Spa consultancy Raison d’Etre has collaborated with hotel and tour operator Metropolitan Touring to create an eco-friendly spa at the Finch Bay Hotel in the Galapagos. Built from locally-sourced volcanic rock, the spa has a minimalist, contemporary design throughout with large glass windows to let plenty of natural light in. The building has been created to emphasise the unique flora, fauna and landscape of the Galapagos. A yoga room on

Construction has commenced on an elevated cycleway and pedestrian overpass in Sydney’s North Rye neighbourhood. Designed by Australian architectural firm KI Studio and developed by Landcom, the new 160-metre bridge will span across the Hills M2 motorway and Delhi Road, providing a direct link between the not-yet-completed Lachlan’s Line 'urban village', Macquarie Park, and the North Rye railway station. Intended to function both as a public space and as a

Belmond Savute Elephant Lodge has reopened in Botswana’s Chobe National Park. Renovated by London-based interior design studio Muza Lab, the renovated resort – which Inge Moore, the firm's founder, has likened to an environmentally conscious explorer’s camp – has 12 new guestrooms and an open-air dining space, lounge, bar, library, and spa. Other features of the timber wood and bamboo lodge include a multi-function room for yoga and private meetings,

An eco-friendly resort set on the coast of the Greek island of Rhodes will open in May 2018. Designed by Dimitris Melenos & Partners, the 266-bedroom Gennadi Grand Resort will be part of Lindos Hotel Group, and will focus on experiential travel along with an emphasis on immersive surroundings. Melenos has used a design ethos focusing on simplicity and functionality, with buildings creating small 'neighbourhoods' and internal green courtyards and

Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise DC United has secured a US$25m (£19.3m, €22m) funding package to make its soon-to-be-built new stadium more energy efficient. The package has been agreed with the mayor of Washington DC Muriel Bowser and the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). Funding will go towards the installation of energy efficient equipment at the 20,000-capacity Audi Field venue, such as 884kw solar panels and stormwater retention system.

The studio of French architect Stephane Malka have unveiled the latest iteration of their ‘parasitic architecture’ concept, with an ambitious plan to graft extensions, bow-windows and loggias to one of Paris’ lacklustre and poorly-performing 1970s buildings. The project, called Plug-In City 75, will transform an apartment block in the French capital’s 16th arrondissement by ‘plugging in’ custom-made prefabricated elements to the outside of the structure. Old windows, bad insulation and

The developers of a luxury island resort opening this year the Maldives have claimed it will be one of the most eco-conscious ever created in South Asia – with thousands of solar panels used as a design feature. Developer Crown & Champa Resorts claims that the Hurawalhi Island Resort will “put as much back into its surroundings as it takes out.” New York architect Yuji Yamazaki has created a futuristic,

Viceroy is set to open a resort and residences in Bocas del Toro, Panama, with dramatic overwater villas and three miles of private white sand beaches. Due to open in 2019, the Viceroy Bocas del Toro will also include a spa featuring private rejuvenation pools tucked in blossoming pockets of the rainforest. The 42 overwater villas will each have their own private plunge pool and direct access to the ocean

South Africa’s Verde Hotels group has won a contract to develop the transformation of an old building in Zanzibar, Tanzania into the archipelago’s “greenest” hotel. Real estate firm Bakhresa Group is developing the property, formerly known as Mtoni Marine Hotel, and wants it to become pioneering as both a luxury five-star destination and a flagship for sustainable development. Verde Hotels is best known for opening an airport hotel in Cape

Newcastle-based architects Jane Darbyshire and David Kendall’s (JDDK) long-touted Landscape Discovery Centre and Youth Hostel at Hadrian's Wall in England’s Northumberland National Park is set to be realised after contractors for the scheme agreed cost proposals, with development now underway. The most recent plans for ‘The Sill’ were announced in October 2014, outlining that the project needed at least £11.2m (US$17.9m, €14.3m) to get it off the ground. A Heritage

The Myanmar office of Singapore-based urban consultants Surbana have created the eco-friendly Yangon Aquarium in Yangon, Myanmar. It will partially open in 2016, following delays. Surbana won the job in November 2013, while SIPM Consultants were selected to handle construction management of the project. LLandscape architecture is by the Yangon City Development Committee. Surbana also masterplanned the 18,200sq m (196,000sq ft) development. The two-storey structure, which has been designed to

A progressive 20,000-capacity stadium has opened as the centrepiece of an environmentally focused regeneration project in the Hungarian city of Debrecen. Created by Bord Architectural Studio, the redesigned Nagyerdo Stadium has seen the introduction of a leading sporting venue into an area usually characterised by green space and forests. The project has been designed to bring the green-space area in-line with the city, giving people access to a multi-purpose events

New York City based architectural firm The Living has completed its winning design for the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Young Architects Program, Hi-Fi – a tubular tower made of mushroom and corn bricks. Constructed to provide shelter and seating for PS1’s Warm Up concert series at the MoMA, the structure is almost 100 per cent biodegradable and is intended to be composted down after its use. The circular tower

An eco-friendly visitors’ centre in Bournemouth, UK, will showcase the history of the region – from the Stone Age to the present day – when it opens in time for summer. Construction is currently underway on the £1m Hengistbury Head Visitor Centre, which will house an exhibition space, a retail outlet and workspace for staff, volunteers and community groups. Green energy features will include a green roof, 16 photo-voltaic solar

An £20m eco-friendly hotel has opened at the University of Nottingham, adjacent to the campus’s conference centre and landscaped gardens. The Orchard, funded entirely by the university, includes 220 bedrooms, meeting rooms, bar and gym, with eco-friendly features including a green roof, photovoltaic panels, ground source heat pumps and energy efficient lighting, heating and ventilation systems. Nottingham’s pro-vice chancellor for environment and infrastructure Professor Karen Cox said the hotel is

A new spa retreat, based in Texas and constructed using environmentally-friendly techniques and materials, will open its doors on Saturday (8 December). Deer Lake Lodge & Spa, nestled on 50-acres 40 minutes from Houston, will hold tours of the lodge, mini treatment demonstrations and a ribbon cutting ceremony as part of its grand opening. Co-founders Tracy Boulware and her sister Dr. T.C. Hughes have dedicated themselves to providing an all-natural

BAM Construction has been chosen by the University of Nottingham (UoN) to build a new £20m eco-friendly hotel adjacent to the East Midlands Conference Centre. Funded entirely by the institution, the property has been designed by RHWL Architects and will incorporate the latest technology in a bid to reduce carbon emissions. The hotel is due to open by the end of 2012 and will boast a gym; a restaurant; and