London has a new double Olympic skating centre following a £30m investment by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. The aim is to encourage physical activity and community within the local population. In addition to the rinks, it has a large gym and a dance studio, as well as community spaces and a café. Designed by architects FaulkerBrowns, The Lee Valley Ice Centre will open on Saturday 17 June, with

Wellfit, UAE-based operator of vast health and fitness, sport and wellness clubs, has announced plans to open its third full-service, large-scale hub in the Emirates. Wellfit Madar will be located in Sharjah within the new Madar family entertainment district, which is part of the Aljada mega project. The entire project is being brought to fruition by property development company Arada which founded the Wellfit brand in 2021 to operate health

Seneca Polytechnic in Toronto, Canada, has revealed plans for a multi-million-dollar health and wellness complex based on indigenous design, sustainability and inclusion. Described as a "transformative destination", the hub will offer health and wellbeing services, teaching and learning, sports and fitness facilities, recreational spaces and a "spiritual connection" with its surroundings. Designed by integrated practice, Dialog – in partnership with indigenous design firm, Two Row Architect – the new Health

Private investment firm Starwood Capital Group and real estate and hospitality company, Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners (AJ Capital), have unveiled a new outdoor-focused hotel group called Field & Stream Lodge Company. Field & Stream is an existing American brand established in 1871. Starwood and AJ Capital want to initially create approximately 20 to 25 hotels, first targeting US markets in close proximity to authentic natural experiences, including national parks, beaches,

Planning approval has been granted for Camden Highline, a project to transform a section of disused railway into a new elevated urban park for London. Similar to the High Line in New York, US, the new green space will run for 1.2km, connecting Camden Town with the King’s Cross and St Pancras area – an important transport hub for the capital. The elevated public walkway is forecast to bring new

A planning application has been submitted for the creation of The Seahive, a surf wellness resort on the site of a former colliery spoil tip in Betteshanger Country Park, UK. Designed by architecture firm Hollaway Studio, the £40m (US$48.1m, €45.4m) flagship project near Deal in Kent would be integral to the wider country park. The overall masterplan for the 15-acre site features a Wavegarden Cove surf lagoon at its centre,

Thermal wellbeing organisation and developer Therme Group has partnered with the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) to create a year-round wellbeing destination in the South Korean city of Incheon. Therme has announced that it’s working with the mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City Yoo Jeong-bok and IFEZ commissioner Kim Jin-yong to build a wellbeing resort that can welcome upwards of one million people per year. Therme creates natural urban oases for

The first Blue Zones Center is set to launch in Miami, Florida, showcasing the next generation of longevity medicine. The facility is underpinned by Blue Zones ’ research which has identified evidence-based ways to help people live longer and stay well. The company's work is rooted in explorations and research done by National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner, who identified the ‘blue zones regions’ around the world where people live extraordinarily

A conference held in London this month will discuss the "next frontier" in health- and wellness-based urban design and civic architecture. The Healthy City Design 2022 International Congress & Exhibition – held from 10 to 11 October 2022 – will take place at the Royal College of Physicians, London, UK and will also be streamed virtually online. Organised by Salus Global Knowledge Exchange, in collaboration with The Helen Hamlyn Centre

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

Global design practice Perkins & Will has unveiled plans for a net-zero operational carbon community sports centre, health club and cultural hub in Toronto, Canada. A first-of-its-kind for Ontario, the multi-purpose centre is set to achieve net-zero status through energy-efficient design and renewable energy systems, while adding much-needed facilities for the local community. Called North East Scarborough Community and Child Care Centre, the building has three levels. The lower level

The team behind downtown Miami’s upcoming mixed-use development, Legacy Hotel & Residences, has signed a joint venture deal called Blue Legacy Ventures (JV) with faith-based nonprofit integrated health system Adventist Health. Together the JV will lease and operate a first-of-its-kind 120,000sq ft health and wellbeing facility called Blue Zone Centre. The location is Adventist Health's first flagship centre for wellbeing. Blue Zones employs evidence-based ways to help people live longer,

A new £40m build-to-rent development with a focus on wellbeing has opened to residents in Leeds city centre in the UK. Located on the historic site of the former Yorkshire Post building, the property features a 24-hour health club and wellness studio, kitted by Technogym, alongside a range of other amenities within its 5,300ft of shared social space. Other facilities include a large co-working space, residents’ lounge and games room.

Planning approval has been granted to what is set to become one of the first Passivhaus-certified leisure buildings in the world. The new Spelthorne Leisure Centre in Staines, Surrey – which will be owned by Spelthorne Borough Council – has been designed by GT3 Architects and Passivhaus specialists Gale and Snowden. With sustainability and wellbeing at its core, the building will be optimised to reduce energy in use by up

A large health club plays a major role in tech giant Microsoft’s recently opened R&D campus in Israel, which was designed to "re-define office working". Located in the city of Herzliya, the campus has been designed ​​in partnership with Vered Gindi Architects and GSArch and utilises Microsoft’s concept of team-based “neighbourhoods”, which is based on the idea of being big enough to offer public interaction but small enough to give

Health club operator Life Time has opened a luxury fitness and athletic resort experience at Northshore Mall, a former shopping centre in Peabody, Massachusetts, US. The 210,000sq ft Life Time Northshore – situated within the Greater Boston area – is marketed as a first-of-its-kind destination and is spread across three floors, as the operator has taken over the entirety of the former shopping mall. The company has its own real

Plans have been revealed to build the world's deepest pool in Cornwall, UK, which would house facilities serving the spaceflight, sports science and healthcare communities. The £150m Blue Abyss project would see an aquatic centre, housing a 164ft (50m) deep pool built at the Aerohub Enterprise Zone at Cornwall Airport. The project is led by a privately-funded company that is now in the process of applying for planning permission. Blue

A swimming pool suspended 35m (115ft) above the ground and forming a bridge between two buildings has opened as part of a residential project in Nine Elms, south-west London, UK. Designed by HAL Architects, the 25m Sky Pool spans two buildings at the Embassy Gardens development, located opposite the new US Embassy. The pool has transparent walls and floor, which allows passersby to observe the swimmers – and those in

The Jumeirah Group has reopened the 186-room The Carlton Tower hotel, in the heart of London’s Knightsbridge following an 18-month closure for refurbishment. The 17-story building has been redesigned, with an extensive makeover costing £100m (€116.3m, US$141.1m). The five-star Carlton Tower originally opened in 1961 as London’s first tower hotel and was celebrated for being the tallest in the city at that time. Originally designed by Henry End – who

Glasgow’s iconic Kimpton Blythswood Square has launched La Chambre Verte, an immersive hotel suite experiment measuring the psychological and physical benefits of biophilic design. The hotel partnered with Scottish CBD skincare brand La Rue Verte, leading horticulturalists Benholm and award-winning DJ Brian D’Souza to create a multi-sensory experience combining biophilia with CBD rituals, meditation and sound therapy. Echoing the practice of forest bathing, La Chambre Verte is designed for the

Kerzner International, the owner of One&Only Resorts and Atlantis Resort & Residences, has developed a new immersive lifestyle hospitality concept inspired by fitness and wellbeing. SIRO (pronounced Sigh-Row) represents the pillars of Strength, Inclusive, Reflection and Original and invites guests to aspire to live at their fullest potential through a specialised blend of hospitality, fitness and wellness. A place of connection, the immersive lifestyle destinations will create a welcoming social

Frasers Group will open three new regional flagship Flannels-branded retail stores during 2021 – each of which will feature fitness studios. The Mike Ashley-owned retail group is betting on a recovery for British high streets with the plans, which will see stores opening in Liverpool, Leicester and Sheffield. As well as a seven-floor Flannels megastore on Liverpool's iconic Parker Street, Frasers will convert the existing House of Fraser store at

Technogym has opened the latest of its consumer-facing retail store concepts in Los Angeles, US. The two-floor store, covering 3,500sq ft, is located in the heart of the West Hollywood Design District and will showcase the full range of Technogym's equipment and services. Specifically targeting the high-end consumer market, the store will allow people to access and discover the company's at-home products and solutions. Staff at the site will include

The UK government has launched a £1bn Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), providing grant funding for energy efficiency measures across the public sector. The funding has been made available for capital sustainability and heat decarbonisation projects within public sector non-domestic buildings, including central government departments and non-departmental public bodies in England. Public sector bodies can apply for a grant to finance up to 100 per cent of the costs of

Following approval to build a £250mn wellbeing resort in Manchester, Therme Group has revealed plans to develop and expand its concept in other major UK cities. “Our aim is to ensure that a Therme Group wellbeing resort is within easy reach of 90 per cent of the UK population,” commented Therme UK COO, James Mark. The development plan includes projects – with a similar concept to Therme Manchester – in

Urban Prairie Architectural Collaborative (UPAC) have converted a large brick-built warehouse in Kansas City, Missouri, into a bouldering gym with a variety of other fitness facilities. Sequence Climb was the result of a two-year search across the US for the right building by founders Graham and Dara Hess. The 20,000sq ft (1,900sq m) warehouse that they settled on not only provides ample room, but also features a barrel roof under

Interior architecture and design firm O’Donnell O’Neill have created a boutique gym and health club at The Mayson hotel in Dublin with high-end design and facilities to match those of the hotel. The Mayson itself was only opened at the end of 2019 by Irish leisure and hospitality company Press Up Entertainment Group. The 94-key hotel is located in a renovated brick building in Dublin's docklands and its design mixes