The New South Wales (NSW) government has confirmed plans to undertake an ambitious AS$1.6bn (£870.4m, US$1.2bn, €1.1bn) stadium strategy in Sydney which will see three grounds altered or rebuilt. As part of the proposals, which were unveiled by NSW premier Mike Baird, the Populous-designed Olympic Stadium – now called the ANZ Stadium – will be downsized from a 83,500-capacity venue to a 70,000-seat stadium and reconfigured as a rectangle football

The first ever project of pioneering engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel – London’s underwater Thames Tunnel – has this week opened to the public as a new cultural attraction and concert hall. The 19th century tunnel – the first in the world built underwater – is now used as part of the city’s rail network. It was built in 1843 by a teenage Brunel with his father, Marc, to connect the

A floating park designed by Thomas Heatherwick for New York’s Hudson River has overcome a major hurdle after a judge in Manhattan dismissed a lawsuit seeking to halt the project. According to the New York Times, civic group City Club of New York filed the action, claiming the US$130m (€1115.4m, £91.8m) project was not transparent, had not been subjected to enough public scrutiny, and should face a new environmental review.

Proposals to build a £92m (US$130.4m, €115.8m) Populous-designed Bristol Arena have been given the green light by the city council. The 12,000-capacity multi-use arena is now set to be built on the site of the former diesel depot close to Temple Meads train station. Bristol City Council accepted the application – put forward by Bristol Temple Quarter – after requesting more information on transportation plans and infrastructure around the arena.

Kengo Kuma architects have unveiled their latest completed project: an angular wooden cultural centre near the Japanese Alps in snowy Nagano prefecture. The project was commissioned to coincide with a new high-speed railway line connecting the small city of Iiyama to the Hokuriku region on Japan’s main island. Both openings have been planned to revive the city's economic prospects. Kuma’s building is formed of three volumes: two events halls for

Atmantan, a 65,000sq ft (6,039sq m), 106-room dedicated wellness resort near Pune, India, opened its doors this week, offering a results-oriented approach to wellness with eight signature retreats. The property is nestled in the Sahyradri mountains overlooking Mulshi Lake, and is managed by Thailand-based wellness specialist Destination Spa Management, whose directors cut their teeth as the former senior leadership of wellness destination Chiva-Som. Set amid 40 acres of garden and

While the Smithsonian is stalling on plans to move to London’s Olympicopolis site, the British Museum is looking at the possibility of a satellite site at the upcoming cultural hub. For the Washington-based Smithsonian, which has 19 affiliates in the US, uncertainty over costs to open a new 3,750sq m (40,300sq ft) satellite facility within the new cultural quarter on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has delayed a final decision.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today (14 April) launched an international design competition promoting hotel design that is inclusive for disabled people. The “first of a kind” Bespoke Access Awards will celebrate designers who aim to improve access to hotels worldwide for disabled people, including those with learning difficulties, as well as all other guests. In a statement, RIBA said: “The Awards seek to challenge the perception

A controversial restoration of an ancient Spanish castle has been awarded an international architecture prize, despite being lambasted by a national heritage group as “lamentable”. Spanish studio Carquero Arquitectura’s modernist reinterpretation and renovation of Matrera Castle was the Popular Choice winner at the Architizer A+ Awards, which promotes and celebrates “meaningful architecture”. The 1,000 year-old stricture, which was falling into ruin, was propped up by a white cuboid structure, formed

The board of the Serpentine Galleries in London – famous for organising the architectural Serpentine Pavilion programme – has announced the appointment of entrepreneur Yana Peel as the organisation’s new CEO, in place of departing director Julia Peyton-Jones. Peel, previously a trustee at the galleries, is the co-founder of the Outset Contemporary Art Fund and CEO of live debate forum Intelligence Squared. In her new role, she will work alongside

The founding partners of Dutch studio MVRDV have told CLAD that architects and developers must consider including a leisure component when designing new structures in built environments. In an exclusive interview, Winy Maas, Nathalie de Vries and Jacob van Rijs, explained how their own work – including residential and commercial projects such as Rotterdam’s Market Hall – include leisure components to bring life to their surrounding locations. “Leisure is an

Metropolitan has just launched a 6,000sq m (64,500sq ft) club in Badalona, Spain – its first in the city. A €5m (US$5.6m, £4m) development, the club follows the philosophy of the rest of the Metropolitan estate, marrying good design and high quality, with an emphasis on both relaxation and training. Located in the city centre, the club has been converted from an old multiplex cinema, which started out as theatre

Minor Hotel Group is adding two properties to its pipeline in United Arab Emirates, the Anantara Jebel Dhanna and the Avani Jebel Dhanna in Abu Dhabi, both of which are scheduled to open in 2018. Owned by Dhabi Contracting, the neighbouring properties are being developed along the under-developed coastal area of the Al Gharbia region in Abu Dhabi, with a royal palace bordering the new hotels. AECOM have been appointed

Ground has broken on the latest project of Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron: a new home for the National Library of Israel. The new building – which will replace the library’s current 1950s home, described as “outdated and barely serviceable” – is located in Jerusalem’s National District adjacent to Israel’s parliament building. When it opens in 2020, it will protect, preserve and showcase the country’s cultural and intellectual books,

US National Football League (NFL) franchise the Miami Dolphins is racing to complete a US$450m renovation of its stadium before pre-season begins in August 2016. The club is working with sports architects HOK to construct a new open-air rooftop canopy, which is designed to amplify crowd noise and cast 92 per cent of fans in shade from the fierce south Florida heat. The square roof will be supported by distinctive

Beijing-based innovators MAD Architects have designed a flowing, translucent installation for the 2016 Milan Design Week in the famous courtyard of the city’s university. The sculptural piece, called Invisible Border, forms a rippling canopy descending across the Cortile d’Onore courtyard from a loggia to the ground, establishing a shelter for people to gather, socialise and contemplate their surroundings. “Architects usually create borders by defining spaces – what is inside and

Architecture and development practice Swisatec have outlined plans for Africa’s “most environmentally friendly estate” – a car-free leisure village in Cape Town. Blue Rock Village will be a 40-hectare extension to an existing water ski resort, and has been envisioned as “a pioneer for an exciting new standard of living.” The project is worth an estimated R14bn (US$900m, €790.5m, £631m) and construction will begin in August this year. In addition

Danish studio AART Architects have been named the winners of an international competition to design a new extension for the Viking Age Museum in Oslo, Norway. The firm were chosen ahead of 11 rivals to create a “new signature, forward looking setting” for one of the country’s most popular museums – which exhibits a number of Viking Age boats and artefacts – after the judges unanimously approved the bold, circular

The founders of Dutch architecture studio MVRDV have today (12 April) added five new partners as part of a management reshuffle intended to nurture the practice’s “intellectual and creative continuity, organisational growth and stability.” Frans de Witte, Fokke Moerel, Jeroen Zuidgeest, Wenchian Shi and Jan Knikker join founding trio Winy Maas, Nathalie de Vries and Jacob van Rijs as partners. As part of the reshuffle, the studio – which has

Daniel Libeskind yesterday (11 April) publicly revealed for the first time that he has been developing a Kurdistan Museum in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region. The Polish American architect spoke out about the secretive, long-gestating project during an appearance at Bloomberg Design Week in San Francisco. The project was commissioned by the prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani – who approached Libeskind seven years ago

Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto has designed an immersive installation called Forest of Light for Milan Design Week. A darkened space is illuminated by towering cones of light that respond to visitors’ movements. Fog and specially-composed sounds add an atmospheric effect, and mirrored walls have been installed to create the illusion of an infinite landscape, where the conical spotlights form countless abstract trees. “People meander through this forest, as if lured

Sports architecture firm HOK have designed a “first-of-its-kind” training and sports medicine centre for National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise the Atlanta Hawks. The privately-funded facility will be the first NBA training centre to be co-located with a sports medicine centre, which will home Emory Healthcare. Emory will have the naming rights to the 90,000 sq ft (8,361sq m) facility, which will be built in the Brookhaven region of Atlanta. Ground

Spa, fitness and lifestyle consultancy WTS International (WTS) has debuted its latest venture, the newly-opened EOS Wellness facility in Kuala Lumpur's St Mary Residences. The project has been completed in conjunction with Eastern & Oriental Berhad (E&O), a Malaysian lifestyle property development group. E&O is introducing EOS Wellness as part of a broader strategy to nurture a wellness pillar to complement its core property development business. WTS was responsible for

Santiago Calatrava’s futuristic tower design for Dubai will ‘be a notch taller’ than the Burj Khalifa, according to its developer Emaar Properties. The real estate giant hosted an event in the city on Sunday (10 April) to officially unveil the project, now named as ‘The Tower’, two months after Calatrava was named as the winner of an international design project for the commission. According to reports in Dubai, the structure

Construction will begin in the next few months on Australia’s first man-made surf park after planning approval was granted for the Melbourne project. Perth-based company Wave Park Group has partnered with architects MJA Studios – who recently unveiled their plan to transform an abandoned sports stadium into an enormous outdoor wave pool near Perth – for the facility, which will be called Urbnsurf. “Surfing is a sport enjoyed by millions

The Center for Architecture in Portland, Oregon, is to launch the first major US exhibition on international architecture studio Snøhetta and their work around the world. Named Snøhetta: People, Process, Projects, the exhibition will explore the practice's culture and design philosophy and follows on from a similar event held last year at the Danish Architecture Centre in Copenhagen. It will be launched on 17 April 2016 to kick off Design

Memphis Zoo in Tennessee, US, is preparing to launch its new US$22.3m (€19.5m, £15.7m) Zambezi River Hippo Camp at the end of this month, bringing together a collection of animals in the immersive setting of an African fishing village. Created by Ace Torre of zoo specialists Torre Design Consortium, the experience covers 16,000sq m (174,000sq ft) and mimics a river walk through a remote camp. Starring two female hippos with