Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC Architects have been announced as the lead design team who will comprehensively revamp London’s historic Olympia exhibition centre. The owners of the 130-year-old building, Yoo Capital and Deutsche Finance, want to transform the site into a “world-leading arts, entertainment, exhibition and experiential district whilst staying true to its original heritage as an exhibition business.” Olympia London, located in Kensington, was designed by architect Henry Edward Coe

Ritz Carlton has opened its second property in Langkawi, Malaysia, with the launch of an oceanfront resort designed by Philippe Villeroux of Kuala Lumpur-based Tropical Area Architects. Ritz Carlton Langkawi has been created to “immerse travellers in the island's natural ecosystem and local culture”. Reflecting the architecture of the nearby traditional villages – which are known as Kampongs – the resort is set in a tranquil private bay and surrounded

German architect Ole Scheeren, best-known as the designer of a series sculptural towers in Asia, has announced his first project to be built in Europe: a spectacular residential high-rise in the city of Frankfurt. Riverpark Tower, commissioned by developer GEG German Estate Group, will emerge through the conversion of a forty-year-old concrete office building. Büro Ole Scheeren, the architect’s eponymous practice, will cut some floors and insert new, larger horizontal

Officials in the city of Chicago are exploring a proposed plan to transform a network of underground tunnels into a tourist attraction, granting a non-profit permission to create more detailed plans for the project. Running beneath the city’s central business district, the Pedway connects more than 50 buildings and offers a convenient way to navigate downtown Chicago, but has been criticised for being difficult to navigate. The non-profit Environmental Law

One of Paris’ most controversial buildings is set to undergo a green-tinged transformation, with three architecture studios joining forces to comprehensively renovate the Tour Montparnasse skyscraper. The monolithic glass and steel building, which climbs 209m (685.6ft) into the sky, provoked a public outcry when it was completed in 1973 and is widely considered to be out of place in the city’s urban landscape. The negative reaction was so strong, the

One of China’s largest real estate developers has joined forces with hospitality company Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts to open a luxury property in the northeastern city of Dalian. Luneng Group has appointed architects NBBJ Shanghai and designers Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA) to create the Four Seasons Hotel Dalian on a site within the Donggang East Harbour. The hotel will be housed in a new mixed-use tower overlooking Dalian’s historic

Spa consultant Diana Mestre of Mestre & Mestre Spa and Wellness Consulting is creating a 12,000sq ft (1,115sq m) sunken spa for the upcoming 1 Hotel Los Cabos in Mexico, which is set to open in 2019. Designed with the purpose of revitalising the senses, the Seed Spa will use recycled and organic materials along with water, music, aromas, light and living plants with an aim to create an environment

Adria Lake of wellness and spa design company A.W. Lake Design has created a new Balinese spa for the Radisson Blu Uluwatu – the first Radisson Blu in Bali, which is set to open in December. The 633sq m (6,814sq ft) SpaEsc will include seven treatment rooms, including two doubles with private steam showers and two express massage rooms. A beauty area, “floating” courtyard relaxation room, fully equipped gym, yoga

The government of South Australia is commissioning an international search for a design team to create a second site for the state’s acclaimed art gallery. The project, called the Adelaide Contemporary, will form a new public and cultural space in the city, with the brief calling for an “architectural landmark on the celebrated North Terrace boulevard adjacent to the historic Botanic Garden.” It will house a community meeting place "integrating

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

Plans to develop a second zoo in Sydney, Australia, have been given the go-ahead after local government officials granted planning permission to the AU$36m (US$28.8m, €24m, £21.3m) “cage free” project in Bungarribee. First touted in September 2015, the proposal for the Western Sydney Parklands – masterplanned by Australian design firm Misho + Associates (M+A) in conjunction with landscape architecture from Aspect Studios – will create natural-looking spaces developed to showcase

Construction is underway for a mountaintop retreat in Utah focused on entrepreneurship and innovation. Summit Powder Mountain, near Eden, is a ski village planned by architects and environmental designers Studio Ma to include residences and leisure communities that will host a year-round community of creative professionals and social entrepreneurs. The project is taking shape on a 10,000-acre public site surrounded by ski slopes. The centrepiece of the village will be

Property developer Qatari Diar has announced the appointment of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts as the operator for a new hotel opening within London’s former US Embassy building in Grosvenor Square. The selection follows a lengthy process in which a series of international hotel companies submitted proposals for how they would run an “ambitious world-class hotel, retail and event space” with 137 bedrooms, five restaurants, six flagship retail units, a spa

A new luxury spa has opened at the Portopiccolo Resort in Sistiana, Northern Italy, designed by Italian architect Alberto Apostoli. The facility is spread across three floors and covers a total floor area of 3,600sq ft (38,800sq ft). The ground floor houses the reception, hairstyling studio, a training pool and changing rooms, while on the first floor there is a relaxation area dominated by an indoor-outdoor pool, offering views of

Dubai has revealed its legacy plans following the 2020 World Expo, announcing plans to turn the site into a multi-use urban leisure district following the six-month event’s conclusion. More than 80 per cent of the HOK-Arup masterplanned expo site will be reused after the international event closes, with a new community-led development called District 2020 repurposing the site under the government’s legacy scheme. Anchored by 65,000sq m (700,000sq ft) of

Dutch design practice UNStudio has completed a vast leisure complex in Hangzhou, with a pair of sinuous towers providing a dramatic new landmark for the Chinese city. The 400,000 sq m (4.3 million sq ft) Raffles City development – nine years in the making – has been conceived as a lively vertical neighbourhood and transit hub for the Qianjiang New Town district, featuring apartments, a Conrad hotel, restaurants, shops, sports

Dubai developer Nakheel has unveiled a pipeline of new leisure developments across the emirate, collectively worth AED4bn (US$1.08bn, €908m, £806.8m). The company used last week’s Cityscape Global real estate convention as a platform to announce the new projects, which are all phased additions its previous leisure schemes. These include a luxury high-rise beachfront residential complex on Palm Jumeirah; a residential, mall, hotel and health resort at Discovery Gardens; a unique

Games developer and broadcasting giant Blizzard Entertainment has transformed a legendary Los Angeles television studio into a major eSports arena. The popularity of eSports competitions – in which opposing players compete at video games played online, often with thousands of digital spectators following the action – has grown at a huge rate in the last decade. The Blizzard Arena has been conceived to take advantage of this growing popularity. Located

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

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, together with Astir Palace Vouliagmeni SA, will spend €100m ($US119m, £88m) to transform the iconic Astir Palace into the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens. Due to open in early 2018, the resort will be the first Four Seasons in Greece. The 1960s hotel is undergoing extensive upgrades, with interiors by designer Meyer Davis, and, when complete, it will include 300 bedrooms and a wellness

Real Madrid football club has announced plans to create an interactive football experience centre as part of a major development in Zhuhai, China. Business conglomerate the Lai Sun Group is behind the development – an integrated tourism and entertainment project called Novotown – which will, in its second phase, feature the world-first Real Madrid experience. Utilising advanced technologies, entertainment elements and football, visitors will be able to experience a number

Heatherwick Studio’s latest completed building, the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) has been unveiled today (15 September) ahead of its public opening next week on Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront. The museum – the largest in the world dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora – is housed in 9,500sq m (102,000sq ft) of custom-designed space, carved out of the city’s monumental historic Grain Silo Complex

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially approved plans to transform Paris into an Olympic Park for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games – a decision which will see sporting events take place against the spectacular backdrop of the city’s historic buildings, streets and landmarks. The Champs Elysees and the River Seine are among the 38 Olympic and Paralympic venues spread across the French capital, while beach volleyball will be

Foster + Partners’ plans to reinvigorate the famous Snowdon Aviary at ZSL London Zoo have received planning approval from Westminster Council. The Grade II listed structure, designed by Cedric Price with Frank Newby and Lord Snowdon in 1962, was the first aviary in Britain that gave visitors a ‘walk-through’ experience, bringing them closer to the birds in their natural habitat. The attraction was recently added to Historic England’s Risk Register

British exhibition designers Casson Mann will team up with Parisian architects Atelier Philéas to create a new Centre of Franco British Relations in Ouistreham, France. Located on Sword Beach, facing the English channel, the attraction will explore and celebrate the shared social history and culture of the two countries, and the influence each has had and continues to have on the other. The design team were chosen ahead of 132

Celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa and his business partners Robert De Niro and Meir Teper are continuing to expand their Nobu Hospitality lifestyle brand in Europe, with plans to open a new hotel and restaurant in Barcelona, Spain. The trio have partnered with Selenta Group, a Spanish real estate and hotel company, to transform and co-manage the city’s Gran Hotel Torre Catalunya into the Nobu Hotel Barcelona – “a powerful stage

The striking new home for Spanish football side Atletico Madrid is ready to host its first match, with construction finally completed on the 68,000 capacity Wanda Metropolitano stadium. The club has invested a reported €300m on the new ground – which replaces the Vicente Calderon Stadium, its home of over 50 years – in order to propel them to the sport’s elite level. Spanish architecture practice Cruz y Ortiz were