Global hotel giant Starwood has received a surprise US$12.8bn (€11.5bn, £8.9bn) takeover offer from a group led by China’s Anbang Insurance Group, which could scupper its planned merger with Marriott. In November 2015, Marriott announced that it would buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts – whose brands include St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W and Design Hotels – in a US$12.2bn (€11.4bn, £8bn) stock and cash transaction which would create the

New York’s contemporary art museum the Albright-Knox Art Gallery has announced its intention to launch an US$80m (€72m, £55.8m) expansion of its Elmwood Avenue campus, with five high-flying studios in the running to design the project. Allied Works Architecture, Bjarke Ingels Group, OMA, Snøhetta and wHY have all been shortlisted for the tender, with the final selection due in June 2016 and the design phase set to take place in

After months of speculation, National Football League (NFL) franchise the Washington Redskins has finally confirmed architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) will design its new home, and unveiled the first details of the project. Described by the Redskins as “a new stadium concept”, BIG’s creation – a transparent wave-like structure wrapped in a golden metal mesh – is designed with a particular focus on how it will be used on non-match

The developers of a forthcoming luxury resort in the Maldives claim that they have finished constructing the world’s largest underwater restaurant. The 400-ton megastructure was created over 10 months in New Zealand and Japan and has now been transported to the resort in Lhaviyani Atoll, where it is being fixed to steel piles by divers 5.8 metres below a lagoon. Guests at the Hurawalhi Island Resort & Spa will enter

The organisers of the Dubai Expo 2020 have revealed the three star practices who will design the main pavilions for the event, following a highly competitive international architecture competition. Foster + Partners, Grimshaw Architects and Bjarke Ingels Group have been named winners of the contest – which was held by real estate company Emaar Properties – and will design pavilions themed around mobility, sustainability and opportunity respectively. The studios overcame

Indonesia’s first major museum dedicated to international modern and contemporary art will open its doors in Jakarta in 2017. The brainchild of Indonesian philanthropist and collector Haryanto Adikoesoemo, the multi-million dollar Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (MACAN) is currently under construction. The private institution will house Adikoesoemo’s personal collection built over a quarter-of-a-century, which is being curated by Thomas J. Berghuis – formerly curator of Chinese art

Hauser Wirth and Schimmel – a new Los Angeles arts centre located in a converted flour mill – held its grand opening ceremony yesterday (13 March) with the launch of its inaugural exhibition. Architect Annabelle Selldorf and local studio Creative Space have retrofitted seven interconnected late 19th and early 20th century buildings in the city’s arts district. The result is a 100,000sq ft (9,300sq m) complex featuring galleries, a bar,

Mexican studio Tall Arquitectos are the team behind this week’s concept of the week: A cantilevered cocktail bar and restaurant suspended terrifyingly over Mexico’s Copper Canyon. The design imagines a building called Biré Bitori extending far out from the rock face, overhanging a sheer drop below. The restaurant would feature a glass floor, providing a heartstopping view down to the bottom of the canyon. Above the restaurant level, the studio

This week was a busy one for Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, who broke ground on an art gallery and clubhouse on a lake in southern China and unveiled their plans for a new green-topped mixed-use complex in Stockholm. The latter project is one of a host of big green space projects which were announced this week. Others included a High Line-inspired park in Vancouver and a floating sky park in

Guy Holloway Architects look set to develop the world’s first multi-storey skatepark in the British port town of Folkestone after their design received planning approval from the district council. Following a series of public consultations in Q1 2015, detailed proposals were developed by the architects and skatepark design consultancy Maverick for an urban sports facility. That vision has now been unanimously approved by planning committee members at Shepway District Council.

Danish studio Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects have added another project to their growing portfolio after winning an international competition to design Hästen 21, a mixed-use complex in central Stockholm. The practice have envisioned a 43,000sq m (462,800sq ft) retail, office and housing complex that will also transform the site into a central public artery, creating “public experiences of high urban quality.” Hästen 21 – which will be set back from

At the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin this week, Starwood announced its continued expansion in Europe with a record 18 organic hotel openings in 2015 and more than 30 hotels under development and expected to open in the next five years. Starwood will be launching the Tribute Portfolio brand in France, diversifying its brand footprint in Italy and expanding its mid-market brands in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Russia

A new art museum, dedicated to the art of the people of British Columbia, is about to open its doors in Whistler, Canada. Opening on 12 March, the CA$30m (US$22.6m, €20.5m, £15.9m) Audain Art Museum, designed by Vancouver-based design firm Patkau Architects, sits within a grove of trees and is designed to blend in with its surroundings, with only a single tree having to be removed to build it. Nestled

The City of Vancouver has secured a “historic” deal with the Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP) to buy a disused 9km (5.6 mile) stretch of railway line which it intends to transform into a vast community park. The Arbutus Greenway will be used for public use following the CA$55m (US$41.1m, €36.8m, £28.7m) agreement, which will see 42 acres of land freed up for development as green space, linking the neighbourhoods

International architecture studio AW2 have won the Asia Hotel Design of the Year award for their work on Phum Baitang resort in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The Paris-based firm won the top prize at the Asia Hotel Design Awards, which were held today (10 March) at The South Beach hotel in Singapore, with over 400 industry figures from the region in attendance. Phum Baitang – which was also named the Resort

Hollywood star Jessica Biel and a consortium of stylists, writers, entrepreneurs and philanthropists have opened a family-friendly dining and creative space close to Los Angeles’ design district. The restaurant, called Au Fudge, is described by its developers as “an all-inclusive culinary, social and visual oasis for adults and children to equally enjoy as their home away from home.” The child-friendly design is intended to create “a unique wonderland”, complete with

Construction has begun on a museum and events centre designed by architects Coop Himmelb(l)au for Austrian bread company Backaldrin. The Haus des Brotes (The House of Bread) will be a shimmering, sculptural creation located at the company’s headquarters in Asten, northern Austria. The building – formed of a concrete rectangular base supporting a wooden and steel-clad structure – will contain a customer information centre, events rooms and a two-storey ‘cabinet

James Corner Field Operations have designed a vast glacial installation for the National Building Museum in Washington, which will make visitors feel as though they are walking through an underwater world of ice fields. The urban design, landscape architecture and public realm practice – best-known for their acclaimed work on New York’s High Line – have designed the immersive installation for the museum’s returning Summer Block Party series, which will

Pulitzer Amsterdam, the 45-year old waterside hotel in the Dutch capital’s canal district, has announced that phase one of its extensive restoration project is complete. 80 redesigned guestrooms and suites and a restaurant and bar are now open once more to guests staying at the hotel, which is spread across 25 interlinked buildings over 400 years old. The renovations, which were led by interior designer Jacu Strauss, showcase a design

A new book devoted to the art of theme park design is to launch on 28 March 2016. Theme Park Design & The Art of Themed Entertainment, aimed at designers, students and theme park fans, brings together a wealth of tips and advice from design experts from Disney, Universal and Merlin’s creative studios, as well as many more. The book promises to be a comprehensive study of experience design in

A leading architect in the conscious cities movement – which is exploring how architecture and urban design can better consider and respond to our needs – has told CLAD how emotionally-aware urban environments could add a necessary element of fun and surprise into our day-to-day lives. Architect Itai Palti, founder of research group Conscious Cities, called for academics, scientists, developers, policy makers, architects and designers to collaborate on making our

Danish studio Henning Larsen Architects have been commissioned to create a special cultural pavilion in Rio de Janeiro to celebrate the 2016 Olympic Games. The public pavilion will be located on the world-famous Ipanema Beach with the statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado Mountain providing a dramatic backdrop. The 300sq m (3,200sq ft) installation is intended to provide a destination for cultural exchange between Denmark and Brazil for the

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has invited architects, landscape architects and urban designers to propose designs for a new music-led cultural complex on an island on the Han River. An international architecture competition will be held to select a masterplan for ‘Nodeul Dream Island,’ which will host concerts, festivals, exhibitions and other cultural events. The island, which is currently covered in trees and farm land, is linked to the city either

The World Architecture Festival (WAF) is now accepting entries for the 2016 WAF Awards, which will take place in Berlin in November. The prestigious competition is divided into 30 project categories for completed architectural projects, future projects and landscape projects. Leisure architects can enter their designs for cultural buildings, hotels, sports facilities and leisure-led developments. The deadline for entries is 19 May and the shortlist will be decided in June

FC Barcelona has announced that Japanese architects Nikken Sekkei and Spanish studio Pascual i Ausió Arquitectes have won the hotly-contested tender to design the new Camp Nou, following a final meeting of the judges today (8 March). The jury – made up of five FC Barcelona members, three members from the Catalunya’s architecture association and a city council representative – praised the winning proposal as “open, elegant, serene, timeless, Mediterranean

New images have been released of the ambitious Olympicopolis cultural development planned for London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. A selection of renderings and models show the scheme’s main leisure institutions located on Stratford Waterfront, including a new V&A museum, a Smithsonian gallery and a 600-capacity theatre and hip hop academy. Olympicopolis – which is a legacy project inspired by the successful London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games – has been

Australian developer Lendlease has unveiled plans for a new billion-dollar city precinct for Melbourne, which will have a floating sky park at its heart. Melbourne Quarter will be a 2.5 hectare block in the city’s business district, between the famous Collins and Flinders streets and located close to Zaha Hadid’s mooted vase-inspired mixed-use tower. Alongside offices and residential apartments, many public leisure facilities are planned and over half of the