Architecture and design news
Seven top architects in the running to design Obama's legacy project
by Kim Megson | 21 Dec 2015
David Adjaye, Renzo Piano and Snøhetta are among the big names in contention to design the Barack Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side. The centre is the US President’s legacy project, and will feature a museum preserving and making available papers, records, collections and other historical materials from his presidency. Barack and Michelle Obama will make the final decision on the architect, after receiving the foundation’s recommendation. After receiving
Hotel-museum hybrid built around ancient Turkish ruins
by Kim Megson | 21 Dec 2015
A unique new attraction is set to open in the Turkish city of Antakya by the end of 2016: a museum/hotel hybrid where guests can walk around archaeological ruins dating back more than 2,000 years. In 2010, international design studio Emre Arolat Architecture had been developing a five-star hotel development on the site, located close to St. Pierre Church – an early centre of Christianity and an important pilgrimage site.
Eero Saarinen's iconic TWA Flight Center to be converted into luxury New York hotel
by Kim Megson | 21 Dec 2015
The famous Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight Center at New York’s JFK International Airport is set to be converted into a luxury hotel themed around the airport’s golden jet age. New York state governor Andrew M. Cuomo has formally approved a $265m (€244.3m, £177.6m) project to renovate the centre and create two new six-storey hotel towers. According to plans, the hotel will feature 505 guestrooms, a new aviation museum, several
Work begins on Seoul's verdant park in the sky
by Kim Megson | 21 Dec 2015
A busy overpass next to Seoul's central train station has been closed as construction work begins on a new city skygarden designed by Dutch architects MVRDV. The 45-year old overpass is being stabilised in readiness for its transformation into Seoul Skygarden; a 938m long (3,077ft) public park, featuring cafés, flower shops, street markets, libraries and greenhouses. MVRDV won a Seoul metropolitan government competition to design the project earlier this year.
Enormous steel petals form the shell of NBBJ's Hangzhou Sports Park in China
by Kim Megson | 21 Dec 2015
Work is nearing completion on a vast international sports complex in Hangzhou, China, created by international architects NBBJ Design. The Hangzhou Sports Park has been designed in collaboration with architects and engineering firm China Construction Design International (CCDI). It will host international sports fixtures and the 2022 Asian Games. Covering a project area of 400,000sq ft (37,000sq m), the park will be the largest of its kind to open in
Snøhetta-designed hiking cabins offer 'space for self-reflection' in the shadow of a Norwegian glacier
by Kim Megson | 19 Dec 2015
International architects Snøhetta have designed a sanctuary for hikers seeking shelter in the remote and icy wilderness of southern Norway. Located in the the remote Tungestølen region, in the shadow of Jostedal – the largest glacier in continental Europe – the studio has created a series of angular wooden cabins after winning a design competition set by the Norwegian Trekking Association. The buildings – which have just opened – are
Thomas Heatherwick's King's Cross plaza to open by 2018
by Kim Megson | 18 Dec 2015
A mixed-use piazza designed by Heatherwick Studio for London’s King’s Cross has been given the green light. Camden Council have approved Heatherwick’s plans to transform two disused Victorian coal drop buildings at King’s Cross railway station into 100,000sq m (1m sq ft) of culture and leisure space. The historic structures, which stand apart, will be repaired and connected by a new upper level stitching their two roofs together. Inside, 65
Arrive by traditional wooden Vaporina at Urquiola-designed contemporary sanctuary on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como
by Jane Kitchen | 18 Dec 2015
Ten years after opening luxury boutique hotel le Sereno in St. Barths, Sereno Properties is set to open a new location, il Sereno Lago di Como, on the shores of Italy’s legendary Lake Como. Scheduled to open in Q2 2016, il Sereno will feature interiors by Milan-based designer Patricia Urquiola. Guests can arrive at il Sereno by boat, thanks to the hotel’s private docking facility. Boat maker Cantiere Riva is
Abandoned Spanish church converted into stunning art-filled skate park
by Kim Megson | 18 Dec 2015
A crumbling 100-year old church in Llanera, northern Spain, has been transformed by local skateboarding enthusiasts and a hotly-tipped artist into a spectacular indoor skate park. Almost every interior surface in the ‘Iglesia Skate’ church is painted with bright murals and geometric patterns, creating a kaleidoscope of colour. The collective behind the scheme – who call themselves the Church Brigade – describe it as “a temple of urban art.” “It’s
Urbanist Hotels' plan to convert listed Edinburgh building into a Rosewood hotel thwarted
by Kim Megson | 18 Dec 2015
Plans to turn Edinburgh’s neoclassical Old Royal High School into a luxury hotel have been turned down at the first vote by the city council. Developers Duddingston House Properties and Urbanist Hotels had proposed a £75m (US$115m, €102m) project to restore and convert the listed 1820s property – which has stood vacant for almost 50 years on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill – into a 147-bedroom Rosewood hotel featuring two newly-constructed, landscaped
Mecanoo design dramatic, diamond-inspired Hilton at Amsterdam airport
by Kim Megson | 17 Dec 2015
Hilton Worldwide has opened it latest addition – the Mecanoo-designed Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – which features a dramatic facade comprising a cubic, moulded structure with a distinctive pattern and a vast glass-roofed atrium. The hotel, designed by the Dutch architects, will certainly have a visual impact on passengers arriving and departing from the airport, with the 3,150sq m (33,900sq ft) complex having three main elements: a plinth, a rotated
Real Madrid stadium plans blocked by city council
by Matthew Campelli | 17 Dec 2015
Real Madrid’s plan to redevelop its Santiago Bernabeu stadium has encountered a new setback after the city council rejected it in the interest of the public. The €440m (US$477.9m, £320.7m) development proposal – which includes the installation of a retractable roof, increasing the capacity to 90,000 and building a hotel, shopping centre and underground car park – will only be accepted if the council believes the interest of local citizens
Competition seeks architects to design a High Line for London
by Kim Megson | 17 Dec 2015
A community group in London has completed a design brief for an elevated linear park following one of the city’s disused railway lines. Named the Peckham Coal Line, the proposed green space would occupy a 900m (1km) stretch of a line once used to transport coal between two train stations in Peckham, south-east London. The planned park consists of pedestrian and cycle routes running through Victorian brick viaducts before dropping
Tottenham’s £400m stadium plans get green light
by Tom Walker | 17 Dec 2015
Tottenham Hotspur has been granted planning permission by Haringey Council for its new stadium in north London. The council approved all three applications submitted by the Premier League club in a meeting that ran until the early hours of Thursday morning (17 December). Last month, the club announced it had appointed Mace to create the pre-construction plans for the stadium, which is expected to be completed by 2018, in time
MAD Architects' twisting, theatrical Harbin Opera House opens in China
by Kim Megson | 17 Dec 2015
A striking, sinuous opera house designed by Beijing studio MAD Architects has opened in the northern Chinese city of Harbin. Located within the wetlands surrounding the Songhua River, the Harbin Opera House has been designed as a response to the region’s untamed wilderness and chilly climate. The building’s smooth white aluminium walls twist and turn as if sculpted by the water and wind, blending into the surrounding environment and transfusing
Deep thermal pools are the future, Italian design duo tell CLAD
by Kim Megson | 17 Dec 2015
The Italian design team behind the world’s deepest thermal pool have told CLAD that the concept could go global in the near future. Emanuele Boaretto made history last year when he opened a 40m pool, named Y-40, at his Hotel Millepini resort in Padova, north Italy. Equivalent in height to nine double decker buses, the pool incorporates four caves for technical underwater diving and a transparent viewing tunnel. Nicknamed The
Ted Baker founder, Ray Kelvin, designs new Hilton interiors
by Jane Kitchen | 17 Dec 2015
The Hilton Bournemouth has opened in England, featuring interiors by Ted Baker fashion brand founder Ray Kelvin and one of the UK’s first eforea spas. Classic design and quirky innovation are central to the hotel’s aesthetic, with bespoke interiors and furnishings designed exclusively for Hilton Bournemouth by Kelvin throughout. The hotel was developed by privately owned property company THAT Group – whose chair is also Kelvin – and which owns
Santiago Calatrava's Museum of Tomorrow opens in Rio
by Kim Megson | 16 Dec 2015
Rio de Janeiro’s hotly-anticipated Museau do Amanhã (Museum of Tomorrow) – designed by prize-winning Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava – will be officially opened tomorrow (17 December) by the city’s mayor. The contemporary science museum, which has taken five years to build, is located in the city centre’s Porto Maravilha district – the site of the largest urban development project in Brazil. The Museum of Tomorrow will allow the public to
Artists and designers turn security gates into street art for colourful New York project
by Kim Megson | 16 Dec 2015
Street artists and New York businesses have joined forces to beautify the city’s Lower East Side using one simple tool: spray paint. One hundred metal storefront security gates in the Manhattan neighbourhood have become city-sanctioned canvasses for a carefully selected group of graffiti artists, illustrators, graphic designers and abstract painters – including rising stars Shantell Martin, Faust and Mr Stash. The creators have each been partnered with a local business
Icehotel is back: Take a look at this year's amazing art-themed frozen rooms
by Kim Megson | 16 Dec 2015
Sweden’s famous Icehotel has reopened for its 26th winter and is brimming with hand-crafted, ice-sculpted art. Visitors to the hotel – located in Jukkasjärvi, Lapland – can choose to sleep in an art-themed suite, including one featuring a 3m (10ft) tall elephant carved out of snow. Nineteen of the Icehotel’s 50 rooms feature the unique pieces of ice art created by architects and designers from all over the world. You
Louvre Abu Dhabi on course for mid-2016 handover
by Tom Anstey | 16 Dec 2015
With construction of Louvre Abu Dhabi entering its final stages, government officials have said a handover of the building will take place in the middle of 2016 – on schedule for an amended opening date at the end of that year. Work on the iconic structure’s roof was completed in October last year, along with all 9,200sq m (99,000sq ft) of the museum’s galleries, plus the concrete work for the
Enrique Norten’s Cayman Island resort will be ‘an icon for the Caribbean’
by Kim Megson | 16 Dec 2015
International design studio TEN Arquitectos have won the design competition for a multi-million dollar mixed-use luxury resort in the Cayman Islands, fronted by a 1,000ft-long (305m) secluded natural beach. Slated to open in Q3 2018, St James Point will be set on a tropical 16-acre property on Grand Cayman Island, and will be designed to both contrast and complement the exotic environment. Forest, parkland and ocean will surround the US$250m
Enrique Norten’s Cayman Island resort will be ‘an icon for the Caribbean’
by Kim Megson | 16 Dec 2015
International design studio TEN Arquitectos have won the design competition for a multi-million dollar mixed-use luxury resort in the Cayman Islands, fronted by a 1,000ft-long (305m) secluded natural beach. Slated to open in Q3 2018, St James Point will be set on a tropical 16-acre property on Grand Cayman Island, and will be designed to both contrast and complement the exotic environment. Forest, parkland and ocean will surround the US$250m
Enrique Norten’s Cayman Island resort will be ‘an icon for the Caribbean’
by Kim Megson | 16 Dec 2015
International design studio TEN Arquitectos have won the design competition for a multi-million dollar mixed-use luxury resort in the Cayman Islands, fronted by a 1,000ft-long (305m) secluded natural beach. Slated to open in Q3 2018, St James Point will be set on a tropical 16-acre property on Grand Cayman Island, and will be designed to both contrast and complement the exotic environment. Forest, parkland and ocean will surround the US$250m
Enrique Norten’s Cayman Island resort will be ‘an icon for the Caribbean’
by Kim Megson | 16 Dec 2015
International design studio TEN Arquitectos have won the design competition for a multi-million dollar mixed-use luxury resort in the Cayman Islands, fronted by a 1,000ft-long (305m) secluded natural beach. Slated to open in Q3 2018, St James Point will be set on a tropical 16-acre property on Grand Cayman Island, and will be designed to both contrast and complement the exotic environment. Forest, parkland and ocean will surround the US$250m
Zaha Hadid Architects question Japanese government's logic for Olympic stadium designs
by Matthew Campelli | 16 Dec 2015
The architects of the original Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium have accused the Japanese government of putting the legacy of the Games in jeopardy and overlooking several designers after it unveiled two new plans for the arena. The Japan Sports Council has shortlisted two designs for the stadium - Design A and Design B. One of which will be selected as the blueprint for the 80,000-capacity structure. Although the council declined
Eco focus for Sydney zoo development by Misho + Associates
by Tom Anstey | 16 Dec 2015
Plans for a second zoo in Sydney, slated for 2017, will be led by best-practice sustainability objectives, according to the project’s lead architects. The proposal in the Western Sydney Parklands at Bungarribee, covers 165,000sq m (40.7 acres) and could house up to 500 animals. John Burgess, managing director of Sydney Zoo and founder of Sydney Aquarium, announced plans for the attraction in September, which is expected to draw around 745,000
Toyo Ito and SANAA in the spotlight as MoMA celebrates Japanese design
by Kim Megson | 15 Dec 2015
New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is to celebrate Pritzker Prize-winning Toyo Ito with an exhibition exploring how the Japanese architect has inspired fellow designers following in his footsteps. The exhibition – A Japanese Constellation: Toyo Ito, SANAA, and Beyond – will run from 13 March to 4 July 2016. On display will be a retrospective of recent works by three generations of internationally acclaimed designers who have been
Alexandra Palace developers assemble design team to restore hidden theatre and TV studio as new attractions
by Kim Megson | 15 Dec 2015
The abandoned east wing of London’s iconic Alexandra Palace entertainment venue is to be restored and reopened to the public for the first time in decades. Three million people visit the palace every year to explore its grounds, enjoy concerts and take part in sporting events. However, it has been many years since the public have been able to access the hidden Victorian theatre and television studio located to the
Heatherwick Studio to lead US$500m redesign of New York concert hall
by Kim Megson | 15 Dec 2015
Following a two-year competition involving more than 100 leading architecture and design firms, Heatherwick Studio and Diamond Schmitt Architects have been selected to reimagine and renovate a concert hall for New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The duo have been tasked with transforming the centre’s largest hall – originally designed by Max Abramovitz and opened in 1962 – into a 21st-century symphonic concert venue “where the architecture is
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"Culture is the beating heart of this project"
Designed to restore neglected land and renew the identity of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad Sustainable Forests promises a new way of living surrounded by nature. Gensler’s Ian Mulcahay tells us why he thinks the project could become a model for the repair and enhancement of urban centres
Designed to restore neglected land and renew the identity of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad Sustainable Forests promises a new way of living surrounded by nature. Gensler’s Ian Mulcahay tells us why he thinks the project could become a model for the repair and enhancement of urban centres
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