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

MJM Architect and Hansenbuilt Design have converted a derelict loft space in Victoria, Canada, into a co-working space and social club with a focus on health and connecting with others. Kwench was founded by Tessa McLoughlin to evolve and expand what a co-working space could be, with the aim of making its users healthier and happier. It is based on promoting a balance of knowledge, wellness, experiences, novelty, curiosity, and

Lemay 's "judicious" design for an aquatics centre in Canada ensures it is not only sleek and sympathetic to its context, but that it uses energy-saving measures to moderate its running costs. The Beloeil Aquatics Centre was completed last year with little in the way of fanfare, but it shows that attractive and intelligent design can be delivered on a modest budget. The CAD$16.5m (US$12.5m, €11.5m, £9.5m), 55,000sq ft (5,100sq

Diamond Schmitt Architects, working with KWC Architects, have designed a joint facility for Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada (OPL-LAC) aimed at creating an inspiring place for gathering, learning and discovery. The CAD$193m (US$146m, €132m, £111m) building is scheduled to open in 2024, will cover 216,000sq ft (20,000sq m) and be split across five floors. It will house shared resources for the organisations including exhibitions and collections space,

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

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

RDH Architects have converted an old derelict post office in the Candian city of Cambridge, Ontario, into a bookless library with new glass volumes that are cantilevered over the adjacent Grand River. The Idea Exchange provides a free community hub with spaces for learning, creativity, meeting and socialising. The $11.1m (US$8.4m, €7.6m, £6.5m) project combined contemporary additions and design with restored elements of the original building, which was built in

Honoured this year among the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada's Awards of Excellence in the Innovation in Architecture category, Borden Park Natural Swimming Pool in Edmonton, Alberta, is the first chemical–free public outdoor pool to be built in Canada. The 64,000sq ft (19,500sq m) complex, which includes two pools, a sandy beach and changing rooms, was designed by Toronto-based gh3 architecture. Instead of chlorine or other chemicals for disinfection, Borden

The history of Alberta, Canada, is now on display at the newly rebuilt Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) in the state capital of Edmonton, following seven years of planning and development. The museum building – now the largest in western Canada – is somewhat of an exhibition itself, with glazed walls that glow and then dissolve as the evening wears on and interior windows that allow views into its research laboratories,

German architecture firm Buro Ole Scheeren today announced their latest project in Vancouver, Canada – their second venture into the city following the 2015 commission 1500 West Georgia. The project, named Barclay Village, will be a mixture of residences with public amenities, communal spaces and a network of green areas that extend to the building’s top floors. It will be located in Vancouver’s West End at the midpoint between Davie

Spanish architecture firm Cruz y Ortiz have designed a 90,000-capacity football stadium as the centrepiece of Morocco’s bid for the 2026 World Cup. The members of football’s world governing body, FIFA, meet tomorrow (13 June) in Moscow decide who will host the tournament in eight year’s time: Morocco or the US, Mexico and Canada. If the former wins the vote, Cruz y Ortiz’s stadium will be constructed in Casablanca, and

Montreal’s contemporary art museum has unveiled the design for its new home, after selecting the winning proposal from a hard-fought architecture competition. Quebec studios Saucier+Perrotte Architectes and GLCRM & Associés Architectes unanimously swayed the judges with a vision described as “luminous and relevant”. The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MAC), located in the city’s Quartier des spectacles, is one of Canada’s most important national museums, dedicated exclusively to the promotion

Designers GSM Project have delivered three exhibition spaces for the new Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, allowing visitors to “discover innovations and technology through immersive experiences”. The three galleries include 19 integrated interactive and media displays and a number of large-scale exhibits. The first gallery, ‘Into the Great Outdoors’, showcases more than 100 years of technological developments geared toward conquering and roaming vast landscape – from bicycles to

Canada’s Méga Parc attraction is to undergo a major steampunk-themed makeover, with a record-breaking gravity coaster travelling through a spokeless Ferris wheel at the heart of the CA$52m (US$41m, €34.6m, £30.8m) redevelopment. Built in Quebec in the 1980s, Méga Parc is the second-largest indoor theme park in Canada. Its overhaul will see the park transformed, with the majority of existing rides replaced and the park to be themed on steampunk

Canadian architects Lemay and US studio CannonDesign have created a striking, transformable arena in the city of Laval, Quebec, billed as “the most popular new sports destination in the region.” Place Bell is the new home of hockey team Laval Rocket – an American Hockey League (AHL) franchise – and features a 10,000-seat arena. It also boasts a 2,500-seat Olympic speed and figure-skating arena and a regular, 500-seat skating rink,

The lead architect behind a major new community and fitness complex in Toronto has told CLADglobal how difficult landscapes and vacated brownfield sites can be transformed into high-functioning public facilities. Phil Fenech, principal of architecture firm Perkins+Will in Toronto, was project manager for York Community Centre – an aquatics centre, gym, health club and community hub constructed on the site of an abandoned baseball field. Located at a major arterial

A sculptural sports complex has opened to the public in Montreal’s largest borough, with a design that celebrates movement and human activity. The Complexe Sportif de Saint-Laurent, designed by Saucier + Perrotte Architectes and Hughes Condon Marler Architects, is a three-storey building located close to the city centre. The facility houses an indoor football pitch, two swimming pools, a gymnastics palestra, a multi-purpose events hall and training facilities. The centre

The International Garden Festival has begun in Quebec’s Redford Gardens, with six award-winning garden installations open to the public for the first time. The projects – which were chosen ahead of 156 rival submissions in a special competition to be included in the 18th edition of the festival – are displayed alongside a number of other commissioned gardens created by more than 70 architects and landscape designers from various disciplines.

Over one thousand architects and interior designers will flock to Canada’s biggest city tomorrow (17 May) to discover a selection of the new industry products deemed most interesting by a special panel of judges. The Architect@Work festival was first developed by design collective Creative Fo(u)r for the Kortrijk Xpo exhibition arena in Belgium. The idea was to “strip down the exhibition model to feature only the most cutting edge innovations”.

The government of Canada and Quebec municipality have each pledged to invest US$4.4m (€4m, £3.4m) for the construction of a large-scale aqua-gym complex in the town of Dolbeau-Mistassini, the government of which will fund the same amount. The facility will feature nn indoor waterpark, including a shallow pool, slides and water games; a six-corridor pool; two diving areas; a sauna; two mezzanines; and a gymnasium. "Cultural and recreational infrastructure helps

Architecture studio Lemay have released new visualisations of the glass envelope they are planning to add to architect Victor Prus’ 1971 landmark Grand Theatre in Quebec. The international firm recently won a design competition for the renovation project, alongside local firm Atelier 21. Together they will revive the Brutalist building, the prefabricated concrete facade of which is facing severe deterioration. A new protective 5,900sq m (63,500sq ft) glass casing will

Torontonians have flocked to the city’s beach in record numbers to experience the unveiling of eight brand new Winter Stations installations along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. The creators of the attractions, who were chosen in a design competition, were tasked with designing “playful” structures – based around the beaches’ lifeguard stations – capable of drawing people into the chilly outdoors to interact with the icy environment. The installations include

A joint venture between Canadian studios HCMA Architecture + Design and NFOE et Associés Architectes have won a design competition to create a striking circular aquatics centre in Laval, Quebec – designed to create an experience of “swimming within a forest.” The competition jury had called for submissions imagining the new Complexe Aquatique de Laval as a vital civic centre, subtly integrated into the site’s woodland ecosystem. Tucked into an

The Nanaimo Deep Discovery Association (NDDA) has showcased plans for a new CA$40m (US$30.6m, €28.5m, £24.5m) attraction in British Columbia, Canada, designed to connect people with the ocean environment and deep-sea technology. The facility, according to the NDDA, would be a unique, educational, ocean experience attracting visitors with a range of displays and activities, some static, some “virtual”, some “interactive”, and some “living”. NDDA president Lorne Hildebrand is behind the

Community centres are no longer just places for recreation, they must also cater for the future needs of a diverse mix of user groups, the design director of Perkins + Will's Toronto office has told CLAD. Andrew Frontini oversaw the creation of the recently-opened Meadowvale Community Centre and Library in the city of Mississauga, Canada, which features a “barrier free design” promoting inclusivity for a diverse range of groups. The

Six design teams have won the right to create fun and interactive gardens for the International Garden Festival, which will be held in Québec, Canada later this year. The projects were chosen ahead of 156 other competition submissions, and the successful teams will now take their place at the 18th edition of the prestigious festival from 23 June. They will appear alongside a number of other commissioned conceptual gardens created

The windswept beaches of Toronto, Canada are set to once again host a seasonal design spectacle, with the eight winners of the third annual Winter Stations Design Competition revealed today (10 January). Entrants were tasked with designing “playful” temporary installations – based around the beaches’ lifeguard stations – that can draw people to brave the chilly outdoors and interact with the icy environment. The theme of the contest this time