The US pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai is to be designed by the experiential design and production agency Thinkwell Group and will explore "the exciting future made possible by American innovation, vision, and enterprise". The building will be designed in such a way as to appear to be moving at times and will house exhibits about journeying to Mars, the city of the future and 3D-printed prosthetics and organs. It

New York-based architectural practice Cooper Carry has won this year's Radical Innovation Awards for disruptive ideas in the hospitality sector with its collapsible, modular construction concept called Connectic. The basis of Connectic is a truncated octahedron unit that can be connected to the face of others to create structures that can be reshaped and resized as required. Cooper Carry explained to CLAD that the shape was chosen partly via a

A concept for connecting travellers to remote destinations using defunct rail lines, the world's tallest modular hotel and collapsible modular building units make up the shortlist for this year's Radical Innovation Awards for disruptive ideas in the hospitality sector. The awards, which are conceived to encourage disruptors from around the world to develop ideas for progressing the industry, are now in their 13th year. This year's finalists are Infinite Explorer

Fitness wear and apparel supplier Gymshark has opened its first Gymshark Lifting Club (GSLC), combining a studio and fitness centre with an innovation hub, focusing on employee wellbeing and brand innovation. Working in partnership with design and build company Oktra, the company has transformed a 55,000sq ft former warehouse facility into a complex featuring a large, 20,000sq ft health club and studio space – designed to be "the best in

Honoured this year among the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada's Awards of Excellence in the Innovation in Architecture category, Borden Park Natural Swimming Pool in Edmonton, Alberta, is the first chemical–free public outdoor pool to be built in Canada. The 64,000sq ft (19,500sq m) complex, which includes two pools, a sandy beach and changing rooms, was designed by Toronto-based gh3 architecture. Instead of chlorine or other chemicals for disinfection, Borden

Three concepts have been shortlisted as finalists for the 2018 Radical Innovation Award, a hospitality design award that calls for the “best and brightest” concept ideas. Italian practice Network of Architecture (noa*) have been shortlisted for their striking concept – a hotel designed especially for single or separated parents and their children. With a proposed location in Sirmione, on the south coast of Lake Garda, Le Colline Incantate (the Enchanted

The first foundation stone has been laid to mark the beginning of construction of Hamburg Innovation Port, a 60,000sq m (645,800sq ft) mixed-use development for the city’s inner harbour. Designed by MVRDV, the project connects existing port typologies and office buildings with public leisure spaces, with bridges and walkways linking the amenities. “There is a park, a boulevard, a square, shared spaces and a waterside promenade that invites office workers

Radical Innovation, an annual competition that calls for the “best and brightest” concept ideas in hospitality design, is seeking entries for its 2018 edition. Professionals and students alike are encouraged to submit creative proposals via the Radical Innovation Award website by April 30 to be in with the chance of winning a US$10,000 (€8,100, £7,100) prize and the chance to make their vision a reality. Last year fiver concepts were

Flyers of the future may be able to enjoy a session of yoga, a gym workout or a fine dining restaurant experience during their journey, thanks to a proposed modular system in aircraft cabins. A³, the innovation arm of aerospace giant Airbus, launched the Transpose company – which has since become independent – in 2016, with a mission “to change the way aircraft cabins are manufactured and monetised”. The concept

Construction is underway for a mountaintop retreat in Utah focused on entrepreneurship and innovation. Summit Powder Mountain, near Eden, is a ski village planned by architects and environmental designers Studio Ma to include residences and leisure communities that will host a year-round community of creative professionals and social entrepreneurs. The project is taking shape on a 10,000-acre public site surrounded by ski slopes. The centrepiece of the village will be

Dutch landscape architects West 8 are to develop a 17th century Dutch country estate and royal residence in Soestdijk, it has been announced today (9 June). The Netherlands’ minister of the interior, Roland Plasterk, has revealed that business consortium Made in Holland have succeeded in the bidding war to purchase and redevelop the palace and gardens of Soestdijk Palace. The group wants to transform the historic site into “a platform

A team of engineers in Saudi Arabia has proposed how stadium seats in the near future could be made more sustainably using the fibres of palm trees. A five-member group from Al Faisal University submitted the plan as part of a regional innovation competition established by the Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, which is overseeing the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the country. The team’s method involves using

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has released a new video exploring the architectural inspiration and complex engineering challenges facing its forthcoming branch in Dundee, Scotland. The new film features interviews with the building's architect Kengo Kuma, the executive director of Dundee City Council Mike Galloway and some of the engineers and builders charged with realising the ambitious vision for a cultural landmark capable of reigniting the city’s waterfront. They

The International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) has planned an “unprecedented sharing of expertise, insight and discussion” on the design, development and operation of leisure centres and swimming pools this week. International architects, engineers, government officials and leisure centre operators will converge in Dublin from 9-10 February to discuss topics such as state of the art sports facility design, creating sustainability, future-proofing and encouraging inclusion. Facilities used as

Twenty-five is the magic number for the long-awaited Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation (MOXI), which will launch on the 25 February after receiving US$25m (€23.2m, £19.8m) in capital funding. The project also took more than 25 years to complete, after being first proposed in 1990 when the Children’s Museum of Santa Barbara incorporated as a non-profit organisation. The 25,000sq ft (2,300sq m) MOXI broke ground in 2014. The signature

As it continues to rebuild its identity from the ground up, SeaWorld has announced the formation of Deep Blue Creative – a new team within the company tasked with bringing to life innovative new experiences under its "fun and meaningful" philosophy. Bringing together talent from both within and outside of SeaWorld, Deep Blue Creative is separated into six divisions, each with its own key focus to drive forward business for

A major leisure project has been honoured in the Stellar Design category at the American Institute of Architecture’s (AIA) annual celebration of innovation in architecture. The Technology in Architectural Practice (TAP) Innovation Awards honour designers and researchers who have created new practices and technologies to improve the construction and maintenance of buildings. Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture won the design prize for their masterplan of Astana Expo City 2017,

Three architecture studios have been shortlisted in the design competition to create a Science Island for the Lithuanian city Kaunas. SMAR Architecture Studio, SimpsonHaugh and Partners, and Donghua Chen Studio will now negotiate with Kaunas City Municipality, which will decide the design concept it wants to proceed with. Each of the winners will receive an honorarium of €15,000 (US$16,800, £13,000.) The centrepiece of the 44 acre Science Island – the

The founders of Dutch architecture studio MVRDV believe their project for Rotterdam’s Museum Boijmans van Beuningen offers a new model for how museums can take full advantage of their vast cultural collections. Winy Maas, Nathalie de Vries and Jacob Van Rijs – who are transforming what was an art storage depot into an attraction in its own right – told CLAD that rethinking the art storage facility as something that

British designer Thomas Heatherwick will be presented with a lifetime achievement prize at the 2016 Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards on 22 April. The founder and design director of Heatherwick Studio – which has undertaken diverse projects including the cauldron for the 2012 London Olympics and a Bombay Sapphire gin distillery in Hampshire, UK, and has designed the highly controversial Garden Bridge in London – is being recognised for his “ingenuity,

It’s been another busy week in the world of leisure architecture, design, investment and development, and CLAD has reported on some exciting trends and discoveries which will have big implications for the industry. We covered an important new study into graphene, which found that by using biomimicry this nanometre thin material could be applied in buildings as ‘smart wallpaper’ to generate electricity from waste light or heat, potentially revolutionising how

It won’t be long before living, working and spending our leisure time on floating cities is a normal part of life, according to Koen Olthuis, founder of Waterstudio. “In the next 10 to 15 years, more and more architecture will start to explore the possibilities of floating developments,” Olthuis said, speaking exclusively to CLAD. “It will grow from something that’s a fringe architecture to something that’s mainstream.” Olthuis, a longtime

A new study into how we will live, work and relax a century from now has predicted a future where underwater bubble cities, drone-delivered mobile holiday homes and super skyscrapers are the norm. The SmartThings Future Living Report, commissioned by Samsung SmartThings and authored by a collection of British-based architects, academics and scientists, suggests the way we lead our lives will “will change beyond all recognition” over the course of