Bob Rogers, founder and chair of experience design firm BRC Imagination Arts, has said that visitor attractions must be designed as “netmarks” – a concept that takes into account social media impact on physical design. BRC last month completed the first phase of a multi-year, multi-million dollar revamp of Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, introducing a 78-foot-long and 6-foot-tall row of red letters spelling the words

Architecture competition organiser Bee Breeders has launched a US$20,000 (€18,500; £15,500) spa design competition in Latvia. The Blue Clay Country Spa competition is inviting architects of all experience to present ideas for a rural spa and guest house in Kurzeme, Western Latvia. Kurzeme is rich in blue clay, which the spa’s treatments will use, and is noted as one of Latvia’s many ecotourism hubs. Invitees are asked to create designs

The French ski resort of Tignes will soon be able to offer 365-day skiing after having plans approved to build a €62m (US$66.4m, £52.1m) indoor slope on one of its existing runs. French architects De Jong (DJA) are behind the 400m (1,300ft) Ski Line snow centre, which will sit at an altitude of 2,000m (6,500ft) and will feature a chairlift to take visitors to the top of the slope, as

Three of the most exciting future leisure buildings have been showcased at the World Architecture Festival Awards, which celebrate the most innovative designs developed around the world. A forest-covered music hall, a sculptural cultural centre and a vast leisure district in the desert caught the imagination of the judges at the prestigious festival, which was held in Berlin last month. The Chengdu City Music Hall by architecture studio Aedas won

A luxury floating hotel with 148 bedrooms has opened at the King George V lock on the River Thames in London. Built on a large floating platform, the Good Hotel first opened in Amsterdam in June 2015 as a pop-up social enterprise project and has now been transported across the North Sea with the help of tug boats and a submerged barge. The structure and interiors were designed by Dutch

Moreau Kusunoki, the architecture studio behind the failed attempt to bring the Guggenheim art museum to Helsinki, have expressed their “disappointment” at the council’s decision to block the project. However, the philosophical founders of the Paris-based practice, Nicolas Moreau and Hiroko Kusunoki, told CLAD that the process of designing the project as an “extraordinary adventure” despite the result of the council’s vote, which was recorded as 53 to 32 against.

Designer Philippe Starck, music icon Lenny Kravitz and architecture studio Gensler have come together to design a stylish new hotel in Las Vegas. The W Las Vegas is the first W Hotels Worldwide property in the city. The company, a subsidiary of Marriott International, has taken over the 289 guest rooms of the SLS Las Vegas tower, bringing in a star team of designers to refresh the interiors in a

Here are some of the stories that appeared on CLAD this week, from the announcement of the world’s best building to new projects for OMA, Foster + Partners and Eric Parry. Monday • Madrid’s historic Hall of Realms will be refurbished and transformed into an important art exhibition space by architects Foster + Partners and Rubio Arquitectura Read here. • The Kroenke Sports and Entertainment company has broken ground on

Ground has been broken on a project of ‘Titanic’ proportions, with a life-size replica of the doomed Titanic passenger liner now under construction in China’s Sichuan Province. Heading from Southampton to New York, the original Titanic hit an iceberg on 14 April 1912. More than two-thirds of the 2,224 people on board were killed. Dubbed ‘New Titanic’, the 269-metre (882-foot) -long replica will be the centrepiece of a high-end Romandisea

The world’s first permanent ice hotel has opened to guests 200km (124m) north of the Arctic Circle. Icehotel 365, located in the Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi, is a year-round extension to the world-famous 26-year old temporary structure, which is sculpted every winter using ice from the Torne River before melting in spring. To ensure the new structure stands firm all year round – despite its walls, floors and ceiling being

Italian studio Network of Architecture (NOA*) have created a cantilevering swimming pool overlooking a forest valley in the Dolomites in Italy. The dramatic pool, situated at an altitude of 1,350m (4,400ft), rests between the old and new wings of the Hotel Hubertus in Puster Valley, which NOA* have recently renovated. Designed to resemble a floating rock come to rest, the 25m-long pool (82ft) is constructed from anthracite-coloured stone. Its edges

A US Army base in the centre of Seoul will be repurposed as a vast public park by Dutch landscape architects West 8. After four years of development, the studio have publicly presented their masterplan for Yongsan Park at a forum held at the National Museum in the South Korean capital The current Yongsan Park site is a walled, prohibited area completely cut off from the surrounding city. The US

Plans for the much-debated Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki have fallen through after city councillors rejected a proposal to provide state aid for the project’s development. During recent budget talks, the co-ruling nationalist Finns party objected to the €40m (US$42.4m, £33.5m) support costs offered by the government, especially during a time when Finland’s economy is struggling while the government pushes through a multi-billion Euro austerity measure to try and curb public

Faena Forum, the new cultural core of the Faena District in Miami Beach, has opened to the public in time for the Design Miami global forum. A procession down the city’s Collins Avenue congregated in the Forum's new canopy plaza and witnessed the official opening of the complex’s three buildings, which have all been designed by architecture studio OMA. To celebrate, a dance performance with scenography by the building’s lead

South Korean architect Moon Hoon has designed an unusually-formed museum dedicated to the folk story of Pinocchio. The client, an avid collector of Pinocchio dolls, wanted a museum and gallery on the outskirts of Seoul where her collection could be experienced and explained. The museum complex, called Pino Familia, is formed of three buildings in close proximity, which surround a grassed inner court containing a sky-train, a pond and a

A masterplan a new leisure district for Dutch football club Feyenoord, which includes a sculptural new stadium, has been approved by the mayor of Rotterdam. The Feyenoord City Masterplan, developed by architects OMA, can now be implemented at a site on the Maas river in the south of the city. The new intricately clad 63,000 seat stadium, located at the waterfront, is to be the landmark of Feyenoord City and

Parisian gym-goers could soon be powering scenic boat trips along the River Seine on a fitness vessel that harnesses energy from passengers’ workouts. The Paris Navigating Gym is the latest innovation from architects and researchers Carlo Ratti Associati. They have partnered with non-profit design group Terreform ONE, urban regeneration institute URBEM and fitness firm Technogym to develop the project. The boat – which has been designed in response to a

British architect and academic Sir Peter Cook has blasted the “conspiracy of boring” he believes is preventing the creation of interesting and risk-taking contemporary buildings. In a passionate address delivered at the World Architecture Festival in Berlin earlier this month, the founder of avant-garde collective Archigram bemoaned the “lack of imagination” stifling the industry. “I believe there are some architects, even in this room, who really prefer it if buildings

Patrik Schumacher’s position at Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) is not under threat despite the practice issuing a frank statement distancing itself from his controversial comments about social housing and the privatisation of public space. “Patrik’s position is certainly not under any threat; he remains our principal,” a ZHA spokesperson told CLAD. “Patrik is currently in Asia, along with other senior members of the practice, for a topping out ceremony.” Schumacher

The director of Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), Patrik Schumacher, has come under mounting pressure for his recent controversial comments about social housing, with his own practice distancing themselves from his public pronouncements. In a strongly-worded statement, ZHA said: “Patrik Schumacher’s ‘urban policy manifesto’ does not reflect Zaha Hadid Architects’ past – and will not be our future. Zaha Hadid did not write manifestos. She built them.” The growing furore followed

A new resort with a nature-inspired spa has opened adjacent to an environmentally protected 208-acre state park along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Located in Destin, Florida, The Henderson features 170 bedrooms and architecture “reminiscent of a grand seaside manor of yesteryear.” Atlanta-based architect Cooper Carry used traditional coastal architecture, including steep gabled rooflines, shingles and a design that references Florida’s nautical history. The Salamander Spa has 11 treatment rooms as well

Boca Juniors FC – one of the best-supported football clubs in Argentina – has released plans for a new stadium, which would be the largest in the country. The Super Bombonera, which would sit on the site of the current Bombonera stadium, would have a capacity of 77,495 – almost 30,000 seats more than Boca’s current home. Local architect Manteola - Sanchez Gomez - Santos - Solsona - Sallaberry -

The City of London’s planning committee has green lit architect Eric Parry’s design for the district’s tallest tower. With a gross estimated area of 30,000sq m (323,000sq ft) and a height of 309.94m (1,016ft) above ordnance datum, the tower, called 1 Undershaft, will overtake Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners’ Leadenhall Building as the tallest building in the City. A new public square and 2,000sq m (21,500sq ft) retail court will

The Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología (UTEC) in Lima, designed by Grafton Architects, has won the first ever RIBA International Prize. Six projects were shortlisted for the award – which recognises the best building in the world – four of which were leisure buildings. The eventual winner however was the educational complex in Peru – although it does have a leisure component with the inclusion of a theatre and cinema

The Kroenke Sports and Entertainment company has broken ground on the new HKS-designed Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, which will be the new home of National Football League (NFL) franchise the LA Rams. Sized at nearly 3 million sq ft (278,700sq m), multipurpose venue is set to be the largest in the NFL when it opens in 2019. It will include 70,000 fixed seats, with the flexibility

Madrid’s historic Hall of Realms will be refurbished and transformed into an important art exhibition space by architects Foster + Partners and Rubio Arquitectura, after the pair were named winners of an international competition for the project. The space will form an expansion to the city’s Museo del Prado campus; Spain’s main national art museum. The Hall of Realms building was part of the 17th century Royal Buen Retiro Palace

A new national stadium accommodating football and rugby is expected to be built and ready in Luxembourg by October 2019. The mayor of the eponymous capital city, Lydie Polfer, unveiled plans for the 9,385-capacity venue, which is expected to cost €60m (£51.2m, US$63.6m). Located on Boulevard de Kockelscheuer, the proposed stadium has been designed by the BENG architecture practice. Preparatory work on the site is expected to begin in May