A social third space called Lore Bathing Club has opened in New York City’s NoHo neighbourhood, offering a contrast bathing membership model. The business has been set up by two co-founders: entrepreneur James O’Reilly, who is a co-founder of the co-working membership club NeueHouse, a company that has now been bought by Convene Hospitality Group after filing for bankruptcy late last year.  Lore’s second co-founder is hospitality concept creator and

Studio Apostoli has designed a thermal bathing complex called New Thermal Park in Civitavecchia, Italy, next to the ruins of a Roman bathhouse site called Terme Taurine, as part of a project to revitalise the Lazio region. The land is owned by Terme dei Papi SpA, a company that has a thermal bathing site of the same name in Viterbo, also in the Lazio region. Terme dei Papi, which was

A new bathing experience called Basin Glacial Waters will open at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada, on 15 September. Basin Glacial Waters takes its name from its setting: Lake Louise is a natural basin fed by a direct glacial water source, the Victoria Glacier. The 539-key hotel, owned by Oxford properties and a capital partner, is set within more than 6,500sq km of protected pine forest in the

Global wellbeing organisation Therme Group has acquired Therme Erding – a vast 145,000sq ft wellbeing destination located near Munich in Germany. Recognised as one of Europe’s largest thermal wellbeing complexes, Therme Erding features a 40-pool bathing oasis, 35 steam baths and saunas and 28 indoor and outdoor slides. Founded by architect and entrepreneur Josef Wund in 1999, the facility has become a cornerstone of the European wellness industry. The acquisition

A luxury Canadian day spa nestled in a 600-acre protected forest reserve in Quebec has recently been elevated with a new two-floor wellness facility, designed to inspire relaxation and reconnection with nature. Since launching in Bromont in 2005, Balnea Spa + Thermal Reserve has positioned itself as a wellness retreat in nature committed to immersing guests in the beauty of its surroundings. The centrepiece of the new facility is a

Aire Ancient Baths has selected New York City’s Upper East Side neighbourhood for its latest bathhouse, marking its second destination in the city and ninth location worldwide. Known for revitalising historical buildings into luxurious bathing havens, Aire offers an immersive bathhouse experience inspired by ancient Roman, Greek and Ottoman traditions. Each location features the brand’s signature candle-lit ambience, is infused with orange-blossom scents and offers access to a range of

Urban wellness brand Othership has ambitions to expand its social bathhouse concept throughout North America, according to CEO and co-founder Robbie Bent. The company’s city destinations combine contrast bathing, breathwork and guided emotional regulation to create a space for people to connect with themselves and their community. Offering 28 different classes, Othership hosts large-scale sauna and ice-bath classes that blend elements of Aufguss sauna with group therapy modalities including visualisation,

The UK’s oldest outdoor public pool in the city of Bath will reopen to the public on 10 September following a £9m (US$10.7m, €10.1m) restoration project. Located on Hampton Row, Cleveland Pools was designed by John Pinch the Elder, designer of Babbington House in Somerset and Bishopstrow House, as well as parts of the City of Bath, and opened in 1815. It remained a popular open-air bathing spot for more

Los Angeles-based Hume Projects has announced the forthcoming launch of Hume, an urban wellness club and members community designed to simplify and inspire the practice of consistent self-care. Slated to open in early 2024, Hume is expected to bring together premium health and lifestyle facilities to create a members club concept for those searching for a more balanced routine. Located in the heart of Venice Beach, the wellness club will

Global architectural firm Woods Bagot has completed its comprehensive renewal of the Continental Sorrento in Victoria, Australia, with a luxury underground spa and bathing retreat. The hotel – known locally as the “Conti” – opened in 1875 and is based in Sorrento; a popular holiday destination thanks to its sheltered coastal access and the region’s naturally occurring geothermal mineral springs. The opening of the spa marks the final step in

New York’s bustling borough of Brooklyn has become home to a brand new 50,000sq ft (44,645sq m) day spa offering an array of global bathing practices. The newly-launched facility features one of the largest co-ed hydrothermal bathing areas in New York and offers bathing practices from across Europe, Russia, Turkey, Finland and Japan. BK Developers and RYBAK Development co-created the destination, working with Feng Shui consultants and Design for Leisure

Destination spa and health resort Preidlhof in Naturno, South Tyrol, will open a new medicinal bathing facility later this month, following a five-year development programme. Costing €2m (US$2.26m, £1.7m), the new hydrotherapy experience will include an 80sq m indoor pool and a number of private whirlpool baths. The main pool is a retrofit of an existing swimming pool tank, which has been excavated and rebuilt to accommodate the specialist pipework

Glasgow’s iconic Kimpton Blythswood Square has launched La Chambre Verte, an immersive hotel suite experiment measuring the psychological and physical benefits of biophilic design. The hotel partnered with Scottish CBD skincare brand La Rue Verte, leading horticulturalists Benholm and award-winning DJ Brian D’Souza to create a multi-sensory experience combining biophilia with CBD rituals, meditation and sound therapy. Echoing the practice of forest bathing, La Chambre Verte is designed for the

Spa management group Groupe SKYSPA has opened an expansive thermal spa in Quebec, Canada, that will be designed by Blouin Tardiff and will offer bathing experiences from around the world. Surrounded by forest, the 60,000sq m (646,000sq ft), CA$12m (US$9m, €8.3m, £7m) Förena Cité Thermale includes three thermotherapy circuits individually themed on Russian, Icelandic and German bathing traditions, along with three pavilions, outdoor bathing facilities and a restaurant. "The idea

Donald Insall Associates have completed restoration work of Edwardian architecture at Grade II listed heritage swimming baths that are being converted for use as an arts and culture venue. Moseley Road Baths are said to be the only baths in the UK built before 1914 to have continuously hosted swimming since they opened, which was in 1907. They are architecturally significant due to the quality and completeness of their interior,

The Arctic Bath Hotel and Spa, designed by Bertil Harström, Johan Krauppi and Annkathrin Lundqvist, has opened on the Lule River near the small village of Harads in Swedish Lapland. First announced in 2017, it was conceived to be a year-round Arctic wellness destination that will float on the water during the summer and be frozen into the ice during the winter. The 12-room hotel is inspired by the era

Design For Leisure (DFL) recently finalised schematic design drawings and is now in the detailed design stage for the new 50,000sq ft (4,645sq m) World Spa in Brooklyn, New York. Developers RYBAK Development And BK Developers have joined forces for the project, tapping Feng Shui consultants alongside DFL. Natural wood and organic materials are being used to create a “homey” feel in the expansive establishment. Slated to open in 2020,

US property developers are tapping the centuries-old bathing practices of Europe as they seek to differentiate their wellness amenities and increase wellness ROI, according to Design for Leisure (DFL), creators of hydrothermal spa and wellness areas. The company says more US hotels, resorts, spas, condo/apartment developers and luxury home owners are adding self-service hydrothermal bathing circuits like those typically found in European spas and bath houses. DFL has seen an

Turkish architects Project Design Group have designed the KentPlus Yalova Wellness Spa Resort in Armutlu, Yalova in Turkey, which is due to open at the end of this year. The project includes three five-star thermal hotels with more than 1,300 bedrooms and more than 1,000 apartments for timeshare and full-time living. A Physiotherapy Medical Centre will provide thermal water healing, together with detox, physiotherapy and rehabilitation services. The complex will

Stadium for Bath, the partnership behind a new community-focused elite rugby stadium in the city, has appointed planning and engineering giant Arup to play a central role in the design of the venue. Arup will provide civil, geotechnical, structural, mechanical, electrical and public health engineering as well as ICT, audiovisual, acoustic and specialist lighting design for the new 18,000 seat, digitally-enabled stadium. Arup’s team will be led from Bristol and

Work has started to renovate Newcastle City Pool and Turkish Baths in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, following a campaign to save the Grade II listed building. The £5m ($7m,€5.7m) renovation will be carried out by leisure charity Fusion Lifestyle, in partnership with design firm Creatability and a number of undisclosed companies. The baths, which originally opened in 1928, closed to the public in April 2013. Fusion secured planning permission and

Bath Rugby moved a step closer to its new home as the Stadium for Bath project confirmed Grimshaw as lead architect. The project brings together Bath Rugby, Bath Rugby Foundation and Arena 1865 to develop the new stadium in the City of Bath, a certified UNESCO World Heritage Site. Globally renowned architecture firm Grimshaw will begin developing designs for the 18,000-capacity stadium, which will replace Bath Rugby’s facilities at the

Bürgenstock Hotels & Resort Lake Lucerne has opened the final hotel in its portfolio, the Waldhotel Health & Medical Excellence, a medical wellness centre offering physical and mental wellbeing through a ‘Healthy by Nature’ concept. Designed by Italian architect Matteo Thun, the five-star Waldhotel features a team of multidisciplinary physicians, using cardiology, internal medicine, dermatology, orthopaedics, psychosomatics, dentists to nutrition and gastroenterology to treat and prevent health concerns. The physicians

Hidden below the streets of Bath, a quirky new spa has opened which celebrates the ancient city's heritage. Spa 15 – located in the No. 15 Great Pulteney hotel on Great Pulteney Street, Bath – includes four themed treatment rooms, a large cedarwood hot tub within exposed stone vaults, a barrel-shaped sauna and a steam room. In keeping with No. 15’s celebration of local up-and-coming artists, the treatment rooms showcase

The Arctic Bath, a unique luxury hotel and spa floating on the Lule river in Swedish Lapland is scheduled to open in 2018. Reminiscent of a bird’s nest or natural dam, the exteriors of the circular spa buildings will be covered with piled logs, providing added insulation to guests during the winter months. The spa buildings, with saunas, treatment and relaxation rooms, a restaurant and lounge bar, will encircle an

Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza has completed a semi-transparent sports hall for a university in Madrid. Designed for the campus of the Francisco de Vitoria University in the Pozuelo municipality, the white steel and concrete facility is formed of two well-defined boxes, connected by a low-rise building whose roof becomes an inter-connecting patio. Sports halls, multi-purpose event spaces, a gymnasium, a swimming pool and physiotherapy rooms all feature, with the

Architectural research initiative Arch Out Loud has announced the winners of an international ideas competition to conceptualise an underground bathhouse within the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The purpose of the contest was to explore the ways in which new forms of non-military architecture could occupy the border zone between North and South Korea and begin to ease the existing tension between the nations, which have been in conflict for over 70