Architecture practice Studio Octopi’s dream of sparking a “swimming revolution” by creating a floating freshwater pool in London’s River Thames has today (23 April) become the subject of an ambitious crowdfunding campaign. The Thames Baths project – which has won high-profile backing from figures including artist Tracey Emin and London mayor Boris Johnson – was last month incorporated as a CIC (Community Interest Company), meaning the public space will be

Studio Octopi – the architecture practice behind innovative plans to make outdoor swimming in London’s Thames a reality – have won an invited competition to design a new version of Peckham Rye Lido, also in the UK capital. The practice’s reputation for aquatic innovation proved a hit with Peckham Rye Lido campaign founders Ben Lloyd-Ennals and Jim Glynn, who chose Octopi’s designs over those of fellow contestant Red Deer architects.

Japanese architects are getting out of the blocks in terms of promoting active design ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with Narita Airport’s newly-opened Terminal 3 centred around an indoor running track. The Tokyo Olympics will have a strong theme of active design, with Arup set to masterplan the Games. The cycling helmet-shaped Olympic Stadium has been designed by Zaha Hadid, while several other wellness-related facilities are also in the

The Sports and Leisure Working Party Group of the International Union of Architects (UIA) has announced it will examine the legacies of the most recent Olympic Games – London 2012 – and most recent Commonwealth Games – Glasgow 2014 – at a seminar and site visit to be held in London on 12 and 13 June. The venue will be the office of Space Syntax. The group will also tour the Olympic

Designed by Rotterdam-based Ooze Architects, a naturally filtered swimming pool is under construction in the heart of London’s King’s Cross redevelopment. Ooze Architects, working in collaboration with Slovenia-based artist Marjetica Potrc, have come together to create the freshwater pond. The structure will be 10m (32ft) wide and 40m (131ft) long. Completely chemical free, the pool, which will be used for swimming and outdoor activities, will be surrounded by a green

Under the umbrella of Kenya Vision 2030, The DLR Group have released designs for a 30,000 seat stadium for Kenyatta University, near Nairobi, Kenya. Currently at the concept phase, DLR Group have carried out masterplanning, sustainable consulting and architecture services for the scheme so far. Kenya's Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts intends for 20 new stadia to be built by 2030, and DLR’s proposed scheme fits the bill. Situated

Arendon Development Company has announced that architecture firms John Pawson, Richard Meier and Eva Jiricná will be designing elements of a large mixed-use scheme, the Oaks Prague, in the Czech Republic. The development, masterplanned by EDSA with Chapman Taylor and John Thompson and Partners, is based on a village concept, with wellness and healthy living built into its core. London-based firm, John Pawson, is drawing up plans for the epicentre

Matt Gibbs, a landscape architecture student, has come up with a proposal for a frosty new transport network. An 11km (6.8m) long ‘Freezeway’ that will offer people a chance to ice skate to work. Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, maintains an average sub-zero temperature throughout the winter. Instead of seeing these conditions as a challenge, Gibbs wants to harness this environment and create a dual function commuter network that acts as

Belatchew Architects have revealed designs for a bike garage in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden, to cater for the city's growing ranks of cyclists: it will have parking facilities for up to 700 bikes. The project – still in the early stages – will be built on a site next to a major train station. The garage will also act as a community space, with cafés, repair shops and social

Design firm Gensler has been awarded a London Planning Award for its London Underline concept – a network of cycle and pedestrian paths running beneath the city. Gensler first came up with the idea for the London Underline in 2014. With London’s population higher than ever, the firm looked for ways to expand public space and offer alternative transport routes. The answer, they found, was underground in disused tube tunnels.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has announced finalised plans for a new cycle superhighway in the UK capital. After what Johnson called “one of the the biggest consultation exercises in Transport for London’s (TfL’s) history”, plans have been given the green light by the mayor, who has pledged £913m (€1,222m, US$1,386m) towards getting Londoners back on their bikes. The scheme will create Europe’s longest segregated urban cycle way through central

Launching in April, an online crowdfunding campaign is looking for £250,000 (US$383,425, €336,544) to make outdoor swimming in London’s Thames a reality. Plans for an outdoor swimming pool, known as the Thames Baths, have been in the works for a while. Originally designed for a competition “London As It Could Be Now” in early 2014, architecture practice Studio Octopi came up with the initial outline for the project. The practice,

Aman Resorts, known for its high-end hotels in exotic locations, has opened its first urban property, an 84-bedroom hotel in Tokyo’s financial district. The Aman Tokyo is the company’s first Japanese venture and occupies the top six floors of The Otemachi Tower. Kerry Hill Architects was in charge of the interior design, which mirrors local cultures and traditions, with shoji paper sliding doors and a Japanese engawa porch. Two floors

A 17.6km (10.9mile) long cycleway will be built in Jiaozhou, China, designed by architecture and design firm Mecanoo. The Golden Ribbon cycling route will be funded by the World Bank and is the result of research on ‘innovation in mobility’ by the University of Shandong. The cycleway has been designed for “connectivity, comfort and experience”, while encouraging the use of bikes to improve public health, air quality and the environment.

Dubai developer of integrated communities, Emaar Properties, has opened The Burj Club – an exclusive fitness and wellness retreat in Downtown Dubai, adjacent to the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa. The 6,320sq m (62, 028sq ft) five-storey health club comprises a fitness centre, spa, juice bar and rooftop pool. Male and female sectioned gym facilities spread across 590sq m (5,597sq ft). The equipment is all connected to the centre’s ‘mywellness’

Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde has unveiled what is arguably the world’s most artistic cycle path in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Vincent Van Gogh’s death. The high-end cycling highway consists of more than 50,000 solar powered, glow in the dark stones which appear to glitter and swirl in a Van Gogh-like fashion after dark. The installation was inspired by Van Gogh’s famous ‘Starry Night’ oil on

When it comes to how best to cater for cyclists in the UK’s capital, more ideas are being "floated" than ever before. The latest is the Thames Deckway, a 7-mile (11km) stretch of cycle path that would float alongside the banks of London’s famed river. Thames Deckway is a concept proposed by River Cycleway Consortium, which is led by architect David Nixon and environmental entrepreneur Anna Hill, in conjunction with

Work has now officially begun on the £9.3m Queen’s Park Sports Centre in Chesterfield, with a ceremony confirming the start of the construction process last week. The project recently received a boost when £2m of extra funding was awarded by Sport England to help push the project along and extend original plans for its facilities, with other investors including main backers Chesterfield Borough Council and Chesterfield College, which has agreed

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science (formerly known as the Miami Science Museum), which is nearing the halfway stage of moving to a new US$275m (€212m, £168.5m) facility in downtown Miami, has received a donation of US$5m (€3.9m, £3.1m) to fund health and wellness programmes when the new facility launches in 2016. To be located inside the new science museum, the Baptist Health People & Science Gallery will

The long-awaited creation of the Romford Leisure Development has taken a step forward, with demolition work beginning to clear the ground of an old ice rink, allowing Havering Council to concentrate on its own plans for an ice-rink led leisure project. The development is to see the demolition of the area’s rink in Rom Valley Way, with the site expected to become home to a new Morrison’s foodstore, while the

A hotel dedicated to cyclists has opened in Onomichi – a coastal city in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan – allowing guests to check in while still on their bikes. Masterminded by Suppose Design Office, this new hotel is the first of its kind in Japan. Constructed in a renovated warehouse along the Onomichi waterfront, ‘Hotel Cycle’ offers guests a five-star experience for their bikes, and a chance to relax and unwind

Plans have been unveiled for the creation of two new cycle superhighways running from north to south and east to west London, with the £913m (US$1.5bn, €1.1bn) routes being dubbed 'Crossrail for bikes'. The plans come as London mayor Boris Johnson continues to push to make the capital into a safe and cyclist-friendly haven, much like what is offered by the European cities of Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam. Not only

Work has started on Copenhagen’s House of Culture and Movement (Ku.Be.) in Denmark, aimed at engaging the local population in a healthy and active lifestyle. Set to become a new major attraction in the Frederiksberg district, Ku.Be. will feature a range of facilities mixing the function of a community centre with exhibition and performance spaces, as well as a playground, park and health centre. Masterminded by ADEPT, a Danish architecture

The Welsh coastal region of Aberavon is to become home to a new multi-million pound leisure development with work well underway on the construction of Neath’s beachfront leisure centre. Led by developer Corban Investments and contractor Heron Bros, the projected is expected to cost £13.4m and will deliver a range of new leisure and community-focused facilities to the region’s Hollywood Park site. Expected to be completed in late 2015, the

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) has won planning permission for a 50-storey mixed-use skyscraper in London. Nicknamed the ‘Jenga’ tower, the 170m (558ft) structure will have higher storeys that are stacked on top of each other in a cantilevered fashion; giving the illusion of a game of Jenga. KPF’s tower will contain 450 flats, office space, retail space, a gym, cinema, plus winter garden and will have approximately 60,400sq m

London’s mini-Holland concept, pioneered by the London Cycling Campaign (LCC), has shifted up a gear since its inception. Now, with further formulated plans, the three bid winning boroughs have had architectural figureheads appointed to each project. Supported by Transport for London (TFL), London mayor Boris Johnson and several prominent architects, three outer London boroughs are being given £30m (US$50m, €37m) each to revolutionise their cycling habits. Each of the boroughs

Wellness space is at a premium in any modern day city and Studio Octopi, a London based architecture firm, is diving head first into making more of that by using London's Thames as an area for new development. The London As It Could Be Now competition, run by the Royal Academy of Arts in conjunction with the Architecture Foundation and Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, asked multidisciplinary design teams to