects “whose built work demonstrates a combination of talent, vision, and commitment, and who has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment.”

A Canadian beer brand has assembled a custom-built ice rink on the rooftop of a 32-storey building in downtown Toronto. Molson Canadian – a subsidiary of the Molson Coors Brewing Company – has created the unique venue to celebrate ice hockey; Canada’s national winter sport. As part of the brand’s longstanding #anythingforhockey media campaign and competition, hockey fans were asked in December to share stories, images and videos over social

Marriott International is preparing to open a luxury hotel in Minsk, Belarus within a wider sports and leisure complex developed by the investment fund of Qatar's Ministry of Defence. The five-star Minsk Marriott Hotel will be located alongside a 4,500 capacity sports arena and a health club featuring a gym, wellness centre and spa. The complex, called the Falcon Club, has been designed by Belarusian studio Varabyeu Partners – who

In an exclusive interview with CLAD, one of the architects behind the hotly-anticipated Shanghai Planetarium has revealed new details about the project’s futuristic design. When it is completed in 2018, the 38,000sq m (409,000sq ft) development – a part of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum in the city’s new Linglang district – will explore the mysteries of space, celebrate the history of Chinese astronomy and reflect the future ambitions

Californian architecture practice Nardi Associates have unveiled renderings for a mixed-use tower in downtown Los Angeles designed as “a giant urban tree”. Situated on the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street in the district of South Park, the Olympic Tower is visualised as a 60-storey structure featuring an open-air atrium and vertical gardens created by a combination of real vegetation and digitised landscape images projected by LED displays. According

AFL Architects have been appointed to design an education-focused football training centre in Shanghai – potentially one of several facilities being lined up for development in South China. The Manchester-based architects have teamed up with the Shanghai-based Kehua Football Training & Development to complete the project, which will include an academy, technologically-advanced pitches and community facilities. Talking exclusively to CLAD, AFL director Phil Osborne said the firm was moving from

Greece’s Miraggio Thermal Spa Resort is set to open in May of this year in Halkidiki, with a 3,000sq m (32,291sq ft) Myrthia Thermal Spa, and plans for a medical wellness section to be added in 2017. Owned by Med Sea Health, the resort is designed by Greek architecture firm DLP, owned by Michel De Landtsheer and Eleni Pletsa, and will feature 300 bedrooms and suites, 48 with private pools.

The high-profile development of Panama’s Amador Causeway has taken another step forward, with construction underway on a sweeping 32 acre leisure complex designed like a bird. The Harpy Eagle – the country’s national symbol – is the inspiration for the wing-like structure of the Panama Center for Events and Performing Arts, which will contain a 240,000sq ft (22,000sq m) interior banqueting hall reflecting the rainforest canopies that are the bird’s

The developers of a Californian museum dedicated to Armenian American culture have selected a local architecture firm to oversee the project. Alajajian Marcoosi Architects have unveiled their concept for the 1.7 acre complex in the city of Glendale, which will include an outdoor plaza and peace garden. The proposals show the museum – envisioned as a cultural campus to educate the public on the Armenian American story and cultural diversity