Virgin Active and Myrtha Wellness have joined forces to open a health club and wellness centre at Milan’s new Bocconi University. The entire campus was designed by Pritzker-prize winning architects, SANAA, whose work includes the New Contemporary Art Museum in Manhattan, the Christian Dior building in Tokyo and La Samaritaine department store in Paris for LVMH. The fitness and wellness facilities are located on the first floor of the Bocconi

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

Virgin Voyages has taken delivery of its first cruise ship, which has reached completion after three years of construction. Scarlet Lady will set sail in March 2020 with more than 2,770 guests and 1,150 crew on board. It weighs in at 60,000 tonnes (66,000 tons), boasts 17 decks and uses 4,800kW of power. The ship is one of four that Virgin Voyages has ordered, with the others due for delivery

Virgin Voyages has unveiled the second ship in its upcoming cruise line-up. Valiant Lady follows the firm's inaugural ship Scarlet Lady and will sail seven-night Mediterranean itineraries out of Barcelona Spain when she debuts in May 2021. Named after the Latin word 'valere' and from the French origin 'vaillant', meaning bold, strong and courageous, the ship is designed to embody the idea that women design, captain, lead and champion change

Two design academics have built fluorescent pink seesaws that reach across the border on the outskirts of El Paso in Texas, US and Ciudad Juárez in Mexico. Aiming to bring a "playful concept of unity" to the two sides of the divide, the seesaws are the brainchild of Ronald Rael, professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley and Virginia San Fratello, associate professor of design at Mexico's San

Virgin Galactic believes it has the necessary financial muscle to achieve commercialisation of its space tourism flights, after merging with investment partnership Social Capital Hedosophia (SCH). The transaction, which is due to complete during the second half of 2019, will deliver US$1.3bn (€1.16bn, £1.04bn) of equity to Virgin Galactic, made up of US$1bn (€890m, £800m) in common stock of the combined company (at US$10 per share) and up to US$300m

The current trend of incorporating wellness into design shows no signs of stopping as renderings and animations from the latest Sir Richard Branson project, Virgin Voyages (a rebrand of the former Virgin Cruises), show a heavy wellness focus in its public areas. Featuring a running track, boxing ring, yoga deck, wellness pool and hydrotherapy pool, the ambitious cruise ship project is looking to change the way people think about sea

North American sports and arena specialists CannonDesign have designed a new baseball park for Virginia Tech University, with natural grass terraces utilised to create the feeling of being in “a stadium in the park.” The press box and permanent stands of the university's former ground have been removed to make space for a new and larger seating area, a three-tier hospitality deck, four private suites and a picnic area close

Historic American hotel The Cavalier will reopen in early 2018 after a US$75m (€63m, £56m) restoration. Built in 1927 and overlooking the Atlantic on one of the highest hills in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the hotel was inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate. The property is being redeveloped by Gold Key PHR and will become the latest venue in Marriott’s Autograph Collection. Part of the redevelopment will include a 6,200sq ft

The British multinational Debenhams is partnering former Virgin Active co-founder Frank Reed to launch in-store gyms as part of the retailer’s strategy to attract more customers and a younger female base. Reed’s Sweat! gyms are set to be trialled in three stores from early 2018 under a membership model. The deal is part of the Debenhams Redesigned strategy, which involves working with strategic partners to deliver its plan of making

Global tour operator Virgin Holidays has announced plans to build an airport departure lounge with a difference: it will be located on a beach in Barbados. From summer 2018, flyers leaving the Caribbean country will be able to be transferred straight from their hotel to The Departure Beach, located on Brownes Beach in Carlisle Bay, where they will drop off their luggage and receive their boarding pass. Until it is

US space agency NASA is preparing to explore the feasibility of expandable habitats, or inflatable ‘space houses’, in a new mission that launches this Friday (8 April). A spacecraft supplying the International Space Station (ISS) will take off at 4.43pm ET from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, loaded with research, hardware, supplies and a Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which will be thoroughly tested over the coming years.

Lifestyle brand Virgin Hotels will open its first California location in Palm Springs in late 2018. The hotel will feature 150 bedrooms, multiple restaurants, a rooftop terrace and pool, and a spa – likely similar to its first spa location in Chicago, where clients can completely customise treatments. Designed by local architect Chris Pardo, the hotel will be located in the heart of downtown Palm Springs and surrounded by historic

Multi-national conglomerate Virgin has announced its first branded hotel has achieved LEED Gold Certification, with the company outlining ambitious plans to create a zero carbon footprint hotel business. Virgin Hotels Chicago, located in the US city’s Loop district, has been awarded the accreditation by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), which analyses the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. CEO of Virgin Hotels Raul Leal pledged the

Virgin Hotels has announced plans to open a new 200-bedroom hotel in the Design District of Dallas, Texas, in 2018. The development will be a new-build located within 33 acres (133,500sq m) that developer Dunhill Partners and its founder, Bill Hutchinson, acquired in 2014. Included will be multiple dining options, a rooftop terrace with a pool, gym and spa, plus numerous meeting spaces. The neighbourhood includes furniture showrooms, art galleries,

The first Virgin-branded hotel has opened in Chicago’s Loop district in the 26-storey Old Dearborn Bank Building, originally designed by architecture firm Rapp and Rapp. The Art Deco building, a Chicago landmark, has 250 guestrooms, including 40 one-bedroom suites and two Penthouse Suites. There are four restaurants – three of which are scheduled to open between February and April of this year. The hotel’s spa will open in Q2 and

Virgin Hotels and owner/developer Lam Group have revealed building designs for their first project together in New York City, expected to open in 2017. VOA Architecture has been appointed as architect and interior designer for the new structure, which includes a street-long high-end retail space, 457 guest rooms, multiple food and beverage outlets – including a rooftop bar – plus an outdoor pool and spa. The spa’s details have not