Google Arts & Culture has partnered with more than 500 cultural institutions to offer 'virtual museum exploration', following the temporary closure of thousands of art galleries and museums during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online platform designed to provide public access to gallery and museum collections across the globe, Google Arts & Culture uses the same technology developed for Google Maps Street View to enable users to 'walk' through world-famous galleries

Google has created a virtual reality tour of the Palace of Versailles, allowing people to explore the architecture, artworks and history of the former home of French royalty wherever they are in the world. The Versailles: The Palace is Yours exhibit takes visitors on a tour of rooms including the Royal Grand Apartments, the Chapel and the Opera. It was created using a technique called photogrammetry, via which 3D models

Entertainment venues need to undergo technological and design upgrades to prepare them for the experience-seeking consumer of 2040, according to research by Euromonitor International. Commerce 2040 - Revolutionary Tech Will Boost Consumer Engagement outlines a vision for how consumers might live, work, shop and play in 20 years' time, exploring how technology could change the different consumer worlds of entertainment venues, home and retail. Consumers are already moving towards demanding

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. In keeping with LA’s sustainability-first and low-risk pitch for the Games, the Valley Sports Park is comprised of temporary facilities combined with existing venues, both set against a backdrop of the Santa

Fitness giant McFit has launched a new Cyberobics ‘concept store’ in Berlin, showcasing the company’s plans to roll out health clubs where “the real and virtual world melt through complete immersion.” Called World of Cyberonics, the €10m (US$10.6m, £8.7m) venue is a showcase for McFit’s line of international virtual-only studios, which it is introducing across Europe. The company’s in-house design team have visualised the space, which combines contemporary architecture with

Wellness in architecture was a key topic at the Global Wellness Summit in Austria last month, as a panel featuring two health and wellbeing specialists from global architecture and engineering firm Arup took the stage to discuss the ways in which building design affects everything from health to mood – and how quickly the space is changing. CLAD editor Liz Terry moderated the panel, which featured Ann Marie Aguilar, who

The developers of 3D digital modelling software VUCITY have designed a new experience to showcase the technology: a virtual reality Top Gear-style challenge. Users sit in a chair, put on an Oculus Rift headset and proceed steer a race car through a virtual reality model of central London that is accurate to within 15cm and includes landmarks such as London Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral and Renzo Piano's Shard. The technology

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