The long-awaited Louvre Abu Dhabi has been delayed yet again, with the highly-anticipated project now postponed to 2017 due to pending construction work. The news is the latest in a string of setbacks for the project dating back to 2012. According to Reuters, multiple sources have reported there is still “work to be done” on the museum. Government officials had said at the end of 2015 that the museum was

Here are some of the stories that appeared on CLAD this week, from Philippe Starck’s latest hotel a Zaha Hadid Architects stadium made entirely from wood. Monday • Hospitality giant Four Seasons has opened its own holistic design studio. Read here. • Five years on from its inception, Southend Council is searching for an architect to develop a £49m (US$59.6m, €54m) museum to house the Saxon King’s relics. Read here.

Figures from the worlds of architecture, design, fashion and food have collaborated on a design-led hotel in the heart of Barcelona that “transports classicism to the present day.” The Midmost Hotel is located minutes from both the city’s famous Ramblas and the Sagrada Familia. Interior design firm Luzio Studio have refitted the building, which dates from 1919, using a fusion of styles, materials and concepts. Classical design touches, such as

Global sports and arena architects HOK have been tasked with designing “the world’s largest next-generation music and entertainment venue” in Las Vegas. Located on Sands Avenue in the heart of Vegas, the arena will feature a scalable seating capacity, enabling it to present a wide variety of shows – “from the largest touring concerts to specially designed residencies and full-blown productions and events.” The project is being funded by the

The City of Helsinki has prepared a new funding proposal for establishing a Guggenheim museum in the city, after Finland’s co-ruling nationalist Finns party blocked state aid for the project’s development. During recent budget talks, the Finns objected to the €40m (US$45m, £33.7m) 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

As it continues to rebuild its identity from the ground up, SeaWorld has announced the formation of Deep Blue Creative – a new team within the company tasked with bringing to life innovative new experiences under its "fun and meaningful" philosophy. Bringing together talent from both within and outside of SeaWorld, Deep Blue Creative is separated into six divisions, each with its own key focus to drive forward business for

Following a seven-month international competition, English football club Forest Green Rovers has selected Zaha Hadid Architects to design its new football stadium. The studio will build the ground completely out of wood, with the aim of making it “the greenest football stadium in the world.” The stadium will be the centrepiece of the £100m (US$124.5m, €112.3m) Eco Park development in Gloucestershire – a 100 acre sports and green technology business

A Dutch design agency is developing a new solution to moving vertically between floors in a building: a system that relies on “vertical walking.” The Rombout Frieling Lab has created a prototype for a new technology called Vertiwalk that makes it easier for the ageing population and people with disabilities to move vertically between floors. This “smart staircase” features vertical rails and a gripping system and is operated without the

UPDATE: David Edmonds, the chair of Olympic Stadium operators the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), has resigned from his role amid mounting pressure over the spiralling costs of converting the venue into a football ground for West Ham United. Two days ago the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launched an investigation into the cost of the project, which has risen to around £750m – much higher than originally projected. Edmonds,

Universal Studios has broken ground on its largest ever theme park project – a CN¥50bn (US$7.4bn, €6.65bn, £6bn) development set to open in Beijing in 2020. While Disney and Wanda battle for theme park supremacy in China, Universal has now entered the race, with the massive investment to cover 4sq km (2.5sq m) in Tongzhou – an eastern district of Beijing. With ground breaking on the development this week, once

Hotel operators have not developed a sophisticated understand of wellness and must do more to integrate it into their developments if they wish to succeed, according to Omer Isvan, president of international investment consultancy Servotel. Isvan, who was speaking at a session at the Global Wellness Summit in Tyrol, Austria last week, argued that investors are placing more importance on hotels and resorts that offer truly transformational experiences that boost

Architecture practice Cebra have unveiled concepts for a new cultural attraction focusing on the historic connection between Denmark, Greenland and the Arctic. The iceberg-esque form, located in the harbour of Danish town Hundested, covers 3,000sq m (32,300sq ft) and will aim to communicate the relationship between the three locations in historic, contemporary and future contexts. Knud Rasmussen – Denmark’s famed polar explorer and researcher – is the inspiration for the

Design and technology consultancy Hirsch & Mann are set to transform everyday pedestrian crossings into playful multi-sensory experiences after winning the 2016 Playable City Award. Artists, designers, architects, technologists and creative practitioners from all over the world were invited to propose distinctive ideas to reuse city infrastructure and utilise smart city technologies “to put people and play at the heart of the future city.” Eight projects out of 81 applications

Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium will have the ability to accommodate safe-standing, and will include an exclusive ‘tunnel bar’ in which fans will be able to see the players come out onto the pitch. Darren Baldwin, the club’s head of playing surface and estates, lifted the lid on plans for the ambitious 61,000-capacity stadium during an address at the Saltex Convention in Birmingham on 2 November. Baldwin revealed that the Populous-designed

Designer Philippe Starck, architects Arquitectonica, hospitality group sbe and developer Related Group have joined forces to launch a “poetic” new hotel in Miami’s burgeoning Brickell neighbourhood. Arquitectonica have designed the building for the SLS Brickell – a 55-storey tower with a faceted bas relief pattern – on the bustling South Miami Avenue. Starck has designed its 124 hotel rooms and suites and 450 condo residences. “The materials used in the

The director of Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), Patrik Schumacher, has vowed the studio will continue to flourish despite the death of their pioneering founder earlier this year, telling CLAD they remain “the go-to address when it comes to major projects of significance.” In an exclusive, in-depth interview featured in the latest issue of CLADmag, Schumacher spoke of his ongoing grief following Zaha Hadid’s death in March, and the desire of

International architecture and research office Carlo Ratti Associati have unveiled the design of a new master plan for the Currie Park waterfront of West Palm Beach, Florida, which features a floating public plaza partially submerged beneath the sea. A system of responsive air chambers, similar to the ones used by submarines, will keep the floating peninsula stable. The site will incorporate a series of public facilities, including an organic restaurant

A major milestone in the construction of Kengo Kuma’s V&A Museum of Design Dundee in Scotland has been reached, with the completion of the upper floor revealing an extensive public area which will house galleries, learning spaces and a restaurant. At the ground floor level V&A Dundee will be formed of two separate buildings located on Dundee’s waterfront. The newly-completed second floor connects these two together, and houses many of

Wellness in architecture was a key topic at the Global Wellness Summit in Austria last month, as a panel featuring two health and wellbeing specialists from global architecture and engineering firm Arup took the stage to discuss the ways in which building design affects everything from health to mood – and how quickly the space is changing. CLAD editor Liz Terry moderated the panel, which featured Ann Marie Aguilar, who

Five years on from its inception, Southend Council is searching for an architect to develop a £49m (US$59.6m, €54m) museum to house the Saxon King’s relics, launching a £1.3m (US$1.6m, €1.44m) bid to find a suitable candidate for the UK project. First touted in 2011, the council is searching for an architect-led design team to create a museum to display the golden relics discovered in the unknown Saxon King’s burial

Hospitality giant Four Seasons has opened its own design studio, where decisions will be made on everything from table settings used in the group’s hotels to the layout of guest rooms and the outfits worn by hotel staff. The Four Seasons Research and Discovery Studio (R&D Studio) has been launched at the company’s headquarters in Toronto. Designed as “a workshop designed for experimentation” in which ideas can be explored in

The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) will celebrate its centenary in 2018 by renovating the RAF Museum in London into “a world-class visitor facility.” Nex–Architecture and Agence Ter Landscape Architects have been commissioned to revamp the historic site, which sits on the edge of the former Hendon Aerodrome in the city’s Colindale area. The airfield was one of the first in the country and was instrumental during the Battle

Here are some of the stories that appeared on CLAD this week, from George Lucas' latest museum designs to a construction milestone for one of Qatar's leading stadiums. Monday • International hospitality interior design firm Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA) have announced a major expansion into Western Europe with the opening of two new offices in London. Read here. • New York studio Selldorf Architects will lead a major upgrade and

Dutch architects Mecanoo have taken inspiration from the UK’s Eden Project to propose an expansive experimental garden in the grounds of the Netherlands' Soestdijk Palace. The Dutch government recently launched a competition to redevelop the royal residence and estate, located in the town of Baarn. In response, Mecanoo have partnered with exhibition designers Kossmann.dejong and engineering consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV to develop their vision for an eco-attraction, called Eden Soestdijk. An

Architecture studio WilkinsonEyre have been selected to develop a brand new railway museum in Leicester, UK, after a period of public consultation. The new museum is a partnership between Great Central Railway, Leicester City Council and the York’s National Railway Museum. Located next to the historic railway terminus at Leicester North station, it will house significant locomotives and carriages from the UK’s national collection. Six candidates were in the running

Amy McDonald, owner and CEO of Under a Tree, Health and Wellness Consulting, has created a destination spa built on Mayan tradition for the upcoming Chablé Resort in Mexico. Operated by Hamak Hotels, The Chablé Resort is set to open next month in Chochola, Yucatan, and will feature 38 glass-fronted casitas and two villas designed by Jorge Borja of Grupo BV. “Although it is really high-end luxury it is thoughtfully

Swiss studios Herzog & de Meuron and Vogt Landscape Architects have won the keenly-contested design competition for the Museum of the 20th Century in Berlin. Over 40 firms – including Sou Fujimoto, Zaha Hadid Architects, David Chipperfield, OMA, Snøhetta and SANAA – were invited to submit their proposals for the site, which will be located within the city’s cultural forum complex. The €200m (US$218.8m, £179.4m) museum will house a number