A big tent festooned with neckerchiefs will be the centrepiece of a new museum dedicated to the international Scouting movement. Architecture studio Tate Harmer have won a competition to design the £6m (US$7.3m, €7m) project, which will be located at Gilwell Park in Chingford, east London – the “spiritual home” of the UK branch of the Scouting Association, and the place where first Scout leaders were trained in 1919. The

Leisure amenities and mixed-use building are the future of private developments, according to one of the founding principals of New York studio SHoP Architects. Coren Sharples, whose practice have designed New York’s forthcoming American Copper Towers – a residential project boasting a three-storey skybridge, spa, fitness centre and public realm – told CLAD the addition of leisure spaces, often publicly accessible, to offices and private residences is “now actually seen

The plan to demolish Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge ground and replace it with a 60,000-capacity stadium has received a recommendation by planning officers. A 300-plus page document delivering the recommendation said the stadium would be a “high quality development, which would make a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the local area”. Architects Herzog & de Meuron were credited with developing a “high quality piece of design” and

Before looking ahead at some of the most exciting projects and exhibitions of 2017 we thought we’d take a moment to reflect on some of the CLAD stories that particularly caught the imagination of our readers 2016. Our brief – to cover all aspects of leisure architecture, design, investment and development, from sport to spa, hospitality to museums and urban regeneration to health and fitness – were mirrored in the

Everton FC’s quest to build a modern new stadium is making “solid progress on many fronts”, supporters were told by the club’s executive board. During Everton’s annual general meeting (AGM), chief executive Robert Elstone revealed that design work, viability studies for transport and planning, and an “evidence-based” business plan had all been completed. Elstone said that while there were “significant remaining issues” to resolve, everyone was “optimistic about the new

Hotel giant Hilton has acquired New York’s historic Renwick Hotel and opened it as part of its Curio Collection. The property is a literary landmark once frequented by the likes of John Steinbeck, Thomas Mann and other American writers and intellectuals. The renovation and re-design by architecture and interior design firm Stonehill & Taylor evokes this cultural heritage and references the design flourishes of Manhattan in the 1920s, when the

Two Barcelona architecture studios will design “one of the leading art museums in the Nordic region” after winning an international competition to create a new home for the Sørlandets Kunstmuseum in Kristiansand, Norway. Mestres Wage Arquitectes and MX_SI Architectural Studio from Barcelona will transform a former 1930s wharf-side grain silo into an elegant complex anchoring the city’s new cultural quarter. The design – which was selected over 100 other anonymous

Fairhurst Design Group, the architect behind Salford’s MediaCityUK and Manchester United’s training ground, has been appointed to design Grimsby Town FC’s ambitious new stadium development. The Manchester-based studio has overseen the design of the 14,000-capacity stadium and surrounding development, which includes an ice rink, leisure facilities and housing. Extreme Leisure, the sports brand founded by entrepreneur Alistair Gosling, is partnering with the League Two football club on the £55m (US$67.6m,

UPDATE: British architect David Adjaye has been knighted by the Duke of Cambridge during an Investiture ceremony held today (12 May) at Buckingham Palace, London. Adjaye declared himself “truly honoured and humbled” after receiving the accolade in the 2017 New Year's Honours List for his services to architecture. Sir David – whose leisure projects include The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, the Sugar Hill mixed-use complex in New York and

In a saga beginning to rival his Star Wars franchise for length and drama, George Lucas appears to have finally sealed the deal to develop his Museum of Narrative Art following almost two years of legal disputes. The well-known director is now set to select a location for the venue in either San Francisco or Los Angeles (both in California), after snubbing Chicago, Illinois. According to The San Francisco Chronicle,

The British government has unveiled details of ambitious plans to deliver more than 48,000 homes across England in 14 new garden villages and three new garden towns. The decision to green light the new settlements expands on the Conservative government’s garden village initiative, revealed by former British chancellor George Osborne last year. Seven garden towns had previously been announced, and the 24 communities will together provide 200,000 new homes. Each

German skincare brand Babor will be the exclusive brand for a new spa in a high-rise building that claims to house the largest number of billionaires under one roof. The Babor spa in Porsche Design Tower will feature three treatment rooms, including a hammam-style vichy shower, as well as a hair salon. “To create this vision, we reached out to Babor to assist in the planning and development of the

Entrepreneur David Lloyd is returning to the leisure industry with the launch of a new multi-activity concept - David Lloyd’s Adventure Parks. Lloyd is planning to open twelve venues by 2021, with business partners Holmes Investment Properties, as he aims to tap into the £4bn ($4.91bn; €4.69bn) UK entertainment and leisure sector. Each park is expected to cost, on average, £4-5m (US$4.9m-US$6.4m; €4.7m-€5.9m) to build. Eleven sites near cities and

Australian studio Techne Architecture + Interior Design have attempted to improve the reputation of pubs by transforming a Victorian era Melbourne textile factory into a welcoming “living room” for city dwellers with a multi-level garden at its heart. The four-storey Garden State Hotel, located in the Central Business District's cosmopolitan Flinders Lane, has been designed as a “warm, welcoming and intriguing” hospitality space with several restaurants and bars under one

Ground has been broken on the US$49m (€43.4m, £37.2m) facility expansion of the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts. Founded in 1799, PEM is the country’s oldest continuously operating museum. Plans originally envisioned a US$200m (€177m, £151.6m) expansion, but were abandoned following the death of the project’s architect Rick Mather in 2013. New plans based on the original designs of Mather, with subsequent work from Richard Olcott of Ennead

A youth organisation has opened the “world’s first” train station football pitch at a site in Atlanta, US. Soccer in the Streets – which empowers underserved youth through sports-based training, mentoring and employability programmes – has developed the Station Soccer project in collaboration with the foundation of Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise Atlanta United. The facility – created by local artificial turf supplier GreenFields USA and Musco/Cree Lighting – has

We wrap up our CLAD review of 2016 with a look at some of the most significant new cultural buildings that have opened this year. We have compiled a separate list for museums – of which there have been many spectacular examples in the last 12 months – so this one focuses on other typologies, from concert halls to theatres and arts centres. No such list can ever be truly

Over the last twelve months, some stunning spas and wellness facilities have been unveiled around the world. Here are some of the projects – including both independent spas and those integrated into larger resorts – that have particularly caught CLAD's eye in 2016. No such list can ever be truly comprehensive of course, especially when the design standard is increasingly so high, so please let us know your own favourite contenders

Wellness resort operator Miraval Group today announced it has acquired the 220-acre Travaasa Austin Resort in the Hill Country of Texas, which it will redevelop and expand into a 120-bedroom destination wellness resort, its first in Texas and the American South. The purchase, from a wholly owned subsidiary of Amstar Group LLC, closed today following the approval of Miraval’s development plans. The project is expected to be completed by January

From a running track where you can race against your own avatar, to a swimming pool designed following the principle of feng shui, 2016 has been a diverse and thought-provoking year the design of health clubs, swimming pools and fitness facilities. Here, we continue our CLAD review of the year by re-visiting some of the most interesting of these buildings that have opened in the last twelve months. CLAD Review

As we continue our CLAD review of 2016, our attention turns to the world of sports design. It has been another groundbreaking year for the sector, and we have highlighted just some of the innovative and architecturally-significant sporting facilities that have opened this year around the world. Sustainability is a key trend, with temporary architecture, re-use projects and LEED-standard designs included in the list. CLAD's Review of 2016: The best

Architectural firm Snøhetta have expanded the Lillehammer Art Museum and Cinema in Norway, creating a cantilevering stainless steel cube to adjoin its own 1994 extension, creating new spaces within the cultural building. The expansion’s main visual feature is the striking rooftop box designed by the late Bård Breivik, which is enveloped in a skin of crinkled and polished stainless steel. Created around the idea of “art hovering above a transparent

2016 has been a breakthrough year for leisure architecture, with buildings celebrated by some of the world's most prestigious architecture awards, including the World Architecture Festival Building of the Year, the Stirling Prize, the Aga Khan Awards and the inaugural RIBA International Prize. A host of incredible leisure buildings have been completed this year, including remarkable projects from the likes of Herzog and de Meuron, David Adjaye, Bjarke Ingels, Santiago

Sportswear giant Adidas has revealed its plans to transform its German headquarters into a huge leisure campus, including four star-shaped public spaces promoting exercise and outdoor activity. Dutch studio LOLA Landscape Architects have designed the outdoor component of the World of Sports campus in the town of Herzogenaurach, which will provide a canvas for employees to test Adidas products for activities ranging from football and running to skateboarding and cycling.

The National Museum of Singapore has debuted a unique digital exhibit turning 69 drawings into a single giant animated interactive illustration. Using sensors set up in the newly-refurbished Glass Rotunda, the installation by Japanese art collective teamLab allows visitors to interact with the flora and fauna. Titled Story of the Forest, the digital piece, which is 15m (49ft) in height and 170m (558ft) long, is based on the museum’s watercolour

Luxury lifestyle hotel brand 1 Hotels has announced it will add a New York property to its portfolio in February 2017. 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, designed by local architecture studio Incorporated, is located at Pier 1 on Brooklyn Bridge Park, just south of the iconic river crossing. Designed following LEED guidelines to reflect the brand’s commitment to “environmentally responsible hospitality,” the 10-storey property features extensive use of reclaimed materials, including

Israeli-Franco studio Gottesman-Szmelcman Architecture have unveiled a new physical space for the Gordon Gallery, one of Israel's leading art institutions, in the ruins of an old warehouse. The firm have transformed an industrial site on the fringes of Tel Aviv into a temporary “stage for the unexpected”, which enhances visitors’ senses through use of light and shade. The neighbourhood has been recently re-zoned as a high density, mixed-use area, opening