MIPIM 2015 has nearly reached its climax and the annual Architectural Review Future Project Awards have been announced. Once again, leisure projects are showcasing some of the best new architecture globally. The overall winner of the Architectural Review Future Project Award was given to the ‘Hanging Courtyards’ The Urban Design of Qing Xiang Historical Cultural Block in Changzhou (China) - Southeast University. The scheme used sustainable techniques as well as

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

Sustainable Chinese hospitality brand Naked Retreats is embarking on expansion beyond its flagship resort, Naked Home Village, to capture more of the Chinese market. In an article for Spa Business, Naked Retreats founders South African entrepreneur Grant Horsfield and Hong-Kong-born architect Delphine Yip, revealed plans to expand and transform the original Naked Home Village outside Shanghai into Naked Castle – which is due to open later this year with 80

Merlin Entertainments has revealed new details about its upcoming fully immersive Shrek's Adventure attraction, which is set to be rolled out worldwide following its July 2015 debut in London's Grade II Listed County Hall. Collins-construction is working on the project build, which has been designed not to impact the listed building. “We’ve built into the rooms so as not to damage the existing building,” said Eddie Saul, creative lead for

Barangaroo South, a complete new city quarter under construction in Sydney, Australia, looks set to be a game changer for the city’s leisure offerings. Developer Lend Lease is pouring AUS$6bn (US$4.6bn, £3bn, €4.3bn) into the 22 hectare site. Leading British architecture firm, Roger Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) have masterplanned six hectares of the built development. From the previous state of a disused container port, RSHP plans to ‘return the

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has chosen David Chipperfield Architects to design and oversee the gutting and rebuilding of its new south-west wing which houses modern and contemporary art. It’s thought completion will be timed to coincide with the museums’s 150th anniversary in 2020. New York’s museums are competing with ever more ambitious plans and in so doing, forging New York City into one of the most

A proposed US$100m-plus (€93m, £66m) resort and spa in Rancho Mirage, California, has received approval from the city’s Architectural Review Board – following amendments made to the project’s design by Derek Sola from architecture firm Gensler. The 24-acre (10-hectare) Thunderbird Resort and Spa plans will be sent to the city’s planning commission for approval. The ‘six-star’ resort – which will be tucked into the landscape with the mountains serving as

Weedon Architects have revealed the masterplan for the £55m (US$82m, €77.7m) development of Twycross Zoo, UK, an investment to boost visitor numbers and improve animal welfare. Twycross Zoo is the only one in the UK to house all four kinds of great apes. The masterplan will bring bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans all together in the new great ape centre, which will come up over the course of the next

For the first time ever, the World Architecture Festival (WAF) is coming to London in June. WAF, a high-profile architecture festival, will put on an exhibition during the London Festival of Architecture, which runs from 1-30 June 2015. An exclusive exhibition, hosted by WAF, will showcase its 2015 finalists on 24-27 June, in London, prior to the announcement of the winners of the sought after World Architecture Awards. The exhibited

Bjarke Ingels, in conjunction with Rebuild by Design, has laid out plans for ‘The Dryline’ – a leisure-oriented storm barrier for New York City. Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, where more than US$19bn (€17.9bn, £12.6bn) of damage was inflicted on New York, Rebuild by Design – a federally-funded initiative, which is part of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force and the US Department of Housing and

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

The team behind the upcoming Milan Expo is putting the finishing touches to the world fair before its debut in May. The six-month expo will be the second to be held in Milan and has been five years in the making since its November 2010 announcement. Using the theme feeding the planet, energy for life, the 2015 Expo will bring together more than 140 countries designing pavilions that embrace technology,

Following a lengthy competition process, Foster + Partners has been chosen to be the lead architect for the Lusail Stadium, the centrepiece of the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar. Working in conjunction with stadium specialists Populous and ARUP on the project, the Foster + Partners-designed stadium will be located in Lusail City, north of Doha, and will have a capacity of around 85,000. It's expected that the stadium will

Starwood Hotels & Resorts will debut its first St Regis-branded property in Istanbul, Turkey in March – designed by award-winning Turkish architect Emre Arolat in an Art Deco style reminiscent of the city’s artistic 1920s era. Housing an extensive selection of artwork from the Demsa Collection of Art – a private collection belonging to the Demsa Group that also owns the hotel itself – the property has 118 bedrooms and

The Museum of the Future in Dubai, announced last week by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, will start on site this week. The museum has been designed by architect Shaun Killa, for 16 years a director of Atkins, and responsible for some of the Middle East’s most celebrated buildings. Killa's new architectural practice, Killa Design – which is based in

BRC Imagination Arts is the creative force behind the recent US$4.7m (€4.2m, £3m) revamp of the Ford factory tour, offering visitors a close-up look at the creation of the automaker’s F-150 pickup truck. The Ford Rouge Factory Tour, based at The Henry Ford complex in Dearborn, Michigan, now includes a Manufacturing Innovation Theatre to showcase the build process at the facility. The reimagined theatre is designed to immerse visitors into

US developer, Triple Five – the company behind Canada’s West Edmonton Mall and the Mall of America – is proposing to build American Dream, Miami – a US$4bn (E3.7bn, £2.65bn) mall and leisure development near Miami Dade airport in Florida, US. The mall would include a 200-acre entertainment complex with a theme park and 800ft indoor ski slope, as well as miniature golf, a waterpark, skating rink, submarine ride and

Cruise ship operator Carnival Corporation is on-site in the Dominican Republic, developing Amber Cove, an $85m (E75m, £55m) port in Puerto Plata. It will open in October this year. The new two-berth port will accommodate the largest cruise ships and liners in operation today and has been designed to handle 250,000 people a year. The project is a joint venture between Carnival and Grupo Navieras B&R, and the largest cruise-related

International architecture and design firm Jestico + Whiles (J+W) has been appointed by TIAA Henderson Real Estate (TH Real Estate) to design a luxury hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Edinburgh St. James Hotel will act as the centrepiece of the overarching St. James development. With a price tag of £850m (€1.1m, $1.3m), the project is retail-led with the aim of transforming leisure in the Scottish capital. Once complete it will

Steiner Spa Consulting president Jeff Matthews has revealed the company's concepts and designs for a burgeoning pipeline of projects in the Indian Ocean and Middle East through to 2017, in an exclusive conversation with Spa Opportunities. Steiner has been chosen to refurbish and rebrand a spa in the North Ari Atoll of the Maldives at four-star hotel Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo – operated by Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts, a subsidiary of

Ennead Architects has revealed futuristic plans for the new Shanghai Planetarium after the New York-based design firm won an international contest for its commission. The 38,000sq m (409,000sq ft) development – a part of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum – has been designed to celebrate the continuum of time and space. According to Ennead, the plans mirror both the rich history of Chinese astronomy and the future ambitions of

Luxury skincare company Charme d’Orient has opened a 250sq m (2,691sq ft) day spa in Paris between the Marais district and Place de la République. Designed by Tenzing Architecture, the investment in the spa was €500,000 (US$558,000, £363,000). Tenzing Architecture, which has offices in Paris, Lausanne and Istanbul, is led by founder and principal Gregory Taylor. The practice has worked on luxury hospitality and wellbeing facilities for brands, including L’Occitane

Dutch architectural firm MVRDV has been granted approval for the restructuring of a mixed-use 1970s complex in Paris, France. Originally designed by Pierre Dufau, the Vandamme Nord, part of a wider urban development, currently houses retail and leisure outlets, as well as the 30-storey Pullman Hotel. MVRDV’s design will "reintroduce the lost human scale and bring back a sense of place within the Montparnasse district." The scheme will focus on

Bromley Council has terminated an exclusivity contract with Chinese investor the ZhongRong Group for the redevelopment of London’s Crystal Palace. A contract, that was originally signed in 2013, expired last month, following ZhongRong’s failure to produce a £5m (€6.8m $7.6m) down-payment to extend the deal for another six months. In March 2014 a shortlist of six architectural heavyweights were revealed to be vying for the Crystal Palace redevelopment, including Zaha

The International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) got off to a bang today (2 March), with Starwood announcing that it is on course to open more than 40 new hotels and resorts across Europe in the next five years. The hotel giant – which recently saw CEO, president and director Frits van Paasschen resign “by mutual agreement” – will concentrate on a combination of fast-growing and established markets as part of

Austrian property entrepreneur Günter Kerbler has announced his intention to build the world’s largest wooden skyscraper in Vienna, with design by Rüdiger Lainer and Partner architects. The building, expected to cost €60m (US$67m, £43m), is to be called HoHo and will be part of the Aspern Urban Lakeside Project, a 20-year initiative to create a new quarter for Vienna, with 20,000 houses and integrated leisure and hospitality. Aspern is currently

Jacksonville Florida's chances of getting a world-scale aquarium in a downtown location have taken a step forward with the news that a feasibility study is about to be launched – it's a significant step forward for a project that has been two years in the making. Massachusetts-based ConsultEcon will conduct the study on behalf of AquaJax – the group behind the aquarium development. The study will look at cost estimates,