21 Dec 2018
CLAD preview: a look at the most anticipated leisure buildings of 2019
BY Andrew Manns
As a new year approaches, CLAD brings you our list of some of the most anticipated leisure buildings expected in 2019, from museums and restaurants to spas, theatres, and resorts.
Arctic Bath
Designed by Scandinavian architects Bertil Harström and Johan Kauppi – Arctic Bath is set to open in the High North town of Harads, Sweden, 50km south of the Arctic Circle.
The free-floating retreat, which will be situated on the Lule River, will resemble a kind of nest or beaver lodge and will play host to cold baths, saunas, and wellness-spa treatments, as well as a lounge and a restaurant.
Swedish company Arctic Bath AB, proprietor of the internationally renowned Treehotel, is behind the project.
Wuxi Show Theatre
Inspired by the largest bamboo forest in China – the Sea of Bamboo Park in Yixing – the 2,000-person Wuxi Show Theatre was conceived by Steven Chilton Architects.
The breathtaking structure, which was shortlisted for this year's World Architecture Festival Future Project Award, uses tightly packed white columns and a canopy made from gold anodised aluminium louvers to simulate the appearance of dense undergrowth.
Steve Chilton, principal at SCA told CLAD: "At night, the theatre should be a magical place to be and if we are lucky, a mesmerising sight to behold."
Once complete, the performance hall will accommodate "The House of Dancing Water" a water show by Belgian stage director Franco Dragone.
Under
Scheduled to debut this April in Båly, Norway, Under will be the world’s largest underwater restaurant.
Designed by visionary architecture firm Snøhetta, the 100-cover space will be something like a submarine fortress, a "mixture of madness and reason" reminiscent of Jules Verne's Nautilus.
Andreas Nygaard, a project architect on the Under team, told CLAD that Under specifically features a curved, half metre wall of concrete to deal with what he described as the "biggest challenge": sea waves.
"Under is first and foremost a tribute to the Norwegian coastline," he explained.
"This area is characterised by rugged sea conditions and the building is built to both adapt to and withstand this context. It’s very different from anything you will ever see in the Maldives."
National Museum of Qatar
Expected to open its doors in March, the Jean Nouvel-designed museum will be shaped like a desert rose to "symbolize the mysteries of the desert’s concretions and crystallisations".
The 40,000sq m building, which will be surrounded by an expansive park and lagoon, will also feature a 220-seat auditorium, research centre, food court, cafe, retail shops, restaurants, and multiple laboratories.
Commenting on the museum’s artistic and educational value, Jean Nouvel called it a "modern-day caravanserai" that would unveil hidden and evolving aspects of the region’s seven millennia-old cultural history.
Jewel Changi Airport
Frequently cited as one of the most highly anticipated projects of 2019, the Jewel complex is slated to become the main attraction at Changi Airport in Singapore.
Designed by Moshe Safdie Architects, the leisure facility will be built inside an enormous glass dome covering a 40m-high indoor waterfall and a five-storey 'forest valley' with 2,500 trees and 100,000 shrubs.
In addition to its 300 retail, food, and beverage outlets, Jewel will also include Canopy Park.
The unique area will feature the world’s largest indoor 'walking and bouncing’ sky nets – suspended 25m above the ground – discovery slides overlooking the site’s public gardens; a hedge maze and mirror maze; and a topiary walk.
The Apurva Kempinski Bali
This 475-room hotel, which some have likened to an "open-air theatre" will feature five dining venues – including Bali’s first aquarium restaurant – as well as multiple lounge areas, a luxury spa and fitness centre, and two swimming pools.
Set to rise in Bali's Nusa Dusa bay, the Apruva Kempinski will also offer spa treatments incorporating Javanese physical wellness therapies such as Lulur body scrubs.
Architecture firms Denton Corker Marshall and Trivium Design Group collaborated on the project’s design.
In a statement, the hotel said the architects took inspiration from the Panca Maha Butha, five elements symbolising the Balinese "way of living and art of balance".
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