Music psychology specialist, Brian d’Souza, has launched a sound wellness business to offer transformative sound experiences to the hospitality, wellness and spa industries. Called Swell, the company delivers bespoke solutions combining field recording, music composition, nature and sound therapy to improve relaxation while promoting positive listening habits for deep relaxation. d'Souza says the traditional linear listening experience can result in 'listener fatigue' if guests and staff hear the same music

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

Elora Hardy has been made an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) for her pioneering work in architectural design, in particular for the design and build of bamboo structures. Hardy was born in Bali and spent 14 years of her life growing up in the US, where she received a degree in fine arts and went on to work in the fashion industry. In

Austrian artist Klaus Littmann has transformed the Wörthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt, Austria, into a forest as part of an art installation looking to change people's perception of nature. The 32,000-capacity stadium, home of SK Austria Klagenfurt football club, has been fitted with a mini-forest of 300 trees what is set to become Austria’s largest public art installation. Overseen by Enea Landscape Architecture, the “For Forest: the unending attraction of nature"

Designs have been released for the latest edition of the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, northern Sweden, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The competition saw 126 applications received from artist teams across 34 different countries and 15 were chosen to create designs for the hotel, which will open on 13 December. In addition, three teams received a special invitation to create the new main and ceremony hall, as well

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has appointed Willmott Dixon to construct a new members’ centre adjacent to the iconic Wimbledon Championship complex. The £70m facility, located on Somerset Road, will include 12 new tennis courts (six indoor and six outdoor), new club house facilities, an enhanced arrivals experience for competitors at The Championships and upgraded Centre Court chiller plant. There will also be a single-storey underground car park

After five months of construction and an investment of CHF 45m (€40m), the completely renovated Grand Hotel Quellenhof in Switzerland has opened its doors. For 150 years, the Quellenhof has served as the flagship of Europe’s wellbeing & medical health resort in Bad Ragaz. Swiss interior designer Claudio Carbone has been responsible for the redesign and the development of a new concept which is centered around the hotel’s history and

A telescope that once belonged to Sir Isaac Newton, the microscope used by Robert Hooke to create the captivating drawings of insects and plants in his book Micrographia, and a range of objects commissioned by England's King George III upon his coronation, are among the exhibits at a new permanent gallery in London's Science Museum. The Science City 1550–1800: The Linbury Gallery exhibition, which is due to open in September,

Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como opened this week, following the renovation of the historic lakefront property. The hotel is located in Blevio, and is surrounded by natural beauty, enjoying a private, serene setting on the sunlit shores of the lake, nestled within verdant botanical gardens. Mandarin Oriental acquired the resort, which was previously CastaDiva Resort & Spa, last year. The 19th Century Villa Roccabruna is at the heart of the

He's created everything from hotel and restaurant interiors to Olympic torches and outdoor gym equipment. Now, multitasking French designer Philippe Starck has his most otherworldly commission yet: the interior of a luxurious space station for tourists. Space exploration company Axiom Space has announced it is launching its first space tourism programme in 2020, which will take its high-paying guests on expeditions to the International Space Station (ISS). Starck was asked

Multi-disciplinary designer Clodagh, whose recent projects include the Six Senses Douro Valley and the reopened Six Senses Kaplankaya, will share her vision for truly integrated wellness design with conference delegates at the Global Wellness Summit in Italy this October. Clodagh, head of New York-based interior design firm Clodagh Design, will take the stage at the 2018 conference to share her belief that wellness is a crucial requirement in design that

A year after the opening of the world’s longest bicycle bridge in Xiamen, China, Danish architecture firm Dissing+Weitling have won another large-scale infrastructure project in the city. A 20km (12.4mi) network of footpaths featuring seven “spectacular” pedestrian bridges, city officials want to create a large-scale network of elevated walkways, up to 4.5m (14.7ft) wide, that will lead residents and visitors through the mountainous landscape of Xiamen, “creating outstanding experiences in

Health club design specialists zynk Design have completed a third Intencity training studio for fitness firm Fusion Lifestyle, which has just opened its doors at Park Road Pools and Fitness, Haringey, London. The team were briefed by Fusion to transform an existing studio into a dedicated, multi-functional training zone designed to give users “access to a boutique fitness experience.” The Fusion brand’s distinctive red and black aesthetics have been used

With the imminent arrival of spring across Europe and temperatures tentatively rising, the ephemeral Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden will soon return from whence it came, melting back into the Torne River. However, its creators are already preparing for the hotel’s return towards the end of the year, harvesting huge blocks of ice and snow and seeking design ideas for the future guestrooms – each of which is conceived as an

Dutch designer Marcel Wanders has blasted minimalist hospitality design trends in an interview with CLADglobal. Wanders – best known for his colourful and often surreal hotel collaborations with the likes of Morgans Hotel Group, Park Hyatt and sbe – argued that architects and designers working in the hotel sector “should add fun and value to people’s lives”. “If you love design enough to give your life to it – studying

It has just collaborated with Philippe Starck on a luxury apartment complex in the heart of Midtown Atlanta, and is in the midst of planning one of America’s most hotly-anticipated wellness communities. Now spa, fitness and leisure consulting firm WTS International is seeking to expand its team with the appointment of a project interior designer. The studio – which is involved with the concept design, planning, interior design and operation

Architect Roberto de Oliveira Castro and interior designer Samuel Amoia have collaborated on a beach resort in Belize, described as “unlike anything travelers have ever seen in the Caribbean”. Located in the hideaway beach town of Placencia, the Itz’ana Resort & Residences occupies 16 miles of a peninsula, with the Caribbean Sea on one side and a lagoon on the other. The new resort, named after the Mayan god of

American architect and former Disney executive Wing T Chao will receive the Pioneer Award from The International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) for services to entertainment design. The annual award, established in 1996, recognises an individual “who has made an outstanding contribution, achievement and or improvement in the hospitality industry”. Chao worked for Disney for 37 years from 1972, with his roles including vice chair of development for Walt Disney

A striking new museum dedicated to the life and work of French fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent has opened today (19 October) in Marrakech, Morocco. French architecture firm Studio KO designed the 4,000sq m (43,000sq ft) terracotta brick home of the Musée Yves Saint Laurent on a site next to the city’s Jardin Majorelle, a garden the designer acquired himself to save it from being destroyed by developers. Saint Laurent

Swedish architect Gert Wingårdh has completed a 77-room hotel within the early 20th century home of the former Royal Danish Conservatory of Music. The 5,500sq m (59,200sq ft) building, built in 1903, has become the first property outside Sweden for hospitality company Nobis Group. It is located in the heart of Copenhagen, close to the town hall square, National Museum and the Danish Design Center. Wingårdh and his eponymous design

Horsen’s 162-year-old Prison Museum in Denmark has debuted a new permanent exhibition chronicling the escape of former prisoner Carl August Lorentzen. The exhibition, called Lorentzen’s Tunnel, tells the story of Lorentzen, a burglar who after 11 months of work had dug an 18-metre-long (60 foot) tunnel that led him to freedom on Christmas Eve 1949, leaving a note in his cell saying “where there’s a will, there’s a way”. While

A landmark 1925 California hotel with a storied history will be reborn this summer, with new interiors created by celebrity designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard – who has dreamed up glamorous homes for the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Eva Mendes and Cher. When it first opened in 1925, the Hotel Californian was one of the first of a new wave of Spanish Colonial Revival style structures, but was open for little

Groundbreaking concepts showing how city buildings could be raised upwards through wooden extensions have been released online. Wood manufacturer Metsä Wood has created the database, which showcases the 172 entries to its ‘City above the City competition.’ The company said that the world’s growing urban population and the rising demand of housing and interior spaces mean cities must start developing strategically and environmentally – which means looking to the skies.

For his latest grandiose Southeast Asian resort project, designer Bill Bensley has taken his inspiration from an unlikely combination of themes: the work of pioneering French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the importance of higher education, Lewis Carroll's novel Alice in Wonderland – and mushrooms. Bensley’s typically whimsical design touches feature throughout the JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay resort in the south of Vietnam – a project the designer has described

Architects Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of international studio OMA have been announced as the high-profile designers of the 2017 MPavilion in Melbourne, Australia. The duo will work together to create the temporary landmark and events hub, located in Queen Victoria Gardens, which will host a free, four-month programme of talks, workshops, performances and installations. The MPavilion project began in 2014, and is inspired in part by the annual Serpentine

Six design teams have won the right to create fun and interactive gardens for the International Garden Festival, which will be held in Québec, Canada later this year. The projects were chosen ahead of 156 other competition submissions, and the successful teams will now take their place at the 18th edition of the prestigious festival from 23 June. They will appear alongside a number of other commissioned conceptual gardens created

London’s The Lanesborough hotel, part of the luxury Oetker Collection, is set to open its new 18,000sq ft (1,672sq m) exclusive spa and wellness centre – billed as ‘a lifestyle club for the modern Londoner’ – on 13 March, and has partnered with experts across the fitness, beauty, spa and wellness communities to offer a holistic approach to wellbeing. Spa consultant Neil Howard has overseen the project, working with interior