Wellness communities are seeing high consumer demand, according to new research from the Global Wellness Institute due out in January. GWI researchers Ophelia Yeung and Katherine Johnston presented key findings from their report, Build Well to Live Well, at the Global Wellness Summit being held this week in Palm Beach, Florida. Johnston and Yeung called the report “the most important research we’ve undertaken”. “It’s not just because it’s a hot

A sculptural sports complex has opened to the public in Montreal’s largest borough, with a design that celebrates movement and human activity. The Complexe Sportif de Saint-Laurent, designed by Saucier + Perrotte Architectes and Hughes Condon Marler Architects, is a three-storey building located close to the city centre. The facility houses an indoor football pitch, two swimming pools, a gymnastics palestra, a multi-purpose events hall and training facilities. The centre

The city council of Derby, UK, has unveiled ambitious plans for a new swimming and leisure facility designed by international design practice FaulknerBrowns Architects and overseen by project managers Mace. The proposals include a ten-lane, 50m swimming pool; a leisure water area for families; a learner pool; a gym; fitness studios; a sauna; steam rooms; a café and a soft play area. The adaptable main pool will contain two booms

A luxury 30,000sq ft club inspired by a film production’s backlot has been unveiled in California by Equinox. Located in Century City, LA, and designed as a chic and aspirational venue, the panoramic club will include expansive locker rooms with luxurious amenities, a 4,000sq ft (371sq m) outdoor lounge and convertible wall systems that enable an indoor-outdoor programming experiences. “Taking aesthetic inspiration from a film production’s backlot, we utilised studio

The University of Birmingham has officially opened an indoor sports centre, designed by British architecture studio Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, with the ambition “to provide future generations of the city’s athletes with world-class sports facilities.” The centre, which is open to students, academics and the public, includes the city’s first Olympic-standard swimming pool and a range of sports halls and gyms, laboratories, testing facilities and a large climbing wall. The building

American fitness operator Equinox has been announced as the first tenant at One Culver; a former movie studio HQ in California that is being comprehensively renovated by international architects Gensler. Culver City real estate firm Runyon Group today (17 August) confirmed that Equinox will open “an expansive space filled with cutting edge fitness equipment, world class personal training, and unparalleled amenities” in the revamped 1980s office block, well-known for its

A new pay-as-you-go lifestyle gym for boutique operator Core Collective looks set to be built in London’s St John’s Wood, with Westminster City Council giving the project the go ahead. Waind Gohil + Potter Architects (WG+P), who specialise in wellbeing and leisure design, have created the concept – described as “a relaxed, luxury environment and where people want to hangout, not just workout.” The gym will feature contemporary design features,

A 3,500sq m (37,600sq ft) Shangri-La health club designed to “inject energy into the heart of Beijing’s central business district” will open in the Chinese capital in June. The forthcoming 450-bedroom Hotel Jen Beijing – a Shangri-La property – will operate the Trainyard Gym, keeping it open 24/7 in a bid to cement the facility as “the city’s go-to spot for fitness, recreation and nutrition.” Designed by Stickman Design, the

The government of Canada and Quebec municipality have each pledged to invest US$4.4m (€4m, £3.4m) for the construction of a large-scale aqua-gym complex in the town of Dolbeau-Mistassini, the government of which will fund the same amount. The facility will feature nn indoor waterpark, including a shallow pool, slides and water games; a six-corridor pool; two diving areas; a sauna; two mezzanines; and a gymnasium. "Cultural and recreational infrastructure helps

The American Copper Buildings – a soaring pair of copper-clad luxury rental towers linked by a three-story skybridge 300ft (91.4m) in the air – have welcomed their first residents in New York. The project – a collaboration between JDS Development Group and SHoP Architects – is located at 626 First Avenue along Manhattan’s East River waterfront. The angled silhouettes maximise views of the river and surrounding landmarks such as the

German fitness operator McFit has launched a new gym concept centred around design and music. The first John Reed Fitness Music Clubs launched in the cities of Bonn and Salzburg in late July 2016. To date, nine have been opened in Germany, Austria, Italy and Hungary, and McFit wants to have 30 studios open by the end of 2017. Each club has its own unique design, with furnishings and features

Fitness giant McFit has launched a new Cyberobics ‘concept store’ in Berlin, showcasing the company’s plans to roll out health clubs where “the real and virtual world melt through complete immersion.” Called World of Cyberonics, the €10m (US$10.6m, £8.7m) venue is a showcase for McFit’s line of international virtual-only studios, which it is introducing across Europe. The company’s in-house design team have visualised the space, which combines contemporary architecture with

A “stadium-like” new aquatics centre in Budapest has been unveiled ahead of the World Swimming Championships, which will be held at the venue in five months. The Dagály Budapest Aquatics Complex, also known as the Danube Arena, has been completed just two years after the Mexican city of Guadalajara withdrew as host of the championships due to financial problems, and Budapest agreed to step in. The facility was originally designed

Chinese architecture and design studio Coordination Asia have completed a series of sci-fi tinged pop-up running hubs for sports giant Nike at Shanghai’s Times Square. Created for the Nike+ Run Club – a community which brings people together to explore their cities through running – the hexagonal structures house treadmills in pod-like sections, intended to create a kaleidoscopic interior. LED strips of light on the floor and ceiling build up

Companies can inspire productivity, profit and improved health and wellbeing among their staff by introducing biophilic amenities such as green fitness centres into their workplaces. That is the view of Despina Katsikakis, a leading workplace design consultant, who claims that the cost of such changes is “negligible when compared the benefits it brings for the organisation, its staff and the economy.” She made the comments during a panel discussion recently

Design studio Amos Goldreich Architecture have completed a “dynamic and tranquil” health club in London for Xtend Barre, with the site earmarked as the American fitness brand’s first flagship European studio. Located on Marylebone High Street, the 3,000sq ft (278sq m) club is a contemporary space for Xtend Barre’s “adrenaline-fuelled” training classes – a fusion of ballet, dance and Pilates that enhance flexibility, improve balance, and challenge the core. The

Entrepreneur David Lloyd is returning to the leisure industry with the launch of a new multi-activity concept - David Lloyd’s Adventure Parks. Lloyd is planning to open twelve venues by 2021, with business partners Holmes Investment Properties, as he aims to tap into the £4bn ($4.91bn; €4.69bn) UK entertainment and leisure sector. Each park is expected to cost, on average, £4-5m (US$4.9m-US$6.4m; €4.7m-€5.9m) to build. Eleven sites near cities and

Sportswear giant Adidas has revealed its plans to transform its German headquarters into a huge leisure campus, including four star-shaped public spaces promoting exercise and outdoor activity. Dutch studio LOLA Landscape Architects have designed the outdoor component of the World of Sports campus in the town of Herzogenaurach, which will provide a canvas for employees to test Adidas products for activities ranging from football and running to skateboarding and cycling.

Landscape architect Lily Jencks has designed “the world’s first biophilic gym” for fitness concept Biofit. Described as “an organic gym concept for big city life,” the pop-up health club will open in west London from 9 January to 3 February 2017. With a brief to “bring the outside world indoors”, Jencks has created an environment where gym-goers can work out amid natural vegetation, colours, materials, shapes, scents and sounds. Biofit

Norway is promoting cycling across the country by investing in ‘bicycle hotels’ – storage facilities by railway stations that double as new public spaces. Oslo studio Various Architects have designed the a prototype Lillestrøm, which is frequently voted Norway's best cycling city. Commissioned by real estate firm ROM Eiendom and The Norwegian National Railways, the Lillestrøm Bicycle Hotel consists of a glass box in which to store bikes and a

Parisian gym-goers could soon be powering scenic boat trips along the River Seine on a fitness vessel that harnesses energy from passengers’ workouts. The Paris Navigating Gym is the latest innovation from architects and researchers Carlo Ratti Associati. They have partnered with non-profit design group Terreform ONE, urban regeneration institute URBEM and fitness firm Technogym to develop the project. The boat – which has been designed in response to a

Inge Moore has called on hospitality designers to incorporate fun, interactivity and individuality into spa and gym design. The acclaimed interior designer – who is in the process of launching bespoke hospitality design studio MUSE after leaving Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA) – told CLAD that spa and fitness spaces have been “totally neglected” in the past, but are now coming to be seen as essential parts of the hotel experience.

US-based health club chain Equinox has revealed plans to open two new properties in London. The premium operator, which opened its first UK club in the capital’s upmarket Kensington area in 2012, said the two new clubs are part of plans for a “continued expansion throughout London in the coming years”. The first of the new clubs, located at 12 St. James’s Street in central London, is set to open

Footballing trio Rio Ferdinand, Mark Noble and Bobby Zamora have launched an innovative urban regeneration model designed to use sport and leisure to bring new life to communities. The Legacy Foundation was formed to build new developments in the UK with high-quality social, affordable, rented and privately-owned homes. Community and sporting facilities are central to the project and are the main hook to raise aspirations, wellbeing and quality of life

The Landmark London, one of the UK capital’s most famous Victorian-era hotels, is undergoing an extensive renovation overseen by design studio Alex Kravetz. Over the next two years, the hotel’s 291 guest rooms and Spa and Health Club will be given a facelift as the hotel fights to compete in the city’s increasingly competitive luxury hospitality market. In a bid to minimise disturbance, a small selection of guest rooms will

The Sanad Capital investment group is planning an AU$400m (US$302m, €271m, £245.6m) “active lifestyle” destination in Queensland, Australia. Sanad – the Australian offshoot of Dubai-based investment firm Najibi Group – is financing the “never-before seen in Australia” project, which will feature extreme water facilities and an Olympic-standard training centre. The mixed-use project will also have a 4-star hotel, conference and exhibition centre, restaurants and retail elements. The development is expected

Dutch architects MVRDV have won an international competition to design a sports and cultural complex in Shenzhen, China, which will be navigated via a weaving elevated walkway. The Nanshan district government has tasked the studio, and local firm Zhubo Architecture Design, with creating “a social and well­being focal point” for the community in the country’s fastest-growing urban region. Located in a residential area which stretches between two mountain parks, the