Innovative design can raise awareness of important social and environmental issues in an accessible, fun and persuasive way, according to the designers of VelO2 – an installation that illustrates air pollution through cycling and light. In an exclusive interview with CLAD, Matthias Gmachl, creative director of London based ‘spatial laboratory’ Loop.Ph, said: “If you have a fun, humorous and lighthearted way to introduce ideas, people are generally more open to

New York’s contemporary art museum the Albright-Knox Art Gallery has announced its intention to launch an US$80m (€72m, £55.8m) expansion of its Elmwood Avenue campus, with five high-flying studios in the running to design the project. Allied Works Architecture, Bjarke Ingels Group, OMA, Snøhetta and wHY have all been shortlisted for the tender, with the final selection due in June 2016 and the design phase set to take place in

The organisers of the Dubai Expo 2020 have revealed the three star practices who will design the main pavilions for the event, following a highly competitive international architecture competition. Foster + Partners, Grimshaw Architects and Bjarke Ingels Group have been named winners of the contest – which was held by real estate company Emaar Properties – and will design pavilions themed around mobility, sustainability and opportunity respectively. The studios overcame

Indonesia’s first major museum dedicated to international modern and contemporary art will open its doors in Jakarta in 2017. The brainchild of Indonesian philanthropist and collector Haryanto Adikoesoemo, the multi-million dollar Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (MACAN) is currently under construction. The private institution will house Adikoesoemo’s personal collection built over a quarter-of-a-century, which is being curated by Thomas J. Berghuis – formerly curator of Chinese art

Hauser Wirth and Schimmel – a new Los Angeles arts centre located in a converted flour mill – held its grand opening ceremony yesterday (13 March) with the launch of its inaugural exhibition. Architect Annabelle Selldorf and local studio Creative Space have retrofitted seven interconnected late 19th and early 20th century buildings in the city’s arts district. The result is a 100,000sq ft (9,300sq m) complex featuring galleries, a bar,

A new art museum, dedicated to the art of the people of British Columbia, is about to open its doors in Whistler, Canada. Opening on 12 March, the CA$30m (US$22.6m, €20.5m, £15.9m) Audain Art Museum, designed by Vancouver-based design firm Patkau Architects, sits within a grove of trees and is designed to blend in with its surroundings, with only a single tree having to be removed to build it. Nestled

Construction has begun on a museum and events centre designed by architects Coop Himmelb(l)au for Austrian bread company Backaldrin. The Haus des Brotes (The House of Bread) will be a shimmering, sculptural creation located at the company’s headquarters in Asten, northern Austria. The building – formed of a concrete rectangular base supporting a wooden and steel-clad structure – will contain a customer information centre, events rooms and a two-storey ‘cabinet

James Corner Field Operations have designed a vast glacial installation for the National Building Museum in Washington, which will make visitors feel as though they are walking through an underwater world of ice fields. The urban design, landscape architecture and public realm practice – best-known for their acclaimed work on New York’s High Line – have designed the immersive installation for the museum’s returning Summer Block Party series, which will

A new book devoted to the art of theme park design is to launch on 28 March 2016. Theme Park Design & The Art of Themed Entertainment, aimed at designers, students and theme park fans, brings together a wealth of tips and advice from design experts from Disney, Universal and Merlin’s creative studios, as well as many more. The book promises to be a comprehensive study of experience design in

Danish studio Henning Larsen Architects have been commissioned to create a special cultural pavilion in Rio de Janeiro to celebrate the 2016 Olympic Games. The public pavilion will be located on the world-famous Ipanema Beach with the statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado Mountain providing a dramatic backdrop. The 300sq m (3,200sq ft) installation is intended to provide a destination for cultural exchange between Denmark and Brazil for the

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has invited architects, landscape architects and urban designers to propose designs for a new music-led cultural complex on an island on the Han River. An international architecture competition will be held to select a masterplan for ‘Nodeul Dream Island,’ which will host concerts, festivals, exhibitions and other cultural events. The island, which is currently covered in trees and farm land, is linked to the city either

New images have been released of the ambitious Olympicopolis cultural development planned for London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. A selection of renderings and models show the scheme’s main leisure institutions located on Stratford Waterfront, including a new V&A museum, a Smithsonian gallery and a 600-capacity theatre and hip hop academy. Olympicopolis – which is a legacy project inspired by the successful London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games – has been

Australian developer Lendlease has unveiled plans for a new billion-dollar city precinct for Melbourne, which will have a floating sky park at its heart. Melbourne Quarter will be a 2.5 hectare block in the city’s business district, between the famous Collins and Flinders streets and located close to Zaha Hadid’s mooted vase-inspired mixed-use tower. Alongside offices and residential apartments, many public leisure facilities are planned and over half of the

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

Norwegian architects Snøhetta have today (4 March) launched a solar-powered light installation in Singapore to promote energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. The structure – called Lampshade – is a simple bamboo volume covered with photovoltaic (solar power) cells. It is is filled with intense light during the evenings using solar energy collected during the day. The installation is being displayed at i Light Marina Bay, Asia’s leading sustainable light art

Jean Nouvel’s long-running bid to renovate and expand Geneva’s Museum of Art and History has received what appears to be a fatal blow after his plans were narrowly rejected in a public vote. Despite receiving planning approval and funding, the 131m CHF (US$129m, €120m, £93.4m) project to refresh Marc Camoletti’s 1910 neoclassical landmark faced a local referendum after criticism from campaigners. According to Swiss reports, 54 per cent of voters

The Chicago Shakespeare Theater is expanding its footprint on the city’s iconic Navy Pier, with US$35m (€32.2m, £24.9m) being used to develop a flexible third stage capable of being adapted based on the performance. With audience capacity ranging from 150 to 850 in an enclosed space beneath the domed Skyline Stage area, the theatre, known as The Yard at Shakespeare, will have the capability to project images onto the underside

A spokesperson from Grimshaw Architects has confirmed to Attractions Management that the practice has won an architecture competition to develop a horse theme park in Yeongcheon, South Korea. The firm’s winning scheme, called The Park EverYoung, has been developed in collaboration with South Korean firms NOW Architects, Group Han Associates, Dohwa Engineering and DE Partners. A rendering published online by the The Korea Racing Authority (KRA) shows the 148 hectare

In recent times, CLAD has reported on a glass-bottomed swimming pool suspended between two towers and a glass bridge crossing a canyon. Now, a forthcoming Los Angeles attraction is taking things one step further, with an outdoor glass slide located 1,000ft above the ground. The 45ft Skyslide will link the 70th and 69th floors of the Bank Tower; the tallest building on the west coast of the US. Thrillseekers who

The Wanda Group is to announce a multi-billion dollar investment into the currently under-development Europa City on the outskirts of Paris. The €3.1bn (US$3.5bn, £2.4bn) project – one of the largest ongoing leisure developments on the planet – is reportedly gaining investment from Wanda, China’s largest private property developer, and its owner Wang Jianlin. According to Variety, sources close to Wanda have said the company would confirm its role in

Diners in Holland will soon be able to enjoy a four-course meal in a panoramic domed rail carriage as they are whisked around the country by train. The Panorama Rail restaurant is located across three 1960s carriages, one of which features the glass domed roof. Twice a week, guests will be transported across the country by a 65-year old locomotive in a three-hour round trip that passes through Rotterdam, The

Design Museum Dharavi - a portable museum in one of the world’s largest slums – has opened in Mumbai, India with exhibitions on terracotta pottery and cricket. Spanish artist Jorge Mañes Rubio and art critic Amanda Pinatih have launched the project for an initial two month run to host workshops, exhibitions and cultural events showcasing the skills of local artists and designers in Dharavi – home to more than 1m

The new Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT), designed by British architecture firm AL_A, is entering the final phases of construction along Lisbon’s waterfront. Designed as a new landmark for the city and Portugal, the museum will cross the disciplines of art, architecture and technology with a cultural programme masterminded by Pedro Gadanho, the former curator of architecture and design exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New

FIFA’s World Football Museum will launch this weekend in Zurich as a "playful, emotional voyage of discovery for world football,” the project's managing director has told CLAD. Speaking in an exclusive interview, Stefan Jost said that there is a "positive buzz and a lot of anticipation" around the project, which is part of a larger CHF150m (US$151.1m, €137.7m, £108.6m) development which also includes luxury apartments, a restaurant, a sports bar,

Citizens in Toronto, Canada have taken to the city’s wind-swept beaches to enjoy the 2016 Winter Stations art festival, which features seven creative architectural installations built around existing lifeguard stations. A special competition was held last year to choose the winning designs for the festival, with the only stipulation being that the structures had to be in some way interactive and able to inspire Torontonians to brace the chilly winter

Lanzarote’s Museo Atlantico, Europe’s first underwater art museum, is preparing to open 12 metres below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Divers, snorkelers and visitors in glass-bottomed boats will be able to view crowds of motionless human figures sculpted by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor and carefully fixed to the ocean bed. Schools of fish weave through motionless figures, fixed in time, taking selfies, using tablets and phones and striding

Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter have completed a new home for the Romsdal Folk Museum in Molde, Norway which looks like a pine-clad castle from the pages of a Scandinavian fairytale. The 3,500sq m (36,600sq ft) museum building – which exhibits an extensive collection of Norwegian cultural artefacts and hosts concerts, workshops and lectures – has been officially opened by Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg. Molde is known for its ethereal pine