InterContinental Hotels Group has opened what is its first sustainable hotel in Canada and the first of its type in Quebec. The Holiday Inn Express and Suites Saint-Hyacinthe has been built to meet the criteria of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System for its sustainable practices. In addition to featuring a high efficiency energy distribution system, an ultra-insulated building, and LED and low voltage

A new US$6.5m (£4.1m, €4.7m) indoor sports complex could be developed on a 9-acre (3.6-hectare) site in Cleveland, Ohio, US, under plans announced by a local non-profit organisation. Fast Track Cycling (FTC) has secured a real estate purchase option with the City of Cleveland for the construction of the 150,000 sq ft (13,935m) facility, which will boast a 250m wood cycling track and 75,000sq ft (6,968sq m) of turf playing

London mayor Boris Johnson has welcomed plans for £5.5bn redevelopment of Battersea Power Station but called for more work to be done on the scheme to ensure it meets the city's planning strategy. In his report to Wandsworth Council, the mayor advised that parts of the Rafael Viñoly-designed development fail to comply with policies set out in the London Plan, with concerns over a lack of affordable housing and children's

Plans have been unveiled for a new €30m (£26m, US$42m) football stadium in Budapest, Hungary. The 22,000-capacity venue, designed by S.A.M.O architects, will be the new home of the city's Ferencváros Football Club and is scheduled to open in 2012. UK-based Capita Symonds will provide project management, cost management and design services including structures, acoustics, health & safety, m&e and transport planning. The stadium will anchor a larger, €400m (US$560m,

A landscape architect and urban designer selected to lead the regeneration of Oakengates, Shropshire, has outlined plans for the future of the town at a public meeting. Cornwall-based David Orr aims to work in partnership with local residents to develop a masterplan for a "modern and thriving town", following the launch of the Oakengates Town Partnership. Orr plans to include residents, businesses and Telford and Wrekin Council on the development

Penarth Arts and Crafts (PAC), the organisation behind plans for the £3.9m restoration of a Grade II-listed pier pavilion in Penarth, South Wales, has received additional funding from the Vale of Glamorgan Council (VGC). The council has agreed to contribute a £15,000 grant towards the scheme, following a decision by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) last November to award PAC a first-round pass worth £99,600 to help develop detailed proposals

Elstree Golf and Country Club in Hertfordshire will undergo a £2.5m redevelopment after Hertsmere Borough Council approved plans submitted by architects Bell Phillips Kimble. Work on the site will begin in March 2010 and will include the construction of a new two-storey clubhouse incorporating a bar and restaurant, changing facilities, a pro-shop and offices to replace the existing clubhouse. The club’s 30-bay driving range will also be refurbished, with new

A large mixed-use development for La Défense in Paris has been revised, with new architectural practice Foster + Partners driving the scheme. Called Hermitage Plaza and designed by Foster + Partners, the twin tower buildings will take the form of interlocking triangles which face one another and enclose a large public piazza. As the towers rise, they will turn outwards to offer residents sweeping views across the city from large

Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz has reported that award-winning architect Frank Gehry is withdrawing from the Museum of Tolerance and Human Dignity project in Jerusalem. The scheme aims to promote tolerance amongst Jewish populations within Israel, including Ashkenazim, Mizrahim, Ethiopians, Russians, and others, and is being sponsored by the Simon Wiesenthal Foundation, a Jewish human rights organisation. It has attracted controversy because it is being erected on the grounds of an old

Jamie Oliver and New York chef Adam Perry-Lang are to open a new restaurant at One New Change in the City of London. The business will be headed up by restaurant operator, Kevin Bacon. The new venue, situated opposite St. Paul's Cathedral and due to open in October 2010, is as yet un-named and will also have a retail outlet. The One New Change building will also be offering eight

Glasgow's Grand Central Hotel, which was acquired by operator Principal Hayley, in spring 2009, is set to reopen in September, following the completion of a major £20m refurbishment scheme. When complete, the 350,000sq ft (32,516sq m) property will boast 240 bedrooms, a Champagne bar overlooking the city's Central Station, a deli, a restaurant and a bar, as well as 21 meeting rooms and the revamped Grand Ballroom of Glasgow. A

Stoke-on-Trent City Council (STCC) has announced that six design teams have been shortlisted to lead plans for a multi-million pound refurbishment of the city's public squares and streets. Aecom; BDP; Camlin Lonsdale Landscape Architects; Gillespies; Nicholas de Jong Associates and Planit are the firms to be selected by the council to draw up more detailed plans as part of a wider £1.5bn transformation of the area. Covering around 80,000sq m

Work on a new £46.5m regional sports and leisure complex in Plymouth, Devon, could start next month if the appointment of Balfour Beatty as the main contractor is approved by Plymouth City Council (PCC). A report due to go before the council's cabinet on 19 January has recommended that the London-based construction company from a shortlist of five to deliver the new Life Centre, which has been designed by Archial.

A new fitness suite is set to open this month at Ealing Squash and Fitness Club in London, following the completion of a £450,000 scheme to expand the site's existing gym facility. The fitness suite has doubled in size from 1,800sq ft (167.2sq m) to 3,600 sq ft (334.4sq m) after three existing squash courts were converted to create a new two-level facility with free weights zone. Life Fitness has

Multi-media company Thinkwell has conceived and developed the winning entry in an international competition designed to revitalise Seoul Grand Park in South Korea. Seoul Grand Park is a 560-hectare site containing two zoos, The Seoul Museum of Modern Art, the SeoulLand amusement park and a rose garden. The Seoul Metropolitan Government sponsored the competition to gather ideas for improving the public space for citizens and to better position it as

Hotel and restaurant group Whitbread has revealed plans to open its second green Premier Inn hotel and its first low-carbon restaurant. The launches are part of the group's Good Together corporate sustainability programme, which aims to cut carbon emissions by a quarter (26 per cent) by 2020. Whitbread will build a environmentally-friendly, 60-bedroom Premier Inn hotel in burgess Hill, West Sussex. Scheduled to open in Autumn 2010, the hotel has

Plans for the construction of a new centre for research, education and the promotion of low-impact development at the Lammas eco-village in Pembrokeshire have been handed a £350,000 boost. The new community hub, which will act as the centrepiece of a scheme to build nine eco-smallholdings, is one of 10 projects across the UK to secure funding through the government's Low Carbon Communities Challenge. Work is scheduled to get underway

Construction work is set to get underway on a major £3m expansion of the conference and exhibition facilities at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. Three new halls will be created as part of the scheme, which will result in an additional 2,500sq m (26,910sq ft) of exhibition space and a 650-seat auditorium to complement the existing 6,000sq m (64,583sq ft) Jaguar Exhibition Hall. A new entrance stairway will also be

Loughborough University has taken possession of SportPark, a bespoke sports administration hub which will host a number of UK sports bodies. Designed and built by Baggaley Construction, the £15m landmark building at the west entrance of the University campus will be home to sports organisations including British Swimming, the Amateur Swimming Association, Volleyball England, the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association, UK Sport and the Youth Sports Trust. The sports

An international architectural competition is being launched to deliver a landmark building for The V&A at Dundee, a new centre of 21st century design for Scotland. The structure will occupy a site at the centre of Dundee's redeveloped waterfront area, sitting just to the south of Craig Harbour on a site to be created projecting out into the River Tay. Mike Galloway, Dundee City Council's director of city development said:

Westminster City Council has granted permission for the construction of a 'pod' style hotel as part of the redevelopment of the Trocadero tourist spot off London's Piccadilly Circus. The development - by Criterion Capital - will see the creation of 495 en-suite rooms measuring between 12-17sq m (129-183sq ft) and occupying the second to the seventh floors of the Grade II-listed structure. The first and ground floors will house retail

The Natural History Museum (NHM) in London has launched a new 270-seat restaurant. Designed by a partnership involving architects RWCA and interior designers Path Design, the 6,500sq ft restaurant is the third of the Museum's visitor catering zones to be re-vamped in the space of 12 months. To create the eatery, the museum had to obtain a listed building consent as plans included breaking through the original building fabric to

Hyatt Hotels and Suning Real Estate Development have signed agreements for Hyatt subsidiaries to provide management services to three hotels in China's Jiangsu province. Grand Hyatt Nanjing is currently scheduled to open in 2013 and Hyatt Regency Wuxi and Hyatt Regency Xuzhou are planned to debut in 2012. The 400-room Grand Hyatt Nanjing is to be part of the Suning Plaza mixed-use development, which will feature luxury serviced residences, a

The Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa in Edinburgh is set to undergo a multi-million pound refurbishment as part of its 25th birthday celebrations. All of the hotels bedrooms and suites will be redesigned and more rooms will be created, increasing the hotel's bedroom count to 268. A new, opulent Grand Suite will also be added as part of a new, exclusive Club floor on the top floor of the hotel.

Emirates Golf Club has appointed London-based architects Thomson Perrett & Lobb (TPL) to modernise its flagship Majlis Course, home of the Dubai Desert Classic. TPL will carry out an audit of the course's bunkering as part of a wider modernisation programme, overseeing the repositioning and reconstruction of bunkers to upgrade the course for professional events as well as day-to-day club and visitor play. The 7,301-yard, par-72 layout, which opened in

ReardonSmith architects have revealed designs to build a luxury, subterranean hotel and spa at the Hersham Golf Club in Surrey. Plans for the hotel include 200 underground bedrooms located in three rings, each built around 800sq m garden courtyards. There will also be a luxury spa and restaurants and the total area of the hotel and new golf club will be approximately 16,500 sq m. Both hotel and spa have

The Saint Louis Art Museum in Missouri, US is to undergo its first major expansion in more than 20 years. Designed by London-based architect David Chipperfield, the expansion - in excess of 200,000sq ft - will provide new galleries, public space and a 300-space underground car park, as well as a new, fully accessible entrance on Fine Arts Drive. The project will result in a 30 percent increase in the