Image: Sportscotland part-funded the new facility A new £1.1m High Performance Sports Science and Sports Medicine Facility has opened at the University of Stirling to help Scottish athletes prepare for international competition. The scheme was joint-funded by Stirling, Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence and sportscotland, with athletes in the funding agency's institute of sport network. Students on the university's International Sports Scholarship Programme will also make use of the centre,

Firmdale Hotels has announced the launch of the new-look Dorset Square Hotel in central London, following the completion of an extensive refurbishment programme. Husband and wife team Kit and Tim Kemp originally purchased the boutique hotel during the 1980s and have now reacquired it for the Firmdale portfolio, 10 years after it was sold. Kit Kemp has overseen the interior design of the renovated property, with the English country style

Image: Mather and Co worked on the new museum Museo Volvo Ocean Race, a visitor attraction allowing visitors to experience the challenges faced by elite sailors competing in the Volvo Ocean Race, has opened in Alicante, Spain. The new museum is located at the headquarters of the Volvo Ocean Race headquarters and has been designed by Cheshire, UK-based consultancy, Mather and Co. Visitors of all ages will have the opportunity

Image: Pozzoni are behind the design of the centre Waverley Borough Council (WBC) has announced that a new £6m facility in Godalming, Surrey, is to open its doors "well ahead of the planned schedule" on 30 July. ISG has been responsible for delivering the Pozzoni -designed Godalming Leisure Centre, which will include a 60-station fitness suite on the first floor. DC Leisure is the operator. The gym will boast nearly

Image: The Odeon building will house the theatre Bennetts Associates, the firm behind the revitalisation of the Royal Shakespeare Company's home in Stratford-upon-Avon, is to work on the design of a new £38m theatre in Chester. Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWCC) has appointed the practice to lead an "all-star cast" working on the scheme, which could also incorporate a new central library on the site. The architects will be

Image: Plans include a first floor viewing gallery ISG has been awarded a contract for the construction of a new £3.5m "highly sustainable" facility at King's College London's (KCL) Honor Oak Park sports ground. The BREEAM Excellent-rated development has been designed by Loates-Taylor Shannon Architects and Designers and incorporates a two-storey brick and block work building. On the ground floor of the centre will be 10 changing rooms to be

Image: A linear park will run through the market site Wandsworth Council has approved plans for two major development projects in London's Nine Elms regeneration area - One Nine Elms and New Covent Garden Market. Both planning applications were given the go ahead by members of the council's planning committee on 18 June and will complement a range of other projects proposed for the area. While New Covent Garden Market

Image: A 'beach' first opened at the park in 1903 London's first urban beach has been opened by Hammersmith and Fulham Council (HFC) as part of a wider £8m programme of improvements being carried out at Bishops Park. The new beach has been inspired by families from across the capital who would travel to the park's "Margate Sands" in Fulham each summer during Edwardian times. First unveiled in 1903, Bishops

Image: The museum's proposed new extension Corning Museum of Glass (CMG) started work on its new US$64m (EUR50.8m, £40.9m) extension project, which will add a new North Wing at the attraction in New York state, US. The 100,000sq ft (9,290sq m) addition - designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners - is to be completed in 2014 and aims to "dramatically enhance" the museum's visitor experience. The scheme will create one

Image: The entire tennis centre site is to be revamped The US Tennis Association (USTA) has unveiled its new strategic vision for the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, US - home of the US Open tournament. A number of construction projects designed to improve the visitor and player experience are part of the Rossetti -designed plan, which will reportedly cost US$500m (EUR396m, £322m). Among the

Neath Port Talbot Council (NPTC) has announced that a public meeting will take place on 20 June to discuss plans for a new leisure complex on the Afan Lido site in Aberavon. A new £13.6m centre housing facilities such as a 25m pool and a fitness suite is being proposed after the former Afan Lido complex was severely damaged by fire in late 2009. A spokesperson for NPTC said: "This

Image: The Bristol theatre is receiving a major revamp Bristol Old Vic is to open its newly-revamped Georgian auditorium in September, following the first phase of an extensive £19m redevelopment being undertaken at the historic venue. The restoration of the Grade I-listed theatre has been designed by Andrzej Blonski Architects, with the auditorium upgrade including new seating and improved sightlines for spectators. Charcoalblue has worked on the new technical systems,

Image: BRFC's proposed stadium on land at Frenchay Bristol Rovers Football Club (BRFC) has confirmed that its plans for a new stadium will be considered by South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) at a meeting on 19 July. SGC's development control (west) committee will be responsible for deciding the fate of the Arturus Architects -designed project, which is centred around a 21,700-seat venue. A BRFC spokesperson also revealed Hewlett Packard had withdrawn

Image: An artist's impression of the spa's hammam Six Senses Resorts & Spas has signed a partnership deal with The Alpina Gstaad, Switzerland to develop and manage the hotel's spa. Scheduled to open in December 2012, The Alpina Gstaad is set in the heart of the Bernese Alps and will have 56 rooms and suites. The boutique hotel will have a 2,000sq m (21,500sq ft) Six Senses Spa with a

Image: Spa by Cinq Mondes at Five Hotel and Spa Design Hotels has opened the new Spa by Cinq Mondes at Five Hotel and Spa in Cannes, France - a 250sq m (2,691sq ft) facility described as "a destination in its own right". Jean Louis Poiroux created the spa, which boasts four treatment rooms - one of which is a double - plus two saunas, a Turkish hammam, a scrub

Image: Copenhagen Arena is due to open in 2015 A team led by Denmark-based 3XN Architects has won an international design competition for the development of a new indoor arena complex in the Ørestad area of Copenhagen. HKS Architects, Arup, ME Engineers and Planit also form part of the team, with the facility to be divided into a plinth and a top under the successful Copenhagen Arena proposals. The design

Image: The exterior of Le Méridien's new Oran hotel Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts has announced the launch of its first Algerian hotel as part of a mixed-use oceanfront development in the north western city of Oran. Rockwell Group Europe have designed the Le Méridien Oran Hotel and Convention Centre, which is owned by Sonatrach and is located on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The signature Explore Spa is

Image: The hotel is planning the addition of a spa A new health spa is among a number of facilities being proposed as part of a major expansion of the historic Ramside Hall Hotel in Carrville, Durham. Ramside Estates was granted outline planning consent for the new extension in 2005, before a subsequent reserved matters application and listed building consent was approved in 2008. The project is now coming back

Image: Oasis Leisure Centre will receive a revamp Swindon's Oasis Leisure Centre has been transferred to a private operator in the next phase of a £65m scheme to develop a major new "regional leisure hub" for the Wiltshire town. Oasis Operations Ltd has taken control of the facility under an agreement between Swindon Borough Council (SBC) and Moirai Capital Investments announced earlier this year. Leisure specialists S&P Architects are involved

Image: A 50m swimming pool is being proposed A draft masterplan for a major redevelopment of Willoughby Leisure Centre in New South Wales, Australia, have been put on display by the local authority. Willoughby City Council (WCC) is seeking the local community's feedback to the scheme, which will overhaul a facility that is currently used by more than 500,000 people each year. The Suters -designed masterplan allows for the addition

Image: The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 The Serpentine Gallery in London has unveiled the Herzog and de Meuron/Ai Weiwei-designed Pavilion - the 12th commission in the contemporary art attraction's annual series. This year's Pavilion - part of the London 2012 Festival - enables visitors to go beneath the Serpentine lawn to explore the "hidden history" of the gallery's previous 11 commissions. A total of 11 columns represent previous structures, while

Image: The new resort overlooks the Atlantic Ocean A new 189-bedroom Radisson Blu-branded resort has become the Rezidor Hotel Group's first property to open on the island of Gran Canaria - one of the Spanish Canary Islands. Each of the guestrooms and suites has its own balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the interior design has been conceived and developed by Norway-based Sias Contract. Resort facilities include a 265sq m

Image: The museum building on Oslo's waterfront Astrup Fearnley Museet, a new NOK650m (US$106m, EUR86m, £69m) contemporary art attraction, is scheduled to open its doors in Oslo, Norway, on 29 September. The museum will be situated on the city's waterfront and will be housed in a new 7,000sq m (75,347sq ft) building designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano. Design features of the building include a double-arched glass roof filtering daylight

Image: The hall forms part of HMNS' expansion plans A new US$85m (EUR68m, £55m) Hall of Palaeontology featuring more than 30 dinosaurs opens to the public at Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) in Texas, US, tomorrow (2 June). The 30,000sq ft (2,787sq m) facility forms part of a wider expansion – the Dan L Duncan Family Wing – designed by Gensler and boasts a total of 60 major mounts,

Image: The historic hotel building in Montreal The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company (RCHC) has relaunched its "second Canadian jewel" in Montreal, following a major CA$200m (US$193m, EUR156m, £126m) refurbishment. First opened as a hotel in 1912, the Ritz-Carlton, Montreal building has been preserved and restored as part of the Provencher Roy + Associés -designed project. Public spaces throughout the hotel have been revamped and upgraded, while a spokesperson said that a

Image: Studio E designed the new leisure centre A planning application for a new leisure centre and academy in North Kensington, London, has been submitted to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC). London-based architects Studio E have drawn up proposals on behalf of the local authority, having been selected from a shortlist of six design practices late last year. The leisure centre element will feature a 120-station fitness

Image: The County Ground will be transformed Bristol City Council (BCC) has approved plans put forward by Gloucestershire County Cricket Club (GCCC) for the redevelopment of its County Ground home. The Arturus -designed project was given the green light by the local authority's development control (north) committee, which had previously rejected the club's initial plans earlier this year. Working in partnership with Linden Homes, GCCC is planning a comprehensive revamp