PortAventura theme park in Spain is to relaunch its Caribbean-themed aquatic park following a 11.6m euro (£10m, UD$15.6m) extension project, which features the tallest toboggan in Europe. The Costa Caribe Aquatic Park project has seen the addition of 14,000 sq m (150,695 sq ft) of new facilities, giving the park a total surface of 50,000sq m (538,196sq ft). Located in Salou near Barcelona, the park is slated to open in

An American museum to house the country’s largest collection of armour and Cavalry objects has undergone a feasibility assessment and is now continuing its fundraising efforts. The $65m (48.28m euro, £41.52m) National Armor and Cavalry Museum is set to open in Fort Benning, Georgia, US, on a 30-acre site and will complement the existing National Infantry Museum. The first phase of building for the 100,000sq ft (9,290sq m) facility is

Olympic stadium designers Populous have been selected to design the new French national stadium of rugby by the French Rugby Federation (FFR). Grand Stade FFR stadium, which is being developed by Paris-based architects Ateliers 2/3/4, will have a capacity of 82,000. Construction work will commence in 2015 with the project expected to be complete by the end of 2017. The FFR expect the venue to host 17-20 events a year,

Work has been launched to save Italian UNESCO heritage site Pompeii from further damage, with 41.8m euro (US$55.94m, £35.42m) of European Union funds contributing to the 105m euro (US$140.51m, £88.97m) restoration project. The purpose of the project is to preserve the site as a long-term tourist attraction, by consolidating structures on the archaeological site, introducing drainage and improving the training of on site staff. The attraction currently attracts 2.3m visitors

New Zealand's first treetop walk has opened in the country's South Island, following six years of scouting a location with suitable access, views and mature forest. The Westcoast Treetop Walk & Café, at Lake Mahinapua, is a 450m (1,476ft) long steel walkway 20m (66ft) off the ground and takes around an hour to stroll through. The surrounding bush includes native New Zealand species such as totara, rimu and kahikatea, and

London's BBC Television Centre in White City is to be redeveleoped into a cultural quarter that will include a hotel, entertainment and leisure facilities and public open space. For the first time, the television centre will be opened up to the public with the famous forecourt remodelled into new retail, leisure and entertainment areas. Property developer Stanhope is responsible for the project, which will see the main circular building, known

Surrey's Brooklands Museum is planning to reconfigure the museum's hangar as The Brooklands Aircraft Factory after securing a first-round pass for a £4.85m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The Brooklands Aircraft Factory & Race Track Revival Project aims to relocate, restore and reinterpret the Weybridge museum's grade II-listed Wellington Hangar. The project includes plans to restore the hangar on a new site adjacent to its current one, allowing

A new temporary exhibition, charting the fascinating story behind the discovery of the remains of king Richard III, has opened in Leicester today (8 February). Richard III: Leicester's Search for a King has been created by exhibition designers Mather & Co and has gone on show at Leicester's medieval Guildhall building. Mather & Co only had four weeks to design, construct and install the exhibition, as well as incorporate brand

A luxury wellness spa inspired by Spanish themes has launched at The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey in Los Angeles. Located on the waterfront, Spa Nautica features seven treatment rooms including separate rooms for couple's treatments and wet treatments, as well as a full service nail salon. In the warmer months the Southern California spa will offer treatments outside on the hotel's pool deck. Spa facilities include eucalyptus steamrooms, a heated

Melia Hotels International has launched a new luxury hotel - ME London - in Marconi House, the original London home of BBC radio. Located on the Strand on the southern tip of Covent Garden, the property offers a collection of 157 guestrooms including 16 suites and a two-floor penthouse. The hotel is designed by Foster + Partners' architects and is the group’s first UK hotel project. The interiors focus on

Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts is to launch a new hotel that will feature a Swahili-themed aqua park and spa in Egypt. Located at the southern end of Hurghada, Steigenberger Aqua Magic will house 688 guest rooms including family rooms, deluxe rooms and suites. The resort, which will open end of 2013 or early 2014, will feature a Splash-certified Aqua Park with a range of slides and attractions including a separate

K2 Crawley leisure centre in West Sussex is set for a £650,000 reconfiguration that will see the centre house a new music and comedy venue. Other plans for K2 include an expansion of the gymnastics hall with a second gymnastics floor space and a new three-tier soft play area. The council's proposed changes would also see the removal of its indoor bowls green. Crawley Borough Council, which held a public

Plans to create a new inland surfing facility on the Isle of Wight have been unveiled by the team behind The Wave: Bristol. Colliers International said that it is in discussions regarding building The Wave:IOW, which would bring together surfing, nature and education. At the centre of the plans is a lake in which water technology would generate waves of up to 1.6m high, at a rate of 120 waves

Lincoln Castle is to undergo a multi-million pound redevelopment to "bring the castle to life," which includes opening the Victorian male prison for the first time in years. Both prison buildings will be refurbished and the project will see the creation of a new vault to showcase Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest. The castle walls will also be repaired and a complete wall walk will be created,

Five design firms have been shortlisted to develop the proposed US$1bn stadium for the Atlanta Falcons American football team in Atlanta, US. Olympic stadium designers Populous are among the finalist to be chosen by the Georgia World Congress Centre Authority (GWCCA), which owns the site. The other architectural firms include Philadelphia-based EwingCole, Dallas-based HKS, Atlanta-based tvsdesign (in partnership with Heery International and Gensler), and Kansas City-based 360 Architecture. All of

Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island has opened its latest attraction, US$245m (180m euro, £155m) waterpark Yas Waterworld, to the public on 20 January – four days earlier than its planned official opening. Spread across 15 hectares (37 acres), the waterpark features 43 rides, slides and attractions and is expected to attract 700,000 visitors this year. UK-based Atkins was the lead designer for the project, with 30-40 engineers and were briefed to

Travelodge will invest £223m in its brand this year, including 14 new hotels at an investment of £141.5m, and the rollout of a new room designed partly by the hotel group’s customers. Twelve new hotels will open in the UK this year and two will open in Spain, in Barcelona and Madrid. All new hotels will incorporate a new room design, overseen by in-house designer Frances Whitley and based on

Work has began on a spa in Leukerbad, in the heart of the Swiss Alps, where the Valasis mountains thermal waters have bubbled at 51 degrees since Roman times. Situated 1,402m above sea level, the 51 degrees Spa will have more than 200 treatments on the menu. The 800sq m (8,611 sq ft) spa – slated for a 2015 opening - will incorporate two rituals rooted in the cultures of

Bristol mayor George Ferguson has announced his support for a proposed aerospace attraction at the Filton airfield that would showcase aircraft, helicopters, aero-engines and missiles, and also provide a home for Concorde 216. In a letter to Iain Gray, chair of the Bristol Aero Collection Trust, Ferguson said he saw the Bristol Aerospace Centre as a "key legacy project". "The Bristol Aeroplane Company was one of the first and most

BAM Construction has secured a £5.3m contract as part of a £7m project to redevelop Plymouth's landmark Theatre Royal. The Devon-based contractor will re-clad the building's curtain walling and refurbish the front-of-house area including the box office and restaurant. New catering facilities will be introduced and the capacity of the restaurant increased. The project will also involve work on the backstage and basement areas, as well as new mechanical and

Contemporary Los Angeles art gallery The Broad is to open January 2014, with a ceremony held to mark the completion of its steel frame this month. Philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad are financing the $130m (96.50m euro, £82.60m) project, which will exhibit works by Jean Michel Basquiat, Joseph Beuys, Keith Haring, Jasper Johns, Jeff Koons, Robert Rauschenberg, Cindy Sherman and Andy Warhol in its inaugural exhibition. At the 8 January

A US county authority has put its support behind proposed bed tax increases and rebates on goods and services taxes to partially fund $400m (296.93m euro, £254.17m) worth of improvements to Miami’s Sun Life Stadium. The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners heard an upgrade of the 25-year-old stadium would contribute $2bn (1.48bn euro, £1.27bn) in economic benefit over 15 years, and passed a resolution at their 23 January meeting urging

Song Saa, which translates as 'the sweethearts' in Khmer, is Cambodia's first private island resort. Located in the Koh Rong Archipelago, the resort spans the island of Koh Ouen and Koh Bong and is connected by a footbridge. Owned by entrepreneurs Rory and Melita Hunter, the resort features 27 villas, each with a private pool. A spa and wellness sanctuary, situated in the rainforest along the shore, features a large

A dance studio and theatre will replace part of Queen's Leisure Centre in Derby, which has been deemed not fit for purpose. Art Council funding, announced on 22 January, gave local dance academy Déda - which currently neighbours Queen's Leisure - the means to go ahead with the expansion, due to start April 2014. Derby City Council's leisure strategy, signed off in 2010, deemed the Springwood Leisure Centre the only

Local Scottish authority Dumfries and Galloway Council will take court action against contractor Kier Northern over a number of problems with the DG One leisure centre, which opened in 2008 at a cost of £17m. A detailed report by independent technical experts found the cost of addressing defects in the gym, games hall, bar, swimming pool and changing village would total £3.7m. At its policy and resources committee meeting on

The Natural Science Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, US, has announced it will open its SciQuarium in early summer this year, the first phase in a three stage investment programme to continue over the next three years. Natural Science Center employees, Moser-Mayer Phoenix & Associates and Cambridge Seven Associates have contributed to the design of the US$10m (7.5m euro, £6.3m) project, which is dominated by a 22,000sq ft aquarium. It

Construction firm Willmott Dixon are working with South Tyneside Council in the early development stages of a new £11m leisure centre in Hebburn. The new centre is being developed by the council and forms part of a masterplan to regenerate the town centre. The leisure hub will comprise a 25m, six-lane swimming pool as well as a learner pool, sports hall, dance studio, library and customer service facilities. Construction on