Moreau Kusunoki Architects, working with local firm Genton, have won a competition to transform Sydney's Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences with a design aimed at challenging the perception of a conventional museum. The new Powerhouse Parramatta venue is envisaged as a multi-functional "hyper-platform" comprising seven flexible spaces that will allow the museum to host a variety of exhibitions and immersive experiences, as well as showcase its collection. Beyond its

Partisans have unveiled their vision for a new community of the future where "small town and rural lifestyles are enhanced by the benefits and attributes of urban living." The concept was developed for the town of Innisfil in Ontario, Canada, which is situated about 60km (37mi) north of Toronto. A new transit hub is set to be built in the town over the next four years, which will provide access

Anantara has launched a resort in the in southwest Tunisian Sahara Desert with Moorish-inspired architecture and interiors that celebrate the region's design culture. The 93-room Anantara Tozeur Resort features a variety of accommodation types, including Deluxe Sahara View Rooms, One and Two-Bedroom Villas and clusters of Pool Villas in landscaped courtyards. Two private three-bedroom Royal Villas each provide 800sq m (8,600sq ft) of indoor living space with an open-plan lounge,

Following its acquisition by Perkins and Will (PW) early last year, Schmidt Hammer Lassen (SHL) has announced its expansion into North America. CLAD spoke to Phil Harrison, CEO of PW, to see what SHL can bring to one of the world's biggest architecture firms. The acquisition was never simply a matter of asset gathering by PW – in SHL they saw a firm with both a similar philosophy and, as

Arab Engineering Bureau have designed new hotel and residences towers for Rosewood Hotels & Resorts that are based on underwater forms and the local coral formations in Qatar's Lusail City. The two adjacent towers will be wrapped in perforated white façades that will be both an aesthetic feature and a means of moderating solar gain. According to Rosewood: "The organic architectural design approach is aimed at respecting the site and

MVRDV have unveiled the design for a new venue at the Jaarbeurs exhibition, event and conference centre in Utrecht that is aimed at also providing a "garden in the city", incorporating a rooftop garden, green spaces and mixed-use elements. Jaarbeurs briefed MVRDV to create a green, sustainable and innovative venue that would also help to boost the neighbourhood. The resulting 120,000sq m (1,300,000sq ft) venue will be the cornerstone of

Weiss/Manfredi have been chosen to lead a masterplanning project for the 13ac (5ha) campus of the La Brea Tar Pits, which is described as the world’s only active paleontological research facility in a major urban area. Tar Pits form when a type of naturally occurring petroleum leaks to the surface of the ground and its lighter elements evaporate off, leaving a sticky pool that can trap and preserve animals. Research

MAD Arkitekter have planned a new district in Martineåsen, Norway, that is aimed at celebrating the beautiful landscape of the area while offering the qualities of a small-town community. Martineåsen Nature Town has been designed in partnership with Larvik Municipality, in which Martineåsen is situated. MAD sought to avoid what it saw as the typical suburban development of Norwegian city outskirts, with the extensive land-use, need for car ownership, infrastructure

Pierattelli Architetture have proposed a new football stadium for ACF Fiorentina with an accompanying masterplan aimed at regenerating the Novoli district of Florence. Fiorentina was bought earlier this year by Italian American businessman Rocco Commisso, who has indicated his desire to build a new stadium to replace the club's existing Stadio Artemio Franchi, which was completed in 1932. Discussing the potential benefits of a new stadium, Massimo Pierattelli, president of

Snøhetta have won a competition to create the Xingtai Grand Theater in China with a design that provides indoors and outdoors performance spaces, unites nearby cultural programmes and anchors a new masterplan for the region. The fast-growing city of Xingtai is one of a number in Hebei Province that is struggling to meet the demands of its development. The Grand Theater has been conceived as the cultural cornerstone of a

The newly opened Higgins Hotel New Orleans has been designed by Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates (NBWW) and Kay Lang + Associates (KLA) to tell the story of World War II. The hotel is operated by Hilton as part of its Curio Collection and is owned by the National WWII Museum. Located on the museum's campus in the Arts and Warehouse District of New Orleans, it has been conceived

Construction of a new pavilion at the Seattle Aquarium, designed by LMN Architects, looks set to go ahead after the city council approved a US$34m (€30.7m, £25.8m) contribution towards funding. Designs for the US$113m (€102m, £85.8m) 50,000sq ft (15,240sq m) Ocean Pavilion project were unveiled in 2017. It will see a 325,000-gallon (1.5-million-litre) martini glass-shaped tank built to house sharks, stingrays, and schooling and reef fish from the South Pacific's

Woods Bagot have been chosen to redevelop Adelaide's Central Market Arcade, with a design that will see it integrated with the city's adjacent Central Market itself to create a world-class food and wine destination. The AU$400m (US$276m, €248m, £210m) project will establish the newly combined 11,000sq m (118,400sq ft) social and commercial precinct with supporting public spaces as the cornerstone of the broader market district. The amount of retail space

JKMM Architects have won a competition to create a new annexe for the National Museum of Finland with a disc-shaped, pavilion-like design that connects its interior with the museum's previously underused garden through floor-to-ceiling windows. The competition brief sought additional exhibition space and workshops, a new restaurant in the enclosed garden, improved accessibility and a new museum entrance. Called Atlas, JKMM's proposal was inspired by similar pavilion structures used in

MVRDV, working with local studio NOW Architects, have won a competition to redevelop Seoul's Tancheon waterfront as a public park called The Weaves, with a mix of natural ecosystems, pathways and places for recreation. Commissioned by the government of Seoul, the project covers a 630,000sq m (6,800,000sq ft) area between the city's former Olympic Stadium and its central business district in Gangnam, as well as a stretch along the Han

The Hall Arts Hotel, which has been designed by HKS Architects with interiors by Bentel & Bentel, has opened in Dallas, allowing guests to stay surrounded by luxury boutique design and a diverse collection of artworks. Work on building two towers on the site actually began in the 1980s and a seven-level underground car-park that remains to this day, but the project was halted due to a real estate crash.

OPEN Architecture's Chapel of Sound amphitheatre – designed for concerts and the appreciation of nature – has topped out at its site in a rocky valley at the foot of the Jinshanling Great Wall in Beijing municipality. The 790sq m (8,500sq ft) structure, the designs for which were revealed in February, houses an indoor-outdoor amphitheatre, an outdoor stage, viewing platforms and supporting spaces. It takes the appearance of a layered,

Hou de Sousa have created a playful, colourful installation for New York's Flatiron Public Plaza that filters its surroundings with shifting patterns, colour and light as people move around it. Ziggy was created for the annual Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition, which has been running since 2014. The call for proposals sought a "highly visible temporary landmark" for what is a relatively small triangular site. The lightweight installation, described

Petr Pelčák has designed a new Hard Rock Hotel in Prague that will feature a three-storey feature wall with a 5,900sq ft (550sq m) soundwave of moving light, as well as a spa and a rooftop bar. The building itself is owned by EP Real Estate and has been in development since 2015. It will house 523 rooms, all with in-room music-themed yoga programmes and complimentary use of Fender guitars,

A new public garden, designed by Snøhetta, is being created at the prestigious 550 Madison tower in Manhattan, with the aim of introducing much needed green space to the area and honouring the vision of the building's original architects. Designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, 550 Madison was initially intended to be a community amenity with public open space, in addition to an office tower. Co-owner of the building

BarberMcMurry Architects have released three concept designs for the US$100m (€90.2m, £75.9m) Knoxville Science Museum in Knoxville, Tennessee, that variously feature a green roof, a terracotta screen and a treehouse. The museum will occupy 150,000 sq ft (14,000 sq m) and will include indoor and outdoor dining areas, an event space, meeting and maker spaces, and will incorporate the three city garages surrounding the property. The firm was tasked with

Tham & Videgård have won a competition to design the +One Tower in Gothenburg – a new hotel and exhibition centre entrance with pinstripe- or matchstick-like mullions, pillars and floorplates. The 28,000sq m (301,000sq ft) development will sit alongside the city's three existing Gothia Towers and, with them, form part of the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre, providing new accommodation and amenities. Its thin white mullions, pillars and floorplates will

London Resort Holdings Company (LRCH) has revealed concept artwork for the first phase of a planned 535ac (217ha) resort that has been described as "one of the most ambitious theme park projects ever in Europe". Set to be located in the UK town of Swanscombe, 20 minutes from London, The London Resort will consist of six lands: The High Street, The Studios, The Woods, The Kingdom, The Isles, The Jungle

Architects Bertil Harström and Johan Krauppi have created a free-floating hotel on one of Sweden's longest rivers, with the micro-destination featuring a spa among its offerings. Owned and conceptualised by the architectural duo, the circular Arctic Bath Hotel and Spa will float on the Lule River during the summer months, with the structure frozen in place through the winter. It's set to open in Harads on 15 January 2020. The

Civic Architects' LocHal Public Library has won Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival's (WAF) World Architecture Awards 2019. Designed in partnership with Braaksma & Roos Architectenbureau, Inside Outside, Petra Blaise and Mecanoo Architecten, the building is a new urban living room created in a former locomotive shed. The project is designed to provide a space for people of all ages to read, learn, study, meet and gather.

The first exhibition has opened at MICA, the contemporary art museum at the Changsha Meixihu International Culture & Arts Centre, which which was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA). ZHA says the 115,000sq m (1,240,000sq ft) centre is the largest and most versatile cultural centre in China's Hunan province, comprising three separate but complementary venues that each cater for a different use. The 1,800-seat Grand Theatre, which was completed in

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Mecanoo have been among the winners at the INSIDE World Festival of Interiors – the annual awards that celebrate the best interior designs from around the globe over the past 12 months. INSIDE is the sister event of the World Architecture Festival (WAF), with this year's events running concurrently from 4-6 December in Amsterdam. INSIDE celebrates projects across a variety of categories, with one category