The first competition-winning cabins that form Epic Retreats – Wales’ first pop-up boutique hotel – have been revealed. Several architectural teams were chosen through a competitive tender to design the purpose-built glamping units, which are themed on “the mythology, tradition and beauty of Wales.” Launched to coincide with Wales’s ‘Year of Legends,’ Epic Retreats is designed to immerse visitors in the country’s heritage and natural beauty. The cabins will be

The Bass – a contemporary art museum on Miami Beach – has been given a reopening date of 8 October following a US$12m (€10.7m, £9.3m) renovation headed by project architects David Gauld and Arata Isozaki. First opened in 1964 inside the Russell Pancoast-designed former Miami Beach Public Library and Art Center, the then Bass Museum of Art has been in operation ever since, with the institution focusing on exhibitions of

Swedish studio Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA) have proposed transforming a one kilometre stretch of “mundane waterfront” in Stockholm into a public infinity pool that appears to blend with the Baltic Sea. The unique attraction would run from the northern part of Södermalm district – which overlooks the inlet where most of the city is located – all the way to eastern point of the island. It would be built just

Disney has celebrated the launch of its new Avatar land at Animal Kingdom with the operator marking the occasion by hosting a ‘Dedication of Pandora’ at the Orlando theme park. Based on the world of the 2009 Avatar movie, the striking ‘Pandora – The World of Avatar’ covers roughly 12 acres (48,500sq m) and feature multiple rides and attractions, entertainment, audio-animatronics, 3-D holograms as well as retail, food and beverage

The hotly-anticipated Marciano Art Foundation – a new art museum created by wHY Architecture and Design – opens tomorrow (25 May) in Los Angeles’ Windsor Square; within one of the city’s most unusual buildings. The 100,000sq ft (93,000sq m) arts space is housed inside the secretive former Scottish Rite Masonic Temple, designed by Californian painter and architect Millard Sheets in 1961. wHY’s founding partner, Kulapat Yantrasast, was tasked reinterpreting the

Horsen’s 162-year-old Prison Museum in Denmark has debuted a new permanent exhibition chronicling the escape of former prisoner Carl August Lorentzen. The exhibition, called Lorentzen’s Tunnel, tells the story of Lorentzen, a burglar who after 11 months of work had dug an 18-metre-long (60 foot) tunnel that led him to freedom on Christmas Eve 1949, leaving a note in his cell saying “where there’s a will, there’s a way”. While

The mayor of Seoul, Won-soon Park, has officially opened a 983 metre long botanical “floating walkway” along a transformed city highway. Designed by Dutch architects MVRDV, the Skygarden, known as Seoullo 7017, is a linear park featuring 24,000 plants, trees, shrubs and flowers from 200 local species – creating “a walkable plant library” for residents and visitors to the city. “Skygarden offers a living dictionary of plants which are part

Alila is set to open a new five-star eco-resort on the Cambodian island of Koh Russey later this year. The first Alila ‘Villas’ resort outside of Bali, Alila Villas Koh Russey will be a 15-minute boat ride from the Cambodian coast, and is surrounded by white-sand beaches and tropical forests. One- and two-bedroom villas each will have their own terrace, private pool and garden. Designed by Singaporean architect Chioh-Hui Coh

Architect Marc Fornes has created a platform for people to express themselves creatively and spontaneously, with a vibrant green pavilion in a Maryland park. Located in Merriweather Park, Columbia, The Chrysalis is formed of a collection of cascading meshed aluminium arches that vary in size and function. The largest arch frames 'Stage Alpha', dimensioned, equipped and structured for official events, including the performances of musicians. Adjacent is 'Stage Beta', a

Private equity management group Z Capital Partners has unveiled plans to renovate private and event spaces at the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort, with an aim to make it “the preeminent wellness hotel in the country.” Hong Kong-based hotel designer Peter Silling has been retained to develop the design concept, and will work to create “warm and welcoming” design features, highlighting a balanced, natural environment. Silling recently completed the CHF40m (US$40m,

Representatives of footballing icon David Beckham have unveiled the latest version of the stadium the former England captain wants to build as a home for his new franchise in Miami, Florida. Tim Leiweke, one of the investors behind Miami Beckham United, spoke to local politicians and residents at a Town Hall meeting last Wednesday (17 May) in Overtown, the neighbourhood where Beckham wants to locate the stadium. According to the

Construction work has begun on a new Sky Park in Bratislava, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), which is set to transform a derelict industrial area of the Slovakian capital. Located southeast of the city centre, the project includes a new 20,000sq m (215,200sq ft) public park and community of more than 700 apartments, together with 55,000sq m (592,000sq ft) of office and retail space connected to the city’s tram

German architecture studio Buero Wagner have won a high-profile commission to renovate Frankfurt’s historic concert hall and opera house. The Alte Oper – rebuilt four decades ago after the original 1880s structure was destroyed during the Second World War – is one of Germany’s leading cultural venues; with 450,000 people attending around 400 concerts a year. In order to create additional spaces for concertgoers to gather and socialise before and

One of the individuals integral to the completion of Paris’ landmark Pompidou Centre has told CLADglobal about the “terrific fight” Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano and the rest of the design team had with the French architectural establishment to realise their “radical” vision for the controversial project. In an exclusive interview to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the building, Davies revealed that many local practices “resisted the notion of foreign architects

Italy’s government is giving away more than 100 historic buildings for free on the understanding that any prospective owners must turn their site into a heritage attraction. Hoping to breathe new life into disused public buildings, including castles, farmhouses and monasteries, the scheme was unveiled by the government-run Agenzia del Demanio (ADD) – Italy’s state property agency. "The goal is for private and public buildings which are no longer used

Weifang, China, is now home to an engineering marvel following the opening of the largest spokeless Ferris wheel in the world. Sitting over the Bailang River, the Bailang Bridge Ferris Wheel is located on the 1,771ft (540m) bridge that crosses the body of water in Shandong Province. Tianjin Craftsman Manufacture constructed the record-breaking wheel, which is the first to be built using a kite grid design, also described as a

A 3,500sq m (37,600sq ft) Shangri-La health club designed to “inject energy into the heart of Beijing’s central business district” will open in the Chinese capital in June. The forthcoming 450-bedroom Hotel Jen Beijing – a Shangri-La property – will operate the Trainyard Gym, keeping it open 24/7 in a bid to cement the facility as “the city’s go-to spot for fitness, recreation and nutrition.” Designed by Stickman Design, the

The first host venue of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has been completed, five years ahead of the tournament. The Khalifa International Stadium, first built in 1976, has been extensively renovated and expanded by local architecture firm Dar Al-Handasah to hold 40,000 spectators. It will host matches until the quarter-finals of the 2022 tournament. The ground has been installed with a technologically advanced cooling system, which the organising

International spa and wellness consultancy and management company GOCO Hospitality is creating a mixed-use wellness community in Khao Yai’s wine country, two hours north of Bangkok. The community will include a 36-suite wellness retreat along with 48 wellness condominiums and 159 condominiums and large-scale residences, as well as a retail village and community park. Bangkok-based Tierra Design is also working on the project. Set to open later this year, the

Shigeru Ban’s €170m (US$189.4m, £145.2m) concert venue for Paris has opened on an island in the Seine. Designed with French architect Jean de Gastines on the site that once belonged to France’s biggest factory, La Seine Musicale has been conceived as a both new cultural symbol for the French capital and a music venue that will host all types of performance, from classical to contemporary. The island of L'île Seguin

AL_A, the architecture practice of Amanda Levete, has completed a striking 37-floor retail, leisure and hotel tower in central Bangkok. Located within the former gardens of the British Embassy, along Ploenchit Road, the Central Embassy project has been developed for Central Group, Thailand’s leading retailer and department store operator. The 1.5m sq ft (139,000sq m) complex has been designed to “bring a distinguishing new silhouette to the city” that “extends

Hospitality group AccorHotels has announced Dubai as the first Middle East location for its Mama Shelter hotel brand. French designer Philippe Starck will craft the interiors of the hotel, following the brand’s “trendy, boutique” image. It is set to open before 2020. AccorHotels announced Mama Shelter’s regional arrival during a panel at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference at the Madinat Jumeirah centre last month. “The idea is to create something

As the Museum of London formulates plans for its £250m (US$324m, €291m) move to the iconic Smithfield Market, its exhibition team is digging deep to present London’s history in new ways – including opening up the site's underground passages for a glimpse of what the city was like in Victorian times. The museum was given the green light to move to its new home in January 2016, after alternative redevelopment

The Piscina & Wellness Barcelona trade fair has added new spa and wellness architecture prizes to its industry awards. The biannual event – which is dedicated to the residential and public swimming pool and wellness sectors – will this year reward architects and designers for the first time. New prize categories will recognise “the most outstanding facilities specialising in the therapeutic use of water" and celebrate student designers who have developed

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) have designed a host of leisure features for a residential building on Mexico’s Mayan Riviera, including a woodland nature reserve, botanical nursery and a network of footpaths suspended above a lagoon. Located on a site prepared by a previous owner for an unbuilt complex, Alai is a new residential community from developer Pulso Inmobiliario, with the creation being guided by environmental principles. ZHA’s design for Alai

Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava has told CLADglobal how he wants to use technology and advanced engineering “to push the limits of expression.” “From day one, movability has been important to me,” he said, in an exclusive interview. “Today we can create this sense that architecture is no more an aesthetic and firm thing, but rather something that transforms, something alive, something new and poetic.” Calatrava also discussed his controversial reputation,

The co-founder of international architecture practice Snøhetta, Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, has spoken to CLAD about the opportunities and philosophical questions posed by the advent of technology that enables vulnerable heritage sites to be “reprinted.” Advances in 3D scanning, casting and printing are allowing designers and preservationists to create mirror images of both natural and man-made pieces of heritage. Examples include the Institute for Digital Archaeology, which has recreated Syria's Palmyra