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,

The M by Montcalm hotel is set to launch in east London’s emerging technology district in an 18-storey building inspired by the work of ‘Op-Art’ artist Bridget Riley and designed by 5plus Architects. Built by SPG Contracts under a full design and build contract with the help of external consultants Curtins Engineering and KUT M&E consultants – the 296-key hotel features an unusual horizontal transom (a transverse horizontal structural beam

Kris Yao | Artech has been selected to design the New Taipei City Museum of Art after winning an architectural contest with its “Contemporary Museum of Art among the Reeds” design. The NT$2.17bn (US$68.9m, €60.6m, £44.4m), 44,000sq m (473,600sq ft) development, located in New Taipei, Taiwan, is being funded by local government. Kris Yao’s winning design will incorporate the site’s historical, cultural and geographical features to form a sustainable vision

Milwaukee Bucks basketball team has appointed a group of architects including sports specialist Populous, and Wisconsin-based HNTB and Eppstein Uhen, to begin developing designs for a new sports and entertainment complex in downtown Milwaukee. “Wisconsin deserves a world-class sports and entertainment destination that embraces Milwaukee’s architecture and incorporates innovative elements from across the globe,” said Bucks co-owner Wes Edens. “We are confident that this team has the expertise to create

Developer and investor Union Hanover Securities has submitted a planning application for a new boutique hotel scheme at Stratford City, the former site of the 2012 Olympic Games. Designed by New York-based Grzywinski + Pons Architects, the £100m (US$155m, €136m) dual hotel scheme has been dubbed the Penny Brook Development. The scheme will consist of a 137-bed Adagio building and a 249-bed boutique hotel, called the Penny Brook. The Penny

Adelaide-based Phillips/Pilkington Architects has drawn up plans for Zoos South Australia's (ZSA) masterplan, which is set to transform both its Adelaide and Monarto Zoos over the course of the next two decades. The plans detail several immersive environments, including a nature playground at Adelaide and for Monarto the addition of a Predator Experience, new visitor centre and overnight safari-style accommodation. The masterplan has been designed to enhance the zoos’ capacity

SO-IL and Freaks Freearchitects have jointly won an architectural competition to redesign a glass museum and gallery on the site of an 18th century factory in Meisenthal, France. New York-based SO-IL is collaborating with Paris-based Freaks to give the Site Verrier Meisenthal – first opened in 1704 – a complete makeover. Renovations of the former glass factory will include a new cultural centre, glass art centre and glass gallery. According

A quintet of Manchester United legends led by Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs have unveiled their latest trophy this week – the world’s first ever Hotel Football in Manchester, UK. The 8,000sq m (86,111sq ft) building – designed by AEW Architects – incorporates a 133-bedroom hotel with public space for fans and spectators, plus a new Café Football – boasting a menu designed by two Michelin star chef, Michael Wignall.

In the wake of the loss of four of its 12 casinos, Atlantic City is continuing to push for new, non-gambling attractions in a complete rebranding of the city. The latest redevelopment plans include a beachfront giant Ferris wheel and zip line, restaurants, an extension of the Steel Pier and a rebuilt Boardwalk. The city’s Casino Reinvestment Development Authority has approved the projects in an attempt to make its tourism-centred

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

An Argentinian design team, headed up by Carlos Nahuel Recabarren, has won a UNESCO design competition to create a Cultural Centre in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. From more than 1,000 design proposals that were submitted in the single stage competition – which opened in November 2014 – Carlos Nahuel Recabarren, Manuel Alberto Martinez Catalan and Franco Morero’s project, entitled ‘Descriptive Memory: The Eternal Presence of Absence’ was picked as the winner. Paolo

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, London, UK, has been given the green light to build a new 56,250-capacity stadium after winning its High Court battle against the sole business standing in the way of its redevelopment. Plans for the £400m (US$644m, €498m) stadium, being built next to Tottenham’s current home of White Hart Lane, were challenged by landowner Archway Sheet Metal Works at the High Court because of a compulsory purchase

BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), the architectural practice behind many of the world's most audacious leisure buildings, has added four new partners to manage growth. The practice, which currently has offices in New York and Copenhagen, has also appointed 17 new associates. The new partners are Beat Schenk – who’s worked with BIG since 2011; Daniel Sundlin – who led the design for the Audemars Piguet Museum in Switzerland; Jakob Sand

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

Boston Partners, the Ethiopian company known for building Kuriftu-branded resorts, is to construct a new resort on Moucha Island – off the coast of the Republic of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa – in an attempt to establish the Kuriftu brand in east Africa. In December 2013, Kuriftu signed a 50-year lease for 500,000sq m (5,381,955sq ft) of land on the coral island Moucha. It hired Eyasu Siraj, a

Sport, museum, culture, recreation and mixed use schemes all feature on the shortlist for this year’s Designs of the Year award. Of 76 nominated projects, representing the work of the best global design talent, an overwhelming number are leisure-related. Organised by the Design Museum, London, the Designs of the Year awards have been running for the past eight years. Awards are presented in six categories; architecture, digital, fashion, product, graphic

Foster + Partners has revealed its designs for the NT$150m (US$4.8m, €4.1m, £3.1m) aquarium to be built at the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology (NMMST) in Keelung City, Taiwan. Scheduled to open in 2018, Foster and Partners’ plans for what will be the country’s largest aquarium employs titanium and green designs to create a modern light-filled environment, reminiscent of the ocean shallows. The design also incorporates a building

A groundbreaking ceremony has been held for South Korea’s US$1.8bn (€1.6bn, £1.2bn) Resorts World Jeju, which is aiming to rival its Singaporean counterpart at Resorts World Sentosa. Being jointly developed by Chinese property developer Landing International Development and Genting Singapore, the resort will cover 2.5sq km (1sq m) and will offer more than 20 different rides and attractions in seven different zones. Also included will be a waterpark and a

London-based architecture practice Brisac Gonzalez has received planning permission for a multi-million dollar mixed-use project in Paris, France. Developer Paris Habitat – France’s biggest public housing agency – is building the residential and leisure complex in the 17th arrondissement of Paris in Clichy-Batignolles. It’s part of the first phase of a wider urban development project where a new 54-hectare (133-acre) eco-district is being constructed on the former railway site of

Plans to create a third financial district in London – to rival the City and Canary Wharf – have taken a significant step forward after a Chinese investment firm announced backing to the tune of £1bn (US$1.5bn, €1.4bn). China Minsheng Investment Corp Ltd, the mainland country’s largest private investment firm, will join Chinese developer Advanced Business Park (ABP) on the Farrells-designed project, which aims to transform the historic Royal Albert