Royal Caribbean has revealed its Hero of the Seas cruise ship, home to the most pools at sea (nine), and a record-breaking 28 dining venues, as well as attractions including a waterpark with two new family raft slides. Other attractions include the Crown's Edge skywalk/zip line experience, the FlowRider surf simulator, the Adrenaline Peak rock-climbing wall, and the Lost Dunes mini-golf course. Arriving in Miami in August 2027, Hero of

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has revealed plans to expand its presence in Egypt with the renovation and operation of two historic hotel properties and the brand’s first-ever luxury river cruise.  In 2022, Mandarin Oriental announced it would open its  first Egyptian property, Mandarin Oriental Shepheard in Cairo. The hotel is undergoing a comprehensive renovation and is due to open in 2027. Ownership and development The river cruise, Old Cataract

Tributes to Frank Gehry from across the design world and beyond have flooded in following his death on 5 December. Gehry died aged 96 at his home in Los Angeles following a brief respiratory illness, according to his chief of staff Meaghan Lloyd. One of the world’s most well-known architects, Gehry redefined architecture during his almost eight-decades-long career, challenging convention with his unrestrained creativity, resulting in truly original buildings including

Work is underway on a £19.7 million waterfront leisure centre in Newport, which will be one of the UK's first net zero leisure centres. Replacing an ageing facility, Newport Leisure Centre is being built to BREEAM standards and will be powered solely by renewable energy. Expected to be completed in the spring, the facilities will include a modern leisure pool, with a lazy river and slides, a teaching pool for

Minor Hotels has signed an agreement with Egyptian hospitality group Sunrise Resorts and Cruises to form a new joint venture company that will open up to 50 hotels over the next decade. Minor Hotels is a global hospitality group with hotels, resorts and branded residences in 59 countries and Sunrise Resorts and Cruises seven Nile cruise ships and 27 resorts – with destinations across Egypt as well as Greece, Zanzibar

Contrast bathing and social wellness start-up Othership has raised US$11.3 million (€10.5 million, £8.94 million) to expand its presence across the US. The Toronto-based firm is known for its social sauna and ice bath experiences, with three existing sites – two in Toronto, Canada and a US flagship in the Flatiron district of New York City. Othership will use the funds to increase the number of its sites in New

Spelthorne Borough Council has opened the doors to a world-leading leisure centre built to Passivhaus standards. Spelthorne Borough Council is expecting the new Eclipse Leisure Centre to use between 60 and 70 per cent less energy than a typical modern leisure centre and will be a major step forward in helping the Council become carbon neutral. Located in Staines-upon-Thames, the facility includes a 25 metre main pool, learner pool, splash

A multi-million-euro geothermal spa and leisure centre, called Terme Bjelovar, is scheduled to open in the Croatian city of Bjelovar in Q3 of 2025. Already six years in the making, the project in Veliko Korenovo is projected to cost €38 million (US$41.2 million, £32.6 million) to complete – according to Dario Hrebak, mayor of Bjelovar, who says the facility will “revitalise the city”. Terme Bjelovar will be home to a

Architecture and interior design firm Studio A+ has revealed the design inspiration behind its recent boutique hotel and hot springs retreat project in Fengxi New City, Shanxi Province, China. Founded by Min Wang in 2007, the studio’s vision was to create a property that represents a seamless fusion of city life and nature, providing guests with a peaceful and refined sanctuary. The architectural approach to Mu Feng Yue Hot Spring

An AV experience project, which turned the Sydney Opera House's famous 'sails' into huge video screens, has won the Experience Design category in Fast Company's 2023 Innovation by Design Awards. Created by Australia-based Art Processors, the From the Sails: Light Years project included an original film artwork projected onto the Sydney Opera House's western sails to mark the iconic landmark's 50th-year celebrations. The 17-minute film charts the building's history and

Nike has made the leap into the group fitness market with the launch of Nike Studios. The offering – in partnership with FitLab – is being billed as “a new generation of group fitness for every body and every goal.” Classes will be led by Nike trainers. The first physical locations will be in West Hollywood, LA, and upmarket Newport Beach in Southern California, near the headquarters of FitLab. Nike Studios

International spa and wellness consultancy bbspa_Group has been appointed by Italian football club Cagliari Calcio to create an urban destination spa inside the club’s upcoming new stadium. Cagliari Arena will open with a 4,000sq m spa rooted in Sardinian healing traditions, following an agreement between Cagliari Calcio, industrial holding company Costim, bbspa_Group and Snow Group (of which bbspa_Group is a shareholder). With a capacity of 25,000 seats, the stadium will

Liseberg theme park in Sweden has confirmed the opening date for its new Grand Curiosa hotel. A highly themed family hotel, the Grand Curiosa will have 457 family rooms, a restaurant with a fully functional merry-go-round from 1923, and a rooftop bistro with a view of the park and several bars. The theming has been inspired by the history of its home city, Gothenburg, and the West Swedish East India

Buro Happold, has acquired acoustics and audio-visual consultancy Vanguardia Limited and its subsidiary Crowd Dynamics International. The move will strengthen Buro Happold’s depth of expertise in acoustics and AV technology. Specifically, the acquisition will enhance standalone and combined services of acoustics and sound engineering, environmental advisory services, plus a broad range of electro-acoustic and technology offerings. It also provides Buro Happold with a fully integrated mobility consulting capability, encompassing inclusive

Actress, entrepreneur and founder of lifestyle brand goop Gwyneth Paltrow has been appointed wellbeing advisor for cruise operator Celebrity Cruises. Paltrow has designed a wellness concept called goop at Sea for the company’s new luxury liner Celebrity Beyond, complete with a spa designed by Kelly Hoppen. Celebrity Beyond will also showcase the design talents of designer Nate Berkus; Paris-based design firm Jouin Manku; architect Tom Wright; and the culinary gifts

The UK government has launched a £1bn Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), providing grant funding for energy efficiency measures across the public sector. The funding has been made available for capital sustainability and heat decarbonisation projects within public sector non-domestic buildings, including central government departments and non-departmental public bodies in England. Public sector bodies can apply for a grant to finance up to 100 per cent of the costs of

Baerbel Mueller and Juergen Strohmayer have created a new gallery for the Nubuke Foundation art centre in Accra, Ghana, that hovers over the existing garden. The centre, which was founded in 2007 and has a sister site in the Ghanaian town of Wa, hosts programmes supporting the arts, culture, and heritage of the country. The Nubuke Extended project was aimed at expanding the site to create a cultural and civic

Virgin Voyages has taken delivery of its first cruise ship, which has reached completion after three years of construction. Scarlet Lady will set sail in March 2020 with more than 2,770 guests and 1,150 crew on board. It weighs in at 60,000 tonnes (66,000 tons), boasts 17 decks and uses 4,800kW of power. The ship is one of four that Virgin Voyages has ordered, with the others due for delivery

The second day of the World Architecture Festival Awards (WAF) 2019 saw mixed-use, cultural and community projects celebrated across a number of categories. The ‘Culture - Future Projects’ award was won by White Arkitekter for The New GoDown Arts Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, recognised for its clearly articulated "combination of social, traditional and environmental objectives" and a "good list of local materials and construction". STUDIO V Architecture won in the

Chinese architects Archstudio have transformed a gallery in Beijing from one that is uninspiring to look at and walk around to being visually eye-catching and interesting to tour. The Ioma art centre was housed in a functional but unremarkable building and was lacking in space for certain uses. In addition to extending the building upwards and along the street, Archstudio added a new façade to capture the imagination of visitors

Aidia Studio has won the Rifat Chadirji Prize 2019, which sought design proposals for a new Barjeel Museum For Modern Arab Art in Sharjah, UAE. Established in 2017, the Rifat Chadirji Prize is one competition run by the Tamayouz Excellence Award and seeks ideas that respond to local challenges, as well as to celebrate architecture in the Near East and North Africa. Aidia's proposal for a building to house Barjeel's

Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) has collaborated with agricultural collective Cityplot to design a lifelong learning centre in Germany that uses social, spatial and leisure elements to optimise the learning process. Life Hamburg will be a 12,000sq m (129,000sq ft) figure-of-eight-shaped building that is aimed at reinventing learning for 800 children and 800 adults. The centre's design is based on the purpose-inspired and personal learning educational principles of Learnlife and

Arquitectonica and HOK have developed plans for a 26,000-seat stadium and mixed-use complex for David Beckham's Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise Inter Miami CF. Covering 131ac (53ha), the Miami Freedom Park and Soccer Village development will, naturally, be centred around the stadium itself. Designs show a bowl-style stadium with seating right around its interior. Tiered stands along the length of the pitch make way for a large single-tier stand at

Major League Soccer (MLS) team Columbus Crew SC has revealed HNTB designs for a new 20,000-seat stadium aimed at helping to amplify crowd noise and generate atmosphere. The stadium will feature a steep seating bowl that will keep fans and the noise they generate close to the on-pitch action. A wrap-around roof will help to contain the crowd noise, reflecting it back through the crowd and on to the pitch.

Spanish firm Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos have revealed the first concept images of their latest project – a 260,000 sq m football complex in Dalian, China. The expansive campus will comprise 23 regulation-size pitches, a hotel, gardens, and a select number of short-stay residential units. The US$297m (€264.7m, £235.8m) facility will also function as a training ground and academy for professional teams and youth clubs, including Dalian Yifang FC. Cruz

Health club design can play a crucial role in improving member retention – partly by making exercisers "forget" about pain and feelings of discomfort during training. Speaking to HCM, US-based gym owner and designer David Barton describes design as a crucial element of a successful health club. “Ultimately, we’re selling something people don’t like," Barton explains. "There are lots of ways to get people in on day one, but how

Retirement community developer PegasusLife is gearing up to launch a collection of 'later living' residences in Tetbury – a picturesque village in the Cotswolds, UK. Called the "Steepleton", the property, which was designed by British studio Proctor and Matthews Architects, comprises nine buildings, each housing 133 one-to three-bedroom flats. According to PegasusLife, Steepleton's "layout draws on the idea of ancient settlements, with a farmstead at the centre and a variety