Bulgari Hotels & Resorts will open a luxury resort in Los Angeles in 2025. The foundation of the development – a property formerly known as The Retreat – will be upgraded and expanded with the addition of new structures, all built to LEED Platinum standards. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, less than five miles from Rodeo Drive, the property is surrounded by 33 acres of hillside parkland, with striking views.

Architect Bill Bensley has announced plans for a luxury sustainable 'human zoo' hotel and spa project. Bensley’s concept will involve guests staying like caged animals within a luxury hotel and looking out onto an expansive wildlife sanctuary park full of rescued endangered animals. Bensley design studio’s vast 2084-key project named World Wild is comprised of seven hotels spread throughout Asia, Africa and Australia covering a total 654,867sq m. The concept's

Already the architect developing the Sundsholmerne ecovillage on the waterfront of the new Stigsborg district in Aalborg, Denmark, C.F. Møller has now also been chosen to create its surrounding green space. The Sundsholmerne sustainable community is part of the 54ha (133ac) Stigsborg Waterfront project, which is transforming old industrial sites into new neighbourhoods. Covering 5,000sq m (54,000sq ft), Sundsholmerne will feature a variety of housing with communal facilities that will

Lighting consultants Nulty have worked with brands including Harrods, Ritz-Carlton and the Royal Albert Hall, but as director Emilio Hernandez told CLAD, their most significant project might simply be helping people to get a good night's sleep. Founded in 2011, the firm has grown to have offices in London, Dubai, Beirut, Miami and Bangkok and it has worked across a variety of sectors, with projects having included restaurants, gyms, homes,

Retail and leisure destination developer Intu is creating an €800m ($886m, £679m) resort on Spain's Costa del Sol, designed by WATG and Broadway Malyan, that will feature eight distinct neighbourhoods, each offering a different experience for visitors. Located in Torremolinos, Intu Costa del Sol will cover 2.5 million sq ft (235,000 sq m) and will incorporate 1.5 million sq ft (142,000 sq m) of retail space, 20+ leisure operators, 70+

Alberto Apostoli is designing a new four-level spa for the Formentin Hotel that is inspired by the Aurora Borealis and the icebergs of the Northern seas. A historic thermal hotel built in 1911, the Formentin Hotel is located in the centre of Abano Terme, an ancient thermal area located between Verona and Venice. The 840sq m (9,042sq ft) spa will include a swimming pool on the ground floor, a thermal

Plenty has been written about the newly opened Diller Scofidio + Renfro expansion of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, but there's been work going on behind the scenes too. With 38,000sq ft (3,500sq m) of new gallery space and 21,000sq ft (2,000sq m) of new public space, there's much more for visitors to explore. But front-of-house spaces need new back-of-house spaces to support them and that

Finnish ice hockey team Helsingin IFK (HIFK) are helming a development team to build what is projected to become one of Finland’s most popular leisure attractions: Garden Helsinki. The complex, major parts of which will be situated "almost entirely underground", will feature a number of sports, hospitality, and recreational facilities including an 11,000-seat indoor arena, 200-room hotel, ice rink, gym, hotel, and spa. On-site restaurants and residential apartments will also

Architect Bill Bensley is working on a national cultural heritage site in Yên Tu Mountain – considered to be the cradle of Trúc Lâm Zen Buddhism in Vietnam – as part of the Vietnamese government’s strategic development plan for the area. Designed with attention to historical detail – Bensley has created the entire Yên Tu Village in 13th-century style and using 13th-century techniques where possible – the village will include

Spa consultant Diana Mestre of Mestre & Mestre Spa and Wellness Consulting is creating a 12,000sq ft (1,115sq m) sunken spa for the upcoming 1 Hotel Los Cabos in Mexico, which is set to open in 2019. Designed with the purpose of revitalising the senses, the Seed Spa will use recycled and organic materials along with water, music, aromas, light and living plants with an aim to create an environment

International spa and wellness consultancy and management company GOCO Hospitality is creating a mixed-use wellness community in Khao Yai’s wine country, two hours north of Bangkok. The community will include a 36-suite wellness retreat along with 48 wellness condominiums and 159 condominiums and large-scale residences, as well as a retail village and community park. Bangkok-based Tierra Design is also working on the project. Set to open later this year, the

The ‘Creating Atmospheres’ pavilion at the upcoming pool, spa and sauna trade fair Interbad, set to take place 27 - 30 September in Stuttgart, Germany, aims to show how to create the ‘right’ environment for all the senses. The pavilion will include architecture, green areas, lighting and acoustics, and is developed in co-operation with the Association of German Interior Designers (BDIA), the Baden-Württemberg Chamber of Architects and the interior design

Lanserhof Lans, the world-famous Austrian destination spa, is undergoing a major renovation between May and December 2016. The existing facility will be extended and a new building by German-based architect Christoph Ingenhoven will also be added. Ingenhoven is one of many regular guests to the detox retreat in the alpine state Tirol. The new structure – an oval building with a wooden façade and a grassy roof – will have

Latvian wellness consultancy Inbalans Group is working together with Moscow-based international development company Griffin Partners and Jurmula City Council to develop a substantial wellness community in Latvia's Kemeri National Park. The wellness community, located just west of the capital of Riga, will include a five-star hotel with a 1,500sq m (16,146sq ft) spa, due to open in 2018, as well as a wellness clinic comprised of multiple historic buildings with

Global design firm Forrec is collaborating with BBC Worldwide on plans for fixed attractions based on some of the British broadcaster's most famous brands. Top Gear, CBeebies, Earth and Walking With Dinosaurs – among the BBC's most recognised IPs – have been proposed as candidates for permanent attractions, it was revealed at the Euro Attractions Show (EAS) in Gothenburg, Sweden. Forrec has been hired to deliver a series of prototypes

Jack Rouse Associates (JRA) are driving forward plans for a new visitor attraction for spirit maker Beam Suntory – the Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse – in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, US. Located below Beam Suntory’s Louisville office, the new multi-million dollar visitor experience will include a small working distillery, a bottling line, a tasting experience and a selection of Jim Beam-branded merchandise for sale. Scheduled to open towards the end of