Latest news with #NormanFoster
Daily Mail
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Man United 'to open new £50m training ground - featuring a Premier League-first in-house barbers - in WEEKS' as Red Devils finally address Cristiano Ronaldo concerns
Manchester United 's new £50million training ground complex is set to open next month once the club are back from their pre-season tour of the United States. Ruben Amorim 's side have been using academy facilities since the Portuguese's appointment and for the last year after their Carrington base was gutted ahead of a major revamp. According to The Times, facilities away from football have been included in a bid to help performance, including a barbers and other recreational areas. If a barbers is indeed included, it will be the first known facility in the country to contain one. It's reported that several seats and equipment will be provided, though it's unclear if a barber will be provided of if players can take their own. Behind the idea is to encourage players to stay at their training base for longer periods of time instead of rushing home. A high-class canteen is also thought to be included. Commissioned to work on the project was Foster + Partners, led by Manchester architect Norman Foster, in a bid to create an environment for under-performing players. Foster is also the man leading the project behind a potential new stadium for Manchester United. Though no pictures have been obtained, there is said to be more than one floor at the new-look Carrington, with the ground floor employing a flow system that sees players visit the changing rooms, gym, pool and medical and massage areas in the 'right' order before football training. State-of-the-art cryogenic chambers are said to have been put in, with gym facilities upgraded. United have also addressed an issue that Cristiano Ronaldo pointed out during his second stint at the club. When he arrived in 2021, the Portuguese noted that the pool was the same one he had used during his first spell between 2003 and 2009. Owners Ineos are said to have accepted that the pool needed an upgrade, and it has now been remodelled. Staff are reported to have complained that areas were too dark, so more windows are said to have been installed in the bottom floor corridor after it was likened to a hospital. The second floor is also said to be more open plan with fewer offices and more senior figures taking base at Carrington rather than Old Trafford with the view of making the training ground the base of the club operation. United will return from the States on August 4, where they will take on West Ham, Bournemouth and Everton. After that, they will host Fiorentina in their final pre-season match before the start of the Premier League campaign. They will also face Leeds in Stockholm on Saturday, with their first league match against Arsenal on August 17. In terms of a new stadium, United will attempt to build a stunning, 100,000-capacity new Old Trafford under a vast 'umbrella' – complete with a public plaza twice the size of Trafalgar Square and their own version of Wembley Way in a breathtaking 'city of the future'. Sir Jim Ratcliffe has vowed to deliver 'the world's greatest football stadium' and Mail Sport shared the staggering plans drawn up by renowned British architect Foster, which include a cheeky nod to Manchester's infamous climate. Three giant towers, inspired by the Red Devils' trident, dominate the skyline and effectively hold up the 'umbrella' - a sweeping glass and steel canopy above that will keep fans dry inside and outside what would be comfortably Britain's biggest stadium. A huge wraparound scoreboard also features, along with a three-storey museum and canal-side restaurants as part of a vast fan village in a project Ratcliffe says will 'preserve the essence of Old Trafford… while transforming the fan experience only footsteps from our existing home'. Man United have also ambitiously proposed that the stadium, which would become the largest covered space in the world, will be completed within a timeframe of just five years.
Indian Express
15-07-2025
- Indian Express
Zayed National Museum to open in December 2025
Spanning a collection that dates back more than 3,00,00 years, Zayed National Museum, the national museum of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will open its doors in Abu Dhabi in December 2025. Named after the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, widely regarded as the founding father of the UAE, the museum is at the heart of the Saadiyat Cultural District that is also home to other prestigious institutions such as Louvre Abu Dhabi, Berklee Abu Dhabi, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abrahamic Family House and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Lord Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, the museum's architectural blueprint, unveiled in 2010, revealed how its five towering steel structures are inspired by the wings of a falcon in flight. It is notable that falconry has been an integral part of Emirati culture for centuries. The latticed towers are also intended to act as thermal chimneys that will draw cool air into the spaces below. Speaking about the museum in a statement issued, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi, stated, 'It is a tribute to his boundless belief in people, in their ability to learn, to uphold the values of unity, compassion and national pride. This museum is more than a place of preservation; it is a promise to future generations, a beacon of our identity, and a space where our story is told not just through objects, but through emotion, memory and vision. This institution will carry our story forward for generations to come.' Apart from a temporary exhibition gallery, the museum will also boast six permanent galleries spread across two floors. The display will include artefacts from the Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age. The highlights include one of the world's oldest natural pearls that dates back 8,000 years, and the Blue Qur'an, one of Islamic art's finest manuscripts with Kufic calligraphy. In addition, a Bronze age Magan Boat has been recreated by Zayed University in partnership with New York University, Abu Dhabi. With the Middle East emerging as one of the most closely watched regions with regard to a growing market and push for art, the Saadiyat Cultural District will also soon see the opening of the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. 'The cultural legacy of the UAE has been nurtured over decades, from the establishment of its earliest cultural institutions to today's expansive vision for cultural exchange and knowledge. Saadiyat Cultural District represents the next chapter in this national journey, curating world-class institutions that honour the past and engage the future,' added Al Mubarak.
The Guardian
14-07-2025
- The Guardian
The other millennium dome: how Wales's National Botanic Garden came back from the brink
Amid the gentle hills of Carmarthenshire's Tywi valley, the domed glasshouse of the National Botanic Garden of Wales sparkles from miles away. Designed by Sir Norman Foster, when the garden opened in 2000 it was the largest single-span glasshouse in the world, set among 230 hectares (570 acres) of themed gardens and a nature reserve – but today, the most special part of the site is actually a modest hillside where Welsh black cattle graze. At this time of year, there is little to see in the organically managed pasture other than the cows. But in the autumn, this field boasts an astonishing 23 different species of colourful waxcap mushrooms – some of which are considered as endangered as the Siberian tiger or mountain gorilla. 'I've been coming here since I was a teenager and one of the reasons I love working here now is because you can see the hard work paying off. Some of the rarest mushrooms and wildflowers here populate more and more of the site every year,' says Dr Kevin McGinn, the garden's chief botanist. The garden, which turns 25 this year, is globally recognised for its pioneering conservation efforts since the turn of the millennium. Wales was the first country in the world to create a national DNA database of its native flowering plants and conifers, and the garden's staff monitor and safeguard flora, pollinators and other biodiversity standards on site and around the country. As well as waxcaps, the Waun Las nature reserve hosts marshy greenland, wet woodland and lowland meadows, environments that are dying out across Europe; during the Guardian's visit in June, its hay meadows were stippled by the rare sight of white whorled caraway and greater butterfly orchids, as well as purple meadow clary. Beyond its conservation work, the National Botanic Garden offers therapeutic gardening programmes in partnership with health boards, and more than 11,000 schoolchildren visit annually despite the rural location near Llanarthne; the garden's ambitious new goal is to connect every child in Wales to the garden, either through visits or outreach. A flagship millennium project, it was the first new botanical garden in the UK in 200 years. The novelty attracted 240,000 visitors in 2000, but visitor figures quickly slumped to less than 100,000 a year, and the garden was only saved from closure by emergency funding from the Welsh government, local council and now-defunct Millennium Commission. Today, after huge efforts from staff and volunteers, loans have been repaid and 80% of the site's income is self-generated. The gardens have matured into both a spectacular attraction and biodiversity success story. In recent years a £6m project has allowed for the restoration of the original features of the 18th-century estate, built by Sir William Paxton, a key figure of the East India Company; its lakes and waterfalls were rehabilitated, bringing otters and kingfishers to the garden. Walking trails now wind through Waun Las's woods and meadows, where visitors are encouraged to note down what they see and feed the data back to the garden's scientists. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Work is due to begin soon on a £1.3m technical upgrade for the Great Glasshouse. Many of its mechanical panels – state of the art in the 00s – no longer open, making it difficult to regulate temperature and humidity for its huge collection of endemic and endangered plants from around the world. 'Over 25 years the garden has gone from strength to strength and over the next 25 we will continue to build on our reputation as a globally important plant science centre,' said Dr Lucy Sutherland, the garden's director. Upcoming priorities include an ambitious project aimed at reversing Welsh-native flora decline, safeguarding Wales's 58 endemic species from habitat loss, and creating a living native plant collection that will take visitors on a 'botanical journey' through the country's diverse nature, from Pembrokeshire's coastal cliffs to the peaks of Yr Wyddfa.
The Guardian
14-07-2025
- The Guardian
The other millennium dome: how Wales's National Botanic Garden came back from the brink
Amid the gentle hills of Carmarthenshire's Tywi valley, the domed glasshouse of the National Botanic Garden of Wales sparkles from miles away. Designed by Sir Norman Foster, when the garden opened in 2000 it was the largest single-span glasshouse in the world, set among 230 hectares (570 acres) of themed gardens and a nature reserve – but today, the most special part of the site is actually a modest hillside where Welsh black cattle graze. At this time of year, there is little to see in the organically managed pasture other than the cows. But in the autumn, this field boasts an astonishing 23 different species of colourful waxcap mushrooms – some of which are considered as endangered as the Siberian tiger or mountain gorilla. 'I've been coming here since I was a teenager and one of the reasons I love working here now is because you can see the hard work paying off. Some of the rarest mushrooms and wildflowers here populate more and more of the site every year,' says Dr Kevin McGinn, the garden's chief botanist. The garden, which turns 25 this year, is globally recognised for its pioneering conservation efforts since the turn of the millennium. Wales was the first country in the world to create a national DNA database of its native flowering plants and conifers, and the garden's staff monitor and safeguard flora, pollinators and other biodiversity standards on site and around the country. As well as waxcaps, the Waun Las nature reserve hosts marshy greenland, wet woodland and lowland meadows, environments that are dying out across Europe; during the Guardian's visit in June, its hay meadows were stippled by the rare sight of white whorled caraway and greater butterfly orchids, as well as purple meadow clary. Beyond its conservation work, the National Botanic Garden offers therapeutic gardening programmes in partnership with health boards, and more than 11,000 schoolchildren visit annually despite the rural location near Llanarthne; the garden's ambitious new goal is to connect every child in Wales to the garden, either through visits or outreach. A flagship millennium project, it was the first new botanical garden in the UK in 200 years. The novelty attracted 240,000 visitors in 2000, but visitor figures quickly slumped to less than 100,000 a year, and the garden was only saved from closure by emergency funding from the Welsh government, local council and now-defunct Millennium Commission. Today, after huge efforts from staff and volunteers, loans have been repaid and 80% of the site's income is self-generated. The gardens have matured into both a spectacular attraction and biodiversity success story. In recent years a £6m project has allowed for the restoration of the original features of the 18th-century estate, built by Sir William Paxton, a key figure of the East India Company; its lakes and waterfalls were rehabilitated, bringing otters and kingfishers to the garden. Walking trails now wind through Waun Las's woods and meadows, where visitors are encouraged to note down what they see and feed the data back to the garden's scientists. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Work is due to begin soon on a £1.3m technical upgrade for the Great Glasshouse. Many of its mechanical panels – state of the art in the 00s – no longer open, making it difficult to regulate temperature and humidity for its huge collection of endemic and endangered plants from around the world. 'Over 25 years the garden has gone from strength to strength and over the next 25 we will continue to build on our reputation as a globally important plant science centre,' said Dr Lucy Sutherland, the garden's director. Upcoming priorities include an ambitious project aimed at reversing Welsh-native flora decline, safeguarding Wales's 58 endemic species from habitat loss, and creating a living native plant collection that will take visitors on a 'botanical journey' through the country's diverse nature, from Pembrokeshire's coastal cliffs to the peaks of Yr Wyddfa.
New York Times
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Brian Clarke, Stained-Glass Innovator, Is Dead at 71
Brian Clarke, one of the world's leading practitioners of the centuries-old art of stained glass, who pushed the form's boundaries from religious to secular settings, died at his home in London on July 1, one day before his 72nd birthday. The cause was cancer, according to HENI, an art services business that represents Mr. Clarke. 'When I started working in the medium of stained glass, it was a dying art,' he told the British newspaper The Independent in 2010. 'I knew from a very early age that the future of the medium would only be assured if it had an application in public buildings and was not limited to ecclesiastical architecture.' While Mr. Clarke did create stained-glass windows in religious locations, his work was also found in places like Pfizer's headquarters in Manhattan; Victoria Leeds, a shopping district in England; and the Lake Sagami Country Club in Yamanashi, Japan. He worked on projects with the architects Norman Foster, Arata Isozaki and Zaha Hadid. This year he completed 'Concordia,' a colossal wall of 127 vibrantly colored stained-glass panels installed at Bahrain International Airport that depicts, among other things, jasmine flowers, dragonflies and hawks; incorporates Islamic geometric patterns; and makes reference to medieval European tapestries and illuminated manuscripts from the Book of Hours. At 112 feet wide and nearly 56 feet tall — and weighing more than 30 tons — it is one of the largest stained-glass installations in the world. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
