The Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale has unveiled a new spa perched seven floors above the Atlantic Ocean. Part of a US$8m (€7m, £5.2m) renovation, the spa now features an expanded and updated look, courtesy of New York-based Dash Design. The firm was charged with bringing to life under-utilised space in the former spa, allowing for more guest services. The upgrade spa compliments the aesthetics of the oceanfront with tones of aqua

The city of Gulfport in Mississippi has selected architects Eley Guild Hardy to design one of the largest aquariums in the US as part of a US$120m (€96.4m, £75.6m) mixed-use mega development. The aquarium will cost US$100m (€80m, £63m) – US$12.5m (€10.9m, £8.1m) of which is in approved bonds that can be applied toward construction costs – according to the city’s chief administrative officer, John Kelly, and will replace the

Canyon Ranch will build its first international resort, the Canyon Ranch Wellness Resort at Kaplankaya, which is set to open in July 2016 on the Turkish Riviera near Bodrum. A 107,500sq ft (10,000sq m) Canyon Ranch Spa, Fitness and Wellness Center will include 40 treatment rooms. It will showcase treatments combining traditional and Eastern medicine practices, for the integrative wellness experience the brand is known for. Designed by Barcelona-based architectural

Global design firm Forrec is collaborating with BBC Worldwide on plans for fixed attractions based on some of the British broadcaster's most famous brands. Top Gear, CBeebies, Earth and Walking With Dinosaurs – among the BBC's most recognised IPs – have been proposed as candidates for permanent attractions, it was revealed at the Euro Attractions Show (EAS) in Gothenburg, Sweden. Forrec has been hired to deliver a series of prototypes

Vancouver Art Gallery is in line for a radical redevelopment, but only if the Canadian attraction can fund the multi-million dollar cost of the ambitious plans, which will double the institution’s exhibition footprint. The CA$350m (US$267m, €237.8m, £175.7m) plans, designed by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron, feature a wooden exterior, with rectangular stacks – each varying in size – sitting on top of each other. According to the architects,

Boasting a grand tradition of hosting celebrities including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Sophia Loren, The Palace Hotel in San Francisco has undergone a full US$40m (€35m, £26m) refurbishment, including a reimagination of its famed Garden Court. The Palace Hotel, operated by Starwood with owner partner Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts, has been known for more than a century as a centre of San Francisco style and society. The Palace Hotel

US tycoon Donald Trump is aiming to step up the £200m refurbishment of the Turnberry golf resort in South Ayrshire, Scotland, bringing in a team of constructors and designers to realise his vision for the hotel element. Trump bought the resort for a reported £36m in April 2014 and has pledged the Turnberry will be ‘a canvas like no other’ when redevelopment work is complete. To that end, he has

Make Architects have unveiled images of the new Temple House hotel in Chengdu, China, which is sited in a restored monastery. This is the third in operator Swire’s House Collective portfolio, following The Opposite House in Beijing and The Upper House in Hong Kong. Located in the heart of Chengdu within the Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu, the project was jointly developed by Sino-Ocean Land and Swire Properties. The hotel includes

The US Bank Stadium – the new home of the Minnesota Vikings currently under construction in Minneapolis, US – is set to boast an art collection to rival some museums. As part of a partnership deal agreed with Sports & The Arts (SATA), the collection at the stadium will encompass more than 500 original artworks, including photography, and showcase the history of Vikings and Minnesota sports. Selected from nearly 1,100

Six Senses has opened a 33,000sq ft (3,066sq m) spa at Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, in Muscat, Oman. Al Bustan Palace is a beachfront retreat that is tucked away between the rugged Al Hajar Mountain range and the Sea of Oman, and includes 250 guest rooms and suites. A five-minute walk from Al Bustan Palace, the spa is built into the surrounding landscape of towering stone and rock

Kuwait’s Scientific Center has said that 10 architects have presented bids for a multi-million dollar expansion of the facility. The visitor attraction in Salmiya, which serves as a centre for environmental education in the gulf region, laid out plans for a new facility to include dolphins and mammals, with plans also in the works for a conference facility and exploration hall. Scientific Center chair and CEO, Mijbil Al-Mutawa said in

The Atlantis by Giardino in Zurich – a 95-room urban retreat that has hosted the likes of Steve McQueen, Freddie Mercury, Shirley MacLaine and Muhammad Ali – will open on 1 December, following an extensive renovation programme which has been overseen by Gallery HBA. Originally designed by architects Hans and Annemarie Hubacher and Peter Issler in the late 1960s, the Y-shaped building with three wings is an important example of

Muzeiko – the first children’s museum to be built in post-Soviet Eastern Europe – has opened its doors to the public in Sofia, Bulgaria. Following two years of development, the Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership-designed (LHSA+DP) children’s science discovery centre has been conceived as a “journey moving through time and space”. The 35,000sq ft (3,250sq m) facility is set over three storeys. On the bottom floor, children can

US architects ArandaLasch have unveiled plans for a contemporary arts complex and gardens in Bali, envisioned as a place to experience “art within nature”. Revealed at the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial, the Budidesa Art Park – funded by Chinese-Indonesian entrepreneur Budi Tek – comprises a series of art gardens, a museum complex and residences surrounded by rice paddies near the country’s capital of Denpasar. Budidesa will act as a new

The first glass suspension bridge in China has opened above a canyon in Hunan's Shiniuzhai National Geological Park, offering bold tourists a chance to cross a 180m (590ft) deep chasm between two cliffs. Dubbed Haohan Qiao – Brave Men's Bridge – the 300m (984ft) long bridge was originally designed to be wooden before developers opted for a transparent glass floor 24mm thick, but 25 times stronger than usual. The glass

Montreal, Canada’s famous floating spa, Bota Bota, has added a 5,000sq ft (465sq m) spa garden with a pool, hot tub, cold bath, steam bath, solarium, rest areas, outdoor fireplace and yoga platform. Designed by Montreal-based MU Architecture, the Bota Bota Gardens is “an oasis of relaxation” between the boat-spa, the Saint-Lawrence River, and the elevated railway. “The idea was to double the capacity and to expand the experience outdoors,”

The work of the late Mark Fisher has been realised with the opening of Stufish Entertainment Architect’s Dai Show Theatre in Xishuangbanna, China. Fisher, who died in 2013, drew the initial concept designs for the Dai Show Theatre, which hosts a permanent 75-minute acrobatic water display created by show producers Dragone. Key to the Xishuangbanna’s cultural offering, the 19,500sq m (209,900sq ft) theatre is inspired by the natural and cultural

Construction works on the Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar are set to be completed by the end of 2016 – making it the first of the 2022 World Cup venues to open to the public. The stadium, which originally opened in 1976, is undergoing its second major redevelopment, following a restructuring in 2005, in order to host the 2006 Asian Games. At the time, Cox Architecture and its JV partners

Oslo-based property developer Selvaag has been granted planning permission to develop one of the world’s largest indoor ski arenas. Masterplanned by London architects Chapman Taylor, in collaboration with Norwegian architect Professor Thomas Thiis-Evensen, the Winter Village scheme in Ødegården has been designed for cross country, free ski and downhill skiing, and will be the first indoor ski arena to be built in Norway. Offering year-round skiing for both local people

The Eden Project has signed a deal to create a new £100m (US$152m, €135m) Eden centre in China. The UK-based educational charity has teamed up with developer China Jinmao Holdings to design and develop an iconic tourism and education project in the city of Qingdao on the east coast. Grimshaw Architects, designers of the original Eden Project in Cornwall, UK, have been appointed to work on the Chinese version. The

Spa consultant and designer Sylvia Sepielli is leading the US$8 m (€7.1, £5.2) renovation of the spa at Henry Flagler’s historic hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, The Breakers. Sepielli, who has just finished work on Bath, England’s Gainsborough Bath Spa, is working in conjunction with Peacock + Lewis architects and landscape architect Gregory Lombardi Design on the indoor/outdoor spa, which will include 17 treatment rooms and a private courtyard and

Hotel giant Marriott International is to expand its partnership with hotel pioneer Ian Schrager with the opening of the group’s first hotel in Iceland. To be operated under the luxury lifestyle brand Edition, the 250-bedroom property in the capital Reykjavik will be located on the city's waterfront adjacent to Harpa – the country’s premier concert hall. Engineering firm Mannvit and T.ark architects have been contracted for the engineering, design and

Construction work has begun on the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Village in South Korea. A groundbreaking ceremony was held to mark the occasion at the site of the 42,000sq m Yongpyong Dome, located in what will become the mountain cluster for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Designed as multi-functional resort to provide an athlete-oriented environment, the village will include a number of environmentally-friendly innovations and will be fully accessible – as

New York-based Robert D. Henry Architects are working on Ivanka Trump’s flagship spa in development at The Old Post Office in Washington, D.C., and part of the property’s US US$200m (€144.4m, £119m) redevelopment. The spa will be a prototype introducing Ivanka Trump’s “unique positioning within spa and wellness,” said Henry, and will be rolled out in the Trump collection of existing hotels, as well as future properties. “Ivanka has mandated

London’s Natural History Museum (NHM) is to undergo a multi-million pound transformation of its grounds as part of an overall redevelopment of the popular tourist attraction. Niall McLaughlin Architects, in collaboration with Kim Wilkie, won a competition to redesign the grounds of the London attraction in April 2014. As part of a larger strategy, NHM is adopting "three great narratives", which will guide visitors around the museum based on the

Massage and body treatment practice Wonder Woman Wellness has launched a pop-up office at the pioneering Washington, D.C. tiny house community Micro Showcase. Founded by Brian Levy, Micro Showcase has a growing display of micro structures – all under 350sq ft (32.5sq m) – and showcases micro tech (sustainable technologies), micro furnishings (space saving solutions) and micro grow (an orchard, garden and apiary). It also includes Levy’s Minim House, designed

The 397-bedroom Shangri-La Bengaluru has opened in Bangalore, India, with traditional Indian motifs and interiors. Designed by Adarsh Design Studio in Bangalore and with interior design by Singapore-based Wilson Associates, the 19-storey Shangri-La Hotel, Bangalore features an impressive 9m (30ft) high lobby with nine cylindrical chandeliers – each weighing nearly half a ton – as well as imposing marble columns with intricate Indian motifs. The interiors reference Bangalore (known as