Swiss architect Peter Zumthor has revised his much-discussed design for the new US$600m (€565.5m, £483.2m) home of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). His initial vision for a black organically-shaped structure, inspired by the nearby La Brea tar pits, has changed to something harder-edged and a different colour – with light earthy tones now set to be used for the monolithic facade. According to LA Times, Zumthor presented

Construction has commenced on a new £3.8m (US$4.7m, €4.4m) visitor centre for the famous Yorkshire Sculpture Park; one of northern England’s most popular tourist attractions. The project, located in the city of Wakefield, has been billed by architects Feilden Fowles as “the practice’s most prestigious cultural commission to date.” The park, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, welcomes around 500,000 visitors every year. It hosts permanent and temporary sculptures, including

MAD Architects have unveiled an ambitious plan to reinvigorate seven of Milan’s abandoned and dilapidated railyards into a series of interlinked green parks and new leisure communities. Extensive landscaping runs throughout the project, while new residential, commercial and public developments will be “grafted into the landscape” in the form of MAD’s trademark organic nature-like structures. The railyards will be collated into three main villages formed around a repurposed freight warehouse.

The theme of socially responsible design will be explored during a year-long series of events, talks and installation exhibits in Mexico City – the World Design Capital for 2018. The organisers of the country’s leading architecture platform, Design Week Mexico, revealed the theme during Salone del Mobile Milan, which took place in the Italian city last week. In a statement, the group said: “Mexico City, led by a young and

International architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) have revealed they are designing the largest ever private-sector development in Thailand: a 16-hectare mixed-use development called One Bangkok. Development firms TCC Assets and Frasers Centrepoint Limited have unveiled plans for the mammoth scheme in the heart of the Thai capital. One Bangkok, located adjacent to the city’s Lumphini Park, will be formed of hotels, shops, public spaces, offices and residences –

This autumn, the famed Blue Lagoon in Iceland will open a subterranean spa, a 62-bedroom luxury hotel and a restaurant celebrating the country’s culinary heritage, all designed by Reykjavik-based Basalt Architects. Blue Lagoon managing director Dagný Pétursdóttir called this is an “important milestone.” “We are evolving and expanding our horizons,” said Pétursdóttir. “Our foundation is the unique geothermal seawater, our stunning environment, and the commitment of our employees to provide

New renderings have been revealed providing a glimpse of the mammoth leisure district being developed on the site of a famous former department store in downtown Detroit. In 2013, SHoP Architects were selected following an invited competition to study the possibilities for using the J.L Hudson’s Store site at 1206 Woodward Avenue as a catalyst for the ongoing revitalisation of the city. To encourage growth, attract residents back to the

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced that former first lady of the United States Michelle Obama will deliver the keynote speech on the opening day of the 2017 AIA Conference on Architecture. Obama will address AIA members as part of the organisation’s annual Conference on Architecture, which will take place in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center from 27 to 29 April. Obama leads a host of

SHoP Architects have completed an extensive renovation of Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on New York’s Long Island. The multi-purpose arena, which first opened in 1972, has hosted the likes of Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen over the years, as well as basketball and ice hockey fixtures, but gradually became outdated and was closed in 2015. SHoP were brought in to re-conceive the look and feel of the

International architecture studio OMA have developed a new mixed-use masterplan for Columbia Circle – a historic site in the centre of Shanghai. Columbia Circle is the first urban renewal project in the core area of the city by the Chinese real estate developer Vanke. It plans to transform a vacated 4.7 hectare compound into a new part of the city with a publicly accessible mixed-use programme – including event spaces,

Architectural research initiative Arch Out Loud has announced the winners of an international ideas competition to conceptualise an underground bathhouse within the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The purpose of the contest was to explore the ways in which new forms of non-military architecture could occupy the border zone between North and South Korea and begin to ease the existing tension between the nations, which have been in conflict for over 70

UPDATE: A dramatic new museum celebrating some of the world’s most famous prehistoric cave art has opened at the Lascaux Cave complex in France. The €66m (US$70.3m, £56.2m) International Centre for Cave Art is located in the town of Montignac-sur-Vézère, at the foot of the hill where the Lascaux caves – adorned with the highest concentration of Paleolithic cave art in Europe – were discovered in 1940. Within the new

German top flight football team Hertha Berlin has unveiled plans to develop a new 55,000-capacity stadium in the shadow of its current Olympiastadion home. After spending time reviewing 50 sites for the mooted venue, the club has identified a spot of land in the Olympiapark close to the 80,000-seat stadium where it currently hosts home matches. Werner Gegenbauer, the president of Hertha Berlin, said the stadium would be “privately financed”

An opening date of 23 June 2017 has been announced for Renzo Piano’s first completed building in Spain: the Botín Center art museum in Santander. Designed in collaboration with Luis Vidal Architects, the building was described by Botín Foundation director general Inigo Sáenz de Miera on 30 March as “a unique place for art, and an engine that generates economic, social and cultural wealth for northern Spain.” The building is

Here are some of the stories that appeared on CLAD this week, from BIG’s panda enclosure at Copenhagen Zoo to a new Vegas stadium for NFL’s Oakland Raiders. Monday • A new 900sq m (9,688sq ft) Eagles Spa by Elemis is set to open near the birthplace of Aristotle, in time to celebrate the great philosopher’s 2,400th birthday. Read here. • Denmark's first newly built theatre in over a century

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has officially kickstarted “a new phase of transformation and renewal”, with construction underway on an important phase of architect Frank Gehry’s wide-reaching masterplan for the institution’s main building. Around 67,000sq ft (6,225sq m) of public space – including 11,500sq ft (1,070sq m) for new American Art galleries and 11,500sq ft for contemporary art exhibitions – is being added to the museum as part of Gehry’s

All-inclusive hospitality company Palace Resorts has announced the highly anticipated launch of Le Blanc Spa Resort Los Cabos in Q3 2017. With exteriors by architect Roberto Elias and interiors by Miami-based Francois Frossard of Francois Frossard Design (FFD), the design of the beachfront property is heavily influenced by the flora and fauna of the resort, the climate, the landscapes and surrounding mountains. The result will be four buildings that curve

British architect Asif Khan has revealed the first visualisations of ‘We Are Energy’ – the UK pavilion he is designing for the 2017 International Exposition in Astana, Kazakhstan. The images reveal a domed tent-like space, surrounded on the outside by a 360 degree display screen. The 2,200sq m (23,600sq ft) pavilion, which is scheduled to be pre-built to shell and core by the Expo organisers, will be illuminated by electric

Luxury health and spa resort Preidlhof in South Tyrol, Italy, will re-open on 1 April following a €6m ($6.44m, £5m) refurbishment that includes the addition of suites with 'spa loggias.' Overseen by Austrian designer Reinhard Köck, the resort will unveil 36 new luxury suites and five luxury penthouse suites, bringing the total number of rooms to 70. The suites will all feature spa loggias and some include whirlpools and private

The 16,000sq ft (1,486sq m) Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach in Miami has been re-imagined with a fresh redesign, modern fitness facility and destination-inspired therapies. Located in Miami Beach’s historic Art Deco district, the landmark Art Moderne hotel was originally designed by famed architect Morris Lapidus in 1953. To celebrate the spa opening, a sage-smudging ceremony was performed to cleanse and purify the spa of its past and welcome

Following on the heels of the resort's opening late last year, the 19,000sq ft (1,765sq m) Six Senses Spa Zil Pasyon in Félicité, the fifth largest island in Seychelles, is now open. Created by Six Senses Architecture and Design team and Richard Hywel Evans of Studio RHE in London, the spa is immersed in the private island’s rocks, boulders, jungle and the Indian Ocean. It is designed to be an

Following on the heels of the resort's opening late last year, the 19,000sq ft (1,765sq m) Six Senses Spa Zil Pasyon in Félicité, the fifth largest island in Seychelles, is now open. Created by Six Senses Architecture and Design team and Richard Hywel Evans of Studio RHE in London, the spa is immersed in the private island’s rocks, boulders, jungle and the Indian Ocean. It is designed to be an

Following on the heels of the resort's opening late last year, the 19,000sq ft (1,765sq m) Six Senses Spa Zil Pasyon in Félicité, the fifth largest island in Seychelles, is now open. Created by Six Senses Architecture and Design team and Richard Hywel Evans of Studio RHE in London, the spa is immersed in the private island’s rocks, boulders, jungle and the Indian Ocean. It is designed to be an

Tulips, timber and triangles are at the heart of an elegant timber gateway created by architecture studio Mecanoo for Keukenhof – one of the world's largest flower gardens. The 79 acre park, located in the Dutch town Lisse, is popular among domestic and international tourists who travel to see Keukenhof’s impressive selection of flora and fauna. Approximately seven million flower bulbs are planted there annually and it is nicknamed ‘the

Australia’s first “Active Lifestyle” project is coming closer to reality, with the Sunshine Coast Council granting development approval for the first phase of the $400m (US$305m, €280.7m, £243m) Queensland venture. SANAD Capital – the Australian offshoot of Dubai-based investment firm Najibi Group – is developing the project, called ACTIVE, across a 25 hectare plot on Steve Irwin Way, which it purchased in January 2016. The council has now approved 14

US National Football League (NFL) franchise the Oakland Raiders are to relocate to Las Vegas, after other NFL owners voted yesterday (27 Match) to approve the controversial move to Nevada. The Raiders received 31 of 32 votes to approve the move, far above the minimum requirement of 24. It is now in a position to proceed with its ambitions to build a 65,000 capacity stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

Seven architecture studios have made it on to the final shortlist to design a new theatre in the heart of Edinburgh – the £25m Ross Pavilion and Gardens project. The studios in contention are: • Adjaye Associates (UK) • BIG Bjarke Ingels Group (Denmark) • Flanagan Lawrence (UK) • Page Park Architects (UK) • Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter (Norway) • wHY (USA) • William Matthews Associates (UK) and Sou Fujimoto Architects