This week culture and the performing arts came into focus on CLADglobal.com, as we learnt about several exciting developing projects.

Dutch architects MVRDV revealed they have received the go ahead for a novel cultural complex in Zaanstad – which will see silhouettes of traditional buildings carved into the exterior – while on the other side of the world, design renderings were released for a Texas concert hall inspired and named after Buddy Holly.

Santiago Calatrava, who has seen a raft of big projects commissioned recently, was named as the designer for the UAE’s cultural pavilion and performance venue at the Dubai 2020 World Expo.

Other big future projects covered by CLAD this week include Zaha Hadid Architects’ plan for a new urban district in Prague, a wellness village in the beautiful forests around Riga, Latvia, and a proposed cable car across Chicago. Meanwhile, back in the here and now, Star Wars creator George Lucas looks set to relocate a planned legacy museum from Chicago because of local opposition to his development.

In hospitality, legendary New York restaurant The Four Seasons is to leave its home of over half a century, with many of its famous furnishings being auctioned off in July. The restaurant won a Design Icon Award at the James Beard Foundation Awards on Monday.

Finally, CLAD covered some exciting developing trends in the world of architecture: the use of virtual reality to guide clients through 3D designs, the emergence of holistic architecture to create healthier buildings and the surprising adoption of cable car pods to host saunas.

.@josefhargrave from @ArupGroup foresight team discusses the need for holistic design https://t.co/oGjIxCsTWG via @cladglobal

— Magaly Caba (@megcaba) May 6, 2016