A crack team of robots have comprehensively renovated a community art gallery in Shanghai, predominantly using recycled bricks. The innovative project is the work of Chinese design studio Archi-Union Architects, who programmed the robots to build a new exterior facade for the West Bund Art Exhibition Area in the city’s Xuhui district. Grey-green bricks were taken from the existing gallery building, which had been deemed unfit for purpose, and carefully

The winners of the 2017 Architectural Review MIPIM Future Projects Awards have been announced, with this year’s prizes going to projects from eight countries across 11 categories. The competition recognises projects that are under construction or currently in planning, through to competition entries and conceptual designs. The jury awards architects based on their response to the brief and their consideration of the full impact their building will make on the

The British seaside town of Bognor Regis looks set for a major leisure-led regeneration, with members of the district council throwing their weight behind a mixed-use scheme worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Initial concepts developed by regeneration consultancy Urban Delivery, architect Kay Elliott and multidisciplinary practice Arup visualise an expansive linear park connecting a car park near the train station to Regis Centre. The focal point of the development,

It has been open less than a year, but Canyon Ranch’s first location outside of the US will soon change hands, with Six Senses taking over management of the property in May 2017. The Canyon Ranch Kaplankaya opened in July 2016 on the Turkish Riviera near Bodrum, and includes 141 bedrooms and a 107,000sq ft (9,941sqm) spa, fitness and Health & Healing Centre with 38 treatment rooms. Canyon Ranch Kaplankaya

The wealthy owner of one of the world’s largest logistics companies is preparing to open a luxurious new Hamburg hotel, designed to promote the city’s image and capitalise on the popularity of Herzog and de Meuron’s recently-opened Elbphilharmonie. Set to open in the final quarter of 2017, The Fontenay will be the first five-star hotel to open in Hamburg for almost two decades. The 131-bedroom property will be located close

Construction on a number of major new attractions in Shanghai will begin before the year is out, according to city officials. Dozens of museums and art galleries are to be built across a 67,000sq m (721,000sq ft) area in Jiading District – forming the Haishang Cultural Museum Complex. According to the Shanghai Daily newspaper, the local government is concerned that too many of Shanghai’s museums and theatres are located an

Architects, designers, investors, developers and politicians from across the world have descended on Cannes for MIPIM – the world’s largest property market. Over 20,000 attendees are expected to at the four-day exhibition, conference and networking event, which begins today (14 March) on the French Riviera. Major international real estate projects – from residential to commercial, hotel, tourism and logistical – are being showcased by representatives from 23 nations. These include

After 30 years, Gordon Dorrett is stepping down as CEO and president of Forrec, with Cale Heit taking over from October 2017. Heit, who serves as executive vice president of operations at the experience design and architecture firm, started with Forrec as a landscape architect 25 years ago. He worked his way up through the ranks to lead the theme parks business before taking his current role. Dorrett, who joined

Danish toymaker the LEGO Group has revealed new photographs, renderings and an aerial drone video of its forthcoming Bjarke Ingels-designed brand museum in the city of Billund, where the company was founded 85 years ago. The visitor attraction – built to resemble a giant stack of Lego bricks – is rapidly taking shape, and an opening date of 28 September has been announced. Consisting of 21 huge multi-coloured blocks built

An abandoned Brazilian palace designed by iconic late architect Oscar Niemeyer is to finally see the light of day, with hotel group Oetker Collection opening the building as their first property in the Americas. Palácio Tangará will open in São Paulo in June 2017. The building was first constructed in the 1940s as Tangará Ranch, when wealthy Brazilian businessman Francisco ‘Baby’ Pignatari commissioned it as a gift to his fiance.

International design studio KCAP Architects & Planners have won an international competition to redevelop Seoul’s Sewoon District 4. The scheme, which has been approved by the city’s government, will transform the 280,000sq m (3 million sq ft) area into a mixed-use zone featuring offices, shops, hotels, entertainment facilities and schools. According to the practice, they will develop a “people-oriented urban design that preserves the site’s historic and cultural values, and

Alberto Rolla, one of the architects behind the recently-constructed Juventus Stadium, has designed a 40,000-capacity venue for Serie A rival Fiorentina. The ground will be located in Florence and cost around €420m (£367.2m, US$448m) to build. Stadium seating will be tight, with fans in the front row seven metres from the pitch. The surrounding 48 hectare area will be developed to include a hotel, a shopping mall, public realm, 700

Asia’s best designed hotels have been celebrated at an awards ceremony held in Singapore. Winning design practices at the inaugural AHEAD Asia awards include Blu Water Studio, LTW Designworks and Tony Chi. Entries were assessed on aesthetics, guest experience and commercial viability by a panel of industry and design leaders. AHEAD – which stands for The Awards for Hospitality Experience and Design – is a new platform that has consolidated

Here are some of the stories that appeared on CLAD this week, from two Frank Gehry projects to the prestigious Women in Architecture Awards. Monday • Gabriela Carrillo has been named as Woman Architect of the Year 2017 at the Women in Architecture awards, with Rozana Montiel winning the Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture. Read here. • The Delta Development Group has signed an initial agreement to drive forward

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have formed their own specialised BIG Engineering unit, which will be dedicated to “ensuring the structural, mechanical integrity and resilience of BIG buildings globally.” Duncan Horswill, the former chief operating officer of Copenhagen company Søren Jensen Engineers, has been hired to lead the new team. Studio founder Bjarke Ingels said the move would allow the practice to “stretch the boundaries of the physical, financial, regulatory and

A new museum celebrating French art, aesthetics and urbanity is set to be built in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, with a design by Pritzker-winning architect Frank Gehry. The building, described as “a major new cultural institution with international influence”, will be part-funded by the luxury goods billionaire Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, who launched the project at a press conference on Wednesday (8 March) alongside Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo

Italian Serie A football team Cagliari Calcio has inched closer to realising its ambition to build a new stadium after receiving a loan for its construction. The club has been provided the money by the local government and Sardinian financial institution Sfirs to build the 21,000-capacity stadium, which is being designed by Polish architect JSK Architekci. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Cagliari Calcio president Tommaso Giulini, the city’s

Located on the beachfront, the five star Nikki Beach Resort & Spa in Dubai has opened its doors, with the 1,650sq m (17,760sq ft) Nikki Spa opening in April 2017. Offering "the best of wellbeing" in a contemporary setting for guests and visitors, facilities will include seven separate spa suites for men and women, one couples suite, a hammam chamber, sauna, steam, ice fountain, mixed vitality pool and indoor and

Acclaimed Irish architect Niall McLaughlin has claimed that award wins and nominations can be a poisoned chalice, as practices become pigeonholed as designers of a certain type of building. Speaking at the 2017 Ecobuild conference in London, McLaughlin said the influence of award shortlists and the “conservative stance in architectural procurement” means that “everybody wants something like you’ve done before.” The practice he leads, Niall McLaughlin Architects, have twice been

The historic Lloyds Bank building in Bristol is one of two former banks that have been merged together to form the newly-opened Bristol Harbour Hotel & Spa. The building, designed by William Bruce Gingell in the early 20th century, has been carefully merged with the Midland Bank site next door, and converted by DO Design Studio to house a hotel with 42 restaurants, a restaurant and cocktail bar. The underground

The team behind Miami’s upcoming US$430m (€407m, £354m) SkyRise entertainment complex has released new plans for the building’s main attraction – rotating observation pods at the tower’s 1,000ft (304m) peak. Dubbed “Skyway”, cabins will be similar to Merlin’s ‘Eye’ giant wheel attractions, with the 20 pods revolving around a track starting at the 18th floor and ascending to the top of the tower’s north face. According to the planning application,

The team behind Miami’s upcoming US$430m (€407m, £354m) SkyRise entertainment complex has released new plans for the building’s main attraction – rotating observation pods at the tower’s 1,000ft (304m) peak. Dubbed “Skyway”, cabins will be similar to Merlin’s ‘Eye’ giant wheel attractions, with the 20 pods revolving around a track starting at the 18th floor and ascending to the top of the tower’s north face. According to the planning application,

Montage International is developing two hotels at the SilverRock Resort in La Quinta, California, set to open in late 2019. Developed in partnership with The Robert Green Company, the resort will include Montage La Quinta with branded Montage Residences; Pendry La Quinta with branded Pendry Residences, and a Spa Montage. This is the first project that incorporates both of Montage’s hotel brands, Montage and Pendry. Architecture and design firm Gensler

Edinburgh architecture practice Reiach and Hall have won the top prize at the UK’s Architect of the Year Awards, which took place at London’s ExCeL Centre yesterday evening (8 March). The studio – whose leisure work includes the National Centre Inverclyde and Aberdeen Sports Village – received the top Schueco Gold Award for a portfolio of recent work that “shows both creativity and flexibility”. Their 2016 projects include the Oriam

The early consequences of Britain voting to leave the European Union has increased the cost of Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium, according to the club’s director. In an email to a supporter published online, Donna Cullen said that Brexit had seen the final cost rocket to £800m (US$972.1m, €920.7m) – more than the cost of building the new Wembley Stadium. When the plans were originally revealed, the 61,000-capacity stadium was expected

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

Groundbreaking concepts showing how city buildings could be raised upwards through wooden extensions have been released online. Wood manufacturer Metsä Wood has created the database, which showcases the 172 entries to its ‘City above the City competition.’ The company said that the world’s growing urban population and the rising demand of housing and interior spaces mean cities must start developing strategically and environmentally – which means looking to the skies.