Lifestyle company Equinox has announced that its first short-stay hospitality venture – the long-gestating Equinox Hotel at 35 Hudson Yards – will throw open its doors in June. The innovative project, which has been making waves since it was first announced in 2016, will feature an array of health-centric offerings, such as rooms with amenities devised to increase sleep wellness, and private fitness sessions led by professional trainers and nutritionists.

Interior specialists Topos Design Clan have completed an ocean-inspired rehaul of Shunfenglou Restaurant in Wenzhou, China. Citing Claude Debussy's orchestral composition La Mer as an influence, the designers created the eatery's ship cabin-like decor, which features aquatic motifs, such as bronze-coloured fish decals, porthole-shaped mirrors, and royal blue furniture. Other notable elements of 1,500 sq m space include a ribbed vestibule, a streamlined bar, and a metal grid ceiling that

Italian architecture firms Laboratorio Di Architettura e Design (LAD) and Hypnos Studio have proposed to create the "Sovraparco" – a bowl-shaped elevated garden on the Piazzale Loreto in Mian, Italy. The concave structure, which the proposers have likened to an inverted Panthéon, would house a miniature forest and be accessible through a basement-level stairway and ramp. Once inside, visitors would be unable to see the surrounding Milanese cityscape due to

OPEN Architecture have transformed five decommissioned oil containers into the Tank Museum Shanghai – an art gallery and exhibition complex. The new 60,000 sq m attraction, which is situated near an airfield that was active in the 1920s and '30s, also includes a landscaped concourse and "urban forest", as well as retail shops and restaurants. "While paying tribute to the site's industrial past," the architects outlined in a statement, "the

Cultural space developments in the Gulf region continue apace with the opening of a new US$434m (€383m, £328.7m) museum in Doha, Qatar. Designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, the museum resembles a desert rose and has been described as representing a kind of fantasy. "To imagine a desert rose as a basis for a design was a very advanced idea, even a utopian one," said Nouvel. He continued: "To construct

Architecture practice Populous have teamed up with Comcast Spectacor and The Cordish Companies to create the Fusion Arena – a US$50m (€44.2m, £37.7m) competition venue for professional video game players. Set to rise at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, the 60,000 sq ft (5,574 sq m) arena will be able to accommodate up to 3,500 spectators and offer a slew of training facilities, studios, and streaming rooms for competitors. Fusion

Lifestyle and hospitality group SBE Entertainment has unveiled renderings for its first resort in the UAE – the SLS Dubai Hotel and Residences. The US$550m (€485.9m, £416m) flagship will be situated in a 75-storey tower and feature 254 rooms and 371 residences, as well as infinity pools, bars, restaurants, terraces, and cocktail lounges. The resort will also boast a bevy of SBE's Ciel-branded spa facilities, including seven treatment rooms, plunge

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

The £1bn (US$1.3bn, €1.1bn) Tottenham Hotspur stadium – reportedly the largest club ground in London – has finally thrown open its doors to fans. Designed by global architecture firm Populous, the new attraction can accommodate over 62,000 people and features a 40-metre climbing wall, hotel, and multiple dining outlets. The structure, which took three years to complete, also has a retractable pitch with an astroturf field to host National Football

British design practice Hugh Broughton Architects have completed an £8.5m (US$11.2m, €10m) refurbishment of Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Also known as the English 'Sistine Chapel', the renovated space features a restored Baroque fresco as well an adjoining undercroft that houses a cafe, art gallery, and visitor centre. Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the scheme was reportedly one of the largest open-access renovation

The V&A Museum of Childhood (MOC) in East London has chosen architecture firm AOC to design the new interiors for its £13.5m (US$17.8m, €15.7m) overhaul project. Working alongside base build and exterior architects De Matos Ryan, AOC will open up and modernise the Grade 2-listed building in Bethnal Green in London’s East End, creating three new galleries and more space so that the museum can display a significantly larger amount

The Museo Regional de Tarapacá in the Atacama Desert, Chile, has been reimagined by architect Daniel Libeskind’s practice Studio Libeskind. The new 3,760sq m (40472.3sq ft) building will allow for a larger showcase of the existing museum collection and provide a modern update to the original, which was completed in 1892. Over 6,000 years of northern Chile’s history – including the pre-Hispanic history of the Atacama Desert, the colonial history

Neath Port Talbot council has greenlit plans for the Afan Valley Adventure Resort – a highly anticipated leisure destination set to rise on a 325-acre former forestry plantation in South Wales. The new attraction, which is being overseen by Peter Moore OBE – of Center Parcs fame – will comprise 600 trail lodges, a 100-room spa hotel, restaurants, and a plethora of sports and recreational facilities, including a survival academy

Chinese interior design studio AB Concept have created three restaurants in a century-old former police station in Hong Kong. Crafted in part to honour the memory of the city's immigrants and police officers, the three dining outlets – The Dispensary, The Chinese Library, and Statement – collectively occupy a total area of 7,500 sq ft (696.77 sq m) in the Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts and feature a

Danish design office Henning Larsen have revealed renderings of their proposed topography-inspired expansion of the Hotel Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands. The intervention will see the 49-room establishment, which is situated in Tórshavn, the Faroese capital, transformed into what the architects have called "an incubator of pedestrian life". The main feature of the refurbished building will be a cavernous foyer that will be redolent of the archipelago's distinct sea caves,

The Kengo Kuma-designed Odunpazarı Modern Museum (OMM) is slated to launch in Eskisehir, Turkey – the former "Turkic World" capital of culture – in June. The 4,500 sq m museum, which takes its cantilevered, stacked appearance from the town's Ottoman-era houses and traditional wood market, will unfold over three floors and comprise exhibition galleries, workshop areas, event spaces, a cafe, and a shop. Founded by Turkish billionaire and art aficionado

The Hettema Group and architecture practice Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) have been tapped to create a sky deck and visitor attraction at the Aon Center in Chicago, IL. The redevelopment, the plans for which were recently finalised, will see the 83-storey building transformed into a public destination with multiple retail and dining amenities. Connected to the ground floor via what has been called the "tallest elevator of its kind in

Under – an underwater restaurant and research facility that evokes the romance and wonder of Captain Nemo's Nautilus – has opened in Lindesnes, Norway. Conceptualised by Scandinavian design firm Snøhetta, the grey-coloured building, which was shaped to appear like a sunken periscope, can accommodate up to 40 guests and is protected from sea waves by fortress-like concrete walls. Under's interiors, illuminated by greenish LEDs, also add realism to the space,

A new interactive exhibition space, courtesy of US design studio Snarkitecture, has opened in the thriving Hudson Yards development in Manhattan, New York. Called Snark Park, the new 6,000sq ft (557sq m) space will put on three major experiences per year, starting with its first installation, Lost and Found – a grid-like ‘forest’ made up of columns of various heights that emerge from the ground which aims to encourage visitors

International design studio Fettle have created the Draycott in Los Angeles, CA – the first restaurant from English restauranteur and television personality Marissa Hermer to open in the US. The 186-cover eatery, which takes its name from Draycott Avenue in London (where Hermer met her husband, Matt) features a terrace, bar, and private dining room. Located in the 125,000 sq ft (11,613 sq m) Palisades Village neighbourhood – the brainchild

Frich's Wood Hotel has officially launched inside the recently completed Mjøstarnet building in Brumunddal, Norway. Featuring 72 rooms as well as an exterior garden, a restaurant, a pool, and a bar, the hotel is connected to a range of cycling and walking trails and faces Mjøs, Norway's largest lake. Other elements of the complex include offices and residential facilities. Frich's is part of the 85.4-metre-tall Mjøstarnet property – reportedly the

The tentatively named "Vessel" sculpture – arguably the most recognisable landmark in the entire Hudson Yards Development – has opened its doors in Manhattan, New York. Conceived by London-based architecture practice Heatherwick Studio, Vessel, which was inspired by the "ancient stepwells of India" stands 46 metres tall and features almost 2,500 steps and 80 landings. These are supported by a latticework of copper-coloured steel beams, all of which were fabricated

Work on the eye-catching Réalimenter Masséna (Recharge Masséna) project, the spiralling design of which has been likened to both mythological and real-life structures, such as the towers of Babel and Pisa, is now slated to begin in 2020. The mid-rise, which is expected to implement practices derived from the circular economy model, will serve as a culinary hub, community attraction, and urban farm. Set to rise near the grounds of

The first phase of construction on the Malley Sports Center – a 10,000-capacity complex taking shape in Lausanne, Switzerland is expected to wrap in August. Designed by Swiss architecture office Pont12, the multipurpose building will serve as a venue for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic games (YOG) and the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships, which will be held in 2021. Leisure facilities at Malley will include three ice rinks, a

International design practice Ennead Architects have won a competition to build a futuristic laboratory and nature reserve on the Yangtze River near Shanghai, China. The new 427,000 sq ft (39,669 sq m) facility, which will resemble rippling waves and feature indoor and outdoor habitats, will primarily function as a breeding and research centre, housing endangered populations of finless porpoises – the Yangtze's only extant aquatic mammal – and sturgeon, one

A new cultural centre that incorporates an art museum, science centre, a book mall, and a youth centre has finished construction in Shenzhen, China. Designed by architects Mecanoo, the Longgang Cultural Centre is located along a long, narrow strip in the city and is comprised of four angular red buildings, each housing one of its four main elements. The art museum showcases a number of public artworks on its upper

Queensyard – a British-American dining concept created by restaurant company D&D London – is set to open on 15 March at the expansive Hudson Yards development in Manhattan, New York. Featuring interiors outfitted by American design studio CetraRuddy, the 11,142 sq ft (1,035 sq m) space will be situated on the fourth floor of Hudson Yards' retail building, and will provide scenic views of the property's key landmarks, including the