Plans to extend the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, London, UK have been approved. The directors of the gallery chose architect Zaha Hadid to design and create the new gallery in 2010, and the extension is now scheduled to open in 2012. As part of the project, the Grade II-listed The Magazine building of the gallery will be renovated and extended to house collections. The project, to be known as

Spanish operator Metropolitan has opened its latest health club in the new Las Arenas complex in Barcelona, this month. A former bullring, the mixed use development was designed by Richard Rogers and opened at the end of March. Metropolitan's club occupies threequarters of the complex's fourth floor. The 2,400sq m club is equipped by Technogym - including Kinesis - Life Fitness, Keiser and Power Plate. There's a pilates studio, plus

Details of a major US$900m (£557.4m) scheme planned for Baltimore's Inner Harbor, US, have been announced by leaders of the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC). A US$325m (£201.3m), 18,500-seat arena; a US$175m (£108.4m), 500-room hotel; and a US$400m (£247.9m) expansion of the existing Baltimore Convention Center are mooted. Under the GBC proposals for Inner Harbor would see the hotel built on the top of the arena, with the arena's concourse connecting

Rugby-based construction firm Morgan Sindall has been awarded the contract to deliver De Montfort University's (DMU) new £8m leisure centre in Leicester. Work has now commenced on the S&P Architects-designed facility, which will boast a 25m pool; a gym; a climbing wall; eight racket courts; and studios for yoga, aerobics and Pilates. The design of the complex incorporates metallic outer shells and cedar-lined interiors, which are to form towers and

Bristol City Football Club (BCFC) has welcomed an "encouraging" decision by the local authority to designate part of the city's Ashton Vale site as a Town Green. The npower Championship club is looking to develop a new 30,000-seat venue on the land, although a group of local residents is opposed to the proposals. Bristol City Council's public rights of way committee has now accepted a recommendation to award Town Green

East Kilbride's Dollan Aqua Centre has reopened to the public following the completion of a £7m refurbishment of the Grade A-listed venue, which was carried out by Clark Contracts. The renovation of the complex - originally designed by Alexander Buchanan Campbell and first opened in 1968 - included structural works and new floor, wall and ceiling finishes. Among the facilities at Dollan Aqua Centre is one of Scotland's five 50m

A groundbreaking ceremony has taken place to mark the start of work on a £17.3m stadium that is to provide a new home for Rotherham United Football Club (RUFC). The 12,000-seat stadium - designed by S&P Architects - will be delivered on the site of the South Yorkshire town's former Guest and Chrimes foundry site by GMI Construction. Gleeds is project managing the scheme, which will see the north and

St Albans City and District Council (SACDC) has confirmed that two additional swimming pool lanes will be added as part of the £24m Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre scheme. Earlier this month, councillors agreed to move forward with the S&P Architects-designed project after considering the findings of a review of its business case, commissioned following May's local elections. Members of SACDC's cabinet noted a need for increased water space to meet

An official 'digging' ceremony has taken place to mark the start of construction work on a new leisure centre in Godalming, Surrey - next to the existing Broadwater park facility. Preparatory work got underway on the £6m development earlier this month after Waverley Borough Council (WBC) approved planning permission. Designed by Pozzoni and to be built by ISG, the centre will be operated by DC Leisure and will incorporate a

London mayor Boris Johnson has admitted that private funding sources may not be able to cover the £56.9m cost of the proposed new River Thames Cable Car service. In April, Johnson revealed that Mace is to lead a consortium of contractors to build the new Wilkinson Eyre-designed link between Greenwich and the Royal Docks. However, the mayor said at the London Assembly's Question Time on 15 June that there is

The Zaha Hadid-designed Museum of Transport in Glasgow - also called the Riverside Museum - will open its doors to the public next week (21 June). The £74m attraction will be operated on behalf of the property owner Glasgow City Council by charitable trust Glasgow Life, formerly called Culture and Sport Glasgow which was rebranded last year. The new museum building will house more than 3,000 exhibits across 150 displays

TUI Resorts & Hotels, a subsidiary of travel giant TUI Group, has begun construction work on the first phase of the Castelfalfi Resort in Tuscany. The 250m euro (£221m, US$362m) project will integrate a number of eco-friendly solutions and comprises a 32-bedroom boutique hotel, country houses, restaurants and a golf course. Two further hotels are to be built in phase two and plans also include the creation of a large

Sporting Kansas City's new 18,467-capacity LIVESTRONG Sporting Park venue has been officially launched with a Major League Soccer fixture against Chicago Fire on 9 June. The capacity of the Populous-designed stadium, which was delivered by Turner Construction, can be increased to 25,000 for concerts and features 36 suites and covered seats throughout. LIVESTRONG Sporting Park incorporates a 75-yard x 120-yard natural grass surface with a SubAir under-soil heating and cooling

The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) has announced that a new 12,000-seat entertainment arena being developed in Glasgow is scheduled to open in spring 2013. Energy supplier Scottish Hydro has been unveiled as the naming rights partner for the new Foster and Partners-designed venue, which is expected to host around 140 events a year. Attracting up to 1 million visitors each year, The Hydro - as it is colloquially

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RCBC) planners have approved the development of a £31m leisure, business support and community facility in the heart of Redcar. S&P Architects and Plus3 Architects are behind the design of the complex, which is set to feature a 25m, six-lane swimming pool and leisure pool; a fitness suite; and a junior gym. A dance hall and performance space; a sports hall; community facilities; business space

Spa management and skincare company ESPA is set to unveil its first ESPA Life wellness concept spa at the 294-bedroom Corinthia Hotel London, UK. Spread over four floors and covering 3,300sq m (35,500sq ft), the spa is hailed by the company as "a leading voice in the next generation of spa". It will boast a fully integrated wellness approach - including revolutionary lifestyle programmes delivered by holistic health professionals and

Bristol Rovers Football Club (BRFC) has unveiled its plans to relocate to a new 20,000-seat stadium on land at the University of West England's (UWE) Frenchay campus. The npower League Two club said its current Memorial Ground is no longer fit for purpose and aims to sell off the existing venue to Sainsbury's to help fund the Arturus-designed development. Both projects are expected to represent a combined investment of £60m,

The Pods - a multi-million pound leisure and sports facility being developed in Scunthorpe - has been handed over to North Lincolnshire Council (NLC) ahead of its July opening. Bowmer and Kirkland has completed construction work on the new centre, which has been designed by Andrew Wright with S&P Architects acting as the project's delivery architects. Buro Happold has also been involved with the development of The Pods, which comprises

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has revealed that construction work at the London 2012 Basketball Arena is now complete - the fourth Olympic Park venue to be finished. One of the largest temporary venues to be used in an Olympic and Paralympic Games, it is to be dismantled following next summer's competition and will be reused elsewhere. Initial work commenced on-site in October 2009 before the erection of a 1,000-tonne

The Imperial Hotel in New Delhi, India, has announced the launch of a 16,000sq ft (1,486sq m) spa located amid landscaped gardens - available to hotel guests only. Featuring architecture influenced by the Moghul era, the new Imperial Spa aims to provide a range of services that it believes are "essential elements" to a healthy lifestyle. Facilities incorporate Imperial Hydrotherapy suites for pre and post treatment and the Kerala Suite

Hertfordshire-based construction group Sir Robert McAlpine has secured a deal to design and build a new 244-bedroom hotel at Butlins' resort in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Butlins Skyline is behind the proposed eight-storey development, which is set to feature an L-shaped design and its upper levels reducing in footprint to create a stepped effect. Located on the western side of the resort, the building will incorporate white render, curves and

Rotherham United Football Club's (RUFC) plans to develop a new £17.3m stadium on the site of the town's former Guest and Chrimes foundry site have been handed a boost. A £5m loan towards the cost of the S&P Architects-designed ground has been approved by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council's (RMBC) cabinet. Gleeds has already been appointed to project manage the 12,000-seat stadium development, which will be built by GMI Construction and

Councillors have voted to proceed with the £24m Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre project in St Albans, Hertfordshire, following an independent review of the scheme's business case. The review took place after a Conservative-led administration took control of St Albans City and District Council (SACDC) following the local government elections in May. At a meeting on 7 June, cabinet members decided to move forward with the S&P Architects-designed scheme, which has

A new £30m sports centre that will provide facilities for research, fitness, sport development and the staging of events has been officially unveiled by Northumbria University (NU). Sir Robert McAlpine started construction work on the Atkins-designed Sport Central venue in 2008, with Gardiner and Theobald acting as project manager on behalf of the institution. Facilities include a 3,000-capacity main arena to stage sporting events and to provide a home court

An international procurement process to find contractors to design and build the new Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton, Canada, has been launched by the Government of Alberta. The new CA$340m (£212.3m, EUR237.9m, US$347.7m) attraction will double the size of the existing museum and will showcase the province's history and natural environment. A Request for Qualifications stage is currently open until 22 June for interested bidders to submit proposals, form which

The Atomic Spa Suisse in Milan, Italy, has created an interior design feature using more than 1,200 mirrored bubbles to 'make it stand out from the norm'. Created to look like champagne bubbles rising to the top of a glass, the "melted metal drops" are attached to the walls and ceilings all over the spa, sparsely at the entrance and becoming denser the further you go in. The feature was

A new public competition has been launched by Luton Borough Council (LBC), Active Luton and Wates Construction in a bid to find an official name for the town's new £26m aquatic centre. Designed by S&P Architects, the new Stopsley complex will comprise a 50m, eight-lane pool with integrated diving area; a high-dive training centre; and a 20m x 10m community pool. A multi-purpose sports hall; a 100-station fitness suite; two