Experience news
Bob Rogers hands BRC to long-serving leadership team
by Liz Terry | 04 Jun 2026
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while remaining actively involved with the company. Ownership has transferred to president Carmel Lewis, chief creative officer Christian Lachel and vice presidents of story and creative, Brad Shelton and Matthew Solari. The move formalises a leadership structure that the company says has been operating in
Shedd Aquarium upgrades its visitor experience with new Immersion Theater
by Liz Terry | 22 May 2026
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional revenue opportunities.
The attraction has transformed the aquarium’s Phelps Auditorium into a multi-sensory venue combining panoramic projection, environmental effects and interactive technology.
A new pre-show area allows visitors to engage with augmented reality marine animals before entering the
Lore Bathing Club opens in New York for neighbourhood community experiences
by Helen Andrews | 09 Jan 2026
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
Hagastrand, Autograph Collection, launches spa with Gongmatic experience
by Helen Andrews | 30 Oct 2025
Nobis Hospitality Group’s wellness destination, Hagastrand, Autograph Collection, has launched in Stockholm, Sweden, with an immersive gong experience at its spa. Hagastrand is a 215-key property that has been designed by Wingårdhs Architects to incorporate Nordic features and create spaces for guests to work, connect and relax simultaneously. The 2,500sq m Hagastrand Spa has four treatment rooms, a wellness suite for private group experiences and a private spa area with
Wake the Tiger immersive art experience to launch at Westfield London
by Magali Robathan | 23 Jul 2025
The founders of the Wake the Tiger attraction in Bristol, UK and the Boomtown music festival have announced plans to open ‘Europe’s largest immersive art experience’ at Westfield London. The new Wake the Tiger experience will be housed in an 80,000 square foot space, and is set to open in 2026. According to the Wake the Tiger team, the new West London venue will build on the ‘surreal, story-rich universe
Social experiences and spiritual practices will be top trends for 2025, says David Lloyd Clubs as it launches new site
by Kath Hudson | 12 Dec 2024
David Lloyd Clubs launched its latest site at Bury St Edmunds, UK, yesterday (3 December,) which has been under construction since last year. Facilities include a 100+ station gym featuring an Intuitive Strength Circuit; heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools; tennis, padel, badminton and pickleball courts; group exercise studios with the full range of signature David Lloyd Clubs’ classes, including Blaze, Spirit, Ign1te, Battlebox and Rebels. There is also a
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
by Magali Robathan | 29 Jan 2024
Merlin Entertainments, the LEGO Group and Hasbro have teamed up to create Peppa Pig experiences. Timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Peppa Pig preschool brand in 2024, the collaboration will see the launch of Peppa Pig Park in Gunzberg, Germany later this year, as well as the launch of the Lego Duplo Peppa Pig area at Legoland Billund Resort in Denmark. Mainland Europe’s first standalone Peppa Pig
Back in time – visitors experience 1960s healthcare in Black Country Museum's new living history centre
by Tom Walker | 01 Nov 2023
Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, UK, has opened a life-sized replica of a healthcare centre for infants, offering visitors an opportunity to discover how new and expectant mothers in the early 1960s were cared for and supported. The new Lea Road Infant Welfare Centre is housed in its own building, allowing visitors to explore a waiting room, doctor’s surgery, a dispensary and other exhibits – as well as meet
Meow Wolf opens The Real Unreal psychedelic experience in Grapvine, Texas
by Tom Walker | 17 Jul 2023
Meow Wolf has opened its fourth permanent exhibition in Grapevine, North Texas. Called The Real Unreal, the immersive art attraction is being described as a "psychedelic playground for adults and kids alike". Located at the Grapevine Mills mall, the attraction was created by Meow Wolf's in-house team of artists in partnership with 38 Texas-based artists. After entering what seems like a normal house, guests are transported into a ‘realm of
Warner Bros. and Infinite Reality launch metaverse experiences for live sports fans
by Frances Marcellin | 07 Nov 2022
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) and metaverse services provider Infinite Reality have entered into a multi-year agreement that will deliver new immersive and interactive metaverse experiences to sports fans. The scope of what’s on offer – described as “new avenues for sports communities, athletes and brands to interact with each other within unique virtual environments” – can be experienced and previewed for the first time at the UCI Track
Mather & Co-designed Gretna Green Experience opens to the public
by Tom Walker | 10 May 2022
A visitor attraction celebrating the history of the Scottish parish of Gretna Green – and its heritage as a destination for 'runaway marriages – has opened to the public. Gretna Green, located just inside Scotland on the border with England, first became famous for its weddings nearly 260 years ago, following the Clandestine Marriages Act 1753. The act prevented couples under the age of 21 from marrying in England or
400-year-old mineral spring will power Preidlhof’s €2m medicinal bath experience
by Megan Whitby | 10 Dec 2021
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
Design trends: Soneva Fushi reveals fine-dining zipline experience
by Tom Walker | 05 Nov 2021
Soneva Fushi resort in the Maldives has unveiled a "world-first" dining experience, which will take guests high among the treetops. Called Flying Sauces, the new eating option will offer guests the opportunity to combine culinary excellence with views across the resort. Guest will embark and soar along a 200m (656ft) zipline, before reaching a specially constructed dining platform, suspended 12m (40ft) in the air. Once at the platform, visitors will
Winter Glow lights up historic Bruges via PWL's luminous walk-through experience
by Andy Knaggs | 01 Jan 2020
The historic Belgian city of Bruges has been illuminated with a 2km (1.2mi) walk-through lighting and visual experience for the festive "Wintergloed" (Winter Glow) season, using atmospheric light installations from Painting with Light (PWL). The company was commissioned by Bruges Plus, the organisation responsible for the city's cultural events, and has designed a series of ephemeral lighting and projection-mapped installations in six different areas, each inspired, according to PWL, by
Alchemist restaurant Copenhagen by Studio Duncalf features digital ceiling to create immersive experiences for diners
by Stu Robarts | 14 Oct 2019
London-based interior design firm Studio Duncalf has designed a new Alchemist restaurant in a former industrial warehouse that previously housed boat-building and set design workshops in Copenhagen, Denmark. Studio Duncalf split the 2,500sq m (27,000sq ft) warehouse into a number of different rooms, with the aim of "taking the diner on a journey through a sequence of different spaces each with a different ambience." Guests enter the restaurant through a
From Wellington Bombers to Formula 1, Mather & Co and Cube Design create the Silverstone Experience
by Andy Knaggs | 11 Oct 2019
The Silverstone Experience, a journey through the home of British motor racing, is to open in a refurbished WW2 RAF hangar later this month. The £20m (US$24.6m, €22.3m) development has taken seven years to bring to fruition and included the restoration of the 4,000sq m (13,100sq ft) hangar. Led by architect Jane Lock-Smith of Cube Design, the project required more work than was initially expected, with the hangar having to
Scape launches city-scale augmented reality to create immersion for use in experience design
by Andy Knaggs | 17 Sep 2019
Technology company Scape Technologies has gathered street-level data for 100 cities around the world, that it says can be used to create a new baseline for 3D mapping and enable city-wide augmented reality applications. The collection of more than two billion images has been taken by the company's local teams and will help the transition to electronic devices of the near future, in which cameras don't just take pictures but
Gillespies create immersive savannah grasslands experience for Chester Zoo
by Sam Boggon | 06 Sep 2019
Chester Zoo has announced it will build “an extensive African savannah”, designed by Gillespies in partnership with Darling Associates and BDP. The Grasslands scheme will incorporate a restaurant with views across the savannah and overnight accommodation in the form of 28 lodges and 14 safari-style tents. It will be home to multiple rare and endangered species including zebras, giraffes, antelopes and ostriches. The scheme is aimed in part at helping
JRA create branded experience centre for Toyota in Texas
by Andy Knaggs | 14 Aug 2019
Car manufacturer Toyota has opened its first visitor attraction in North America – the 44,000sq ft (13,400sq m) Toyota Experience Center (TEC) at its headquarters in Plano, Texas. The company says the centre, which was planned, designed and project managed by experience designers JRA, is intended to educate visitors about Toyota's past, present and future as a mobility company. The centre features a variety of interactive exhibits and displays, all
Private yurt experiences, couples’ clay painting: Mexico’s Hotel Rodavento opens nature-inspired forest spa
by Jane Kitchen | 07 Jun 2019
Hotel Rodavento, a 36-bedroom retreat nestled in the foothills of Valle de Bravo, Mexico, has opened Rodavento Spa, a nature-inspired sanctuary set within the most secluded area of the surrounding forest. The spa comes with new amenities and treatment menus, enticing visitors to unwind in the beauty of the natural world and "Disconnect to Reconnect." Rodavento Spa is the work of architects Federico Gomez Crespo and Jose Antonio Gaxiola, in
BIG's twisting bridge in Norway has the potential to reimagine the museum experience
by Andrew Manns | 05 Jun 2019
The Twist – a museum designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) – is set to make its debut on 18 September in Hønefoss, Norway. Situated in the Kistefos Museum's 270,000 sq m sculpture park, the new structure – which has been described as an “art museum, sculpture, path in the landscape, and bridge" – spans the Randselva river. The Twist will house three galleries dedicated to contemporary art The site used
Conran and Partners unveil first UK Anatolian dining experience in London
by Megan Whitby | 29 Jun 2018
Architecture studio Conran and Partners have designed an immersive Anatolian restaurant in London’s Mayfair. Rüya, which has opened this month, is described as “the first of its kind in Europe”. Run by restaurateur Umut Özkanca and the Dogus Restaurant Entertainment and Management Group, it is a showcase for the cuisine of Anatolia – the region in Turkey that forms the westernmost protrusion of Asia. Housed in The Grosvenor House Hotel,
Four design teams shortlisted in project to 'magnify' Eiffel Tower visitor experience
by Kim Megson | 04 May 2018
Four design teams have been shortlisted for a project to reimagine the Eiffel Tower's visitor experience. Groups led by AL_A, Gustafson, Porter + Bowman, Agence Ter and Koz Architectes are in the running for the large-scale project, which covers a 540,000sq m area either side of the River Seine. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has voiced the city’s ambition to make every visit to the landmark more enjoyable and accessible by
Swooping Bighorn Clubhouse 'a tableau for a new lifestyle experience'
by Kim Megson | 22 Feb 2018
The leader of a Californian golf club claims to “have walked through the threshold of the future” by overseeing the construction of a luxurious new Clubhouse that provides a “tableau for a new lifestyle experience.” R D. Hubbard, chair of the Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, said the site's former clubhouse was torn down in 2016 in order to be replaced by a building “that is as much about
GSM Project selected to design 'world class' visitor experience for Patna Science City
by Kim Megson | 13 Feb 2018
Three firms have been commissioned to develop a “world-class” Science City attraction in central Patna, India. Exhibition designer GSM Project, architect Flying Elephant Studio and project management firm Gleeds have been selected for the project by the government of Bihar following a call for tender. The 30,000sq m (323,000sq ft) Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Science City, named after India’s former president, will promote “the past, the present and
GSM Project creates immersive exhibitions for Canada Science and Technology Museum
by Kim Megson | 02 Dec 2017
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
Engines ready! Triumph Motorcycle launches visitor experience
by Alice Davis | 24 Nov 2017
With admirers from Steve McQueen to Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood to George Clooney, Pink to David Beckham – the iconic Triumph motorbike will be celebrated by all thanks to a new attraction opened in Hinckley, Leicester. The Triumph Factory Visitor Experience is laid out across eight themed zones, aimed at engaging its guests with the story of the historic manufacturer and demonstrating its prowess in design and engineering. Edinburgh-based Studio
It's official – good design creates great experiences, according to Gensler research
by Kim Megson | 08 Nov 2017
Architects and designers breathe a sigh of relief... design officially has a quantifiable impact on human experience. That, at least, is the verdict of global architecture and planning firm Gensler, who have published a new index they claim proves, once and for all, that design is a critical factor in determining how we feel about the spaces we occupy. The Gensler Experience Index is the result of a multi-year, mixed-methods
Quebec ice hockey and entertainment arena to deliver 'unrivalled spectator experience'
by Kim Megson | 23 Oct 2017
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,
Real Madrid plans interactive football experience in China
by Tom Anstey | 18 Sep 2017
Real Madrid football club has announced plans to create an interactive football experience centre as part of a major development in Zhuhai, China. Business conglomerate the Lai Sun Group is behind the development – an integrated tourism and entertainment project called Novotown – which will, in its second phase, feature the world-first Real Madrid experience. Utilising advanced technologies, entertainment elements and football, visitors will be able to experience a number
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"Culture is the beating heart of this project"
Designed to restore neglected land and renew the identity of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad Sustainable Forests promises a new way of living surrounded by nature. Gensler’s Ian Mulcahay tells us why he thinks the project could become a model for the repair and enhancement of urban centres
Designed to restore neglected land and renew the identity of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad Sustainable Forests promises a new way of living surrounded by nature. Gensler’s Ian Mulcahay tells us why he thinks the project could become a model for the repair and enhancement of urban centres
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