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 new floating visitor center and art installation is showcasing aquaculture, informing the world on how to better feed the planet with sustainable seafood. Called Salmon Eye, the aquaculture centre is located in Norway’s Hardangerfjord, just outside the town of Rosendal. Created by Kvorning Design, the project was conceived and financed by Sondre Eide, the CEO of third-generation salmon farming business Eide Fjordbruk. A world-class visitor and learning center, Salmon

The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), the developer behind the AMAALA tourism project on the shores of the Red Sea, has revealed detailed plans for a marine life institute. Designed by Foster and Partners, the institute will function as both a scientific research centre and a tourist destination, with 10 zones providing a range of experiences, from augmented reality to submarine dives. The 10,340sqm institute will be built three levels

Plans have been revealed for a US$400bn city which could be the home for up to 5 million people in the US. Billionaire investor Marc Lore and architect Bjarke Ingels have teamed up for the ambitious Telosa project, which is being touted as a sustainable metropolis in the desert. Lore – a serial entrepreneur who also served as president and CEO of Walmart US eCommerce until January 2021 – has

At a time when companies in the hospitality sector are facing unprecedented challenges, private equity firm Alta Capital Real Estate has grasped the opportunity to invest in undervalued wellness hospitality assets across Asia-Pacific. It recently launched the Alta Hospitality Fund Asia with the aim of “repositioning, rebranding and redeveloping assets for the post-COVID world in order to deliver solid returns”. It aims to create a portfolio value of US$50m (€42m,

Design specialist BRC Imagination Arts (BRC) has been selected to design and produce the World Food Center Experience in Ede, the Netherlands. The attraction will become an interactive platform exploring the impact of the world’s food choices and the importance of sustainable and healthy food production. BRC's concept will take guests on a personalised journey that will "challenge what they know about how food is produced and consumed, worldwide". The

Since being established in 2003, COOKFOX Architects have gained a reputation for being proponents of architecture at the intersection of sustainability and wellness, which co-founder Rick Cook says is more pressing now than ever. "Our current studio is LEED Platinum, but it's also the first WELL Gold certified project in New York," he explained to CLAD in an interview by way of example. "Which has much more of a focus

Mario Cucinella Architects (MCA) and Italian 3D printing specialists World’s Advanced Saving Project (WASP) are close to completing a "prototype 3D-printed global habitat for sustainable living". The TECLA was conceived as a way to provide housing for large numbers of people at a time when the population is increasing rapidly but many people cannot afford a home, although it could be easily adapted for other purposes like eco-living. It is

A sports centre in Barcelona, designed by Anna Noguera and Javier Fernandez, has won awards for its sustainable and innovative design, which includes a greenery-covered façade, swathes of glazing and timber interiors. Barcelona City Council appointed Noguera and Fernandez after they won an architectural competition it ran in 2014. The competition briefed for the creation of a sports centre in the Turó de la Peira area of Barcelona, in which

Adidas has built a sustainable sports pitch in Florida, using 1.8m recycled plastic bottles. The bottles were collected from nature – at remote islands, beaches, coastal communities and shorelines – in order to prevent them from ending up permanently in the eco-system. Each bottle was then washed and treated before being converted and used as infill for the synthetic 3G pitch. The pitch has been installed at the Miami Edison

SAOTA have designed a mixed-use development for Hamburg, Germany, that is aimed at combining work and leisure elements within a sustainable ecosystem. Covering 45,000sq m (485,000sq ft), the Neuländer Quarree site will feature restaurants, retail spaces, a hotel, a nursery, 548 apartments and a variety of functions on the roof of the development. There will also be a multi-storey car park, office space and a technology park. The development is

Blueroom and Urban Crossovers have created a conceptual proposal for reactivating the Rijnhaven port area in Rotterdam, Netherlands, that would use innovative approaches to tackle the environmental and climate challenges. The Rotterdam Next Level! development is designed to be attractive and accessible for all, but also to be a unique urban typology that is CO2 and energy neutral, eliminates waste, increases biodiversity and builds a strong community. Buildings would be

Partisans have unveiled their vision for a new community of the future where "small town and rural lifestyles are enhanced by the benefits and attributes of urban living." The concept was developed for the town of Innisfil in Ontario, Canada, which is situated about 60km (37mi) north of Toronto. A new transit hub is set to be built in the town over the next four years, which will provide access

Singapore's Pomeroy Studio, Arup and national sporting body Sport Singapore have created a masterplan for an 89ha (220ac) sustainable sports and recreation destination around the site of the existing Singapore Sports Hub. Planned facilities at the Kallang Alive development include a football hub and a tennis centre for both community and international tournaments. Facilities being considered for a youth hub on the site include velodrome, speed climbing and BMX venues.

The UK government has announced a £250m (US$322m, €290m) Culture Investment Fund for England. The funding package will be spent on infrastructure projects in the culture, museums and libraries sectors. More than £125m (US$161m, €145m) of the fund is earmarked for investment in improvements to regional museums and libraries. As the recipient of the largest single contribution from the fund (£18.5m US$23.8m, €21.4m), the National Railway Museum in York will

The first phase of a new 23ha (2,500,000sq ft) urban park designed by landscape architect Gustafson Porter + Bowman and built on the site of former railway lines and industrial land has opened in Valencia, Spain. Parque Central is part of a larger project in the city that will see train lines moved underground to free up a total of 66ha (7,100,000sq ft) of land. The reclaimed land will be

Construction work has begun on a £53m sports facility at the University of Portsmouth in the UK. Designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects, the building will set new standards for sustainability for a sports building and is on target to be the first of this type in the UK to be BREEAM rated ‘Outstanding’. The building’s spaces provide opportunities to exploit natural light and ventilation, while top lighting of the sports hall

Danish architecture firm Cobe has won an international competition to create designs for a new science museum in the Swedish city of Lund, with the visitor attraction set to open in 2024. Constructed of wood, the museum will be CO2-neutral and will have "the potential to become a future icon of sustainability", according to Cobe. The two-storey building proposed in the successful design has a total floor space of 6,000sq

The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) team has announced that designer Bill Bensley will deliver a keynote speech on hospitality design and sustainability at this year's summit in Hong Kong (15-17 October). Bensley's keynote will challenge delegates to rethink how hotels and resorts are designed and built, by posing questions he believes that the conscientious traveller of the future will be asking, such as: Does this hotel respect its environment? Does

A new 27-acre sustainable hotel in Antioquia, Colombia, is set to open in April 2019 in a protected forest about 90 minutes from the city of Medellin. Owned by Caimo Collections SAS, Cannúa is an 18-bedroom boutique hotel created with permaculture design principles and a holistic approach to sustainability. The property aims to “forge a new era of experiential travel within the region,” with guests exploring the biologically diverse environment

Denmark-based urban planning and architecture practice Lendager Group have won a contest to build the UN17 Village, a residential community which incorporates all "17 of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals". The future 400-home complex, which is set to rise in Copenhagen – arguably the world’s most eco-friendly city – will be built with upcycled waste and nontoxic materials, such as glass, concrete, and wood. According to Aarstiderne Arkitekter, who

Portsmouth City Council has approved plans for an inclusive and sustainable sports facility at University of Portsmouth. Designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects, the complex will include a 25m, eight-lane swimming pool, an eight-court sports hall, a health club with a 175-station gym and multifunctional studios, climbing and bouldering facilities, two flexible squash courts and a ski simulator. The building will also set new standards for sustainability for a sports building and

China’s central planning body has warned developers about the country’s ongoing theme park boom, raising concerns over potentially unpayable debts and low grade or copycat developments, as new parks continue to spring up across the country. As of the end of 2015, China had 59 parks planned or under construction, with the figure now thought to be in the hundreds. This explosion in theme park development in the country is

A blueprint designed to create a sustainable tourism model for, and to protect, the world heritage of Edinburgh has been revealed, with the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh World Heritage and Historic Environment Scotland uniting to develop the five-year masterplan. Edinburgh is made up of two distinct areas – the Old Town and the New Town. The former is dominated by a medieval fortress, while the latter has been developed

The Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) has completed work on a sustainable and inclusive sports-focused youth hostel in Bayreuth, Germany, conceived as a new model of “international, innovative and integrative” design. The distinctively Y-shaped JH Bayreuth is located on a 3,800sq m (40,000sq ft) landscaped site between Bayreuth’s city centre and university. Its expansive grounds feature sports fields, adventure playgrounds, volleyball terraces are gardens. Interior and exterior spaces interweave across

The University of Portsmouth has unveiled ambitious plans for a sustainable sports facility designed by architecture practice FaulknerBrowns. The complex, located on the corner of Portsmouth’s Ravelin Park, is the first major phase of the university’s £400m (US$569m, €455m) estate development masterplan, which aims to reshape its city centre campus to enhance the student experience and establish a public-facing presence in the city centre. The proposals – developed to “promote

The Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, has become the first sports stadium in the world to achieve platinum certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). With a highly advanced stormwater management system and enough solar panels to power nine NFL games, the new home of the Atlanta Falcons and MLS team Atlanta United scored a record 88 points in its rating by the US Green Building Council (USGBC).