The design and engineering of Olympic stadiums is the focus of a temporary exhibition opening today (13 October) at The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. Stadiums: Past and Future explores the facilities cities have built to host the Games – from the Olympia in Ancient Greece through to modern architectural icons such as Frei Otto’s Munich Olympic Stadium and Herzog and de Meuron’s Bird’s Nest in Beijing. Curated by Geraint

Malta’s first science centre, a €26m (US$28.7m, £23.5m) investment named Esplora, is fast approaching its official opening date of 28 October. The interactive science centre is located in a former naval hospital in Kalkara. Located in town's Grand Harbour, the new attraction overlooks the historic capital city of Valletta. Esplora, which is supported by the Malta Council for Science and Technology and received €12m (US$13.2m, £10.8m) in funding from the

Ground has been broken on the Santiago Calatrava-designed Dubai skyscraper, set to be the world's tallest when it opens in 2020. The groundbreaking ceremony, which took place this week in Dubai’s Creek Harbour development, marks the start of construction for a building that will top the city’s own Burj Khalifa, giving it the record of world’s tallest tower. Emaar Properties and Dubai Holdings are behind the US$1bn (€910m, £823m) plans,

International spa and wellness consultancy Blu Spas is working on a project to develop a resort in Paradise Valley in Montana, close to Yellowstone National Park. The site is being developed at the Yellowstone Hot Springs, near the national park’s northern access, and is in the same location where the LaDuke Hot Springs and Corwin Hot Springs were popular resort and bathing destinations more than a century ago. Designers, engineers

A cavernous, curving new opera house inspired by the human body has been officially opened in Taiwan. Taichung Metropolitan Opera House, designed by Pritzker Prize winner Toyo Ito, took a decade to complete. The main structure is formed of several curved walls connected with inlaid floors. This tubular configuration, which does not require support beams, creates a fluid journey through the building. Located on the second floor of the complex

Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas has revealed dramatic new images of his forthcoming theatre and exhibition hall in Tbilisi, Georgia. The project, located in the capital’s Rhike Park, is in the advanced stages of construction. Two abstract soft-shaped elements connect together as a singular funnel-shaped silver structure. The north of the building will contain the 566-capacity Musical Theatre Hall, while the south will house the Exhibition Hall. The former will evoke

Spanish football giant Real Madrid has agreed a deal with the local council to redevelop its Santiago Bernabeu stadium, and the surrounding area. The La Liga club’s president Florentino Perez made the announcement alongside mayor of Madrid Manuela Carmena, delegate of sustainable urban development Jose Manuel Calvo and council president of Madrid’s Chamartin district Mauricio Valiente. Last December, Calvo’s department blocked the €440m (£398.4m, US$486.8m) development proposal in “the interests

Landscape architecture studio TLS will design a 74 acre urban park in the centre of Suzhou, China after winning an international design competition for the high-profile project. The park will be designed around the existing Lion Mountain – named due to the lion-shaped geological formation at its peak – and a newly-created lake. The site is currently home to a run-down amusement park and small pond – described as “less

The Sanad Capital investment group is planning an AU$400m (US$302m, €271m, £245.6m) “active lifestyle” destination in Queensland, Australia. Sanad – the Australian offshoot of Dubai-based investment firm Najibi Group – is financing the “never-before seen in Australia” project, which will feature extreme water facilities and an Olympic-standard training centre. The mixed-use project will also have a 4-star hotel, conference and exhibition centre, restaurants and retail elements. The development is expected

Four design companies have been shortlisted from a field of 17 international and national firms in the race to create the AU$250m North Queensland Stadium in Townsville, Australia. BVN Architecture, Cox Architecture, Hassell and Populous will now vie for the project, with each studio asked to develop a concept design and masterplan for the project. “The four companies have all demonstrated a proven track record in major sports stadiums,” said

The W group's Amsterdam hotel has been extended with the renovation of the historic Bank building, which houses a 300sq m (3,229sq ft) Away Spa set in the former vault. Originally designed by F.W.M. Poggenbeek in 1908, the building was one of the first concrete constructions in The Netherlands. Spa consultant 4SeasonsSpa worked with designers Baranowitz + Kronenberg and consultants Raison d'Etre to create the spa, which is housed behind

Some of the biggest names in architecture and construction are in the running to masterplan the UK’s largest regeneration programme at Old Oak Common in west London. Seven shortlisted teams have been issued with invitation to tender for the project, with Arup, Grimshaw, AECOM, Allies & Morrison and Hawkins Brown among the team leaders in contention. Over 70 architecture, design, engineering, communication and landscaping firms have contributed to the competing

US architecture studio SHoP have announced they will create one of the world’s largest 3D public structures for the Design Miami festival in November. The arching piece, called Flotsam & Jetsom, will create a 1,780sq ft space at the gateway to Miami’s exhibition halls. It is being created by the architects as a response to their triumph in the 2016 Design Miami Visionary Award. In a statement, they said: “This

Dutch architects MVRDV have won an international competition to design a sports and cultural complex in Shenzhen, China, which will be navigated via a weaving elevated walkway. The Nanshan district government has tasked the studio, and local firm Zhubo Architecture Design, with creating “a social and well­being focal point” for the community in the country’s fastest-growing urban region. Located in a residential area which stretches between two mountain parks, the

Hospitality firm Artistry Hotels Partners has partnered with Urban Architecture Studio and design firm WATG to launch an independent boutique hotel brand that “will deliver distinctively luxurious, artful and imaginative experiences” throughout the US. In a statement, the company said it wants to create “art through architecture” by creating distinctive, vibrant and multi-sensory hotel experiences. Each hotel will be designed to be individual and reflective of the personality of its

Evian Spa will expand its presence in the Asian market with a new spa on the 86th floor of Lotte Hotel Group’s Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea. Lotte Group, South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate, is building the 555m-high (1,821ft) tower, which will be Seoul’s first super-tall skyscraper and the sixth-tallest building in the world. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, the 123-storey tower will include department stores, cultural facilities,

A funding campaign to build a self-sustaining cricket ground of international standard in Rwanda is gathering momentum. Cricket is Rwanda’s fastest growing sport and has been used as a tool in recent years to bring people together in the country, which was torn apart by genocide in 1994. Despite the burgeoning interest, there are a lack of cricketing facilities in the country, and so the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation (RCSF)

Here are some of the stories that appeared on CLAD this week, from the winner of the 2016 Stirling Prize to new openings by Amanda Levete, Steven Holl and Coop Himmelb(l)au. Monday • Three architecture studios have been shortlisted in the design competition to create a Science Island for the Lithuanian city Kaunas. Read here. • Four of the six winners of this year’s Aga Khan Award for Architecture are

Officials have broken ground a new US$70m museum dedicated to the Statue of Liberty on the monument’s home of Liberty Island. Designed by Nicholas Garrison, principal for FXFOWLE, the 26,000sq ft museum is a key part of the beautification plan for Liberty Island, with the building blending into its surroundings, seemingly rising out of the ground with its grass roof. The museum was designed in such a way so as

The St Pierre Park Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort on the Channel Island of Guernsey has redeveloped its spa and fitness centre to the tune of £2.5m (US$3.2m, €2.9m). Owned, operated and designed by Hand Picked Hotels – which bought the property last year – the spa includes a new indoor pool and wet area with mood LED lighting, an infinity wall, and floor-to-ceiling windows. A two-tier volcanic stone sauna

The French Tennis Federation (FTF) has described itself as "outraged" after a court suspended the development of a new stadium at Roland Garros just days after the project had been given the green light. While the French Council of State cancelled suspension of the construction work that had been implemented earlier on in the year, a different court – Tribunal de Grande Instance – has taken an alternative view and

The University of Iowa will today (7 October) unveil its flagship new arts centre, designed by Steven Holl Architects. The 126,000sq ft (11,700sq m) Visual Arts Building contains galleries, workshops, teaching spaces for Art History and an outdoor rooftop studio. Carvings into the zinc-clad concrete volume form seven terraced ‘cutout’ light courts and multiple balconies, infusing the interior with light. A campus route threads through the largest of these courts,

The Global Wellness Institute’s Wellness Communities Initiative has written a white paper to address critical issues surrounding the fast-growing wellness real estate market – estimated by the GWI to be a US$100bn (€90bn, £81bn) global marketplace. The initiative focuses on communities developed with proactive health and wellness, ecological sensitivity and social connectivity in mind, and the paper seeks to define what makes something a wellness community, what the minimum criteria

Newport Street Gallery – Caruso St John Architects’ conversion of almost an entire street of listed industrial buildings in south London into a free public gallery for artist Damien Hirst’s private art collection – has won the 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s best new building. The presentation of the prestigious trophy took place at a special ceremony on Thursday evening (6 October) at the headquarters of the Royal

The recently-opened German Gymnasium in London has won two prizes at the first Blue Badge Style Awards, which celebrates hospitality facilities in the UK that use good architecture and design to ensure they are accessible to guests with disabilities. The restaurant, created by design studio Conran and Partners, was the winner of the Blue Badge Style Best High End Restaurant. The judges praised the design team for managing to create

The world’s largest green building conference and expo has begun in Los Angeles. Sustainability, clean energy, green technologies and health and wellness in the built environment are among the subjects in the spotlight at this year’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, which is taking place at the LA Convention Center until 7 October. The event, which is presented by the US Green Building Council (USGCB), is expected to attract 20,000

Acclaimed leisure architect Bing Thom has died in Hong Kong at the age of 75. Bing suffered a brain aneurism and passed away on 4 October, his studio Bing Thom Architects (BTA) confirmed in a statement. The architect – who was born in Hong Kong before moving to Canada as a child – was renowned for his placemaking schemes and his drive to improve urban environments. Past and ongoing leisure