Construction has begun on "Villa M" – an integrated hotel that will explore the many dimensions of healthy living and communal wellness. The brainchild of French designer Philippe Starck and Triptyque Architecture, Villa M, which stands for – among other things – "medicine, mutualism, and mobility" – will comprise a hotel, gym, restaurant, and bar, as well as exhibition, residential, and working spaces. Another major amenity of the property will

French construction firm Rabot Dutilleul has been retained by the city of Lille to develop an expansive, eco-friendly natatorium. Designed by German architects Auer Weber, the future facility, set to feature a 42.5-metre diving pool – the deepest in the world – will also comprise three swimming pools, a restaurant, a balneotherapy area, and a wellbeing centre with cryotherapy, sauna, and steam room facilities. Another highlight of the €78.5m (US$89m,

The Das Triest Hotel – originally designed by English architects Conran and Partners – has reopened following a multicomponent renovation. Situated in Vienna's Freihaus district, the hotel now features refreshed exteriors, 49 additional rooms and suites, and a 240 sq m restaurant. HD Architecken led the redesign of the building's facade, while Wehdorn Architecken was responsible for conceptualising the guest rooms – most of which provide views of the St

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

Luxury hotel operator Aman will open its third resort in Japan this November with the launch of Aman Kyoto, which will include a spa concept themed around the property’s natural spring water. Situated in a hidden garden close to Kinkaku-ji Temple (Golden Pavilion), the resort, with 24 bedrooms and two two-bedroom villas, draws on the country’s ryokan (traditional inn) and onsen (hot spring) concepts to provide an authentic yet contemporary

Scandinavian architecture practice Henning Larsen have been tapped to expand the Opéra Bastille – the largest opera house in Paris. The renovated structure will feature an extended foyer, an 800-seat concert hall, workshop facilities, and a public garden path with links to the Viaduc des Arts and the rue de Lyons. First proposed in 2017 in response to a competition announced by France's Ministry of Culture and Communication, the new

Hyatt has opened Miraval Austin in Texas, US, the brand’s second wellness resort to open outside of its flagship property in Tucson, Arizona, US. Set on 220 acres in Texas Hill Country overlooking Lake Travis, Miraval Austin was previously the Travaasa Austin Resort, which was acquired by Miraval in December 2016, just before Hyatt acquired Miraval in January 2017. Offering 117 guestrooms and suites, a Life in Balance Spa, a

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has announced that it will close this summer and reopen with expanded exhibition spaces on 21 October 2019. Designed by New York architecture practice Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) in collaboration with Gensler, the MoMA's extensions will feature more than 40,000 sq ft (3,716 sq m ) of galleries – allowing for the inclusion of both new and re-choreographed exhibits. The

Chinese interior designers MQ Studio Shanghai have created the PuXuan Spa and Hotel – the latest venture from the Urban Resorts Concepts (URC) brand – in China's famous Forbidden City. Housed in the Ole Scheeren-designed Guardian Arts Centre in the Wangfujing district, PuXuan is situated opposite the National Art Museum and features 116 rooms and suites, two restaurants specialising in French and Cantonese cuisine, a tea room, and an UR

American architecture firm Studio Gang have revealed the first set of renderings of their vision to regenerate the historic Tom Lee Park in Memphis, Tennessee. Part of what has been described as a "holistic redevelopment" of the Memphis riverfront, the revitalised public space, which Studio Gang is redesigning in collaboration with SCAPE Landscape Architecture, will take design cues from various riverside structures, machines, and transport vessels – such as docks,

Global real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson (NYSE: KW) has appointed ultra-luxury hotel group Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to manage Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort, which is set to open in 2022 after a complete renovation of the property. Located on the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawai'i, the iconic Hawaiian retreat has laid dormant since 2011. Conceptualised and developed by explorer Johnno Jackson in the early 1960s,

The long-abandoned cathedral-like Metropolitan Building – a relict from the Jazz Age – has been converted into the Element Detroit, a 110-room extended stay hotel. Refurbished by Quinn Evans Architects in collaboration with real estate developers The Roxbury Group and the Means Group, the refreshed property, which has been vacant since the 1970s, features a rooftop bar with an outdoor terrace, a fitness centre, and 7,000 sq ft (650 sq

UK architecture practices Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC have been granted permission to move forward with their plans to transform the Olympia London exhibition centre into a multifunctional cultural hub. According to YOO Capital – one of the developers spearheading the project – the £1bn (US$1.3bn, €1.1bn) expansion, recently approved by Hammersmith and Fulham Council, will see 2.5 acres of public realm created, turning the Victorian-era landmark into a "global force

Set to go vertical in July, the highly anticipated Aston Martin Residences in Miami – developed by the same company that created James Bond's iconic getaway cars – will provide homeowners with four floors of health and wellness-centred amenities. Designed by studios Revuelta Architecture International and Bodas Miani Anger Architects, the 66-storey residential complex, which is taking shape at 300 Biscayne Way, will offer 391 condominium apartments. The Sky Amenities

Pier 35 – an expansive recreation space taking shape in New York's Lower East Side – will soon be complete. Jointly designed by American architecture practices SHoP and Ken Smith Workshop, the riverside park – part of SHoP's 388-hectare East River Waterfront regeneration project – will feature 28,000 sq ft (2,601 sq m) of public realm, including pedestrian paths, picnic areas, and a screen wall that will be overlaid with

Architecture firm Arquitectonica and interior designer Martin Brudnizki have designed the Mr. C Coconut Grove lifestyle hotel in South Florida. The 100-room retreat, which overlooks Biscayne Bay, rises six storeys and will feature several leisure facilities and terraces, including a fitness centre, garden, swimming pool, and spa with a private sauna, treatment room, and outdoor relaxation lounge. The nautical look of the resort – as shown by its azure and

British real estate company SUSD has announced that it has gained planning consent to develop the Grotto Estate – a 3.5-hectare country retreat on the banks of the Thames river in Lower Basildon, UK. Designed by Paul Forster, the future property, which will expand on a Georgian-era mansion said to have been designed by the renowned landscape architect Capability Brown, will feature 53 rooms and six two-bedroom detached lodges, two

Construction of the main structure of the second outlet of the Chinese Museum of Natural History in Zhejiang is complete. Designed by David Chipperfield Architects, the museum is built into a sloping hillside in the city of Hangzhou and comprises an inner courtyard as well as several low-rise pavilions with exhibition halls and galleries. The galleries have been rendered in red ochre in order to match the clay earth of

The picturesque Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Miami – home to the largest swimming pool on the US eastern seaboard – has recently completed a US$30m (€26.2m, £22.3m) refurbishment. Featuring 271 renovated rooms and suites as well as a transformed lounge and common areas, the Biltmore also includes a 12,000 sq ft (11,148 sq m) spa centre with a built-in Himalayan salt sauna and steam room. Debatably the most prominent

Project teams have announced the completion of the Tianjin Binhai Exploratorium, a science and industry museum designed by Bernard Tschumi Architects (BTA). Featuring chimney-like spires and a bronze-coloured facade of perforated aluminium that resembles the iconic mudbrick fortresses and mosques of Timbuktu, the Exploratorium will mainly house galleries of exhibits on Tianjin's industrial past. The 33,000 sq m structure, BTA's first large-scale project in China, will also comprise offices, retail

Italian architect Daniela Colli has revealed her vibrant and highly stylised designs for Liòn – a new restaurant and cocktail bar in central Rome. The recently constructed two-storey dining outlet, which brings together what the architect has called a "universe of materials" emphasises reds, blues, and yellows – an emotionally resonant colour scheme popularised by Frank Lloyd Wright. Covering an area of 210 sq m, Liòn also features geometric motifs,

The Radisson Collection Hotel, Tsinandali Estate has opened its doors in Kakheti, Georgia – a region that pioneered the cultivation of wine-producing grapes over 8000 years ago. Set on an 18-hectare, hilly expanse near the Palace Museum of Prince Alexander Chavchavadze – the aristocratic father of the Georgian Romanticism literary moment – the 141-room resort comprises a number of cavernous and brightly painted spaces reminiscent of Romanesque interiors, as well

The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London has released details of its redevelopment plans, which entail a new entrance, new public galleries in the building’s East Wing and a new learning space. Jamie Fobert Architects (JFA) have designed the plans with help from architectural conservation specialists Purcell. Three windows in the current facade turned into doorways, taking pressure off the existing main entrance and allowing for disabled and non-disabled access

A unique hotel that once functioned as the main congregating place for various high society Hungarian Freemasons during the 19th century is set to open in February. Located in Budapest’s Terézváros district – a Broadway-like area renowned for its opera house and state theatre – the Mystery Hotel will feature 82 rooms, a rooftop bar, and a fitness room, as well as a courtyard spa outfitted with a sauna, Jacuzzi,

Construction has begun on a multi-use, community pavilion designed by Dutch architecture practice, Powerhouse Company. Located in the Amsterdam-Zuidoost borough near the new office of banking group ING, the 900 sq m, minimalist structure will feature a transparent facade with rounded corners and a green roof composed of wood and stonecrops. The pavilion will also be the home of the Traveller, a dining outlet created by Dutch restaurateurs Michiel Deenik,

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Union of Architects (UIA) have named Rio de Janeiro as the first World Capital of Architecture. In its capacity as the 2020 architecture capital, the seaside metropolis, which currently boasts a population of more than 6.32 million people, will hold a series of events under the theme "All the worlds, just one world". According to UNESCO, the city's

Kempinski Hotels is opening its second Indonesian resort, The Apurva Kempinski Bali, in the upmarket Nusa Dua area on 1 February. The 475-bedroom beachfront resort, whose name comes from a word meaning ‘unique and magnificent’ in Sanskrit, will include an immersive ocean-facing spa and fitness centre offering treatments inspired by traditional Balinese healing practices, designed to promote balance and wellbeing. At the front of the resort, overlooking the ocean, The