Lux Resorts is launching a new brand, Salt, and the first property is set to open in November on the east coast of Mauritius. The 59-bedroom Salt of Palmar is designed to add a humanistic approach to hospitality for the “culturally curious traveller”, and to connect guests to locals and their way of life. Salt guests will be immersed into Mauritian life, with the opportunity to connect directly with locals

Australian property company Northstar Developments has unveiled plans to construct a floating island oasis in the shallows of the Swan River in Perth. Designed to be a watersports and general leisure destination, the Swan River Deck–if approved–would be a jellyfish and algae-free zone, comprising multiple naturally heated pools, an outdoor cinema, a sand-bar for sunbathing, a top platform for dining and lounging, and a green-roofed conference hall with rooms inside

London-based architectural firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) have been selected to design a 1.2km leisure garden in the Qianhai area of Shenzhen, China. Described as an "urban living room", the new green space – which is intended to encourage pedestrianism – will be elevated above the city’s roads and will feature a number of cultural and recreational areas, including an opera house and a convention centre. In a

Quebec-based company Nordik Group is currently overseeing the construction of a new spa and wellness resort in Whitby, Ontario. The US$20m (€17.4m, £15.3m) complex, which was designed by architectural firm LEMAYMICHAUD, is being built on a 385,423 sq ft plot of land in Whitby’s Cullen Park. Taking inspiration from what Nordik has called the 2000-year-old "heat therapy and relaxation techniques from Scandinavian countries", the new Spa-Nature facility will feature five

The Belmond Cadogan Hotel, infamously the former stomping ground of Victorian aesthete and provocateur Oscar Wilde, is set to re-open this winter. Located in Knightsbridge, London, the Queen Anne-style, 54-bedroom hotel went down in history as the site of Oscar Wilde’s life-changing arrest, the result of a bitter feud between himself and the Marquess of Queensberry. The Belmond, which includes such amenities as tennis courts, private gardens, and a 24-hour

Corippo, a 200-hundred-year-old village located in the Verzasca valley, is undergoing a transformation which could see it become the first albergo diffuso (“scattered hotel”) in Switzerland. Scattered hotels are effectively regenerated municipalities, endangered districts which get a new lease on life by becoming interactive, multi-venue destinations for travellers interested in full-scale immersion tourism. The plan to save the highland hamlet, the population of which has been diminishing exponentially for half

David Chipperfield Architects and ReardonSmith are moving forward with plans to design a new Rosewood hotel on 30 Grosvenor Square, the former site of the US Embassy in London. Developed in collaboration with the Grosvenor Estate and Qatari Diar, the new hotel is scheduled for completion in 2023. Expected to cost £1bn (US$1.3bn, €1.1bn), it will comprise 137 bedrooms, five restaurants, six retail units, a spa and a ballroom with

MLK Boston – a non-profit which supports cultural programmes focused on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr – has unveiled the final designs for a memorial to the late activist and his wife, Coretta Scott King. The competition, first announced in December 2017, received 126 submissions; five made the final cut. Once chosen, the winning design will stand near the Massachusetts State House, in the 50-acre Boston Common. Among

Following the opening of Six Senses Duxton, sister property Six Senses Maxwell is scheduled to open on December 1, 2018. Six Senses Maxwell is the second of two heritage buildings that together form Six Senses Singapore. While Six Senses Duxton portrays Anouska Hempel’s East-meets-West eclecticism, the 120-bedroom Six Senses Maxwell, designed by French architect and designer Jacques Garcia, offers an alternative aesthetic with his signature European style, which melds tradition

Singapore-based hospitality operator Alila is set to open doors on a new property in China’s Venice: the millennia-old “water town” of Wuzhen. The hotel, which was designed by the architectural firm GOA to reflect the minimalist engineering of Wuzhen’s interwoven waterways and canals, comprises 125 suites and villas positioned around a series of indoor and outdoor pools and courtyards. The resort’s other on-site amenities include a yoga studio, gym, spa,

A luxury hot springs spa hotel and retreat is planned for Victoria, Australia, with Six Senses, GOCO Hospitality and Banyan Tree Spa all vying for the project, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The AU$100m luxury project – called Nunduk (which translates into ‘the bark of a tree’ in the native Gunnai-Kurnai language) – will be located on a 2,480-hectare sheep farm on the banks of the Gippsland Lakes, and developer

Thonburi Healthcare Group is planning a residential project for retirees in Bangkok with a focus on wellness and integrated healthcare services. Jin Wellbeing County includes 13 seven-storey buildings with a total of 1,300 units, an Aged Care Center for assisted living, and a Wellness Center with spa, providing preventive healthcare services for physical, emotional and mental conditions. Architecture firm ThomsonAdsett, which specialises in universal design, is responsible for the overall

Construction is almost complete on the Atlanta Hawks’ highly anticipated State Farm arena. The US$192.5m (€166.7m, £145.6m) renovation – said to be the second largest in the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) history – will see the sports centre gain the league’s first-ever courtside bar. Other innovative amenities intended to enhance fans’ in-game experiences include a four-chair barbershop – strategically built to overlook the basketball court – Top Golf Swing suites,

Jumby Bay Island, a 300-acre private island on the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, is undergoing a complete renovation programme before it re-opens this winter. Once a Rosewood Resort, Jumby Bay Island became part of the Oetker Collection last year. The resort will unveil a fresh Caribbean Ocean-inspired look, designed by Brazilian interior designer Patricia Anastassiadis of Anastassiadis Arquitetos. Anastassiadis also created the design concept for the sister Oetker

Montage International and Crossharbor Capital Partners have announced plans to launch a 150-bedroom luxury resort in Montana’s scenic Big Sky region. The US$456m (€397m, £350m) development, which has been described as a "mountain paradise", will be based less than an hour away from Yellowstone National Park in the lofty Spanish Peaks district. Among other things, Montage Big Sky will offer ski-in, ski-out access and feature 39 residences, as well as

Architectural firms Snøhetta and DIALOG have completed construction on Calgary’s New Central public library. The US$146m (€127m, £112m) building, has been created to "inspire Calgarians for the next 100 years", with an opening date set for 1 November. The city’s mayor, Naheed Nenshi, said the new centre, which is based at the intersection of downtown Calgary and the East Village neighbourhood, would have a "starring role" in putting Calgary on

Work is almost complete on what will soon be the world's largest underwater restaurant, with the Snøhetta-designed project in Norway on track to open next year. Called 'Under', work on the concrete, 600sq m (6,500sq ft) structure, reached a milestone in July when engineers began the “sinking process”, which saw the building lowered into the North Sea at the southernmost point of the Norwegian coastline by the village of Bål.

British artist Es Devlin has been selected to design the UK Pavilion for the upcoming 2020 Dubai Expo. Known for working with a range of media – often mapping light and projected film onto kinetic sculptural forms – Devlin is the first woman to be awarded the honour since the contest’s inception in the mid-nineteenth century. The pavilion's design will showcase Britain’s contributions to the artificial intelligence (AI) and space

One of the most anticipated additions to London's hotel market is on schedule to open its doors in spring 2019. Designed by architectural and interior design practice, Scott Brownrigg, the property is a conversion of the former Cumberland Hotel and will cater to the needs of both business and leisure travellers. With 1,000 rooms and suites, Hard Rock Hotel will become one of the capital's largest hotels and is expected

Global architecture and design practice Populous has opened an office in the Dubai World Trade Centre, its first in the Middle East and Africa (MENA) region. The move coincides with the company’s additional announcement at the beginning of the week that it would also open an office in Dallas. Ben Vickery, senior principal and Dubai office lead, said: “Establishing an office in the Gulf will enable Populous to be closer

Architectural studio 3XN has been selected by the Lemvig City Council and Lemvig Utility to design a harbourside "Climatorium". The space will function as a research centre, exhibition hall, meeting venue, and visitor attraction for climate tourists. The proposed two-storey structure, which will be built in Lemvig Harbour, features an undulating, wave-like exterior. The design also pays homage to the village's 700-year fishing history by utilising light-coloured wood inspired by

Aedas has been retained by the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) to design a 200,000-metre skybridge at the Hengqin CRCC Plaza in Zhuhai, China. Designed by chief architect Andy Wen, the elevated, snake-like bridge will feature leisure facilities, green areas, and office spaces and will loop between four mixed-used towers. Aedas said that the bridge – strategically located a stone’s throw from Macau, between the Pearl River and South China

The Port of San Diego is moving forward with its US$1bn bayfront regeneration project, which – when completed – will make the coastal city of Chula Vista the new home of a luxury hotel, convention centre, and two public parks. The resort will be built and partially financed by the RIDA Development Corporation and will include 1,600 rooms and 275,000sq ft of space for restaurants, bars, a swimming pool and

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

Philip Vivian, director of the multidisciplinary design firm Bates Smart, has criticised plans by the Australian government to demolish and rebuild Sydney's Allianz football stadium at Moore Park. In November 2017, the government announced it would spend AU$2.7bn (£1.5bn) to demolish and rebuild two of Sydney’s major stadiums. In March 2018, it was decided that Sydney's Allianz would be the only site to be rebuilt. In a statement, Vivian responded

Rotterdam-based architectural firm MVRDV has completed construction on the Imprint, a two-building, 9,800-square-metre indoor theme park and nightclub located less than a kilometre from Incheon Airport in Seoul, South Korea. Visually, the Imprint is a windowless structure comprising 3,869 glass-fibre reinforced concrete panels. According to Winy Mass, MVDRV’s co-founder, these features were introduced in order to create a façade that would imitate other buildings in the area. “By placing, as

Carlo Ratti Associati and Bio-architecture Formosana (BAF) Architects have been selected to design the newest addition to the Taiwan National Library and Repository. The firms beat out nine other competitors to secure the commission. The new public building, set to be constructed on a wooded plot in Tainan, will feature both as a monument and as a kind of educational town. In a statement, BAF said: "The concept of library