A plan to develop a new Populous-designed rugby stadium in Paris has been scrapped by the French Rugby Federation (FFR) following the election of its new president. Former national team coach Bernard Laporte was elected earlier this month. In one of his first moves as president, Laporte has opted to end the project despite its advanced stage. Instead of building the 82,000-capacity stadium, Laporte told the FFR Executive Committee that

AndArchitect’s ambitious “flexible” stadium for Luton Town FC is closer to coming to fruition after the club purchased the land to facilitate the development. The League Two football club’s property arm – 2020 Developments – signed an agreement with British Land PLC to acquire the plot in the Power Court area of Luton. Plans to build a retail and hospitality development on the land have been mooted, with profits made

The home stadium of US National Basketball Association NBA) franchise the Cleveland Cavaliers is being lined up to be transformed by SHoP Architects at a cost of US$140m (€131m, £110m), it has been announced. The Quicken Loans Arena opened in 1994, but is now the second oldest arena in the NBA not to have had a major upgrade. The proposed renovation would address important structural and operational deficiencies in the

Sydney’s Australian Museum has unveiled a AU$285m(US$214m, €201m, £168.6m) masterplan proposing a new multi-storey extension to stretch over the top of its existing building in the largest redevelopment in the institution’s 189-year history. The Barrabuwari Muru (future path) masterplan by architecture studio Hames Sharley places a new extension in the museum’s eastern quarter, an area currently taking up a car park and storage facility. The 2,700sq m (29,000sq ft) extension

The hotels of 2060 will self-assemble and morph from one design to another based on the votes of their guests, a leading futurist has predicted in a study on how the hospitality industry is likely to change over the next 43 years. Dr. James Canton of the Institute for Global Futures – a think tank that advises Global Fortune 500 companies on emerging trends in innovation and technology – predicts

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held tomorrow (15 December) for the transformation of the iconic Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight Center at New York’s JFK International Airport into a 505-room hotel. The modernist terminal building – a designated New York landmark – was designed by renowned Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen and opened in 1962, soon becoming a symbol of the Jet Age. However, it ceased operating in 2001 and has

Spa by Clarins has marked its Indian debut, opening at the new W Hotel in Goa. Spread over 14,000sq ft of land, the Spa by Clarins at W Goa houses eight treatment rooms, special couples’ rooms, a heated indoor vitality pool and a wet section complete with steam, sauna, and experience showers. There is also a relaxation area and waiting lounge in the premises. Treatments will incorporate Clarins’s lengthy range

Hotel visionary Ian Schrager – considered by many to be the founder of the boutique hotel category – has opened his first hotel in China, the Sanya Edition. Located on Hainan Island, just off the coast of Southern China, the hotel is the latest addition to Edition hotels – the brand Schrager conceived in a partnership with Marriott International. With buildings designed by SCDA Architects and set within 50 acres

Wellness resort operator Six Senses has revealed details about its upcoming five-location Bhutan project, scheduled to open in the second half of 2017. Each of the five individual satellite resorts are in separate locations, but packaged as a journey under one name: Six Senses Bhutan. With just 82 suites and villas distributed between five intimate lodges, the journey is designed to show guests the heritage and hospitality of the Kingdom

Details have emerged of Bjarke Ingels Group’s latest high-profile US project; a mixed-use complex in Los Angeles’ Arts District formed of a giant superstructure of plant-topped concrete frames. According to the LA Times, the sizeable new development includes two connected buildings, which rise to 30 storeys at their highest point. Each frame within the structure could be filled by glass-walled offices, apartments or shops, depending on the demand. Some tenants

Dutch design agency NorthernLight is working on a wide range of hands-on exhibits and science and art installations as part of the high-profile expansion at Experimenta science centre in Heilbronn, Germany. The 13,500sq m (145,000sq ft) extension, which is currently under construction and is slated to open in late 2018, was designed by Berlin-based Sauerbruch & Hutton and aims to be an “architectural lighthouse” for Heilbronn. The facility includes four

Hong Kong-based global conglomerate Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited (CTFE) – parent company of Rosewood Hotel Group – has bought the troubled US$3.5bn Bahamian mega-resort Baha Mar, with plans to open it in phases, starting in April 2017. The Baha Mar project was originally slated to be finished in 2014, but a series of hitches and legal battles – including a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in July 2015 – led

Canadian architects Office OU have been announced as winners of South Korea's international competition to masterplan a National Museum Complex (NMC) in the new administrative city Sejong. Choongjae Lee, the city’s administrator, has vowed to build “the world's most beautiful and liveable city” through investment in architecture, technology, urban planning and design and environmental sustainability. The design contest was held to select a vision for a complex containing five museums:

Construction work has kicked off on Tokyo’s new National Stadium, the Kengo Kuma-designed stage for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. The design by the Japanese architect was chosen to replace Zaha Hadid Architects’ original scheme – ostensibly due to the rising cost of that project – in December 2015, and received the green light two months ago. Kuma’s stadium is estimated to cost 150bn yen ($1.5bn, €1.3bn, £1.1bn) to build.

The myriad of potential applications of a spray-on protective polymer have being showcased through an unlikely medium: an online video of an indestructible watermelon. In the video, produced by Australian record breaking enthusiasts How Ridiculous, the fruit is covered with the coating before being dropped from a height of 148ft (45m). It survives the fall and bounces off the road below. Later, the polymer-protected shell remains intact despite being hacked

Australian architecture studio FJMT have been selected to design the proposed hotel and residential tower at The Star Sydney, which will accommodate a new six star Ritz-Carlton. A design competition featured submissions from three major architectural firms, and FJMT were confirmed as the winner after community and stakeholder feedback. Their design proposes a slender 60-storey tower that gradually twists as it rises. An associated development – featuring bars, restaurants and

The first design images of a new contemporary art museum in Moscow, located within a former military factory complex, have been revealed. The new Exhibition Centre of the state-run Hermitage Museum has been designed by New York studio Asymptote Architecture, whose co-founder Hani Rashid presented the plans at a public forum last week. The building, set to open in 2020, will be a luminous, semi-transparent, abstractly formed structure. Inside, the

Here are some of the stories that appeared on CLAD this week, from a ski slope on a ski slope in France to Zaha Hadid's Mathematics Gallery for London. Monday • A luxury floating hotel with 148 bedrooms has opened at the King George V lock on the River Thames in London. Read here. • Designer Philippe Starck, music icon Lenny Kravitz and architecture studio Gensler have come together to

English Premier League football club AFC Bournemouth is seeking a new home in a new location, its chief executive has announced. Neill Blake said the club cannot realise its preferred option of buying back the Vitality Stadium, where it currently plays, from property company Structadene in order to redevelop the site. “It has always been the board of directors’ preferred option to buy the stadium back and develop a Premier

The mythology, tradition and beauty of Wales have inspired a series of portable self-contained glamping cabins from which guests can gaze at the stars. WG+P Architects and Webb Yates Structural Engineers will create three boutique ‘Sky Huts’ to be placed in scenic and historic locations across the country after winning a design competition for the project. The structures will be timber clad and will each have a retractable roof, creating

Experience design studio GSM Project has announced it will design the upcoming observation deck attraction at One Vanderbilt, a 1,400ft (426m) skyscraper scheduled to open in New York City in 2020. The indoor-outdoor platform will offer panoramic views of the cityscape, including nearby landmarks the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. Located more than 1,000ft (304,8m) above the ground, it has been dubbed “the most exciting observation deck experience

German aviation company Lufthansa-Technik has designed a new VIP aircraft interior concept with a wellness and relaxation theme and on-board spa. The Airbus A350 VVIP interior concept, called Welcome Home, is a cabin that places “the human being in the centre of the story” and “emphasises a comprehensive approach towards health and wellbeing on-board,” the company said. The concept was designed for people with busy, travel-heavy lifestyles. In the back

The government of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia has unveiled its chosen design for a new 30,000-seat stadium in Parramatta, which it says will “revolutionise the spectator experience” when it opens to fans in 2019. NSW premier Mike Baird and sport minister Stuart Ayres have announced architect and developer Lendlease as the studio contracted to design and build the Western Sydney Stadium, which is envisioned as a sport and

Planning permission has been granted for London's controversial ‘Paddington Cube’ development designed by architect Renzo Piano. Westminster City Council’s Planning Application Committee approved the 14-storey project on 31 London Street earlier this week, despite complaints from campaigners and heritage groups that it will have a negative impact on the capital’s skyline. The £775m (US$978.3m, €917.5m) cubic building will replace the former Royal Mail sorting office next to Paddington Station. In

Nekupe Sporting Resort and Retreat, a luxury countryside resort, has opened on a 1300 acre (526 hectare) nature reserve in southwest Nicaragua. Boasting an intimate eight-room property, a luxury spa facility and a number of outdoor pursuits, the resort, located around 30 minutes north of the historic colonial town of Granada, aims to “foster a spirit of exploration, adventure and wellbeing.” Nekupe was envisioned as a private family retreat by

Colour standards company Pantone has announced a "fresh and zesty yellow-green shade” as the Colour of the Year for 2017. According to the firm, PANTONE 15-0343 Greenery “evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew.” It added that the shade is “being pulled to the forefront” of urban planning, architecture, lifestyle and design. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said: “Greenery bursts

A new global awards ceremony has been launched by design publication Sleeper to celebrate the best hotel and spa designs from around the world. The Awards for Hospitality Experience and Design (AHEAD) replaces the European Hotel Design Awards and the Asia Hotel Design Awards, which are being consolidated into one competition with a more global outlook. The new platform will also be expanded to cover hotel designs in the Americas