Hot this week: world's best building, Shigeru Ban interview, Middle East gets air conditioned stadium
This week leisure architecture was celebrated in two high-profile competitions: RIBA’s first International Prize and the Aga Khan Architecture Award. The first is seeking the best building, anywhere in the world, created in the last three years, while the second celebrates projects that exhibit architectural excellence and improve the overall quality of life.
Between them, the two competitions have shortlisted public buildings, housing, schools and hospitals alongside acclaimed leisure buildings including museums, concert halls, sports facilities and hotels – proving the growing impact leisure buildings are having on the public imagination.
CLAD had two big interviews this week, with Pritzker-winning architect Shigeru Ban, who spoke in depth about how he balances his leisure building designs with his humanitarian architecture, and Rachel Haugh, who discussed her practice, SimpsonHaugh and Partners, and their innovative work on phase one of the Battersea Power Station development in London.
Fellow British practice FaulknerBrowns Architects unveiled their planned indoor waterpark project in Coventry, which uses elegant and community-focused design to create a “high octane” and “holistic” type of health and fitness facility inclusive to all.
Inclusivity has also been on the mind of the team at Populous, who this week revealed how they may attract young fans to Tottenham Hotspur’s revamped White Hart Lane by incorporating youth seating areas and creches.
Elsewhere in stadium design, Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum gave the green light to the world’s first fully air-conditioned ground, and a stadium complex designed by Gensler for aspiring MLS franchise Los Angeles FC received council approval.
A number of exciting projects under development in the US advanced this week – including the first public demonstration of Elon Musk’s Hyperloop concept and the announcement that Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) will create designs for this “fifth mode of transport”.
BIG’s design for The Dryline storm barrier and leisure realm in New York also advanced after city mayor Bill de Blasio announced new funding to help the project get off the ground.
In nearby New Jersey, the city of Asbury Park is being brought out of a long-running decline by an all-star team of architects including Chad Oppenheim and Guy Handel.
This week CLAD also reported on a 50m-high sky walk inspired by the flight of a butterfly, a hotel created in a former London courthouse, a colourful revamp of Frank Gehry’s Fondation Louis Vuitton and a star-studded auction to fund a new home for the world's biggest design museum.
For more leisure design and architecture news you can check the CLAD website everyday and follow us on Twitter @CLADglobal.
CLAD week BIG RIBA Dryline Shigeru Ban Asbury Park Populous FaulknerBrowns
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