Luxury hospitality brand Bulgari Hotels & Resorts has made its Japanese debut with a new urban hotel and spa in Tokyo's Yaesu district of Chūō. Like all other Bulgari hotels and resorts, Bulgari Hotel Tokyo's interior design was entrusted to the Italian architecture and interior design practice ACPV Architects Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel. The firm's task was to translate Bulgari's core values of contemporary design, magnificent craftsmanship and artistic detail

Bulgari Hotels & Resorts will open a luxury resort in Los Angeles in 2025. The foundation of the development – a property formerly known as The Retreat – will be upgraded and expanded with the addition of new structures, all built to LEED Platinum standards. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, less than five miles from Rodeo Drive, the property is surrounded by 33 acres of hillside parkland, with striking views.

Bulgari Hotels & Resorts will open a new property in Miami Beach, Florida, in 2024. The Bulgari Hotel Miami Beach will be a 100-key beachfront hotel, offering a luxury wellness retreat complete with a large spa and fitness centre and outdoor pool. The hotel will be housed inside a building originally created by Miami architect Albert Anis in the late 1950s, located in the National Register Architectural District. The design

The Middle East Architecture Network (MEAN*) have designed a pavilion for rest and gatherings in the Wadi Rum desert valley in the south of Jordan that responds to the ancient landscape using current design and building technologies. The pavilion was conceived to provide shade and a space to rest during the day, to be a place for celebration, storytelling and gatherings at night and to offer a model for building

Calgary's Centennial Planetarium has reopened as a contemporary art gallery following a major CA$25m (US$18.9m, €17.2m) renovation carried out by the City of Calgary and Lemay + Toker. Called Contemporary Calgary, the planetarium – which is known for its brutalist architecture and imposing concrete dome – had been vacant since 2011, following the opening of Calgary's TELUS Spark Science Centre. It was put out for expression of interest by the

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

Ambitious plans to create a large sports and entertainment district in Calgary, Canada have been given the green light after a public funding package was agreed for the development. The City of Calgary has agreed to provide half of the funding for the CA$550m (US$416m, €371m, £344m), project, which is driven by Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) and the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede Limited (Stampede). The masterplan for the

London-based architects Sergison Bates have won an international contest to design a new performing arts centre in the medieval quarter of Leuven, Belgium. The €60m (US$67.1m, £51.6m) project will see the Sint-Pieters Hospital, which dates to the 11th century, transformed into a 10,000 sq m multi-use structure with concert halls, rehearsal rooms, and lounge areas. "This will be more like a cultural platform than a conventional arts venue," explained the

The Green Ark, Belgium's winning concept for the 2020 World Expo in Dubai, will function as both an exhibit of biophilic architecture and an illustration of the country's green future. Designed by Belgian bureaux Vincent Callebaut Architectures and Assar Architects, the future building will feature merchandise shops, a brasserie, terrace, and a naturally ventilated agora. Set to be constructed from sustainable materials, the Ark will also have an oasis-like garden

One&Only Resorts will open its first location in Malaysia, the One&Only Desaru Coast, in late 2018. Set on a 128-acre beachfront development, the resort will include 42 suites, two luxury suites and a four-bedroom villa, as well as 50 One&Only Private Homes available for purchase. Designed by Kerry Hill Architects, One&Only will place an emphasis on privacy through the design, which has been inspired by the ocean waters and lush

The newest Bulgari Hotel has opened in Shanghai, featuring a 2,000sq m (21,500sq ft) spa created with the guidance of spa and wellness consultants GOCO Hospitality. Designed by Italian firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, the sixth Bulgari hotel includes a 48-storey tower that adjoins the restored Chamber of Commerce Shanghai building, which was originally completed in 1916. “Shanghai is one of the most vivacious cities in the world and we

The hospitality arm of luxury goods giant Bvlgari has announced plans to open a hotel in Paris in 2020, bringing its international collection to eight properties. Italian design firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Parisian architects Valode & Pistre are converting a historic building on Avenue George V – adjacent to the Champs Elysees in the famous and fashionable Triangle d’Or area of the French capital – into the 66-room

Bulgari has added a Dubai address to its hotel portfolio, with the opening of The Bulgari Resort & Residences Dubai. Situated on the manmade Jumeirah Bay – an island carved into the shape of a seahorse – the resort features a 1,700sq m (18,300sq ft) Bulgari Spa with eight treatment rooms designed by WTS International in collaboration with Italian Interior Design firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel (ACPV), and developed with

An architecture competition has been launched to design of Australia’s first purpose-built Pride Centre for the LGBTI community. Located in Melbourne, the Victorian Pride Centre (VPC) will be a gathering place for Victoria’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities, and will “celebrate, bolster and protect equality, diversity and inclusion.” The centre will provide flexible and multi-use spaces including a theatre, gallery, café/bar, prayer room, library and health service, in

Hospitality giant Hilton has opened its first Curio Collection property in the UK, renovating a landmark hotel in London's Trafalgar Square as a “sanctuary of style” in the heart of the city. The Trafalgar St. James has 131 bedrooms and 15 suites. Each has been designed by British studio Shh Architects with Art Deco flourishes and references to the history of the building, which once housed the offices of the

Ultra luxury hotel operator Bulgari Hotels and Resorts will open its fourth property in Beijing next month, which will house a large spa. The 119-bedroom Bulgari Hotel Beijing – due to open on 27 September – will be located within the mixed-use Genesis complex in the heart of Beijing’s Embassy District. Designed by the architectural firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Partners, Bulgari Hotel Beijing is being marketed as an “urban

Designer Inge Moore and her new studio Muza Lab have completed the interiors of South America's first luxury sleeper train, the Belmond Andean Explorer in Peru. Carrying up to 48 passengers, the Explorer is formed of 16 carriages from the former Great South Pacific Express train. They have been contemporised by Moore with a refined, pared-back aesthetic featuring timber floors, linen roman blinds and colourful woven textiles. There are four

The concepts of “old world design and the glory of British craftsmanship” have inspired the designers of a 73-bedroom hotel that will open in London this summer. The Pilgrm has been conceived as reinterpretation of the traditional hotel. Despite being located in a historic Victorian building in Norfolk Square, Paddington – with many of the original exterior and interior features retained by design studio 93ft – any items or services

Architecture studio Foster + Partners have been announced as the winner of a design competition for a new luxury hotel and serviced apartments in the heart of Mecca, Saudi Arabia – Islam’s most sacred city. Over 3.7m people are estimated to travel to Mecca (known locally as Makkah) each year for the Hajj Islamic pilgrimage. The hotel project – overseen by the Jabal Omar Development Company – is a response

Danish studio 3XN Architects have triumphed in an international design competition for a sweeping cultural complex and Smart City district in Wallonia, Belgium. Located in the city of Namur at the confluence of the Meuse and Sambre rivers, and adjacent to the historic Roman citadel and the Wallonian Parliament, the scheme has been envisioned as an economic driver for the region. At the heart of the scheme is the new

Marriott International will open a W Hotel on Portugal’s Algarve coast in 2018. Developed in partnership with Nozul Algarve, the 134-bedroom hotel will overlook the coastline and will feature a 10,000sq ft (929sq m) spa. “This beachfront paradise is the perfect backdrop for the W brand’s tone-setting design, signature cocktail culture and dynamic spirit,” said Anthony Ingham, global brand leader for W Hotels Worldwide. “Located on one of the most

Luxury hotel brand Bulgari will come to Moscow in 2019, with a hotel set in the former residence of a noble family that was also later home to musicians from the famed Conservatory P.I. Tchaikovsky. Designed by Italian architectural firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Partners – which is also working on the Bulgari Dubai – in collaboration with Russian architectural bureau Atrium, the Bulgari Hotel in Moscow is planned

Architecture practice Close to the Bone have blurred the boundary between a stairway and an observation tower by building a gravity-defying monument in a Belgian forest. The studio were commissioned to build an observation point in the municipality of Tielt-Winge, after a popular wooden lookout tower was destroyed by arsonists. The brief called for a new landmark that could survive the elements and attack from vandals. Their solution was Vlooyberg

Hotel and resort giant Starwood has agreed a deal to open a 125-room hotel and 220 St. Regis-branded residences in Serbia’s tallest mixed-use tower. The Kula Belgrade – a 550ft tall and twisting glass skyscraper designed by the Chicago office of architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Global – is scheduled to open in 2019, when it will form the centerpiece of a major new waterfront development in the capital

Italian architect Antonio Citterio has reunited with luxury jewellery and fashion brand Bulgari to design a “one-of-a-kind” five-star resort on a private island off the coast of Dubai. The seahorse-shaped Bulgari Resort Dubai will comprise of 101 rooms and suites, 20 hotel villas and a full range of modern hotel facilities on Jumeira Bay Island. As with Bulgari’s four previous branded properties, all elements of the masterplan have been designed

The Galgorm Resort & Spa in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, has opened a new Thermal Spa Village, which means the resort now boasts 75,000sq ft (6,968sq m) of picturesque riverside spa facilities. The Thermal Spa Village was launched at the same time as the resort added another 48 guestrooms, designed by architect Douglas Wallace, bringing the total offering to 122. Spa consultant Jennifer Gorman helped create the Thermal Spa Village, which

Canada-based Calgary Sports and Entertainment (CSE) has revealed plans for a CA$890m (US$676m, €585m, £428m) multi-purpose sports complex which would house all of the group’s professional sports franchises. The planned CalgaryNEXT venue, located on the banks of the Bow River in Calgary, Alberta, is set to feature a 19,000-capacity indoor arena and a 30,000-50,000-seat stadium – serving as the new home for the Calgary Flames and Calgary Hitmen ice hockey