Week's top news: A mushroom-inspired spa, Paris' parasitic architecture and how 'driverless' cars will transform cities
Here are some of the stories that appeared on CLAD this week, from Apple’s leisure-filled new HQ to the winners of the 2017 Pritzker Prize.
Monday
• Bill Bensley has taken inspiration from an unlikely combination of themes for a new JW Marriott resort in Vietnam. Read here.
• Too many visual renderings of future architectural projects “do not correspond at all to the real world” because of a lack of diversity among the people depicted occupying these buildings, a leading visualiser has said. Read here.
• The famous Middle Eastern folk tales of One Thousand and One Nights are the inspiration behind a lavish dome-topped hotel opening imminently in Doha, Qatar. Read here.
• Design competition organiser Blank Space has partnered with government authorities in New York to seek a feasible long-term strategy for the city’s response to driverless cars. Read here.
Tuesday
• Apple is about to open its new US$5bn (€4.7bn, £4bn) headquarters in April, with the Foster + Partners-designed project in California to include a dedicated visitor centre for tourists and a new theatre named after company co-founder Steve Jobs. Read here.
• Serie A football club AS Roma has moved a step closer to achieving its own stadium after striking a deal with city officials. Read here.
• A joint venture between Canadian studios HCMA Architecture + Design and NFOE et Associés Architectes have won a design competition to create a striking circular aquatics centre in Laval, Quebec. Read here.
Wednesday
• Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta have been selected as the winners of the 2017 Pritzker Architecture Prize. Read here.
• AECOM, the architectural firm behind the Rio 2016 Olympic Park masterplan, have pledged to help the Brazilian government achieve its “legacy goals” despite the widely-publicised pictures showing the development damaged and desolate. Read here.
• Those eagerly anticipating the colonisation of the Moon could be able to get a dose of culture 384,400km away from Earth’s atmosphere, after artists Julio Orto and Joey Cannizzaro proposed The Museum of Contemporary Art on the Moon. Read here.
• The studio of French architect Stephane Malka have unveiled the latest iteration of their ‘parasitic architecture’ concept. Read here.
Thursday
• The Eden Project in Cornwall, England, has been granted planning permission to build a new 109-bedroom on-site hotel. Read here.
• Hyperloop One, the Los Angeles firm racing to realise Elon Musk’s dream for a high-speed transport system powered by magnetic levitation, is considering building a network in India. Read here.
• Canadian architects Lemay have won an international competition to redesign the corniches of Morocco’s Casablanca coast and create a leisure-filled seaside promenade. Read here.
Friday
• British street artist Banksy has returned with his latest politically-minded project: a nine-room hotel located next to the controversial barrier wall separating Israel from the Palestinian territories. Read here.
• A husband-and-wife design team have transformed their own beachfront holiday home into a new resort; the first of a new brand of “ultimate wellbeing destinations.” Read here.
For a quick and comprehensive overview of all our recent stories, take a look at CLAD's Grid View mode.
For more leisure design and architecture news you can check the CLAD website every day and follow us on Twitter @CLADglobal
Architecture design Stephane Malka parasitic architecture Apple Pritzker Prize Rio OlympicsAI firm Midjourney enters wellness with spa, fitness and body scanning concept
Hot spring wellness community Ameyalli sells residences and breaks ground on resort and spa
OMA completes New Museum transformation with landmark expansion and Oberon restaurant
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance, hospitality and public programming. The latest addition, Oberon, extends the visitor experience beyond the gallery, reflecting a growing trend for museums to become all-day destinations.
The New Museum in New York has entered a new chapter with the completion of a major
David Rockwell creates immersive magic destination, The Hand and The Eye
Montana Heritage Center by Cushing Terrell opens after US$107 million investment
Universal launches new theme park model with Kids Resort
'Minor wellness hotels' recorded the strongest growth across top KPIs in 2025, finds RLA Global
Great Barrier Reef attraction set for AU$180 million reinvention
Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere, has architecture by Leach Rhodes Walker and interiors by Bergman Design House.
Marriott International partners with Fitwel for wellness solutions across its residential portfolio
Preidlhof Luxury DolceVita Resort to unveil new spa in February 2027
Places Leisure is working with Roberts Limbrick to build £60m wellness flagship in Basingstoke
Hoshino Resorts opens Kai Kusatsu as it expands the Kai onsen ryokan brand
Qiddiya and Populous share details of Saudi Arabia’s National Tennis Centre
Disney confirms US$30 billion investment programme as it highlights its economic impact
Until combines multiple disciplines at new Canary Wharf club
Sea Lanes opens following a partnership between The Eden Project and Canary Wharf Group
Bas Smets brings water and wilderness to Vitra
Expo 2030 Riyadh will create a permanent global destination
Luxury resort coming to Hunter Valley will have longevity spa
'Data chocolate', dreams made real and artworks shaped by visitors’ emotions: Refik Anadol’s AI art museum launches in Los Angeles
London Museum reveals 2026 opening date for new Smithfield home
BIG unveils Eve Music Hall as Croatia venue nears completion
Bob Rogers hands BRC to long-serving leadership team
Palazzo di Varignana launches family wellbeing and longevity retreat in Emilia Romagna
Anasa Wellness and Spa debuts at Patmos Aktis as it joins Marriott
Design-led Koru Health Club combines high-performance training with recovery
Wellness care hospital opens in Vilnius with innovative spa and hospitality concept
Universal and Puy du Fou projects point to rise of Oxford–Cambridge corridor
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





















