Week's top news: A sauna in the sky, a museum fit for a president and Heatherwick hits back at Garden Bridge critics
Here are some of the stories that appeared on CLAD this week, from Elon Musk’s latest big idea to Peter Zumthor’s extension for Fondation Beyeler in Basel.
Monday
• The committee hoping to bring the Olympic Games to Los Angeles in 2024 has released new renderings of Valley Sports Park – the district that would host several events at the tournament if the city’s bid is successful. Read here.
Tuesday
• Danish architecture studio C.F. Møller have won a commission to design a landmark skyscraper for the city of Västerå, Sweden, featuring a panoramic garden wrapped around the 15th floor. Read here.
• “Endless political wrangling” is responsible for the likely abandonment of London’s Garden Bridge project, its designer Thomas Heatherwick has claimed. Read here.
• US design studios AvroKO and Meyer Davis have won prestigious prizes at the 2017 James Beard Foundation Restaurant Design Awards. Read here.
Wednesday
• Jeanne Gang, the award-winning founder of Studio Gang, talks to CLAD in an exclusive interview, and reveals new details about the American Museum of Natural History. Read here.
• Sports architecture practice Populous have completed the redevelopment of the Warner Stand at the world famous Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. Read here.
• There are more opportunities for leisure architects and designers working in China and Hong Kong than ever before, according to the creative director of Design Shanghai. Read here.
• David Chipperfield has overcome stiff competition to win the high-profile design competition to create a 1,000-capacity concert hall in Edinburgh. Read here.
• Thirty years after it first opened, Center Parcs has unveiled a Forest Spa up in the trees. Read here.
Thursday
• Barack and Michelle Obama, the former president and first lady of the United States, have unveiled the design of the planned Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side. Read here.
• Elon Musk has begun work on yet another city-shaping concept: a network of underground of tunnels that will ease congestion in gridlocked cities. Read here.
• International consulting firm Linser Hospitality has been engaged to develop the extensive health and wellness programming for the Kemeri Park project in Jurmula, Latvia. Read here.
• A team led by landscape architecture studio Grant Associates with WilkinsonEyre has won an international competition to design a 41 hectare Friendship Park in northern China’s first and largest ‘eco city’. Read here.
Friday
• Swiss architect Peter Zumthor has presented his designs for the extension of Renzo Piano’s Fondation Beyeler in Basel. Read here.
• Architecture studio Snøhetta have completed something rather more intimate: a new range of ready-made mobile cabins. Read here.
• Inge Moore and her team at Muza Lab has completed the redesign of the Kanuhura in the Maldives. Read here.
• Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have announced a new breakthrough in the architectural applications of 3D printing, with the design of a system that can produce the basic structure of an entire building. 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
Peter Zumthor Elon Musk David Chipperfiueld Thomas Heatherwick Barack Obama architecture design CLADBIG unveils Eve Music Hall as Croatia venue nears completion
Bob Rogers hands BRC to long-serving leadership team
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
All-inclusive eco-wellness development Auko to open near Vietnam’s Son Doong caves
Shedd Aquarium upgrades its visitor experience with new Immersion Theater
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.
A new pre-show area allows visitors to engage with augmented reality marine animals before entering the
Mandarin Oriental announces standalone Mansions-branded residences for Abu Dhabi
MCR is planning a luxury hotel for London's BT Tower
Joy as a radical act: Yinka Ilori launches solo exhibition celebrating the rebellious power of spreading happiness
Work gets underway on Madrid's €800 million leisure complex
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
Therme Manchester reveals 90:90 strategy – 90 per cent of the UK population within a 90-minute drive of a Therme
Four Seasons’ Naples Beach Club opens 2,800sq m Sanctuary spa inspired by indigenous Calusa people
Orient Express Corinthian to host Ocean Rebirth wellness retreat in collaboration with Guerlain
Famed London nightclub, Tramp, launches Tramp Health
First look: Miraval opens on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia
Hainan Science Museum by Ma Yansong, opens in China
A new science museum has opened to the public in Haikou after attracting more than 350,000 visitors during a four-month soft opening period.
Designed by Ma Yansong and his practice MAD Architects, the Hainan Science Museum is located on the edge of Wuyuan River National Wetland Park and has already recorded peak attendance of more than 5,800 visitors in a single day.
Commissioned by
Zannier Île De Bendor launches with design by Hardel Le Bihan Architectes
Sæl Spa readies for launch in London: “a modern British sanctuary”
Immersive art bathhouse Submersive announces debut location in Austin
Construction begins on regenerative wellness destination The Shenandoah Nature Resort
Royal Caribbean reveals record-breaking cruise ship
V&A East opens in London
David Geffen galleries open at LACMA
New venue The Lands by Capella includes a longevity centre to complement sister hotel Capella Sydney
World of Frozen launches at Disneyland Paris
Pical Resort by Valamar reveals first Croatian spa under the ESPA brand
Mandarin Oriental creates end-to-end Egyptian journey with two new hotels and first-ever luxury river cruise
Designers Mendil + Meyer launch new division called Lām Concepts for strategic wellness projects
Wilderness Bisate in Rwanda reveals brand’s second Sanctuary spa
4a Architekten shares details of wellness extension at Salinarium Bad Dürkheim Thermal Spa
Designed to restore neglected land and renew the identity of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad Sustainable Forests promises a new way of living surrounded by nature. Gensler’s Ian Mulcahay tells us why he thinks the project could become a model for the repair and enhancement of urban centres





















