The Happy Valley theme park in Shanghai, China has opened a multimedia tower which transforms at night into the centrepiece of a dramatic 18 minute light show. The 32m (105ft) high tower – described by developer OCT Shanghai as “a symbol of modernity and an icon of contemporary culture” – is located in a tranquil central lake, where it leans skywards at an angle. When evening falls the tower is

Waterpark supplier Polin will handle development of Russia’s largest indoor waterpark, with the planned all-season facility in Tyumen designed to handle a sub-zero Siberian winter. The waterpark will include large translucent domes overhead to allow sunlight in while keeping the -16.7ºC (1.94ºF) temperatures out. Within the domes, palm trees will decorate the landscape, while a number of Polin slides will offer thrill-seekers a number of experiences within the 10,000sq m

Architecture studio OMA are shifting their business model to place more emphasis on developing their own projects rather than competing for work. In an exclusive interview with CLAD, studio partner David Gianotten said the new approach “will go beyond just architecture” as OMA attempt to take the initiative in finding worthwhile projects. “Our profession is in transition,” he said. “For a long time, architecture has been very opportunistic, but I

Hilton is partnering with Miami hospital Baptist Health South Florida to open a 184-bedroom hotel with a wellness centre and farm-to-table restaurant on the hospital campus. Operated by Interstate Hotels and Resorts, the Hilton Miami/Dadeland will include 34 bedrooms tailored to guests staying for long periods. CallisonRTKL Inc., the architect for the hotel, has fused best practices from healthcare and hospitality design with an aim to create a welcoming, compassionate

A new football-specific stadium has been earmarked for Nashville, Tennessee as a result of the city launching a bid to establish a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise. A 22-member organising committee – headed up by businessman and investor Bill Hagerty – is leading the bid to bring top-flight football to the city. The group has been in contact with a number of potential investors and located several stadium sites with

Construction is underway on the latest sculptural building designed by MAD Architects; a translucent, star-shaped design hub in the Chinese city Xiamen for fashion giant Xinhee. The building, called the Xinhee Design Center, will have a public atrium at its core with a footbridge used as a catwalk for fashion shows. From there, six long spanning structures will extend out in different directions – like petals growing from a central

Indian architecture firm Studio Ardete have pledged to “break the stereotypes surrounding the design of fitness spaces” in the country after unveiling a gym which embraces quirkiness and idiosyncratic design. According to the architects, the Pro Fitness Gymnasium, located in the small city Kurukshetra, was “born from the idea that a health club can be both individualistic and practical”. The 5,000sq ft (464sq m) site – the largest of its

The finalists for the 2016 European Hotel Design Awards have been announced following a preliminary round of voting, with a shortlist that showcases some of the continent’s most innovative new projects across the sector. The shortlist includes an apple-themed hotel and spa in Germany, a resort recreating an authentic Mallorcan village in Spain, and a Clodagh-designed getaway inspired by Portugal's trading history. The ten shortlisted categories include best new build,

Robert De Niro’s Paradise Found hotel project in Barbuda is one step closer to becoming reality now that the government has approved it. The hotel project, which includes the refurbishment and expansion of K-Club – a resort which became famous in the 90s when it was a hideaway for Princess Diana – is slated to begin construction in early 2017, according to the Caribbean Journal. De Niro and Australian media

A giant international hub for music and sound technology has opened in Calgary, Canada to house the country’s National Music Centre (NMC). Studio Bell, designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture, is a vast street-crossing construction located in Calgary’s East Village. The 160,000sq ft (15,000sq m) building rises in nine interlocking towers clad in glazed terra cotta. It includes five floors of exhibition space showcasing over 2,000 artefacts and

The Beijing Institute of Architectural Design has won an international competition with its vision for a new regional gateway for culture and commerce in Ryde, Australia. The Design Our Ryde contest has been an eight-month search for ideas to revamp the city’s Civic Hub Precinct – located on a prominent ridgeline outside of Sydney, with views of the surrounding Blue Mountains. The hub is the current location of the local

Beijing is preparing to transform the facilities it built for the 2008 Olympic Games to accommodate other sports ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics. China’s capital city will host the Games in six years time, and organisers are planning to reuse venues created for the 2008 showpiece rather than build more expensive facilities. The Water Cube Aquatics Centre – which has been converted into a public water park since the

The winners have been announced in an ideas competition to propose a new life for Philip Johnson’s famous New York State Pavilion in Queens. The iconic structure – which includes two observation towers and a large elliptical Tent of Tomorrow – was built at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park for the 1964-65 World Fair. However, in the last few decades it has fallen into disrepair. Despite this, the pavilion remains a significant

This year’s Pritzker Prize winner, Alejandro Aravena, has told CLAD that architects and developers must do more to improve people’s quality of life when developing built environments. In an interview featured in the new issue of CLADmag, the Chilean architect said that even when people’s basic needs are provided for – such as shelter and warmth – a project has not succeeded unless it creates an environment where people can

The architectural studio of Vo Trong Nghia are creating a floating bamboo spa on the Vietnamese island Phu Quoc. Named the Signature Spa, the facility will be attached to a five star hotel on the island, which is famous in the region for its dense expanses of nature and areas of jungle. The spa will consist of a building containing treatment rooms, alongside a series of arched bamboo podiums that

Visitors to a forthcoming food theme park in Italy will be able to grow their own food on-site in a futuristic pavilion designed by architecture and innovation firm Carlo Ratti Associati. The attraction, called the Area of the Future, will be one of the centrepieces of FICO Eataly World, an 80,000sq m (861,000sq ft) edutainment park focused on food-production and nutrition currently under construction in Bologna. Visitors to the circular

New renderings have been released of Peter Zumthor’s proposed redevelopment of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) ahead of a public consultation meeting on 24 August. The images visualise eight semi-transparent pavilions supporting an elevated, organically-shaped main exhibition level. The Pritzker Prize winning architect’s design will replace four of the museum’s deteriorating structures to house LACMA’s permanent collection of historic and contemporary art. Demolition of older buildings means

Since opening its US$57m (€51.5m, £43.7m) African Adventure, California’s Fresno Chaffee Zoo has experienced a 40 per cent upturn in attendance. Funded mainly by a levy a tax to help support new zoo projects and programmes, the 13-acre (57,000sq m) project offers a modern home for a number of species, including African elephants, lions, cheetahs, wildebeest, giraffes, ostrich, springbok and more. “It’s by far the largest project we’ve done both

Leinster Rugby has submitted proposals for the €26m (£22m, US$29m) redevelopment of its home RDS Arena. The three-time European champion has applied for planning permission from Dublin City Council to increase the capacity of the stadium from 18,500 to 21,000, while improving the visitor facilities within the Anglesea stand. Dublin studio Newenham Mulligan and London-based architects Grimshaw have been selected to create the design concept. Redevelopment work will not only

The British Airways i360 – the world’s first vertical cable car, tallest moving observation tower and most slender tower – has opened to the public in Brighton, UK. Opened today (4 August), the so-called “vertical pier” by Marks Barfield Architects sits on the foundation of Brighton’s former Victorian-era West Pier, which was destroyed by an arson attack in March 2003. “When the West Pier was built and when the Palace

The monastic-themed Sanctum Inle in Myanmar is set to open 1 October, and will include a Sanctum Spa with six treatment rooms designed by France’s Brigitte Du Mont Chassart, who is responsible for all of the resort’s interiors. Sanctum Inle will also include an Olympic-sized swimming pool overlooking Inle Lake, and takes full advantage of its position in an off-the-beaten-path location. “In a region long closed off to the wider

International studio Arquitectonica has partnered with “placemaking specialist” developers Samuels & Associates and Landsea Group to bring leisure to the skies of Boston. The architects – who have just completed EAST, Miami, the first Swire Hotels property in the US – have unveiled their design for a mixed-use residential tower with private sky cabanas and a rooftop swimming pool and hot tub. The building, called Pierce Boston, will feature 360

A new Indian restaurant and cocktail bar has opened in London with a design that pays tribute to the scientists and botanists of the Victorian era and their explorations in the jungles of India. Flora Indica, which opened at the weekend, is the latest dining and entertainment concept from designer Henry Chebaane and Blue Sky Hospitality, who recently opened London’s sci-fi tinged Asian restaurant Kojawan. Walls and shelves of the

Architect David Adjaye has told CLAD that the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington is “one of the defining projects” of his career to date. The landmark museum – which has been developed over a decade – is due to be opened by US President Barack Obama on the 24 September 2016. Adjaye’s practice Adjaye Associates worked with architecture studios Freelon Group and David Brody Bond

Planning approval for a “game-changing” £37m (US$49m, €43.7m) water park has been granted by Coventry City Council. The FaulknerBrowns-designed facility – which is located in the city’s town centre, and was funded by both private and public investment – is expected to open its doors in 2018. As well as flume rides the water park contains toddler areas, leisure water and lane swimming. Most of the water features and high

Architecture studio Alison Brooks have created a banana-like structure for this September’s London Design Festival, due to sit in the grounds of the Chelsea College of Arts during the event. Aptly named ‘The Smile’, the curving urban structure is being built from cross-laminated tulipwood and has been created as a means to demonstrate the structural and spatial potential of that material, in addition to its artistic purpose. The American Hardwood

The developers of a luxury island resort opening this year the Maldives have claimed it will be one of the most eco-conscious ever created in South Asia – with thousands of solar panels used as a design feature. Developer Crown & Champa Resorts claims that the Hurawalhi Island Resort will “put as much back into its surroundings as it takes out.” New York architect Yuji Yamazaki has created a futuristic,