Dubai investment firm Najibi Group has unveiled plans for a AU$400m (US$300.7m, €270.4m, £226.3m) “active lifestyle” destination in Queensland, Australia. Najibi recently launched its new Australian investment and development offshoot Sanad Capital, which has been created to serve as a springboard for a diverse range of projects on the Sunshine Coast. The firm’s first project will be a community lifestyle and tourism hub “never-before seen in Australia”, according to Sanad.

Glenn Howells Architects (GHA) and Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) have reached the final in the competition to design a new stadium for Forest Green Rovers Football Club in Gloucestershire, UK. Almost 50 entries from around the world were submitted to the competition, and the winning pair have been selected from a shortlist of nine candidates. The brief called for a fan-focused and sustainable 5,000 capacity stadium in line with the

Natural elements such as spa gardens are increasingly important to today’s spa design, and creating an authentic experience through design and programming is key, said Ashley Scott, principal director of global design and infrastructure services firm AECOM, in an exclusive interview with CLAD. “Spas were traditionally quite internal to the hotel and resort, but now what we are experiencing is that spas are very much destination components of the hotel

The World Architecture Festival (WAF) has revealed the architects and buildings in contention for awards glory at this year’s event in Berlin in November. The prestigious WAF Awards celebrate completed architectural projects, future projects and landscape projects across 30 categories. A panel of industry professionals – including David Chipperfield and Christoph Ingenhoven – alongside former winners and festival speakers have selected the final shortlists based on entries submitted from architects

Just a few months after announcing plans to add a fourth theme park to its expanding attractions portfolio, Six Flags has started work on a development at Dubai Parks and Resorts. The AED2.67bn (US$727m, €639m, £515m) project – the first Six Flags development in the Middle East – will operate under a licensing model with an opening date of Q4 2019. The Six Flags park will contain 27 rides split

The international architecture competition to design a Museum of 20th Century Art in Berlin is entering its final stages, with 42 firms asked to submit their proposals before a decision is made by the end of the year. Sou Fujimoto, Zaha Hadid Architects, David Chipperfield, Herzog & de Meuron, REX Architecture, OMA, Snøhetta, SANAA and UNStudio are among those to have qualified from previous rounds, or who have been invited

Engineering design experts Thornton Tomasetti have been selected to work on the £70m (US$92.8m, €83.4m) project to renovate Wimbledon’s No. 1 Court. The studio will work alongside KSS Architects to provide structural and facade design engineering services for the new development, which will include a retractable roof. Improved public facilities, 15 new hospitality suites and an increased capacity to 12,000 seats will also be included in the project. Thornton Tomasetti

Four Seasons has opened a hotel in Jakarta’s Central Business District at the all-new Capital Place, an award-winning architectural landmark by Cesar Pelli. The hotel features a spa that takes its inspiration from Southeast Asian cultures woven together with global influences. Facilities include eight treatment rooms, two couple’s suites, a hammam, relaxation lounge, spa shop, a 24-hour fitness centre and an outdoor pool on the fifth-floor rooftop. A beauty salon,

Danish architecture firm Kvorning Design & Communication has won the contract for a new Secrets of the Sea exhibition at the Norwegian Petroleum Museum, designed around a whirlpool creation as the new centrepiece for the museum. Featuring different zones with analogue and digital activities to encourage collaboration, learning and play, the exhibition design has been inspired by the sea, which is fitting for the museum located in the port of

Design studios should embrace temporary architecture projects as a means of experimenting with how buildings can shape our environments. That is the view of Roland Rom Colthoff, principal of Canadian firm RAW Design. The practice have organised several temporary events celebrating adaptive reuse of structures, including Winter Stations – an exhibition of art installations built around lifeguard points on Toronto’s wintry beaches – and a series of one-night “architectural stunts”

Crown Hotels is adding a Crown Towers property in Perth to its portfolio, featuring a spa designed by Australian interior designer Blainey North. North was inspired by the beauty of the refraction of light underwater in her Crown Spa design, which is reflected in the aqua-hued treatment rooms. The spa includes male and female wet areas with aroma steamroom, Roman hot tub, sauna and private relaxation areas. Crown Towers Perth

Renovations of some of the world’s most famous hotels dominated the CLAD headlines this week. The Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia has unveiled a multi-million dollar renewal project designed by Wimberly Interiors; Chinese company Anbang is considering converting two-thirds of the rooms at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel into private condos; and the Ritz Paris reopened its doors after a four year revamp. Meanwhile, details have emerged about some exciting future hotels

Investor and philanthropist Ronald Perelman has donated US$75m (€67m, £56m) towards the construction and operation of the planned Performing Arts Center (PAC) at the World Trade Center in New York. The 80,000sq ft (7,400sq m) mixed-use cultural venue – which will produce works of theatre, dance, music, opera and film – is currently being designed by New York studio REX Architecture, but questions had surrounded how the project would be

Barack and Michelle Obama have chosen the architectural team of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects and Partners (TWBTA) and Interactive Design Architects (IDEA) to design the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. The Obama Foundation – started by the Obamas in 2014 to “inspire the next generation of young leaders across the world" – issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to seven architectural firms in December. The shortlist, which was whittled

The Ritz Paris hotel has reopened for business after receiving extensive renovation works bankrolled by billionaire businessman Mohamed Al Fayed. Since 2012, a thousand workers and craftsmen have been working on the revamp of the historic building; the biggest to take place since its opening in 1898. Architect and designer Thierry W. Despont has overseen the redesign of 142 rooms and suites – named after famous guests such as Marcel

Finnish architects Avanto Architects have designed a public sauna that doubles as an outdoor auditorium for marine sports in Helsinki. The sauna, named Löyly, is located on the waterfront in Hernesaari, once an industrial area of the city. Wooden slats clad the multi-faceted, pyramid-like structure, allowing visitors to climb up the roof to a viewpoint at the top of the building, or sit and look out to sea. A ground

The government of Hong Kong is seeking non-binding Expressions of Interest for a planned sports park in Kai Tak. Construction companies and joint ventures, investors, sports operators, facility managers and stadium architects are invited to make their interest in the project clear before 8 July 2016. The Kai Tak Sports Park is described by the government as “the most important investment in sports infrastructure in recent decades”. The site –

Just weeks after opening its first theme park in mainland China, it has emerged that Disney is already planning another according to the Chongqing city government, which said it is bidding to host a future Disney park. The local authority in southwest China said that Disney had been planning to build a second park even before it started construction on the recently-opened Shanghai Disneyland. “Currently, we are actively preparing for

The boutique five-star Milaidhoo Island Maldives is set to open this November on a small 300m by 180m island set in the heart of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Baa Atoll region of the Maldives. Designed by local architect Mohamed Shafeeq, the resort will have a “barefoot informality” and include 30 over-water villas along with 20 beach villas, all with large private freshwater swimming pools. The resort’s spa will

NFL quarterback Andrew Luck is playing a part in creating a US$35m (€31.5m, £26m) hands-on indoor/outdoor sports exhibit for The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts star, who majored in architectural design, has been working with the museum and Ratio Architects to create the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience, which he called a “sports utopia” that every child would want when it opens in Q2 2018. “For me,

A 360-room luxury hotel designed by Herzog & de Meuron for Hilton Worldwide in Washington is now under construction. The Conrad Washington D.C.will feature within 10-acre mixed-use development CityCenterDC, which is being created in the heart of the US capital. HKS Architects are collaborating on the hotel project, as are interior design firm Rottet Studio. Turner Construction Company is the project’s general contractor. Few design details have been released, but

Eight architecture studios have reached the final stage of the international competition to create a new exhibition hall for the Museo del Prado in Madrid; Spain’s national art museum. The new gallery, which will showcase artworks that explore Spanish history, will be housed in the Hall of Realms. The building once formed part of the Royal Buen Retiro Palace and was formerly used as an Army Museum, before it was

Alisports – the sports arm of global trade platform Alibaba – has inked a strategic partnership with Populous as it attempts to build and operate “tens of thousands” of sports venues in China. Populous has worked in China since 2000, designing sports developments such as the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre and Zhuhai’s International Tennis Centre. That work will almost certainly increase as China – and Alisports chief executive Zhang Dazhong

Oman’s Al-Khonji Real Estate & Development Company (AQAR) has been granted the right to build a new billion dollar leisure district featuring hotels, homes and a theme park. The Special Economic Zone Authority in the central town of Duqm have given the project the green light in a bid to encourage Omani investors to invest in the sultanate and diversify its tourism offerings. The site will cover an area of

Pop Artist Sean Danconia has collaborated with interior designer Henry Chebaane to create a new hospitality brand called SupaPop Space. The newly formed venture will provide a platform for the duo to create, produce, develop and license characters and art into experiential concepts, hospitality spaces and retail products. Danconia has worked as an artist and animator for Disney, Hello Kitty and Warner Brothers, among others, and his own work combines

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have created an inflatable beer pavilion for the Roskilde Music Festival which is part sculpture, part bouncy castle. The structure – called FOAM and is sponsored by beer brand Tuborg – is a giant “bubble-like cloud” which is illuminated by purple LED lights at night and can be inflated in seven minutes. BIG were tasked with creating a 120sq m (1,300sq ft) mobile pavilion which could

The chair of the Global Wellness Institute’s Wellness Communities Initiative has urged architects and developers to embrace placemaking to ensure people live healthy and happy lives. Mia Kyricos told CLAD that owners and operators of wellness-driven businesses “have an amazing opportunity to be a part of a new frontier” considering people’s needs every day of their life, and not just when they're on holiday. “Like it or not, wellness is