Wellfit, UAE-based operator of vast health and fitness, sport and wellness clubs, has announced plans to open its third full-service, large-scale hub in the Emirates. Wellfit Madar will be located in Sharjah within the new Madar family entertainment district, which is part of the Aljada mega project. The entire project is being brought to fruition by property development company Arada which founded the Wellfit brand in 2021 to operate health

Work has been completed on the Khor Kalba Turtle and Wildlife Sanctuary in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Commissioned by Sharjah’s Environmental Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) and situated on Kalba Creek, one of the most sensitive and biodiverse nature reserves in the Gulf, the complex comprises a cluster of rounded building forms, creating a sanctuary for rehabilitating turtles and nurturing endangered birds. Designed by Hopkins Architects, the sanctuary will also

Mexican design firm, Aidia Studio, has unveiled plans for a complex of 25 luxury hotel pods with collapsible shells, located in the Rub’ al Khali Desert in Abu Dhabi. Called the Oculus, the pod consists of a double-glazed dome encasing a luxury hotel room, which is shrouded by a collapsible shell for shading, temperature control, camouflage and privacy. The outer shell is made up of 60 shading panels which create

Expo 2020 Dubai has announced that it will likely be postponed by a year as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Representatives of the event have been working in consultation with key UAE and international stakeholders, as well as the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the governing body for World Expos, to ascertain the impact of the coronavirus and determine whether or not to go ahead as planned. A proposal

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

Arada has unveiled the final details on its Aljada Central Hub mega-development. The futuristic complex, to be designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, will span a vast 1.9 million sq ft (176,500sq m) and include 732,000 sq ft (68,000sq m) of green space. Highlights of the family-focused development will include a 1,500-seat multiplex, a waterplay area, multiple sports facilities, retailing and an "edutainment" attraction, featuring a virtual reality zone. The development,

London practice Baharash Architecture have designed three self-sustaining biodome attractions for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which are being developed to promote the country’s booming ecotourism market. Located in the eastern part of the UAE, in the Al Hajar Mountains, the project will provide facilities for a wildlife conservation centre, a restaurant, educational workshops and an adventure-based wilderness retreat – all housed within the three giant domes. The structures will

Following an international competition, Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) have been appointed to design the Central Hub of the Aljada leisure masterplan in Sharjah, UAE. Development company ARADA is overseeing the enormous mixed-use project – one of the largest of its kind in the region – and organised the competition to find an architect for the 1.9 million sq ft (176,500sq m) Hub, billed as “a major destination for tourists and

ACTVENTURE, the multi-million-dollar leisure and lifestyle mega-destination underway on the Sunshine Coast of Australia, is eyeing a rollout to the United Arab Emirates. US practice Thinkwell Group designed the plan for the AU$400m (US$305m, €280.7m, £243m) Queensland venture, with Canadian waterpark specialist WhiteWater West working on the waterpark. Members of ACTVENTURE’s advisory board – including Talal Najibi, executive chair of Najibi Investments, WhiteWater CEO Geoff Chutter, Joe Zenas, CEO of

The foundations have been laid for Santiago Calatrava’s showpiece UAE Pavilion for the Dubai World Expo in 2020. Inspired by a falcon in flight, the four-storey structure will represent the nation to the 25 million visitors expected to attend the architecture festival, which is themed ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’. Displays will showcase the country’s culture, history and development plans. Located in the centre of Dubai’s 200-hectare exhibition zone, the

Dutch architects MVRDV have revealed designs for their inaugural project in the United Arab Emirates – a mixed-use residential and leisure district for Abu Dhabi’s high-profile Makers District. Called Pixel, the 76,000sq m (818,000sq ft) development will consist of seven ‘pixelated’ mid-rise towers organised around a lively public plaza designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), which steers people towards an adjacent beach, waterfront promenade, marina and public events space. MVRDV’s

Dubai developer Nakheel has unveiled a pipeline of new leisure developments across the emirate, collectively worth AED4bn (US$1.08bn, €908m, £806.8m). The company used last week’s Cityscape Global real estate convention as a platform to announce the new projects, which are all phased additions its previous leisure schemes. These include a luxury high-rise beachfront residential complex on Palm Jumeirah; a residential, mall, hotel and health resort at Discovery Gardens; a unique

Hotel giant Marriott International has partnered with one of the largest shopping mall operators in the United Arab Emirates to develop a cinema-themed leisure development within the forthcoming Aloft Dubai City Centre Deira complex. Superheroes, spies, Hollywood and Bollywood will all be celebrated in the Deira’s hotel, which will feature a floor of 25 standard rooms and four suites all dedicated to the world of film. There will be film

Concrete – a multi-functional cultural space designed by OMA for Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue – officially opened to the public yesterday (15 March). Located in the Al Qouz industrial area, Alserkal Avenue was founded in 2007, with the aim of promoting cultural initiatives in the region. In the intervening years it has become the emirate’s most important arts hub, with twenty-five galleries and art spaces. OMA were commissioned to address the

A new museum dedicated to the founding fathers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) opened in Dubai on Saturday (7 January). Located on the waterfront of the emirate, the wavy design of the Etihad (Union) Museum is inspired by the shape of a manuscript, with its seven tapering columns emulating the seven pens used to sign the 1971 Union agreement that created the UAE. The project design team, led by

Hyperloop One, the Los Angeles firm racing to build the world’s first Hyperloop high-speed transport system, has signed a deal with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to pursue a passenger and cargo network in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In a high-profile ceremony held in in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa today (8 November), the company offered a first glimpse of how its hyperloop system could work, and showcased how the

Legacy plans for Dubai’s 2020 Expo will reuse more than 80 per cent of the site once the event is complete, according to government officials. Upon the Expo’s conclusion, the 4.38sq km (1.69sq m) site will be transformed into an ecosystem connecting multiple sectors, including transport and logistics, travel and tourism, real estate, and education. The government says the plan is to create a “knowledge-based economy” that contributes to the

The annual Build Earth Live ideas competition – which challenges teams to create a design in just 48 hours – will return in September with entrants tasked to imagine a Hyperloop network for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dubai’s Future Foundation and Road & Transport Authority will provide government sponsorship for the competition, which will call on designers, architects and engineers to plan the station terminuses for a Hyperloop route

Architects Höweler + Yoon have proposed an interactive ‘Living Lab’ for the Dubai 2020 Expo, which would creatively explore human empathy. The Empathy Pavilion, designed like a giant elevated cave, would house a 300-person capacity exhibition gallery on the ground floor, several workshop spaces on the second floor and a black box theatre on the top floor. The architects have partnered with the MIT Media Lab’s Opera of the Future

The largest and highest observation wheel in the world is taking shape on Dubai’s Bluewaters Island, with the structure’s hub and spindle safely placed on top of its 126m (413ft) high legs. Two of the world’s largest cranes have assembled the key components of the wheel, which will be called Ain Dubai. The current weight of the structure is 1,805 tonnes – equivalent to four Airbus A380 aircraft. The hub

Architecture practice Perkins + Will have revealed new details about the stadium they’re building in Al Aweer, Dubai, which will be the largest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Mohammed bin Rashid Stadium was approved earlier this year by UAE prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, but detailed images and information about the project have only just been released. Currently in the planning and design phase, the

Santiago Calatrava will design a pavilion inspired by a falcon in flight for the Dubai World Expo 2020. The National Media Council of the United Arab Emirates has selected the Swiss-Spanish architect to create its expo showpiece, which will represent the nation to the 25 million visitors expected to attend the architecture festival. Calatrava’s wing-shaped structure is expected to cover up to 15,000sq m (161,500sq dt) in the centre of

Minor Hotel Group is adding two properties to its pipeline in United Arab Emirates, the Anantara Jebel Dhanna and the Avani Jebel Dhanna in Abu Dhabi, both of which are scheduled to open in 2018. Owned by Dhabi Contracting, the neighbouring properties are being developed along the under-developed coastal area of the Al Gharbia region in Abu Dhabi, with a royal palace bordering the new hotels. AECOM have been appointed

The developers of Dubai Healthcare City – a health and wellness destination occupying over four million square feet – have announced plans create “the world’s largest wellness village.” The Dubai Healthcare City Authority are expanding the city, which launched in 2002, to feature a WorldCare Wellness Village which will occupy an area equivalent in size to 16 football fields. Located on a waterfront site in Al Jadaf Dubai, the village

International architecture studio OMA have unveiled their plans to transform four former industrial warehouses into a new and dynamic cultural hub for Alserkal Avenue – Dubai’s most important art district. Located in the Al Qouz industrial area, the avenue, founded in 2007, is home to 25 contemporary art galleries and arts spaces which promote cultural initiatives in the region. OMA will address the need for a centrally located space to

Dubai developer Eco Resort Group and London studio Baharash Architecture have unveiled plans for “the world’s greenest resort” in an Abu Dhabi oasis. The Oasis Eco Resort, which is scheduled to open in the emirate’s Liwa region in 2020, will be powered by 157,000sq ft (14,500sq m) of solar panels and operate a wildlife conservation area. The design is built around the oasis’ spring, and water will be extracted from

Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava has beaten competition from five unnamed international rivals to design a landmark cultural tower in Dubai. The ruler of the emirate, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, approved Calatrava’s futuristic design, which he hailed as an "architectural wonder that will be as great as Burj Khalifa and Eiffel Tower." According to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the sheikh – who is also vice president of the