Blueroom and Urban Crossovers have created a conceptual proposal for reactivating the Rijnhaven port area in Rotterdam, Netherlands, that would use innovative approaches to tackle the environmental and climate challenges. The Rotterdam Next Level! development is designed to be attractive and accessible for all, but also to be a unique urban typology that is CO2 and energy neutral, eliminates waste, increases biodiversity and builds a strong community. Buildings would be

COMO Hotels and Resorts is gearing up to reopen their Cocoa Island private island resort in the Maldives on 9 January following a seven-month refurbishment. “The Maldives has become a highly competitive market,” said Olivier Jolivet, COMO Group’s CEO. “Luxury hotel companies keep raising the ante, from building ‘reclaimed islands’, to tunnelling out underwater wine cellars. Sometimes we forget that nature is powerful, and simplicity has a very important role

Studio Studio Studio, a new interdisciplinary collaboration lab founded by Edoardo Tresoldi, have created a 26m (85ft)-high pavilion from cork and mesh with intimate spaces and narrow paths that visitors can explore. Gharfa is part of the Diriyah Oasis temporary creative district in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. Tresoldi aimed to create "a theatrical world where technique, reality, and illusion are all intertwined." Mesh has been used to sculpt

Morphosis have revealed eye-catching designs for a two-tower, mixed-use development on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, with a sculptural, bridged structure and a raised, landscaped garden in its central void. 8850 Sunset is part of an ongoing transformation of the Sunset Strip, with a number of new mixed-use buildings having been added in recent years. Developed by Silver Creek Commercial Development, the project is aimed at contributing "to the

The Wuxi Taihu Show Theatre, designed by Steven Chilton Architects with a forest of bamboo-inspired columns around its perimeter, has opened in Jiangsu Province, China. Built to house a permanent water show by Franco Dragone, with its designs released last year, the 2,000-seat theatre was inspired by China's largest bamboo forest – the Sea of Bamboo Park in Yixing. The circular building is wrapped in a full-height glazed façade and

Everton Football Club has revealed the final Dan Meis designs for its planned new stadium on Liverpool's Bramley-Moore Dock, which will be submitted to Liverpool City Council in a planning application today. Initial designs for the stadium were released earlier this year, after which a public consultation process was carried out. The response from fans was overwhelmingly positive, but a number of changes have been made nonetheless. Most notably, the

PLP Architecture have won a competition to build a mixed-use tower in Rotterdam with a glazed volume intersected by timber floorplates that extend beyond the building envelope to form a series of interconnected terraces. Developed for Provast, the €160m ($177m, £136m) Tree House is modelled on the holistic ecosystem of a tree. The part-timber structure will make use of recycled materials, collect and reuse rainwater and store CO2. Planted with

Hassell and OMA have completed construction of the New Museum for Western Australia, which houses museum exhibitions, event spaces and public areas in a newly unified group of old and new buildings. Located in Perth, the facility combines four heritage-listed buildings with a newly created volume, tripling the size of the museum. Inside, there are eight new galleries, a 1000sq m (10,800sq ft) special exhibitions gallery, multipurpose spaces for programs,

Radionica Arhitekture (literally Architecture Workshop) have designed a swimming centre for the Dubrava District of Zagreb, Croatia, that is split into three large, glass, sunken volumes. The 5,570sq m (60,000sq ft) facility is located between a residential tower, a church and a meadow, which is being developed for mid-rise housing. To avoid the area becoming too built up, Radionica Arhitekture felt it was necessary to moderate the profile of the

Plans have been announced for a vast zero-carbon resort to be built by the Red Sea in northwest Saudi Arabia as part of the Vision 2030 programme, which is aimed at reducing the kingdom’s dependence on oil and developing public service sectors. Set to open in 2030, the 31.4sq km (12.1sq mi) mixed-use development project, called AMAALA, will range across three different locations – called Triple Bay, The Island and

Herzog & de Meuron have won a competition to design a new museum complex on China's Grand Canal with the aim of the reflecting the river's importance in Chinese culture and to create a new gathering place. Situated in the city of Hangzhou at the junction of the Grand Canal and the Hanggang River, the museum will be surrounded by water on three sides. it will cover an area of

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and James Corner Field Operations (JCFO) have designed a mixed-use development in North Brooklyn that is part-residential, part-public park and part-flood defence. The aims of the River Street Waterfront Masterplan in redeveloping the former industrial site are to improve the connectivity of the waterfront for the public, reinstate natural habitats, strengthen resiliency and transform the way people interact with the East River. Anchored by BIG's two

The Contemporary Calgary art gallery is set to reopen next month following the first phase of a $92m (€83m, £71m) transformation and expansion of its home at the former Centennial Planetarium, carried out by Gibbs Gage Architects and KPMB Architects. Known for its brutalist architecture, with an imposing concrete dome atop the main structure, the building is having its existing spaces renovated and a new wing constructed. The first phase

The planned new stadium for Forest Green Rovers FC, which was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) and has been dubbed the "greenest football venue in the world", has been given the go-ahead. The stadium is intended to form part of a £100m ($131m, €118m), 100ac (40ha) sports and green technology business park development, owned by club chairman Dale Vince's Ecotricity green energy group, and to be carbon neutral or

Wellness resorts operator Six Senses is to open its first UK property in part of a historic former art deco department that will be renovated by Foster + Partners. Six Senses London will be located in London's redeveloped Whiteleys store, which was first opened as a drapery shop in 1863. Having grown to become a department store, it was redeveloped in the 1980s as a shopping centre with a cinema

When Perkins and Will (PW) bought Schmidt Hammer Lassen (SHL) last year, it knew it was getting the Danish firm's expertise in human-centred design. SHL's managing director Sanne Wall-Gremstrup told CLAD that's only going to improve. "It’s always been core to us to take a hard look at human behaviour," she explained. "We are constantly looking for ways to improve our understanding of how people and spaces coexist, as it

Plans for a £175m (US$228.7m, €205.7m) indoor tropical waterpark and spa in Manchester, UK, will have to wait until March for approval, with the local council set to consider the proposal in March 2020. Therme Group and developer Peel L&P initially submitted plans in July 2019 for public consultation, with a planning application to Trafford Council following last month. The plans foresee a 28-acre resort that includes a 700,000sq ft

Elora Hardy has been made an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) for her pioneering work in architectural design, in particular for the design and build of bamboo structures. Hardy was born in Bali and spent 14 years of her life growing up in the US, where she received a degree in fine arts and went on to work in the fashion industry. In

Sweden's iconic Icehotel is in its 30th year and the first pictures of the special anniversary creation have been released, showing glowing walls, glittering chandeliers and snowy sculptures. The Icehotel – or some form of it – has been created every year since 1989, when founder Yngve Bergqvist ran an ice sculpting workshop on the edge of the Torne River in the village of Jukkasjärvi. Nowadays, the Icehotel is constructed

The Snøhetta -designed energy-positive hotel Svart, which will be situated on the Holandsfjorden fjord at the foot of the Svartisen glacier in Norway’s Meløy municipality, has been given an opening date of 2022. The concept, which was revealed in 2018, is still on course to be completed in 2021. Developed by Miris and designed to the Powerhouse standard, it is expected to use around 85 per cent less energy than

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

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

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

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

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

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,