Guests at a new resort in the Maldives will be able to sleep under the stars, with a retractable roof built into every master bedroom. The roofs at the Soneva Javi resort, which will have its soft opening in October, can be opened at the touch of a button. Described by Sovena as “an evolution of the water villa experience”, the retractable feature is one of several unorthodox additions the

Plans to open New York’s largest Ferris wheel have been delayed, with project leader and CEO Rich Marin, saying the 630ft (192m) high attraction will now open in April 2018. Originally scheduled for early next year before being pushed back to mid- and then late 2017, the US$580m (€514.8m, £447.1m) wheel has been delayed thanks to a “complicated engineering process”. "If someone says, 'You're a year behind,' It's hard for

One of the leading architects behind a new football stadium for Dutch club Feyenoord has told CLAD how the development will revitalise a neglected part of Rotterdam. David Gianotten, managing partner-architect for international studio Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), described how the firm’s design for the stadium reflects the fact that sport is an integral part of the city’s society and urban fabric. “There were two previous attempts to build

The winner has been announced in a hotly-contested competition to design a new leisure centre and area of public realm for Finsbury, north London. Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects were selected from a five strong shortlist and will now develop their vision for the site, which will replace the existing 1970s Finsbury Leisure Centre building with a new sports and health hub. New council homes will also be provided as part

Billionaire inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk has teased his latest innovation: a customisable roof with integrated solar panels. Two of the billionaire’s companies – electric motor company Tesla and green energy provider SolarCity – are currently undergoing a merger, and the solar roof would be developed by the united firm. Speaking about this move on an earnings call for SolarCity, Musk elaborated on his plans for the release. "It's a

Middle Eastern developer Nakheel and Spanish hospitality giant RIU Hotels & Resorts have officially kickstarted development on an 800-room resort and waterpark at Dubai’s artificial Deira Islands. Planning advisory firm Dar Al Handasah have been appointed to oversee the design, engineering and construction of the AED900m (US$268m, €219m, £190.3m) project. Nakheel and RIU signed a joint venture agreement in Palma, Mallorca, in February this year to develop an affordable family

The Hettema Group (THG) recently introduced the first in a series of pop-up installations to Los Angeles’ Union Station, with various events to run at the station through the summer months. The interactive media installation, Union Station 360º, ran from 15 July to 24 July and was the first in a series of free art events and concerts aiming to transform the transit hub into a public destination. The experience

Thematic entertainment design and construction firm Sanderson Group have been named as masterplanners for a US$5bn (€4.47bn, £3.87bn) development in Bali, Indonesia, dubbed a “new wonder” by its founders. Margarana Dream City – which covers 2.5sq km (0.95sq m) – follows a theme of “innergy”, with a pyramid-like tower at the heart of the development “drawing the positive 'chi' into a green city”. The mixed-use development offers a variety of

New Zealand practice Studio Pacific Architecture have developed alternative designs for a planned film museum in Wellington backed by Lord of the Rings director Sir Peter Jackson. The Movie Museum and Wellington Convention Center, which will cover more than 10,000sq m (107,639sq ft) of prime waterfront land in the city’s central business district, will house memorabilia from the sets of Jackson’s movies and the creations of the acclaimed Weta Workshop.

Architecture practice Perkins + Will have revealed new details about the stadium they’re building in Al Aweer, Dubai, which will be the largest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Mohammed bin Rashid Stadium was approved earlier this year by UAE prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, but detailed images and information about the project have only just been released. Currently in the planning and design phase, the

Spa and wellness consultancy and management company GOCO Hospitality is developing a GOCO Retreat on the dramatic German island of Rügen. Located on the Baltic Sea coast and known for its sandy beaches, quiet lagoons and dramatic peninsulas, Rügen is Germany’s largest island. The GOCO Retreat Kaiserhof Rügen will be located on a hill in the southeastern part of the island, on a site originally owned by the Prussian statesman

The International Garden Festival has begun in Quebec’s Redford Gardens, with five award-winning garden installations open to the public for the first time. They are being displayed alongside 22 other creations designed for the festival by landscape architects in Canada and around the world. The prize-winning studios – who hail from Canada, the United States, France and Switzerland – won the right to build their gardens following an international competition

Here are some of the most popular stories that appeared on CLAD this week, from a food theme park to a floating bamboo spa. Monday • New renderings released of Peter Zumthor’s proposed redevelopment of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Read here. • Visitors to Eataly’s Italian food theme park will be able to grow their own food on-site. Read here. • Vo Trong Nghia has designed

One of the world’s most iconic cultural landmarks is set to be comprehensively revamped “and upgraded for the 21st Century”. The government of New South Wales, Australia has revealed working designs to update the Sydney Opera House as part of a AUS$202m scheme. The changes – which are the biggest in the building’s 43 year history – include an overhaul of the Concert Hall’s acoustics, accessibility, stage and backstage areas.

A proposal by architect Richard Murray to transform one of Edinburgh’s most beloved landmarks into a concert hall and music school seems likely to go ahead after planning officials threw their weight behind the scheme. The former home of the Royal High School on Calton Hill is a neoclassical listed building designed by architect Thomas Hamilton in the 1820s. The question of how best to preserve the site has proven

As Dubai prepares to go head-to-head with Orlando for the title of attractions capital of the world, the city’s multi-billion dollar Dubai Parks and Resorts development has announced that it will officially open to the public on 31 October. The unique destination, which features three major theme parks and will later gain a fourth under the Six Flags umbrella, will be at the heart of what has been dubbed ‘Orlando

The first renderings of Montreal’s planned new biodome have been released by architecture studio KANVA. The dome, which has been part of the city’s natural science museum Space for Life since 1992, is being extensively revamped as part of Montreal’s 375th birthday celebrations. KANVA won an international competition for the project in 2014 after creating a concept design to “rethink the relationship between mankind and nature” and bolster the museum’s

A spa themed after Paris’s La Belle Epoche will feature at the upcoming The Parisian Macao – the latest property from developer Sands China – which is set to open 13 September 2016. The 1,264sq m (13,606sq ft) Le Spa’tique will include 12 treatment rooms, including four doubles; male and female vitality lounges with sauna, steam room, experience showers, vitality pools and relaxation loungers; a barbershop for men; hair boutique

ReardonSmith Architects have received planning consent to renovate three historic London buildings as hotels. The London studio, who specialise in hotels and resorts, last year won the Best Adaptive Re-Use Prize at the European Hotel Design Awards for their work on the city’s Beaumont Hotel near Buckingham Palace. They have also previously renovated the Georgian Lanesborough Hotel property in the capital. Work on the three new projects, listed below, will

The architect behind the Rio 2016 Olympic Park masterplan has revealed how a focus on sustainable design and temporary venues has created a lasting legacy for the Brazilian city. Bill Hanway, executive vice president at AECOM, has worked with the international practice to masterplan Olympic parks for both the Rio Games and the London Olympics four years earlier. In an exclusive interview, he told CLAD how this time round there

Ten firms are in the running to design a masterplan for a man-made island off the coast of Hainan, China, which will become an eco-tourism hub for the region. Foster + Partners, UNStudio and Diller Scofidio + Renfro are among the studios competing for the project in Haikou Bay, according to ArchDaily. Called Nanhai Pearl Artificial Island, the 250 hectare crescent-shaped land is connected to the mainland by a bridge.

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