The iconic Battersea Power Station on the south bank of the River Thames, London, UK, has finally reopened, following a £9bn redevelopment project. The Grade II* listed former coal-fired power station has been transformed into an entirely new district featuring a blend of residential and leisure, with health clubs, a visitor attraction, spa and wellness offerings, retail, bars, restaurants, entertainment venues, parks and historic spaces. Developments within the 42-acre site

The new Serena Williams Building at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, US, has been declared open. The 1m sq ft building, designed by architects Skylab, is the largest structure on the Nike campus and establishes new links to the existing campus through restored wetlands, public plazas, and view corridors. The building consists of four parts a 12-story tower with shared amenities for all of the Nike Campus – including

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

The first Ritz-Carlton location in Costa Rica will launch in 2024, situated within the 1,400-acre private club and resort community Peninsula Papagayo. Hospitality specialists SB Architects are behind the design, with spa and wellness consultancy Blu Spas helping create programming, project design and concept for the wellness areas. Located in Guanacaste, Peninsula Papagayo sits on the north Pacific coast of Costa Rica, deemed to be one of the most biodiverse

A new geothermal forest spa called Forest Lagoon will launch in April near Akureyri, in Northern Iceland, with design by Basalt Architects – the creative driving force behind Iceland’s iconic Blue Lagoon. The story behind Forest Lagoon began in 2014 when workers digging inside the Vaðlaheiðargöng heath – for an unrelated project – discovered a geothermal hot water spring. This water source will serve as the beating heart of the

Nordic Hotels & Resorts is creating an urban wellness retreat in Norway’s capital city of Oslo as part of its 231-room hotel project. Owned by Norwegian hotelier Petter Stordalen, the luxury destination will be named Sommerro and welcome guests in the city’s Frogner neighbourhood as of September 2022. Sommerro will be housed in a restored 1930s building – formerly the headquarters of the city’s original electrical company – and encompass

Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas has launched its brand new desert retreat called Six Senses Shaharut in Israel. With its secluded setting laid into a dramatic cliff with panoramic views of the Negev Desert, the resort is home to a 1,900sq m spa realised by Tel Aviv-based Plesner Architects. The facility is designed to offer a contemporary interpretation of nomadic structures, reminiscent of the Nabataean community which occupied the area

Planning approval has been granted to what is set to become one of the first Passivhaus-certified leisure buildings in the world. The new Spelthorne Leisure Centre in Staines, Surrey – which will be owned by Spelthorne Borough Council – has been designed by GT3 Architects and Passivhaus specialists Gale and Snowden. With sustainability and wellbeing at its core, the building will be optimised to reduce energy in use by up

Designs have been revealed for a flexible, multi-purpose events centre which will have the appearance of a "cloud floating by the sea". Designed by MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong, the “Cloud Center” in Qinhuangdao, China, will offer a new multi-purpose public space for Aranya – one of China’s most vibrant seaside arts and culture communities. Situated close to the scenic Beidaihe coastline in the north east of the country,

A swimming pool suspended 35m (115ft) above the ground and forming a bridge between two buildings has opened as part of a residential project in Nine Elms, south-west London, UK. Designed by HAL Architects, the 25m Sky Pool spans two buildings at the Embassy Gardens development, located opposite the new US Embassy. The pool has transparent walls and floor, which allows passersby to observe the swimmers – and those in

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

A global team of architects has been chosen to design the masterplan for the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic village. The team, called Outcomist, includes Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Arup, Nigel Dunnett Studio, Carlo Ratti Associati, Gross Max, Portland Design, Systematica, Studio Zoppini, Aecom, LAND, Artelia and PLP Architecture. The project – called Parco Romana – will transform the vast Porta Romana railway yard area in Milan, creating a Athletes’ Village

Baca Architects has submitted a scheme to transform an unused flooded quarry and surrounding land into an eco-wellness resort, centred on waterside living and water-based recreation. In development is a response to pandemic travel bans, which are driving growth in the UK holiday market. The 80-hectare Ashwicken Lake site is situated in East Anglia, UK, and features woodlands, wetlands and a 1sq km lake. A £35m (US$49.4m, €40,7m) investment by

International architecture practice 10 Design has revealed its design concepts for an ambitious redevelopment of Edinburgh’s city centre. The project will transform the former Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) site on Dundas Street into a first-rate mixed-use development, which will create a new urban centre, providing a significant addition of public realm, including hotel, retail, residential and office components. The development will replace the existing car park and the ex-RBS

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has opened a new luxury resort and spa in Japan, expanding its luxury Asia Pacific portfolio into the historic mountain region of Nikko. Nikken Sekki led the architecture for the overall project, while rooms and public spaces were designed by Layan Architects + Designers. The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko, showcases a new spa designed to be an urban sanctuary of wellness inspired by the abundance of natural revitalising

The UK government has revealed the six finalists for its Home of 2030 initiative. Launched in November 2019, the competition has been designed to encourage the best and brightest talents of the design industry to create environmentally sustainable, practical and scalable ideas for future homes. A particular focus in deciding a winner will be on designs which support people to live independent, fulfilling lives as society ages. The six teams

The English National Ballet (ENB) has moved into a new £27m ($33m, €30m) home in London designed by Glenn Howells Architects (GHA). The 93,000sq ft (8,600sq m) building combines a number of previously separate ENB campuses into what it calls "a multi-faceted 'dance factory'". The ground floor is conceived to be a gathering and circulation space, with a public café and an exhibition area. Seven full-sized rehearsal studios include a

Arii Irie Architects have created a 69sq m (743sq ft) gym in Tokyo, Japan, with a transparent PVC partition that creates two distinct areas, without giving the sense of having reduced the already limited space. Cell Tokyo is so-called for its focus on conditioning from the cellular level, with the gym offering nutritional counselling, hydrogen gas inhalation and blood sampling equipment in addition to conventional physical training. Like a cell

Mario Cucinella Architects have designed a new mixed-use building for Tirana, Albania, that is inspired by the shape of the nearby Mount Dajti and is wrapped around a central scoop filled with greenery. The 93m (305ft)-tall, 24-storey Ekspozita Building will house a variety of commercial, residential and public amenity spaces. Occupying three and a half sides of a square footprint and tapering as it rises, the building will accommodate commercial

Millwall FC has revealed designs by AFL Architects for the proposed redevelopment of its stadium, The Den, to make it "fit for Premier League football". Redevelopment of the stadium has become a possibility again following the termination of a conditional land sale agreement for the leased site on which The Den is situated in the Bermondsey area of London by the local mayor and cabinet earlier this month. Although the

Claesson Koivisto Rune Architects have converted a former 1920s bank building in Tokyo into what they describe as a "micro-complex of creative eateries, bars, gathering spots, and Swedish-minimalism-meets-Japanese-heritage design." Located in the Nihonbashi Kabutocho area of the city, K5 Tokyo is a hotel with a restaurant, a wine bar, a coffee shop, a cocktail bar and a beer hall. Its redevelopment took only 14 months from conception through planning and

Steven Holl Architects have topped out the Shanghai Cofco Cultural and Health Center, which is aimed at being "a social condenser" for residents of the dense surrounding housing. Designed in 2016 and expected to be completed mid-to-late 2020, the 7,520sq m (81,000sq ft) development comprises a mix of public realm, a canalside park, space for recreational and cultural programs, amenities and health facilities. An open, spacious design contrasts that of

Niall McLaughlin Architects have been chosen to design a new, multi-purpose auditorium and public space for London's Somerset House arts centre. Designed and built by Sir William Chambers during the mid-to-late 1770s, the current neoclassical building has a rich history and courtyards that are described as being among the most beautiful in Europe. With the building already home to a creative community and a variety of different exhibition and events

The Seattle Asian Art Museum will reopen this weekend after a $56m (€51m, £43m) renovation and expansion of its historic 1933 Art Deco building by LMN Architects. The project, which has taken 12 years from planning through design and construction, was the first major renovation of the 64,250sq ft (6,000sq m) facility since it was constructed. Most notably, preservation work has been carried out on the building and its Art

NL Architects and ABT have created what they describe as a "new type of public space" in Groningen, Netherlands, filled with books, images, exhibition spaces, movie halls, assembly rooms and restaurants. The design for Forum Groningen was first developed for a competition run by the local municipality in 2006, running out the winner. It has now finally been brought to fruition, with a form that is at once monolithic, carefully

Reiulf Ramstad Architects have created a series of steel installations along a trail that follows the former Rosheim-St Nabor railway in Alsace, France. The Chemin des Carrières – literally the Quarries Path – stretches for 11km (7mi), joining a number of formerly industrial quarry sites. The installations have been created at five sites along the route, with each conceived to tell its own story. At Rosheim, intertwined sculptural circles of

Looklen Architects have created a stripped back gym in Bangkok, Thailand, that uses steel latticing to create transparent partitions and pieces of furniture around the space. This third branch of Sam Yan Gym was actually completed in 2016, but the project has only just surfaced. The owner wanted to create a contemporary and functional gym, but one that was also differentiated from others. The facility is located in a former