Hotel group Dorchester Collection and real estate development group Omniyat have joined forces to create a new luxury hotel named The Lana. The 225-room destination will open in Q4 2022 in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa district inside a 30-storey tower designed by architecture firm Foster + Partners. Situated next to the Dubai Creek and Marasi Marina, The Lana will mark the Dorchester Collection’s debut location in the Middle East. Parisian interior

A new creative hub in Doha looks to position itself as the new heart of Qatar’s fashion and design industry – as well as a public showcase for innovation and entrepreneurship in the region. The M7 Design and Cultural Hub, designed by John McAslan + Partners, is the architectural anchor of the 31-hectare Msheireb mixed-use development. Established by Qatar Museums, under the leadership of Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin

Grimshaw has partnered with The Eden Project to create a special pavilion at the COP 26 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. Located in the Blue Zone in the Scottish Exhibition Campus, the Eden Project Pavilion has been designed by Grimshaw as a showcase of – and call to arms for – the actions needed to regenerate the planet. It harnesses the geodesic design reminiscent of the Eden

Construction work has begun on a £13m redevelopment project which will look to transform the V&A Museum of Childhood into the UK’s "premier national museum" entirely dedicated to children. Designed by De Matos Ryan and AOC Architecture, the revamp of the iconic Grade II* listed site in Bethnal Green, London, UK will provide the museum with an entirely new visitor experience. Plans include three new galleries – called Play, Imagine

A new visitor attraction and cultural destination, located at the foot of the historic slopes of Aÿ-Champagne commune, is taking a fresh approach to exploring the history of champagne. Pressoria – designed by Casson Mann and Atelier Phileas Architecture – blends original heritage architecture and contemporary interiors with sensory and digital installations and event spaces to present the culture of the appellation. Described as a sensory experience that blends elements

A fitness club with a boxing studio, dance and performing arts studio and a four-court sports hall are just a few of the facilities included in plans for the new Horizon Youth Zone in Grimsby, UK. The 5,440sq m centre will also include a climbing wall, health and wellbeing room and an outdoor 3G pitch. Planning approval has been given for the redevelopment, which will be located in the town's

The "respectful renovation" of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium is among the four winners of this year's European Award for Architectural Heritage Intervention (AHI). Now in its fifth edition, AHI is a biennial award organised by the Association of Architects for the Defence and Intervention in Architectural Heritage (AADIPA) and the Association of Architects of Catalonia (COAC). The renovation of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts

Actress, entrepreneur and founder of lifestyle brand goop Gwyneth Paltrow has been appointed wellbeing advisor for cruise operator Celebrity Cruises. Paltrow has designed a wellness concept called goop at Sea for the company’s new luxury liner Celebrity Beyond, complete with a spa designed by Kelly Hoppen. Celebrity Beyond will also showcase the design talents of designer Nate Berkus; Paris-based design firm Jouin Manku; architect Tom Wright; and the culinary gifts

A 300m-long superyacht is set to launch in 2025, carrying a scientific "strike force" tasked with studying the earth's climate and coming up with plans to tackle global warming. Called Earth 300, the research vessel will feature a 13-storey Science Sphere, housing 22 laboratories and acting as a floating scientific hub. Designed by Iddes Yachts – led by naval architect Iván Salas Jefferson – and Polish naval architecture firm NED,

Global design and production agency BRC Imagination Arts has appointed Christian Lachel as chief creative officer, taking over the role from BRC founder Bob Rogers. Previously vice president and executive creative director, Lachel first joined BRC in 1997. Since then, he has helped guide the company during a period of rapid GLOBAL growth, and has taken lead roles on projects including Destination Scotland (Johnnie Walker Princes St, Glenkinchie Distillery), Jameson Distillery

Coventry, the UK City of Culture in 2021, wants to seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create an arts hub to establish the city as an international destination for culture. Coventry City Council (CCC) has revealed multi-million pound plans to transform the IKEA building in the city into a visitor attraction showcasing some of the UK's greatest works of art. The new national Collections Centre would be created through a partnership

Omega Mart, a permanent visitor attraction and art installation built by Meow Wolf, is set to open in Las Vegas, US, this month. The attraction, dubbed "America's most exceptional supermarket", is located at Area15 – an experiential, 200,000sq ft retail and entertainment centre – and will feature more than 250 art projects created by 325 artists. In total, Omega Mart houses more than 60 unique environments that include installation-filled rooms,

Construction work has begun on the huge Shanghai International New Cultural and Creative esports Center. The 500,000sq m venue is estimated to cost around 5.8 billion yuan ($898.2m) and forms part of a larger, US$1.5bn project. Built by Chinese property company SuperGen Group – the parent company of Chinese esports organisation Edward Gaming (EDG) – the venue is located in the city's Minhang District. The 6,000-seat arena is expected to

Büro Ole Scheeren and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban have been appointed to create a masterplan for the Hangzhou Wangjiang New Town project in China. Together, the architects will establish a new art and cultural destination in the historical city on behalf of New World Development Company, a Hong Kong-based group focused on property, infrastructure and hotels – and one of the largest foreign direct investors in mainland China. With

Global wellness real estate and technology company Delos is collaborating with TPP Capital Management Group (TPP) – a Black-led social impact private equity fund manager and healthcare real estate development firm – to advance health and wellness through buildings in urban communities. The partnership will first work to transform Tioga District in North Philadelphia, US, with evidence-based healthy building strategies and solutions. The district has an 85.5 per cent Black

LA-based experience design studio, BRC Imagination Arts, is the creative force behind the new Glenkinchie Distillery attraction, which has opened today (29 October 2020) near Edinburgh, Scotland. The single malt distillery is located in East Lothian, a region known for its produce and has undergone a major transformation of its visitor attraction as part of a wider £185m investment by owner, Diageo. Glenkinchie will be known as the ‘Lowland Home

Architecture practice Johannes Torpe Studios has unveiled the first glimpses of the Buda Resort; a luxury spa resort located in the Visegrad Hills of Hungary and inspired by the spiritual symbolism of its setting. Situated 50km north of Budapest in a hilly landscape surrounded by forests and the Danube River; the vision for the 210-room resort is to offer a holistic retreat which fosters a greater sense of unity between

Tech giant, Apple, has received approval from City of Austin planners in Texas, for a six-storey, 192-bed, 76,000sq ft hotel, as part of a new US$1bn campus being built to the north-west of the city. The original outline plans for the development, submitted in December 2018, did not include a hotel and it's thought the facility has been added to COVID-proof Apple exec's travel exposure. The development started on site

Ekies All Senses Resort, Halkidiki, Greece, has undergone a redesign and expansion project inspired by an ascetic vibe and its proximity to Mount Athos – home to 20 monasteries under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Resort owner, Alexandra Efstathiadou, worked in collaboration with Athens-based Agarch + Architects and Fytron Landscape Design, to create ten brand new suites and renovate five existing rooms. The team drew on

WGNB recently completed a clothes store interior in South Korea that was modelled on an art gallery, displaying products as artworks in themselves. The renovation of Boon the Shop in Centum City's Shinsegae department store was based on the recognition that fashion is, in itself, an artform of sorts and so asked the question: "Can a clothing store be a gallery?" Baek Jonghwan, chief designer of WGNB, explained: "For some

A newly opened department store in South Korea, designed by OMA, has the appearance of a rock with a gemstone seam running through it. Created for luxury retailer Galleria, the store has a gross floor area of 137,000sq m (1,475,000sq ft) and is located in the town of Gwanggyo, just south of Seoul. Textured mosaic of varying grey shades gives the impression of the volume having been shaped organically, while

Google Arts & Culture has partnered with more than 500 cultural institutions to offer 'virtual museum exploration', following the temporary closure of thousands of art galleries and museums during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online platform designed to provide public access to gallery and museum collections across the globe, Google Arts & Culture uses the same technology developed for Google Maps Street View to enable users to 'walk' through world-famous galleries

Baerbel Mueller and Juergen Strohmayer have created a new gallery for the Nubuke Foundation art centre in Accra, Ghana, that hovers over the existing garden. The centre, which was founded in 2007 and has a sister site in the Ghanaian town of Wa, hosts programmes supporting the arts, culture, and heritage of the country. The Nubuke Extended project was aimed at expanding the site to create a cultural and civic

As part of its Ten York condo development in Toronto, developer Tridel has created an Innovation Suite that explores and showcases how technology can be used for the future of apartment living. The suite came about through the desire to gain an understanding of how smart home technologies could meet or exceed the needs of residents. The intention was to integrate technology and design seamlessly to provide connectivity, comfort and

The Humaniti mixed-use complex in Montreal is approaching completion, designed by Lemay to achieve WELL Certification and to encourage its residents to interact with their living space. Described as a smart vertical community, the 39-floor, H-shaped complex will feature apartments, a hotel, 57,000sq ft (5,300sq m) of office space and 17,000sq ft (1,600sq m) of retail and commercial space. “The source of inspiration is really two-fold," said Andrew King, senior

Developers have been given the green light to start work again on the US$750m (£647m, €688m) Nickelodeon theme park development at the Mall of China. Work was suspended as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, however, plans for the construction of the third and fourth phases to resume were approved following an inspection ensuring health requirements were met. Located in the Yubei District of Chongqing City, the Mall of China

Hart Howerton have designed a new resort for Jamaica's 400ac (162ha) luxury Half Moon property called Eclipse at Half Moon, which is described as "a celebration of authentic Jamaican culture reflecting its surrounding natural beauty." The Eclipse resort joins the existing Founders Cove at Half Moon and Rose Hall Villas at Half Moon resorts at the Salamander Hotels & Resorts -managed location between Montego Bay and the Caribbean Sea. The