A hub for recreational sports, wellness and civic engagement has opened in St Louis, Missouri, using a design that shelters it from an interstate highway. Architecture and engineering firm CannonDesign were tasked with creating the new home for the Maryland Heights Community Center to replace a facility no longer fit-for-purpose. The brief called for a destination centre for the community of Maryland Heights, offering a variety of uses and preserving

Danish landscape architects SLA have revealed their final design drawings for the rooftop park set to adorn Bjarke Ingels Group’s (BIG) forthcoming Amager Resource Center – one of the most-anticipated buildings of 2018. The centre, located in an industrial area of Copenhagen, is a waste-to-energy plant with unique public offerings – including a climbing wall on one facade and a 500m+ ski slope down its descending roof. Both the slope

Luxury hotel group Jumeirah has set out plans for an ambitious expansion which will see it enter three new markets during 2018. Jumeirah will open five new resorts during the year, including its first properties in Bahrain, Indonesia and Oman – signalling the group’s intention to enter emerging tourism markets with its luxury offering. The five properties, each featuring large spas, are Jumeirah Royal Saray, Bahrain; Jumeirah Sa’adiyat Island, Abu

Proposals for an open water surf sports lagoon at Sydney Olympic Park have been given the green light by planning chiefs. The artificial wave park – located 25km from the ocean – has been designed by architects MJA Studio in collaboration with the WavePark Group, which will operate the site under its URBN Surf banner. The duo are already developing similar parks in Perth and Melbourne, with each site set

The advent of the sharing economy, the growing prominence of drones and our increasing demand for authentic and memorable experiences are among some of the factors architects must take into account when designing the malls and shopping destinations of tomorrow. That’s the view of Bryan Croeni, Advance Strategy director at global architecture and urban planning giant B+H, who revealed to CLADglobal the practice’s findings into the future of the mall

The world’s largest frame has opened in Dubai, offering a surreal and symbolic perspective of the emirate’s architectural landmarks. The structure, which measures 150m (492ft) high and 93m (305ft) wide, is formed of two towers in Zabeel Park. The towers are connected by a 100sq m (1,076sq ft) bridge located 48 storeys above the ground, from which visitors can observe the surrounding cityscape. At ground level, the resultant rectangle frames

Celebrity personal trainer Steve Halsall has opened a 3,500sq ft (325sq m) boutique health club in a co-living building in north-west London. Enrgym, in Old Oak, Willesden, is free to use for people living in the complex, which has been developed by property company The Collective using a 'co-living' concept described as "a new way to live". The design of the building, created by PLP Architecture, takes the form of

A sinuous waterfront landmark has opened along the lively corniche in Muttrah on the coast of Oman, bringing together commerce and leisure at the nation’s largest harbour. Designed by architects Snøhetta, the Muttrah Fish Market is a hub for the local fishing industry but is also a focal point and destination for both the community and international tourists. Located close to the city’s original fish market, built in 1960, the

Ed Ng and Terence Ngan, the long-time collaborators at the helm of the international design studio AB Concept, have unveiled their first project in London: a luxurious Asian restaurant called Mei Ume. Located within the Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square – formerly the headquarters of the Port of London Authority – the design fuses Eastern and Western heritage. Upon entering Mei Ume – which takes its name

As a new year approaches, CLADglobal brings you our list of some of the most anticipated leisure buildings expected in 2018, from museums and science centres to spas, stadiums and health resorts. V&A Dundee by Kengo Kuma In Scotland, the long-awaited £80m (US$103.7m, €92m) V&A Dundee is set to open before the year’s end as part of the city’s revitalised waterfront. The flagship museum will host major exhibitions, celebrate design

Construction of the new Museum of Ethnography is underway in Budapest, Hungary. Site clearance has begun in Városliget (City Park) and work started on the foundations of the 31,400sq m (338,000sq ft) building, which will be formed by a gradually curving convex volume with an intricate, partly-golden patterned facade and a grass-covered roof. Hungarian architects Napur won an international design competition for the project in May 2016 – overcoming high-profile

Bürgenstock Hotels & Resort Lake Lucerne has opened the final hotel in its portfolio, the Waldhotel Health & Medical Excellence, a medical wellness centre offering physical and mental wellbeing through a ‘Healthy by Nature’ concept. Designed by Italian architect Matteo Thun, the five-star Waldhotel features a team of multidisciplinary physicians, using cardiology, internal medicine, dermatology, orthopaedics, psychosomatics, dentists to nutrition and gastroenterology to treat and prevent health concerns. The physicians

MGallery is expanding its collection, with 32 hotel openings in the next five years, making it the fastest-growing brand within the AccorHotels luxury portfolio. The brand has opened three hotels recently: The Retreat Palm Dubai, the Tarcin Forest Resort & Spa, and the Victory House London Leicester Square. The Retreat Palm Dubai is the first MGallery property in the Middle East and is billed as a 360-degree holistic wellbeing resort.

An eco-friendly resort set on the coast of the Greek island of Rhodes will open in May 2018. Designed by Dimitris Melenos & Partners, the 266-bedroom Gennadi Grand Resort will be part of Lindos Hotel Group, and will focus on experiential travel along with an emphasis on immersive surroundings. Melenos has used a design ethos focusing on simplicity and functionality, with buildings creating small 'neighbourhoods' and internal green courtyards and

Design studio 4a Architekten have completed an aquatics centre embedded into the landscape of the Offenburg Citizens’ Park in the south of Germany. The design of the Stegermatt Centre is characterised by the interplay of architecture and landscape, with expansive roof surfaces, spacious glass façades and atmospheric spatial volumes interlocking with the natural surroundings to emphasise the contrast between the man-made and the natural. The building is divided architecturally into

Throughout 2017, we have been lucky enough to speak to a host of the most innovative, influential and opinionated leisure architects and designers working across the world. Always impassioned, sometimes controversial and never dull, here is our summary of just some of the best CLAD interviews of 2017. CLAD interviews in 2017 Peter Zumthor Creating buildings that inspire love is about more than just arranging and inventing forms, Peter Zumthor

As 2017 draws to an end, CLAD looks back at some of the most significant leisure buildings, both big and small, that have opened this year – from sports stadiums to museums, hotels, theatres and health clubs. No such list can be truly comprehensive of course, so please let us know your own favourite leisure buildings of the year in the comments section below, or on our Facebook and Twitter

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects (SHL) have been commissioned to design a sports and culture campus in Aarhus, Denmark The multi-use community project is a core component of the revitalisation of the city’s western Gellerup district, with local leaders committed to delivering “an inspiring, welcoming and open destination” for residents and 600,000 visitors annually. The sprawling Gellerup Sports and Culture Campus will include an ‘activity house’ for football; climbing and circus

Birmingham is set to be officially announced as the host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games tomorrow (21 December). Multiple reports state a deal between the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), the DCMS and Birmingham City Council has been struck, with a press conference scheduled tomorrow at Perry Bar to be attended by CGF President Louise Martin. Birmingham was the only interested city to submit a bid before the original deadline of

Pritzker laureate Glenn Murcutt and architect Wendy Lewin are designing a museum in the Australian Outback to showcase the world’s greatest public collection of rare opalised fossils from the Age of Dinosaurs. The Australian Opal Centre will be built in the mining town of Lightning Ridge, constructed within a giant void excavated from the earth in 2013. The project is being funded by the New South Wales government, business donations

An international cricket stadium built using local materials and sustainable building practices has opened in Rwanda, with a design inspired by a bouncing ball and the country’s rolling hills. Cricket is Rwanda’s fastest growing sport and has been used as a tool to bring people together in the country, which was torn apart by genocide in 1994. To accommodate the growing demand and the counter the lack of purpose-built facilities,

The foundations have been laid for Santiago Calatrava’s showpiece UAE Pavilion for the Dubai World Expo in 2020. Inspired by a falcon in flight, the four-storey structure will represent the nation to the 25 million visitors expected to attend the architecture festival, which is themed ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’. Displays will showcase the country’s culture, history and development plans. Located in the centre of Dubai’s 200-hectare exhibition zone, the

A US$2.6bn (€2.2bn, £1.9bn) arts and design district in Kowloon, Hong Kong, has reached a major milestone with the completion of the 66-storey mixed-use tower at its heart. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects, the K11 Atelier building is located on the Tsim Sha Tsui harborfront, replacing a long-derelict warehouse terminal that was once integral to Hong Kong’s famous port. It is the high-rise centrepoint of the Victoria Dockside scheme,

The studio of Richard Rogers have been commissioned to design a luxury hotel and residences for hospitality group Mandarin Oriental in the fashionable heart of London’s Mayfair district. Due to open in 2021 between Bond Street and Regent Street on Hanover Square, the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair is described by developer Clivedale London as “an intimate, boutique property”. Architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners – who last year redesigned the entrance

Diébédo Francis Kéré’s acclaimed 2017 Serpentine Pavilion – one of London’s architectural highlights this year – has found a new home in Malaysia. The ILHAM Gallery in Kuala Lumpur has announced it has been able to acquire the popular pavilion “due to the generous donations by our philanthropic friends and supporters”. The structure will be transported to Malaysia early next year, and ILHAM plans to eventually install it in a

Construction will begin next month on a new concert hall in Andermatt, Switzerland, the town chosen by the Swiss as a strategic military outpost for the Second World War, and which is now one of the country’s largest Alpine resorts. The project has been designed by London practice Studio Seilern Architects, who have just received planning permission to create a “world-class concert facility comparable to those in European capitals.” Andermatt

A child-friendly approach to urban planning is a vital part of creating inclusive cities that work better for everyone. That is the conclusion of global architecture and engineering firm Arup, which has published a new report warning that cities risk economic and cultural damage if they fail to address the needs of children aged 17 and under. The authors of ‘Cities Alive: Designing for Urban Childhoods’ argue that children’s ability