A new boutique hotel, which can be booked in its entirety for up to 22 guests, has opened opposite Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. Owned by the G1 Group - which also operates Central Hotel, Grassmarket Hotel and Bank Hotel - Murrayfield House has been designed by Jim Hamilton to create a homely ambience. Features include vintage furniture from India, light fittings from Holland and chairs from Paris, as well as

Planning approval has been granted for a community sports centre to be built at Coleshill School in North Warwickshire. The facility will replace the ageing Coleshill Leisure Centre, which according to planning documents would have been too costly and take too long to refurbish. The planning document also stated that despite attracting 100,000 visits a year the leisure facility's popularity had dropped 14.5 per cent between 2008/09 and 2010/11. The

SportScotland has revealed bidders who have made it to the second stage of the process to develop a National Performance Centre for Scotland. A preferred bidder for the multi-sport centre, to receive up to £25m of government support, will be announced in summer with the facilities expected to be complete by early 2016. Six stage one bids were received in February and those that have been invited to take their

Manchester City Council has revealed plans for a national home for both speedway and basketball, as part of the £10m Belle Vue Sports Village development. It will offer new sports facilities for the community and elite athletes alike, while also modernising the existing Belle Vue Leisure Centre. A purpose-built 6,500-capacity speedway will provide the Belle Vue Aces with their own home allowing them to hold weekend meets, which will strengthen

COMO Hotels and Resorts is to open a secluded island retreat - Maalifushi by COMO - in the Maldives next October. The resort will be located on a 20-acre private island in south Thaa Atoll and will be the company's second resort in the Maldives. Designed by Japanese architect Koichiro Ikebuchi, the 66-room property will be the first luxury resort on the unspoilt Thaa Atoll and will offer a range

Sofitel Hotel Group has entered Uruguay with the opening of its latest resort - Sofitel Montevideo Casino Carrasco and Spa - in Carrasco. Located on a national heritage site, the building is inspired by French 'art de vivre' and local culture and features 93 rooms and 23 suites. The company's signature So Spa will span 5,382 sq ft (500 sq m) and promises to provide a relaxing atmosphere for the

Luxury coastal spa Salcombe Harbour Hotel in Devon has announced it will reopen on 1 August, following an extensive refurbishment. The hotel will feature 50 new bedrooms - many with private balconies and panoramic sea views - and the Harbour Spa, which covers two levels and is excavated into the cliff. The spa will include five treatment rooms and a fitness suite on the first level, and a swimming pool,

Three consortia of renowned stadium developers - responsible for projects including the London Olympic Stadium, Adelaide Oval and Singapore Sports Hub - have been shortlisted for the right to bid for the design and construction of the new 60,000 seat Perth Stadium. The three consortia are WESTADIUM, led by Brookfield Financial and John Laing, Confidem led by Capella Capital and WestAdium led by Bouygues and Plenary Group. The stadium will

UK-based design and engineering group Atkins has been appointed to draw up plans for a five star hotel and residential complex with sea-side views and private beach in the Chinese city of Sanya. Atkins' scope of work consists of concept design development, schematic design and landscaping. The masterplan is centred on seashell-like curvaceous buildings and strategically placed landscaped platforms that terrace towards the sea, optimising beach views for the hotel

A new US$300m (€ 230m, £195m) Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is being developed in Los Angeles, US by architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali. The Museum, which is slated to debut in 2017, will span 300,000 sq ft (27,870sq m). Located in the 1939 May Company Building on the campus of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the museum will feature six levels of exhibition and programming

Bristol City FC has appointed a project manager for the proposed redevelopment of their stadium at Ashton Gate - a back up option should its plans to build a new £60m stadium at Ashton Vale fall through. Capita Symonds has been appointed to the £40m redevelopment that would comprise new stands and pitch widening, which would be expected to be complete by the 2016/17 season. The Wedlock and Williams stands

A £35m retail and leisure development, IntoOutdoors, has received planning permission for a location near Stratford-Upon-Avon on the banks of the River Avon. Owner and developer Eagle One will create a 45-unit retail centre, outdoor leisure pursuits and holiday lodges within its 125-acre site near the A44 and A46 trunk roads junction. The project will break ground this year and is expected to be completed by summer 2014. In addition

Shelburne Museum in Vermont, US is set to open a new Centre for Art and Education that will transform the museum from seasonal to year-round operation. For the first time, the public will have year-round access to the museum's collections. The eco-friendly centre will create a modern, flexible venue for exhibitions of art and design featuring loaned works and touring exhibitions. Designed by Boston-based Ann Beha Architects, the centre will

Legoland has officially opened its new hotel at its California resort in Carlsbad. The 250-room, three-storey hotel has been developed in response to guest feedback that it takes more than one day to explore the resort. Construction began in 2011 and the hotel opened on 5 April ahead of its summer 2013 schedule. The hotel, which caters to children aged two to 12 and their families, offers kingdom, adventure and

Science Oxford has submitted a planning application for its proposed £38m attraction The Magnet - the UK's first integrated science discovery and innovation centre. The development has been designed by Foster + Partners to be built next to Castle Mound. Its centrepiece attraction would be a world-class planetarium but it would also include displays, events and lectures promoting all forms of science. The innovation centre would provide accommodation and support

W Hotels Worldwide has opened its first mainland hotel W Guangzhou - on the city's ancient Pearl River. The property features China's first AWAY Spa - open 24 hours a day for W guests and locals - with treatments that combine Eastern and Western elements. Designed by architect Rocco Lim the 317 room hotel has a black glass exterior and the centrepiece of its entrance is a 19m tall water

New York's One World Trade Center has offered a sneak preview of the panoramic views of the city visitors will see when its observation deck opens in 2015. The skyscraper in Lower Manhattan will be the tallest in the Western Hemisphere when it reaches its final height of 1,776ft. The Hettema Group, in partnership with Legends, have been selected to design and produce the observation deck experience, which will occupy

The former Queens Museum of Art has announced it is rebranding as it prepares to reopen in October following a US$68m (53m euro, £45m) 50,000sq ft (4,645sq m) expansion, which will see it double in size. The international art space in Flushing Meadows will now be known as Queens Museum. The institution says the change reflects the breadth of the museum's mission to display not only contemporary art but exhibits

Starwood has unveiled the spa and wellness facilities at its first St Regis-branded resort in Africa. Located in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Le Morne, St. Regis Mauritius Resort houses the region’s first Iridium Spa featuring 12 treatment rooms including two couples’ rooms, all with views of the Indian ocean. Facilities at the 21,500 sq ft (2,000sq m) spa include a relaxation lounge, spa pools, a sauna, a spa

Details have been revealed for the US$350m (273m euro, £232m) Zalal Wellness Destination Spa - set to open in Qatar in 2016. The resort will include 70 rooms and 10,000sq m (107,639sq ft) of spa and wellness amenities, 40 private residences and a 125-room family hotel on the 1.5m sq m (16m sq ft) site. Its target market will include domestic visitors and visitors from regional countries such as Saudi

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has released its monthly member survey for February regarding the health of the profession and the larger construction industry. The survey revealed confidence in future growth prospects for the profession has grown for the third consecutive month, with practices employing more than 51 employees the most optimistic about future workloads. Confidence in the commercial, public and community sector was up compared with January

Tipton Leisure Centre has opened its doors to the public, at a formerly vacant site on Alexandra Road. Facilities at the centre include a 25m six-lane pool, a 12.5m teaching pool, a dance studio and a fully equipped 54-station gym that overlooks the centre's pool. Sandwell Leisure Trust will manage the new centre, which was designed by Sandwell Urban Design Architects - the council's in-house service. Construction was led by

Design consultancy WATG has opened an office in Istanbul, as it prepares for development in Turkey and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Lisya Sullam, who has been with the firm since 2007, has been appointed director of the new office. She has been involved in high-profile projects in country including Olivion Golf Resort and Missoni Hotel in Antalya Belek and Bodrum Viceroy. Raised in Istanbul, Sullam's focus is to

The Duke of Edinburgh has officially opened the Indonesian-inspired Tiger Territory at London Zoo, which will be home to endangered Sumatran tigers Jae Jae and Melati. The £3.6m project has seen the tigers' home expand five fold to 27,000sq ft (2,500sq m) and has been designed by the conservationists and the zoo's tiger keepers. It includes towering trees and a custom-built swimming pool and is the zoo's biggest investment since

UK-based architectural firm Caruso St John has unveiled its proposal for the new Zurich Arena, which saw the firm win the design contract. The project will include arenas for both ice hockey club ZSC Lions and volleyball team Volero as well as hockey training facilities. The design proposes a building with qualities between a monument and a tent. Caruso St John said the clarity of its structure and volume suggest

The British government has launched an independent review of architecture and the built environment with aims to better shape policy to achieve high quality design. The report - expected to be complete by the end of the year - will be led by London-based architect Sir Terry Farrell with support provided by an advisory panel. In addition to the government's role in promoting quality design the review will look at

The team behind London's £14.8bn rail project Crossrail has revealed plans to host permanent large-scale public art across eight stations along the 118km route. Crossrail - to be funded entirely through private sponsorship - will work with leading art organisations and commercial galleries to secure international commissions for the project, called The Cultural Line. Crossrail, due to open in 2018, will include 37 stations spanning from Maidenhead and Heathrow in