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

Adjaye Associates, Diller Scofidio + Renfro and AL_A are among the six architecture practices in the running to illuminate 17 of central London’s bridges with permanent light installations. Les Éclairagistes Associés, Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, and a team led by Sam Jacob Studio and artist Simon Heijdens are also in contention for the ambitious £20m (US$26.6m, €23.8m) project. Over 340 firms, grouped into 104 teams, entered the competition to breathe new

Studio Gang have been lined up to produce a temporary installation for the National Building Museum's 2017 Summer Block Party, following in the footsteps of Snarkitecture and Bjarke Ingels. The design concept is being kept under wraps for now, but the studio promised it will “engage the spirit of creative experimentation that has defined the success of the Summer Block Party series.” Previous installations include a complex maze, a huge

Taronga Zoo, near Sydney, Australia, has received planning approval for a new science and conservation education centre. The A$30.7m (US$23.5, €20.8, £17.8m) Taronga Institute of Science and Learning (TISL) has been designed by New South Wales architecture firm NBRS. The old learning facility will be replaced by the new three-storey design, which is inspired by patterns in nature and will offer an immersive and interactive experience. NSW Department of Planning

Architects, interior designers and engineers in the construction industry could, and should, use more wool in their buildings rather than relying on synthetic alternatives. That is the view of Charles, Prince of Wales, who is fronting a new campaign to inspire creators from multiple disciplines to embrace the possibilities of a material that “is an excellent insulator even when wet, a natural fire retardant, odour-resistant, and absorbent of both shocks

Architects, interior designers and engineers in the construction industry could, and should, use more wool in their buildings rather than relying on synthetic alternatives. That is the view of Charles, Prince of Wales, who is fronting a new campaign to inspire creators from multiple disciplines to embrace the possibilities of a material that “is an excellent insulator even when wet, a natural fire retardant, odour-resistant, and absorbent of both shocks

Here are some of the most popular stories that appeared on CLAD this week, from a museum inspired by a kiln to a landmark opera house for Dubai. • Hotel brand Wyndham Garden has launched a new global design prototype to help hospitality operators save money, improve efficiency and forge a closer connection to nature. Read here. • The body in charge of organising Tokyo’s Olympic Games has admitted its

Culture, health and movement are the focus at MVRDV’s new community centre in Copenhagen, which encourages adults and children alike to enjoy a better quality of life through physical activity. Slides, fireman's poles, labyrinths, nets and climbing walls provide a means of navigating around the Ku.Be House of Culture and Movement, which is being opened today by Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. The project, designed in collaboration with ADEPT, is

Joyce Wang Studio have designed an atmospheric new restaurant in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong, with charred walls and coppery furnishings evoking the head chef’s love of grill cooking. The design team aimed to create “a relaxed and refined space” by modelling their vision around the passions, menu and culinary stylings of chef Nathan Green. Shou Sugi Ban, a traditional charred cedar wood cladding used in Japanese vernacular architecture, has

Starwood Hotels has expanded its Latin American portfolio with the opening of the 119-bedroom W Punta de Mita in Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit. Owned by Fideicomiso Los Veneros, the new hotel is part of the multi-use oceanfront development Los Veneros. Designed by ASET/AOMA in collaboration with Oakland, California-based design firm Mister Important Design and Starwood’s in-house design team, the concept is inspired by the local bohemian surf culture found on Mexico’s

A Japanese fabric manufacturer has teamed up with Kengo Kuma and Associates to demonstrate how carbon fibre curtains can protect buildings from earthquakes. Komatsu Seiren have opened a laboratory in the city of Nomi, Ishikawa Prefecture, to showcase the invention – which is formed of carbon fibre mixed with a high tensile twine-like material. These curtains, or rods, spread across the structure like a curtain and tether it to the

German architect Ole Scheeren has completed one of his highest profile projects since leaving OMA and setting up his own studio: Thailand’s tallest building. MahaNakhon is a 77-storey, 314m (1,030ft) tall ‘pixelated’ skyscraper located in Bangkok’s Central Business District. The dramatic addition to the city’s skyline opened to the public this week with a spectacular light show. The multi-coloured LED display highlighted the three-dimensional ribbon of architectural pixels that coil

A new London exhibition is set to explore communal bathing culture through the work of contemporary architects and designers. The immersive show – called Soak, Steam, Dream and organised as part of the 2016 London Design Festival – uses photography, film and archive objects to showcase international bathhouse projects by designers as varied as Peter Zumthor, Kengo Kuma and H3T architekti. Each project has been chosen for its role in