Details have emerged about a new luxury man-made private island, which can give owners a secluded taste of paradise almost anywhere in the world. Dutch company Amillarah Private Islands has created the concept with architect Koen Olthuis and floating technology specialists Dutch Docklands. The islands will be sold to wealthy buyers by Christie’s International Real Estate. “Various studies conducted by different well-established institutions show that the trend in ultra-luxury real

Ontario’s Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa has unveiled plans for a CA$80m (US$60m, €56.5m, £40m) renovation, upgrade and expansion, bringing the facility first opened in 1967 into the modern age. Designed by Canadian architecture firm NORR, the redevelopment masterplan includes five main galleries, temporary exhibition space, an artefacts gallery, maker space and classrooms. The museum’s main galleries will follow the themes of creating and using knowledge, moving and

Thai wellness destination Chiva-Som has redesigned 23 of its Ocean Rooms as part of an upgrade to the resort. Designed by US architect Ed Tuttle of Paris-based Designrealization, the decor uses clean lines to deliver cool, contemporary interiors while retaining the essence of Chiva-Som style. The new rooms are light, bright and spacious, having been completely reconfigured to include a separate wardrobe and dressing room. The look is a luxurious,

Rosewood is opening a luxury tent and villa encampment hidden in the jungles of Laos. Located near the city of Luang Prabang and built according to UNESCO guidelines by Bangkok-based American architect Bill Bensley, the resort will be immersed in a virtually untouched natural environment. Set in thick forest amid natural water features, including a meandering river and waterfall, each of the resort’s 22 accommodations will be bordered by a

Shanghai studios Ares Partners and Atelier Liu Yuyang have regenerated a complex of abandoned farm houses in a Chinese valley to create a boutique eco-resort called Yun Lu (The Cloud House). The 3,000sq m (32,300sq ft) resort is located in Yangjia Village, southern China, where it sits among the jungle-topped karst mountains of the Li River valley. The two architecture firms renovated five farm houses to make space for 23

Five-star resort Keemala, located in the lush woodlands of Kamala in Phuket, Thailand, has opened this week with private pool cottages inspired by the region's indigenous clans. Designed by Thailand-based Architect Space, with Pisit Aongskultong from Pisud Design Company managing the resort’s creative vision and interior designs, the concept behind Keemala is drawn from stories, cultures, traditions and lifestyles of four particular clans. The resort has 38 unique guest cottages,

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has launched an open design competition for a visitor centre at Langley Vale Wood; an ancient forest site in Surrey, England. UK conservation charity the Woodland Trust (WT) has partnered with RIBA to select an “innovative and imaginative” design for the 300sq m (3,200sq ft) structure, which will welcome 180,000 annual visitors to the 640-acre woodland site. “The visitor hub will provide our

CLAD has learned that the grand opening of the Estonia National Museum’s (ENM) new home will take place in September 2016. ENM – located in the city of Tartu – is returning to its original location in the district of Raadi. The museum, formerly based in an 18th century manor, was bombed during the Second World War and had to move to different premises, which it has occupied ever since.

Chelsea Football Club’s (CFC) proposal to build a stadium comparable to those of its top-tier Premier League rivals has been submitted to the council. The application, which was registered by the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham on 19 November, comprises the demolition of the existing 41,600-capacity ground and its surrounding buildings, and replacing it with a 60,000-capacity stadium. Designed by Swiss architects, Herzog & de Meuron, the development will

A museum dedicated to the Chicago blues is coming to Illinois, with plans by BRC Imagination Arts to give the genre a new home on the city’s historic Navy Pier. The US$45m (€42.5m, £30m) Chicago Blues Experience, on track to open during Q3 of 2017, is based away from the south side of the city where the style originated. The area of the city, once home to many of the

A sprawling lifestyle resort in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains is due to bring hotels, restaurants, retail, sports and other elements of leisure to the North Carolina wilderness. Former Disney executive Jerry Pospisil is overseeing the development of the US$14bn (€13.2bn, £9.3bn) complex, which will stretch 4,500 acres in the picturesque Jonathan Valley. “The resort will combine wilderness experiences, upscale amenities, family entertainment, casual and fine dining, retail

International studio Architects of Invention have designed the interiors for an exclusive new club in the heart of London’s illustrious Mayfair district, which will feature a restaurant run by Michelin-starred chef Shaun Rankin. The interiors of 12 Hay Hill, which opened in late September, have been refitted at a cost of £3m (US$4.5m, €4.2m) to create a sophisticated space for entrepreneurs seeking a private social and business environment. The 1,800sq

A design team led by Nikken Sekkei have won an international competition to develop a feasible plan for 24km (15m) of railway track stretching the length of Singapore. Inspired by New York’s phenomenally successful High Line – a disused railway transformed into a public greenway – Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) invited international architecture studios to propose similarly innovative schemes for the city-state’s longest abandoned rail line. Japanese architects Nikken

Future US Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise Minnesota United FC has announced Populous as the lead architects for its US$120m (£80m, €114m) stadium. Earmarked for the Snelling and I-94 site, known as Midway, between Minneapolis and St. Paul, the project will be due for completion in early 2018. Kansas City based-Populous will design the 20,000-capacity stadium, which becomes the latest MLS partnership for the sports architecture firm. It also designed

German studio KSP Jurgen Engel Architekten have been named as the design team for the new Shenzhen Art Museum and Library complex in China. The firm were chosen ahead of several other shortlisted studios – including star names OMA, Steven Holl Architects and Mecanoo – to design the cultural hub, to be located in the southern province of Guangdong. KSP’s winning design consists of three elements – an art museum,

Dubai developer Nakheel has clinched a deal with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide to operate a new hotel featuring one of the world’s highest infinity pools. Located on the 50th floor of Palm Tower in Dubai – some 210m (689ft) above the ground – the pool will border all four sides of the building, offering 360 degree views of the surrounding Palm Jumeirah island and out towards the Arabian Gulf.

Scent manufacturer Glade has teamed up with Radical Media to create a pop-up exhibition and experience in New York for the eyes, ears, nose and hands. Glade, usually seen on supermarket shelves in the air freshener section, has taken a unique approach to unveiling its new line of scents with the multi-sensory experience completely built around the senses. The exhibition uses five scents representing the emotional states of optimism, joy,

Akaryn Hotel Group plans to open a private island wellness retreat in Cambodia, with interiors by famed Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada, best known for his Kenzo brand of clothing, perfume and skincare. Designed by Bangkok-based architect Duangrit Bunnag and due to open in June 2016, Arovada by Akaryn will be located on the private island of Koh Krabey – a 20-minute boat transfer from Sihanoukville – and will embrace

German-born architect Annabelle Selldorf is transforming an abandoned flour mill in downtown Los Angeles into a multi-disciplinary arts centre for gallery heavyweights Hauser & Wirth and art curator Paul Schimmel. Selldorf – the founder of New York’s Selldorf Architects – is working with local studio Creative Space to retrofit seven interconnected late 19th and early 20th century buildings located at 901 East 3rd Street in the city’s burgeoning arts district.

The developers of Kuwait's 360 Mall have revealed that the complex will be expanded to include a state-of-the-art tennis arena and a 261-room Hyatt hotel. The mall, located in the town of Al Zahra, already features Kuwait’s largest collection of international designer brands, as well as a cinema complex, 38 restaurants and cafes and sports and leisure facilities. Now the Tamdeen Group – which says its combined mixed-use projects, valued

Kieran Stanley, founder and CEO of Dan Pearlman architecture studio, has revealed new details about their upcoming Giant project, due to take its first big steps in Berlin in 2017. The Giant – which comprises a multi-storey sculpture mounted on a plinth housing a museum – has been touted as “the visitor attraction for the 21st Century”. The sculpture itself will take the form of a mythical giant, with moving

A design team led by Bystrup Architecture Design and Engineering has won a design competition for central London’s first car-free bridge for cyclists and pedestrians. Wandsworth Council, which is overseeing the project, is now likely to name the design team as preferred bidder for the project, which will link Nine Elms and Pimlico. The full winning design team includes several companies: Bystrup, Robin Snell & Partners, ÅF Lighting Aecom and

A Parisian hotel created inside a 19th century bathhouse, once frequented by novelist Marcel Proust, has won the top prize at the 2015 European Hotel Design Awards at a ceremony in London. Les Bains in Paris – designed by Tristan Auer and French studio RDAI – claimed the Hotel Design of the Year Award for the sophisticated new interiors which have been created within the existing 1885 building. Located in

The expansion of North America’s largest convention centre – Chicago’s McCormick Place – has taken another step forward after ground was broken on a new sports and entertainment arena. Connecticut architecture studio Pelli Clarke Pelli have designed the 10,600-capacity McCormick Place Event Center, which will host concerts, trade shows and sports games involving the DePaul Blue Demons basketball and athletics teams when it opens in 2017. The arena’s design features

Indian wellness retreat Vana will unveil a new 12,464sq ft (1,158sq m) Tibetan Healing Centre in the next couple of months, complete with its own meditation cave. Launched in 2014, Vana is a 21-acre estate surrounded by clusters of Sal forest, and is set within its own mango and lychee orchards in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It includes 66 bedrooms, 16 suites, two restaurants, 55 treatment and consultation

Rem Koolhaas’ Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) has won an international competition to design a cutting-edge arts venue in the UK city of Manchester. Nine internationally acclaimed architects – including Zaha Hadid Architecture, Mecanoo, Rafael Vinoly Architects and Diller Scofidio + Renfro – were shortlisted to design the flagship cultural centre, named The Factory. The £110m (US$166m, €157m) large-scale venue – which takes its name from Factory Records, the Manchester

Liz Terry, CEO of Leisure Media and editor of CLAD, was invited to identify two architectural trends for the wellness industry in a Trends Jam brainstorming session at the Global Wellness Summit in Mexico City last week. Terry's first trend was Living Buildings. She said that in the future, buildings that are alive will be able to sense our every need: "One day, we'll live and work in structures which