Planning permission has been granted for Rayners Penn, a multi-million-pound project set to convert a historic English country property and former school in Buckinghamshire into a luxury hotel and spa destination. The initiative will involve the careful restoration of Rayners Estate, a 19th-century property set in the scenic village of Penn. Originally built for sir Philip Rose – solicitor to former UK prime minister Benjamin Disraeli – the Victorian estate

Five-star Swiss alpine hotel Suvretta House, a 100-year-old St. Moritz landmark, has announced plans to refurbish and expand its existing spa into a three-level modern wellness retreat. Situated 1,850m above sea level, the 181-key destination is set in a private estate amid the rolling valleys of St. Moritz. The hotel’s existing 1,700sq m Suvretta House Spa offers stunning views of the Upper Engadine’s landscape of mountains and lakes. It will

Third Space is gearing up to open its 12th site – the third this year – in Clapham Junction, London. With investment from US-based KSL Capital Partners, there are plans to double the Third Space portfolio in the next three years. The most recent launch was in July at the historic Battersea Power Station development, while Wood Wharf opened earlier this summer. The Clapham Junction club will be housed in

Wellness industry figure Deepak Chopra is co-developing a new wellness community and resort focused on wellbeing and longevity in Utah’s Heber Valley, centred around natural geothermal springs. Named Ameyalli – an Aztec term meaning "a place where the healing water flows" – the project is a collaboration between Chopra, the Chopra Foundation and developer and managing partner Charles Heath. Heath, who acquired the thermal springs site, has set out to

The UK’s oldest outdoor public pool in the city of Bath will reopen to the public on 10 September following a £9m (US$10.7m, €10.1m) restoration project. Located on Hampton Row, Cleveland Pools was designed by John Pinch the Elder, designer of Babbington House in Somerset and Bishopstrow House, as well as parts of the City of Bath, and opened in 1815. It remained a popular open-air bathing spot for more

Six Senses has announced plans to open a new Italian resort at a historic castle estate nestled into the Umbrian countryside, in Perugia, scheduled to open in 2023. Architecture firm Woods Bagot is behind the masterplan, while interiors are being planned by Tokyo-based Design Studio SPIN. The redevelopment is being driven by VIY Management (VIYM), a London-based investment firm focused on luxury hospitality and mixed-use real estate projects, and Alessio

Cooper Robertson are transforming the historic Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville, Virginia, to make it more inclusive for women, children, families and younger generations. The buildings at Farmington date back to the 1760s, with the east wing of its clubhouse building having been designed by Thomas Jefferson and the club itself having been established in 1927. As Cooper Robertson has pointed out, though, "While private-membership clubs [in the US] remain

Hotel and hospitality designer Jean-Philippe Nuel has explained that working on older buildings often makes for more interesting results. Speaking to CLAD in an interview, Nuel said: "Paradoxically, historic buildings often result in more creative projects than new builds because the constraints mean certain situations are unavoidable and this allows us to break the usual standards." "I find historic buildings inspiring," he continued. "The project becomes a story that we

The historic Terminal Warehouse, in the West Chelsea area of New York, is being transformed by COOKFOX Architects into a mixed-use destination with retail units, hospitality outlets, open spaces and offices. Originally designed by architect George Mallory and built in 1891, the 1.2 million sq ft (111,000sq m) warehouse occupies an entire city block in Manhattan. With good access to the water, rail and road transportation networks, it became a

The historic Belgian city of Bruges has been illuminated with a 2km (1.2mi) walk-through lighting and visual experience for the festive "Wintergloed" (Winter Glow) season, using atmospheric light installations from Painting with Light (PWL). The company was commissioned by Bruges Plus, the organisation responsible for the city's cultural events, and has designed a series of ephemeral lighting and projection-mapped installations in six different areas, each inspired, according to PWL, by

Work has commenced on the restoration of the Grade II-listed Power Hall at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester – part of a larger, multi-million-pound project to create a more sustainable museum and a "beacon for contemporary science". The museum was forced to close the Power Hall in April this year due to urgent repairs that needed to be carried out on the roof. Following a grant of £6m

Porto-based architectural firm Miguel Cardoso Architecto, together with Madeirian designer Nini Andrade Silva, have created a boutique hotel in a 19th century manor house in the Portuguese city of Porto. The 68-bedroom Vila Foz Hotel & Spa is set in Porto’s Foz neighbourhood, and includes a spa dedicated to serenity and wellbeing. Within the manor house hotel, Miguel Cardoso Architecto was responsible for the painstaking restoration, as well as building

Family-owned COMO Hotels and Resorts will open its first hotel in continental Europe next month, the COMO Castello del Nero in Italy. The Tuscan hotel will be the fifteenth property in the Group’s global portfolio. The 740-acre historic estate is situated in the Chianti wine region of Italy, a 30-minute drive from Florence and Siena. At the heart of the estate is a 12th century castello, featuring 50 rooms and

Design firm BEHF Architekten have remodelled the Koller + Koller im Waagplatz restaurant in Salzburg, Austria. The architects' six-month intervention saw the 170 sq m tagesbar (day bar) – which is housed in a building dating to the Middle Ages – gain renovated entrance, dining, and sanitary facilities. According to BEHF, the firm sourced natural materials from Salzburg, Styria, and Lower Austria to refurbish Koller + Koller's unused or outdated

French architecture firm Reichen and Robert (RR&A) have been selected to spearhead a €100m (US$113.4m, £87.3m) makeover of Marseille-Fos Port (the Grand Port of Marseille) – the largest seaport in France. Dubbed the "J1, La Passerelle", the new 29,106 sq m mixed-use structure, which will be located minutes away from the iconic Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée (MUCEM), will offer extensive recreational amenities, including a floating

Handel Architects have released images of their latest project on the New Jersey Shore: the Asbury Ocean Club. Developed by iStar, the new mixed-development property, which will be located in the popular Asbury Park beachfront district, will rise 16 storeys and include a 54-room hotel as well as 130 residences. The estimated US$300m (€262m, £233m) complex – which will feature the interior design expertise of studios Anda Andrei and Bonetti/Kozerski

The Mecanoo-designed National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts, hailed as the "largest performing arts centre in the world" has opened in Taiwan. Impressively, the massive steel structure – which takes visual cues from Banyan trees and the sinuous hulls of ships – is home to a 1,981-seat concert hall, a 2,236-seat opera house, 1,210-seat playhouse, and a 434-seat recital hall. The arts hub, which is located in the vicinity of

L&L Holding Company, Maefield Development, and Fortress Investment have released renderings of TSX Broadway, a multi-billion dollar complex that will be built 30 feet above Times Square. The new 46-story building, which will rise on the site of the Beaux Arts-style Palace Theatre on 1564 Broadway Avenue, will accommodate 555,000sq ft of space for retail and entertainment venues. The structure will also include a 669-room hotel, a 10,000sq ft terrace

Construction work has now begun on the £300m (US$393m, €336m) renovation of Borough Yards in London – a series of Victorian-era railway arches that sit near to the River Thames, Tate Modern art gallery and world-famous foodie haunt Borough Market. Due for completion in 2020, Borough Yards will feature five mixed-use buildings that will house a workspace, retail units, gallery, restaurants, cinema and creative spaces. The brick-built railway viaducts will

Italian chef Carlo Cracco has unveiled his newest culinary enterprise in Milan – the restoration of Italian architect Giuseppe Mengoni’s 19th century Galleria. The landmark building, previously known as ‘Milan’s Parlour’, is one of Europe's oldest active shopping malls, and its distinctive for its large glass dome. Now called "Cracco in Galleria", the chef has brought one of his branded restaurants to the site, and has also introduced a café, patisserie,

Interior design studio 21 Spaces have completed an extensive refurbishment of one of Dublin’s most established hotels, The Alex. The 105-room hotel dates from 1990 and played an important role in the growth of the city. It is situated in Merrion Square, adjacent to the former industrial area. These historical references have been evoked in the new renovation, which has “playful and informal” bespoke design and detailing throughout. Floor tiles

The headquarters of Santander are to be transformed into a public space and art gallery following the move of the Spanish banking giant to new offices. Coming as part of an initiative to bring much of the bank’s vast art collection – currently held in Madrid – to Santander itself, Santander will move its operation to the nearby Banesto building, freeing up its former home for public use. British architect

Herzog and de Meuron have completed their latest cultural project: a museum and arts complex spread inside a walled compound of heritage justice buildings on Hong Kong Island. A dramatic light show marked the opening of the Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts on 25 May, with 150 guests in attendance, including the administrative region’s chief executive Carrie Lam. Over twelve years, the Swiss architects have carefully restored 16

Plans to replace the historic Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh with a modern £47m sports centre will be discussed by the City of Edinburgh Council next month. Two planning applications have been filed for the stadium, which was built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games. One application proposes a new £47m sports centre to replace the original venue, while the other lays out plans for a mixed-use redevelopment of the wider site,

The Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri, has announced plans for a new museum of antiquities, which will be designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. The Beirut Historical Museum will be constructed in the capital’s downtown area, running from Martyrs Square to the waterfront. Funded in part by the state of Kuwait, it will house archaeological artefacts from a host of civilisations, from the Bronze Age onwards. Exhibits will include

British architects HawkinsBrown have won planning and listed building consent for their regeneration of a complex of Victorian-era mill buildings in Yorkshire to form an arts-led leisure district. Their 130,000sq ft (12,000sq m) masterplan for the Rutland Mills project will deliver studio space for artists, designers and musicians; restaurants; event and gallery space, a retail zone; a hotel; and several areas of public realm. The mixed-use district will be sited

A blueprint designed to create a sustainable tourism model for, and to protect, the world heritage of Edinburgh has been revealed, with the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh World Heritage and Historic Environment Scotland uniting to develop the five-year masterplan. Edinburgh is made up of two distinct areas – the Old Town and the New Town. The former is dominated by a medieval fortress, while the latter has been developed