More than 60,000 people flocked to Rogers Place – the new arena for National Hockey League (NHL) franchise the Edmonton Oilers – on its first public open day last week. Construction has been completed on the CA$600m (US$455.5m, €405.8m, £345m) ice hockey venue, located in downtown Edmonton, Canada, and it will host its first official sporting fixtures next month when the NHL returns. “Watching fans gather in the building for

Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha has been awarded the prestigious Praemium Imperiale global prize for architecture. The accolade – among the most valuable in the profession with prize money worth upwards of US$132,000 (€117,000, £100,000) – has been awarded annually by the Japan Art Association since 1989. Winners are also announced in the categories of painting, sculpture, music and theatre/film – areas of achievement chosen as they are not

A photographer to the stars has launched a Kickstarter campaign to open a design-led hotel chain he believes can change the world. Jeremy Cowart – who has photographed celebrities including Taylor Swift, the Kardashians, Britney Spears and Sting – wants to raise US$347,000 to begin the design process for his first ‘Purpose Hotel’ in Nashville, Tennessee. Cowart’s idea is to create a global hotel chain whose profits sponsor children in

American architect Steven Holl has been honoured for creating urban environments that actively use daylight to boost quality of life, human health, wellbeing and performance. The architect has been named the winner of the 2016 Daylight Award in Architecture; an accolade presented by three charitable foundations formed by civil engineer and skylight innovator Villum Kann Rasmussen. Holl will be honoured at an awards ceremony in Copenhagen on 2 November. The

The architect behind the Rio 2016 Olympic Park masterplan has encouraged the organisers of the 2020 Tokyo Games to collaborate with Paralympians as soon as possible to make sure its venues are accessible for all athletes, spectators and the members of the media. In an exclusive interview with CLAD, Bill Hanway, executive vice president at AECOM, said that “the most important lesson to be learnt” from the Rio Games is

ReardonSmith Architects have collaborated with interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon to create two new suites at The Savoy in London, as the hotel aims to enhance its reputation as a glamorous destination for the rich and famous. The architects previously oversaw the hotel’s four-year restoration and rebuilding programme from 2007 to 2010, and were invited back to reimagine the Royal Suite and create a new Savoy Suite. “Returning to The Savoy

Work has been completed on a unique project for Norway’s National Tourist Route (NTR), with a cluster of prefabricated structures by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor creating a selection of viewpoints and architectural rest stops as part of a project dating back 14 years. Allmannajuvet – which was first conceptualised and commissioned in 2002 by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration – is now open to the public, with the Allmannajuvet zinc

Tracy Lee of consultancy TLee Spas is working on plans for a destination spa at the upcoming Auberge Chileno Bay Resort & Residences in Los Cabos, Mexico, set to open in December 2016. The resort is set in the 1,200-acre community of Chileno Bay, and offers a “modern active and outgoing spirit in its design and lifestyle,” the company said. The signature spa will include ten treatment rooms, a couples

Legacy plans for Dubai’s 2020 Expo will reuse more than 80 per cent of the site once the event is complete, according to government officials. Upon the Expo’s conclusion, the 4.38sq km (1.69sq m) site will be transformed into an ecosystem connecting multiple sectors, including transport and logistics, travel and tourism, real estate, and education. The government says the plan is to create a “knowledge-based economy” that contributes to the

Populous is aiming to secure 10 major projects in China over the next five years as the nation seeks to improve its sporting infrastructure. In June, the architect signed a deal with Chinese global trade platform Alibaba to consult on the transformation of several sports stadiums – mirroring the government’s ambition to make China a football superpower. Alibaba’s sports arm, Alisports, has set its sights on operating 50,000 sports venues

Architect Asif Khan is bringing tiny forests to the streets of London to address the need for calming “third places” in urban environments. The architect has partnered with car manufacturer MINI for the project, called MINI Living, as part of the London Design Festival, which will run from 17-25 September. “Given the trend of urban densification we need to tap urban potentials in creative ways,” said Oke Hauser, creative lead

Designs have been unveiled for the final piece of Daniel Libeskind’s World Trade Center masterplan, with the US$250m (€222m, £188m) Perelman Performing Arts Center labelled as the development’s “keystone”. The translucent marble cube is a far cry from Frank Gehry’s stacked box concept – a US$400m (€355m, £300.5m) design that was officially dropped after more than a decade of development, with the architect declaring "I don't want to go where

Scotland’s first loch-side wood-burning sauna experience has opened on the shores of Loch Tay. The Hot Box has been created by architects McKenzie Strickland Associates on Taymouth Marina in the village of Kenmore. Stretching 40ft (12.19m), the sauna is designed to offer panoramic views across the loch to the adjacent hills. Guests of the sauna are encouraged to sit in the sauna, where there is a wood-burning stove, before leaping

Japanese architectural and urban design firm Nikken Sekkei have formed a business alliance with one of Australia's largest architectural practices, The Buchan Group. The partnership will allow the two firms to share knowledge, experience and networks as they seek joint commissions on a growing number of mixed-use leisure and hospitality projects around the world. "The alliance brings together specialist skills, values and culture from both companies to provide a homogenous

The government of Malawi has been handed the keys to its new international multi-sports stadium, after the Chinese contractor in charge of the project completed its work. According to the The Nyassa Times, the Bingu National Stadium, located in the capital Lilongwe, cost US$70m (€62m, £52.4m) to build, with funding coming in the form of a concessional loan from the Chinese government, which will be paid back by Malawi over

Actor Brad Pitt traveled to Croatia last week to tour the site of a proposed €1.5bn (US$1.7bn, £1.3bn) resort development near in the coastal town of Zablace, local media are reporting. The plans are to transform the city of Zablace into a “modern ecologically-responsible planned community,” People magazine reports, complete with a flagship luxury hotel, shops, villas, a school and clinic. Swiss-based investment company TFI Holding has invested €60m (US$68m,

Musician and restaurateur Moby – whose vegan restaurant Little Pine is approaching its first anniversary – has told CLAD that too many architects and designers ignore the needs of the people who will use their buildings. In an exclusive interview about Little Pine and his design philosophy, Moby criticised designers “who think about stuff that can be photographed well, but who never actually plan on spending time in the spaces

Moreau Kusunoki’s landmark Guggenheim museum in Helsinki, Finland, is in danger of not coming to fruition with the co-ruling nationalist Finns party blocking state aid for the project’s development. The Paris-based architecture firm were announced as winners of the Guggenheim Helsinki competition in June last year but the political row between the Finns party, the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party – the three groups forming a coalition government

Work has started on a 220 room hotel in Manchester that will be constructed from purpose-built steel shipping containers. Architects Chapman Taylor have designed the Holiday Inn, which is located within the Trafford City development, by pioneering “a completely new approach to the design process.” A fully co-ordinated BIM model was developed to create the building’s separate modules, which are being installed with interior fixtures and fittings off-site. When finished,

The nonprofit Global Wellness Institute is launching a Wellness in Architecture Initiative with a mission to bring together diverse thought leaders to raise the awareness on how our surroundings affect us. Initiative members will gather emerging evidence of the effects that the built environment has on humankind – diving into scientific corners of academia, interviewing experts within the building industry, collecting personal experiences of healing spaces, and more. “Our goal

The director in charge of overseeing FC Barcelona’s ambitious expansion plans has said that the €600m leisure campus planned by the club will reinvigorate the city and boost tourism. The Espai Barça project – described by club president Josep Maria Bartomeu as “the most important sports project in Europe and the world” – will create a pedestrianised, landscaped boulevard surrounding the club’s famous Camp Nou stadium. The district will integrate

Organisers of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, have updated Sports Management on the construction progress of the seven new competition venues and other facilities being built for the Games. South Korean architecture, construction and engineering firm Taeyoung have designed the facilities for the Olympics, which will be gathered around two main mountain clusters – the Alpensia resort for the outdoor sports and the coastal city of Gangneung

Spa consultancy and management company Duniye Spas will operate the spa the the upcoming Hurawalhi Resort in the Maldives, an eco-conscious resort set to open 1 November. The 600sq m (6,458sq ft) spa will feature five overwater treatment rooms with outdoor baths and glass floors – designed for clients to watch fish and ocean creatures as they have a treatment, said Renate Hermes, group spa director for Duniye Spas. Treatment

A giant aluminium sphere has been unmasked on the streets of Taipei following the removal of the scaffolding at OMA’s Performing Arts Center for the city. The exteriors of two of the centre’s theatres – the Proscenium Playhouse and Multiform Theatre – can now be seen clearly for the first time. Both venues will seat 800 spectators. An elevated transparent central cube will house the 1,500-capacity Grand Theatre, as well

Destination spa Rancho la Puerta is opening three new Villas Cielo, or ‘Heavenly Villas,’ this October. The private villas – Azul Terra and Verde – are designed with wellness and relaxation in mind, and are designed to be highly customisable. Designed by Nicole Petersen of Petersen Design Management, the villas aim to capture the spirit of Mexico through artisan decor and Mexican-inspired art and custom furniture. Each casita is themed

The first ever London Design Biennale will open to the public on 7 September, with participants from 37 nations using the event to explore the concept of utopia. Brand new work by leading architects, designers, scientists, writers and artists will explore how good design can respond to challenges such as pollution, growing and aging populations and mass migration to create perfect societies. The exhibition will include large-scale kinetic sculptures, immersive

Swedish firm Anders Berensson Architects have been commissioned by the country’s Royal Court to investigate the future of twelve disused pylon towers in one of Stockholm’s national parks, with a view to transforming them into community structures. The result is an innovative proposal to turn at least two of the structures into ‘Power Towers’ – observation points with panoramic views of the Norra Djurgården park. “The towers are constructed to