Sports giant Nike has partnered with artist Kaws to cover two of New York’s community basketball courts with his signature murals. Located in Sara D. Roosevelt Park on Manhattan’s Stanton Street, the side-by-side full courts have been painted with swirling, brightly-coloured patterns and motifs. “My approach to the courts was very similar to how I would work on canvas,” said Brooklyn-based Kaws, whose real name is Brian Donnelly. “I wanted

The historic US embassy in London’s Grosvenor Square will be opened to the public as part of a £1bn hotel and retail development – with Westminster City Council granting planning permission for the David Chipperfield-designed project. Developers Qatari Diar will now transform the site, which has been home to US ambassadors to the UK since 1960, into a 137 bedroom hotel, spa and ball room for 900 guests. An operator

Dutch landscape architects West 8 have presented their vision for a dune-filled seafront in The Hague that will prioritise the health and wellbeing of families in the city. The Kijkduin-Bad public space has been commissioned by the municipality as part of its ‘Healthy Coast’ investment programme for the region. West 8’s plans were first outlined in 2009, but have now been presented in detail to residents and local businesses. The

The architecture studio of David Chipperfield have announced significant progress on two key museum projects in their portfolio: an extension to the Kunsthaus museum in Zurich, Switzerland and an cultural complex near the Taj Mahal in India. A foundation stone laying ceremony for former project took place on Tuesday (8 November), with guests from the world of Swiss politics, business and culture joining Chipperfield, who helped bury a time capsule

The Los Angeles City Council has unanimously approved a mixed-use development, designed in typically striking style by Frank Gehry, on the eastern edge of the city’s Sunset Strip. According to the LA Times, the five-building complex – earmarked for a site on 8150 Sunset Boulevard – was approved at a meeting of the council’s Planning and Land Use Committee last week, despite objections to the height, density and impact of

British architect David Adjaye has been appointed to masterplan the transformation of a disused San Francisco Navy base into a vibrant new leisure district. Development company Five Point is leading the project to redevelop the decommissioned Hunters Point site, now called the San Francisco Shipyard, as part of a wider 760-acre urban plan. When finished, the land will contain parks, sports facilities, artist studios, business incubators, shops, theatres, a performance

The developers of 3D digital modelling software VUCITY have designed a new experience to showcase the technology: a virtual reality Top Gear-style challenge. Users sit in a chair, put on an Oculus Rift headset and proceed steer a race car through a virtual reality model of central London that is accurate to within 15cm and includes landmarks such as London Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral and Renzo Piano's Shard. The technology

Italian architecture practice Studio Fuksas have completed the largest new building in Rome in over 50 years: a convention hall and hotel nicknamed The Cloud. Opening this month after nearly two decades in development, the New Rome/EUR Convention Hall will host exhibitions and conferences expected to bring in as much as €400m (US$437m, £358m) annually to the city of Rome. Located south of the city’s core, the complex is open

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier has spoken about the importance of good quality public space in cities, arguing that there should be incentives at government level for developers to incorporate public space into their projects. Speaking exclusively to CLAD, the Getty Center architect said: “The problem is that developers really have no incentive to create public space. It's rare that a developer is going to give up space on their

Four design companies have been shortlisted from a field of 17 international and national firms in the race to create the AU$250m North Queensland Stadium in Townsville, Australia. BVN Architecture, Cox Architecture, Hassell and Populous will now vie for the project, with each studio asked to develop a concept design and masterplan for the project. “The four companies have all demonstrated a proven track record in major sports stadiums,” said

Some of the biggest names in architecture and construction are in the running to masterplan the UK’s largest regeneration programme at Old Oak Common in west London. Seven shortlisted teams have been issued with invitation to tender for the project, with Arup, Grimshaw, AECOM, Allies & Morrison and Hawkins Brown among the team leaders in contention. Over 70 architecture, design, engineering, communication and landscaping firms have contributed to the competing

US architecture studio SHoP have announced they will create one of the world’s largest 3D public structures for the Design Miami festival in November. The arching piece, called Flotsam & Jetsom, will create a 1,780sq ft space at the gateway to Miami’s exhibition halls. It is being created by the architects as a response to their triumph in the 2016 Design Miami Visionary Award. In a statement, they said: “This

Danish architects COBE have won a competition to transform Cologne’s old industrial harbour into a lively and sustainable neighbourhood with a huge waterfall and a landmark public pool. The pool will collect rainwater and waste heat from the district and becomes a new attraction in the city. For more than a decade city authorities have been discussing how the 35-hectare area should be developed. In February 2016, the City of

Jiangnan Global Harbor, one of the world’s largest leisure-led retail schemes, has officially opened near Shanghai. The 500,000sq m (5.3 million sq ft), five-level project is located in the city of Changzhou, within the prosperous Jiangsu province. Designed by architects Chapman Taylor, the scheme has a vast Art Deco-inspired atrium with giant LED screens and musical fountains; 60,000sq m (645,800sq ft) of space dedicated to bars, restaurants and cafés; and

Organisers of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, have updated Sports Management on the construction progress of the seven new competition venues and other facilities being built for the Games. South Korean architecture, construction and engineering firm Taeyoung have designed the facilities for the Olympics, which will be gathered around two main mountain clusters – the Alpensia resort for the outdoor sports and the coastal city of Gangneung

Hollywood star Robert De Niro will build his planned luxury hotel in London’s Covent Garden after the deputy leader of the local council hailed the design as “one of the finest schemes we have considered in years”. Permission for the The Wellington Hotel has been granted, enabling the star of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull to increase his burgeoning hospitality portfolio. Architects Kohn Pedersen Fox have designed the 83-room hotel,

Transport officials in New York are considering expanding the city’s historic Brooklyn Bridge due to the congestion caused by swathes of pedestrians, tourists, vendors and cyclists. Global engineering consultancy AECOM have been commissioned to begin a seven-month engineering study assessing how much weight the 133-year old bridge can carry and considering options for expansion. Mooted suggestions include widening the promenade. The bridge contains a crossing for cars at a lower

Indian architecture practice Design Forum International have designed a 380m long elevated walkway in Kolkata to regenerate one of the city’s busiest neighbourhoods and bring leisure to the skies. The Skywalk has been proposed by the city government to separate pedestrians and road traffic around Dakshineshwar Temple, one of the city’s most visited places of worship. As well as improving ease of movement and safety by creating a new link

New Zealand practice Studio Pacific Architecture have developed alternative designs for a planned film museum in Wellington backed by Lord of the Rings director Sir Peter Jackson. The Movie Museum and Wellington Convention Center, which will cover more than 10,000sq m (107,639sq ft) of prime waterfront land in the city’s central business district, will house memorabilia from the sets of Jackson’s movies and the creations of the acclaimed Weta Workshop.

Ten firms are in the running to design a masterplan for a man-made island off the coast of Hainan, China, which will become an eco-tourism hub for the region. Foster + Partners, UNStudio and Diller Scofidio + Renfro are among the studios competing for the project in Haikou Bay, according to ArchDaily. Called Nanhai Pearl Artificial Island, the 250 hectare crescent-shaped land is connected to the mainland by a bridge.

US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have reportedly chosen Chicago's historic Jackson Park as the site for their Obama Presidential Center. Media reports in the city claim the historic park has been chosen ahead of fellow South Side location Washington Park. Official confirmation is expected next week. Once the announcement is made, preparation work will begin ahead of the start of construction next year. Earlier this month,

A 200-bed five star hotel and 30,000sq ft (2,800sq m) of leisure space will dominate the latest architectural project being developed by former Manchester United stars Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville. Restaurants, bars, shops and three anchoring public squares will feature at the St. Michael’s scheme in Manchester, which Neville has vowed will be “the biggest statement in architecture and development that the city has seen in modern times”. Architecture

Architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) have unveiled a long-term masterplan to develop a vast new urban district in Philadelphia. The scheme, which is centred around the city’s 30th Street Station precinct, envisions 40 new acres of open space and 18 million square feet of new development, including an entirely new mixed-use neighbourhood. Over the next three decades and beyond, city planners want the station to become a new

Rome's Archaeological Heritage Department has completed the first phase of a major restoration of the historic Colosseum, aimed at returning the landmark to its former glory and possibly turning it into a regular entertainment venue. With funding support from Italian fashion brand Tod’s Group, the first phase of restoration has included the surface cleaning of the northern and southern façades, removing dirt and gunge created mainly by vehicle pollution, which

AEG – the organisation behind Los Angeles’ Staples Center – is planning a US$1.4bn (£1bn, €1.3bn) development in San Diego which includes an 18,000-capacity sports and entertainment arena. The Embarcadero District is one of six proposals being considered by the San Diego Unified Port District to replace the city’s Seaport Village. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the proposed development would include three hotels with a combined 1,700 rooms, 325,000sq

The organisers of Paris’s bid for the 2024 Olympic Games have unveiled plans to build a 15,000-capacity aquatics centre if the city’s application is successful. Located in the Saint-Denis region of Paris, the centre will house two 50m (165ft) swimming pools and two diving pools. Once the Games are over the capacity will be scaled down to 2,500. The aquatics centre will be the only facility that will need to

Tadao Ando has told CLAD about his design for a new contemporary art museum in Paris which will house the vast collection of billionaire businessman François Pinault. Pinault’s plans to transform the French capital’s historic Bourse de la Commerce into the museum were unveiled in April this year. Ando was selected to work on the project following a previous collaboration with Pinault to renovate Venice’s 17th century Punta della Dogana