The founders of Dutch architecture studio MVRDV have today (12 April) added five new partners as part of a management reshuffle intended to nurture the practice’s “intellectual and creative continuity, organisational growth and stability.” Frans de Witte, Fokke Moerel, Jeroen Zuidgeest, Wenchian Shi and Jan Knikker join founding trio Winy Maas, Nathalie de Vries and Jacob van Rijs as partners. As part of the reshuffle, the studio – which has

The philosophy of feng shui has inspired an Issy les Moulineaux-based swimming pool, sports and wellbeing centre designed by French architecture practice Mikou Studio. The centre, located in the southern suburbs of Paris and known as Piscine du Fort, is clad in an wave-like double skin, with open and accessible façades that use rounded windows and skylights to filter in daylight. Design features are carefully positioned to create a sense

Populous – the architects behind the London 2012 Olympic Stadium – have appointed ex-Informa chief executive Peter Rigby as co-chair. Rigby joins existing chair Rod Sheard, who is the founder of the studio, in overseeing its business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He spent 30 years at the multinational in a leadership capacity. During his tenure, the company increased its market capitalisation to £3bn (US$4.3bn, €3.8bn). In

Danish practice Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects have broken ground on an art gallery and clubhouse in southern China, built in the centre of a lake. The building, located in the mountainous district of Gao Yao to the west of China’s third-largest city, Guangzhou, will be a 3,160sq m pavilion for a new development of villas at the base of the mountain. The studio collaborated with a Feng Shui master to

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

Chinese developer Dalian Wanda Group has opened a five-star mountainside hotel within its 5.3sq km (2sq mile) international resort in Yunnan province. Beijing architects Office for Architecture + Design (OAD) designed the hotel – the first operated under the Wanda Vista brand – drawing inspiration from the lush surrounding forests of Xishuangbanna prefecture and the traditional architecture of the region. Stone foundations, curving wooden roofs, peacock motifs, simple courtyards and

The work of the late Mark Fisher has been realised with the opening of Stufish Entertainment Architect’s Dai Show Theatre in Xishuangbanna, China. Fisher, who died in 2013, drew the initial concept designs for the Dai Show Theatre, which hosts a permanent 75-minute acrobatic water display created by show producers Dragone. Key to the Xishuangbanna’s cultural offering, the 19,500sq m (209,900sq ft) theatre is inspired by the natural and cultural

Image: CSC will be the new home of Endeavour California Science Center (CSC) has said it is now close to the halfway point in its fundraising for a planned new Air and Space Center, following the receipt of a "transformational gift". The Mr and Mrs Samuel Oschin Family Foundation has provided the donation, which has taken the US attraction closer to its EndeavourLA campaign target of US$200m (EUR157m, £127m). As