The architectural competition to decide the designer of the planned Shenzhen Opera House has reached the closing stages, with three high-profile practices being selected as finalists. Those making it to the final list are Jean Nouvel Ateliers, Bjarke Ingels Group, working with Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, and Kengo Kuma and Associates, working with Shenzhen University Institute of Architectural Design. The opera house project is being driven by the local

Radionica Arhitekture (literally Architecture Workshop) have designed a swimming centre for the Dubrava District of Zagreb, Croatia, that is split into three large, glass, sunken volumes. The 5,570sq m (60,000sq ft) facility is located between a residential tower, a church and a meadow, which is being developed for mid-rise housing. To avoid the area becoming too built up, Radionica Arhitekture felt it was necessary to moderate the profile of the

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

Three concepts have been shortlisted as finalists for the 2018 Radical Innovation Award, a hospitality design award that calls for the “best and brightest” concept ideas. Italian practice Network of Architecture (noa*) have been shortlisted for their striking concept – a hotel designed especially for single or separated parents and their children. With a proposed location in Sirmione, on the south coast of Lake Garda, Le Colline Incantate (the Enchanted

The Phoenician Resort in Arizona, US, has unveiled a new three-storey spa as part of a massive, multi-year resort renovation – the largest ever undertaken since the resort opened nearly thirty years ago. The new spa was created in partnership with consultants Spa Strategy, whose scope included business analysis for growth as well as design. “Arizona is one of the most competitive spa markets in North America and Scottsdale has

Kempinski is set to open a heritage hotel in Yangon, Myanmar, after a five-year restoration. Originally built in 1927 as the New Law Courts, The Heritage Hotel Kempinski Yangon was created by architect Thomas Oliphant Foster and built by Doorman Long UK – the builders of the Sydney Harbour Bridge – as the first multi-level steel structure in the Far East. The hotel will include 219 bedrooms, along with extensive

Aman has unveiled details of its planned New York property, set to open in 2020 in the heart of Manhattan. Aman New York will be housed in the 1921 Crown Building on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street overlooking Central Park, and will include a three-storey, 2,000sq m (21,528sq ft) Aman Spa. The 26-storey Crown Building – designed by architects Warren and Wetmore, who also designed New York’s Grand Central Station

Luxury resort operator One&Only is looking to evolve its business with the launch of three new divisions. Famed for its ultra-luxury beach and spa resorts, the South Africa-based group is entering a trio of new markets with One&Only Nature Resorts, One&Only Urban Resorts and One&Only Private Homes. “The new experiences will complement the existing award-winning resort collection,” said Philippe Zuber, president and chief operating officer, One&Only Resorts. “Building on the

The Global Wellness Institute’s Wellness Communities Initiative has written a white paper to address critical issues surrounding the fast-growing wellness real estate market – estimated by the GWI to be a US$100bn (€90bn, £81bn) global marketplace. The initiative focuses on communities developed with proactive health and wellness, ecological sensitivity and social connectivity in mind, and the paper seeks to define what makes something a wellness community, what the minimum criteria

Three architecture studios have been shortlisted in the design competition to create a Science Island for the Lithuanian city Kaunas. SMAR Architecture Studio, SimpsonHaugh and Partners, and Donghua Chen Studio will now negotiate with Kaunas City Municipality, which will decide the design concept it wants to proceed with. Each of the winners will receive an honorarium of €15,000 (US$16,800, £13,000.) The centrepiece of the 44 acre Science Island – the

David Marks, chair and designer of the recently-launched i360 vertical cable car in Brighton, UK, has apologised to its visitors after the observation pod broke down three times in the space of five days. Dubbed a “vertical pier”, the 531ft (161m) tower opened its doors at the start of August – a project 11 years in the making. A spokesperson told CLAD that the breakdowns happened when the tower’s automatic

Hong Kong-based Langham Hotels & Resorts is expanding its US presence with three new hotels in Texas, California and New Mexico. Langham Place, Wade Park will be located in Frisco, Texas and will open in early 2018 and is part of a US$1.6bn (€1.4bn, £1.1bn), 175-acre development created by Thomas Land & Development. Designed by Dallas-based 5G Studio Collaborative, the 35-storey hotel will have a sleek, modern feel and will

The Oberoi Group is opening three hotels in 2016 in Morocco, India and United Arab Emirates. Located 30 minutes from Dubai’s airport, The Oberoi, Al Zorah will be a luxury eco-destination nestled within 247 acres of forest, with a long beachfront, lagoons and mangroves. The hotel – designed by Italian architects Lissoni Associati – will include an ultra-modern layout with 113 villas, suites and penthouses. The spa at Al Zorah

London’s Natural History Museum (NHM) is to undergo a multi-million pound transformation of its grounds as part of an overall redevelopment of the popular tourist attraction. Niall McLaughlin Architects, in collaboration with Kim Wilkie, won a competition to redesign the grounds of the London attraction in April 2014. As part of a larger strategy, NHM is adopting "three great narratives", which will guide visitors around the museum based on the

Dreamworks is expanding its worldwide attractions presence, with plans for a major indoor theme park in Moscow – the largest in Europe – as part a large mixed-use US$1bn (€900m, £642m) development scheme in the heart of the city. First announced in 2013, Moscow officials recently approved the project, which will welcome Dreamworks' IPs such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar to the Russian capital. Russian development company Regions

World renowned artist Christo is creating a temporary 3km (1.8mi) floating pier which visitors can walk over onto the island of San Paolo in Italy's Lake Iseo. In his biggest project since Christo and late wife Jeanne-Claude created The Gates in 2005, The Floating Piers will be constructed of 200,000 high-density polyethylene cubes covered in 70,000sq m (7,534,737sq ft) of shimmering yellow fabric. Visitors will be able to experience this

FRHI Hotels & Resorts has signed agreements with developer Citystars Properties to brand and operate two new hotel projects in Egypt, in addition to the three hotels planned at the separate Sharm El Sheikh development. The two new projects include Fairmont Soma Bay, south of Hurghada on the eastern shores of Egypt on the Red Sea coast, and a Swissôtel in Katameya in Cairo. Both are scheduled to open before

Three finalists have emerged in the competition to redesign the St. Petersburg Pier in Florida, US. Designs from Alfonso Architects, St. Pete Design Group and Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers made the cut, following the latest meeting of the City of St. Petersburg’s Pier Selection Committee, at which four other concepts were eliminated. The replacement of the pier has been a matter for the whole community, with Mayor Rick

Foster + Partners have designed a 50-storey tower set to grace London’s skyline. Principal Tower will be part of Principal Place, a mixed-use development to feature a half acre public piazza and events space, bars, cafes, restaurants, shops and offices. Sited near Shoreditch, Liverpool Street Station, major financial institutions and Silicon Roundabout, Principal Place will be developed by Brookfield, Concord Pacific and W1 Developments in a joint venture. Foster +

Jumeirah Group, the international luxury hotel chain, has announced the renowned architecture firms Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects and Denniston International as the designers of three luxury hotel developments the company will operate in China. Subsidiaries of Yuexiu Group, a Guangzhou-based property development company, own two of the properties, which are being built in the cities of Haikou and Wuhan. They reached a deal whereby Jumeirah will manage the

MET Studio has been appointed to design three out of the six total galleries at the new-build 14,000sq m (150,700sq ft) Museum of Environmental Sciences (Museo de Ciencias Ambientales – MCA) in Western Mexico which expects to attract up to half a million visitors a year. The project, set to break ground in 2015, is to form part of a cultural quarter, situated close to the University of Guadalajara and

Preparations for the construction of a new three-storey 20,000sq ft (1,858sq m) spa at Sun Valley Resort have begun, adding to the existing Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho, US. According to the design-review application – to be discussed later this month by the Sun Valley Planning and Zoning Commission – the 141,100sq ft (13,108sq m) lodge will be expanded to 172,487sq ft (16,024sq m) once the project is completed. The

Celebrated Italian architect, Renzo Piano, is changing Boston’s museum landscape with three major projects in quick succession. The first project was the launch of the extension to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in January 2012. Providing a distinctive architectural addition behind the historic palace, the extension relieves pressure on the exhibition space and also adds a shop, café, exhibition preparation space, archival storage and conservation labs. In November 2013 a

SportScotland has revealed bidders who have made it to the second stage of the process to develop a National Performance Centre for Scotland. A preferred bidder for the multi-sport centre, to receive up to £25m of government support, will be announced in summer with the facilities expected to be complete by early 2016. Six stage one bids were received in February and those that have been invited to take their

Three consortia of renowned stadium developers - responsible for projects including the London Olympic Stadium, Adelaide Oval and Singapore Sports Hub - have been shortlisted for the right to bid for the design and construction of the new 60,000 seat Perth Stadium. The three consortia are WESTADIUM, led by Brookfield Financial and John Laing, Confidem led by Capella Capital and WestAdium led by Bouygues and Plenary Group. The stadium will

Animation studio DreamWorks – behind films such as Madagascar, Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon – has revealed it has entered a partnership to open three family theme parks across Russia by 2015. At 35m tall – the height of a 13-storey building – the entertainment attractions will be the largest indoor theme parks in Europe and will open in St Petersburg, Moscow and Yekaterinburg. Russian property developer REGIONS

After opening an office in Shanghai, China, Blink Design Group has won three key design projects in the cities of Beijing, Benxi and Hefei. In less than a month, the design group was appointed to carry out the interior design of the new Sheraton Resort Beijing, work on the design of two new resorts at Benxi's hot springs in Liaoning Province and began designing a new spa-lifestyle clubhouse in Hefei.