The Lighthouse, Scotland's centre for architecture design and the city, has been forced to call in administrators after admitting that it was unable to offset increasing losses due to the recession. Located in Glasgow, the Lighthouse Trust was established in 1999 to provide advice to the Scottish Government on architecture policy at both national and local level, as well as contributing towards strategies for the creative industries. After reporting a

Kinross Curling Trust has announced plans to build a National Curling Academy in the town of Kinross. The design by Archial Architects - formerly the SMC Group - comprises a six-rink ice pad, a gym and changing facilities, in addition to a café, a curling museum and offices. Charles Smith, director of Archial Architects, said: "The general design features of the building reflect the intentions for a world-class facility. "The

Concerns have been raised by the pub industry after the Design Council appointed a design team to develop a 'safer' pint glass in a bid to tackle the problem of glasses being used in violent assaults. Design Bridge has been tasked with drawing up proposals for safer drinking vessels that will appeal to both consumers and publicans as part of efforts to reduce the amount of injuries caused by glassware,

Plans for an extensive redevelopment of Hayle Harbour's South Quay area in Cornwall, which have been drawn up by ING Real Estate Developments,have been put on public display. The proposals include transforming the South Quay into a vibrant waterfront area for visitors to enjoy the views from buildings and public spaces, with a number of restaurant units and improved pedestrian access earmarked, as well as retail units. A new 40,000sq

Work has started on the demolition of the Civic Hall building in Guildford, Surrey, which will make way for the construction of the town's new multi-purpose entertainment venue. Hertfordshire-based contractor Willmott Dixon Construction has been appointed to deliver the new Civic, which will boast a 1,000 seated capacity or a 1,700 standing capacity and will feature a main auditorium, two function rooms and five seminar rooms. Designs for the Civic

A new 8,500sq m (91,493sq ft) leisure development in Bucharest, Romania, is set to feature a rooftop park after designs put forward by architects ColladoCollins were selected for the scheme. The London-based firm was selected following a design competition for the new complex, which is being developed by Tiriac Holdings and is set to include a beach resort, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and tennis courts. A fitness club, a

A historic art deco cinema in Evesham, Worcestershire, is set to reopen next year following the completion of a five-year scheme to restore the Grade II-listed property. In January, Wychavon District Council (WDC) contributed a loan of £150,000 towards the restoration of the Regal Cinema, which will provide the town with a new 300-seat single-screen facility featuring enhancements to original 1930s features. The ground level of the venue will boast

Plans to establish a new 495-bedroom 'pod' hotel at the Trocadero in London as part of an overhaul of the Grade II-listed property have been deferred by Westminster City Council. According to Criterion Capital's proposals, the hotel is likely to be operated by French company Accor and will occupy part of the second to seventh floors in the building, offering en-suite rooms with an average size of 12 to 17sq

Sheffield Wednesday Football Club (SWFC) has unveiled new plans to redevelop its Hillsborough stadium in a bid to be included as one of the host venues for the 2018 World Cup. The scheme, which the Coca Cola Championship club anticipates will cost a total of £22m, will include increasing the venue's seating capacity from 39,812 to 44,825 and the construction of a new landmark roof structure for the Kop stand.

Work has started on a £479,000 scheme to refurbish the Fore Street Pool in Ipswich, Suffolk, as part of Ipswich Borough Council's (IBC) £4m investment in local swimming facilities. The 114-year-old swimming pool, which is one of the oldest operating facilities in the country, will benefit from new floors in the changing rooms, new lighting and vending facilities and a complete redecoration of the building's interior and exterior. Construction company

UK-based Lazenby Design has been appointed to design the new Evolution Museum in Athens, Greece. Scheduled to open in 2010, the 4,000sq m museum will be located at the city’s Attica Zoological Park. The museum will house both outdoor and indoor exhibits, including immersive prehistoric environments, creature models, palaeontology displays and animated interpretive AV exhibits. The museum will chart the history of the planet from early organisms through the dinosaur

Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw has announced the appointment of Paul Finch as the new chair of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). Finch, who is currently programme director of the World Architecture Festival, will succeed Sir John Sorrell as chair of the commission for a four-year period from 14 December, having previously held the post of deputy chair. In addition to his former role of commissioner and

Glasgow City Council (GCC) has appointed Sir Robert McAlpine as the main contractor for the city's new £120m National Indoor Sports Arena and the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome venues. The council's executive committee approved the findings of a report that recommended the selection of the Hertfordshire-based construction company from a shortlist of four firms, which also included Laing O'Rourke, Bovis Lend Lease and BAM. Both the 5,000-seat NISA and the

A new £4.5m sports and community complex, which has been designed to incorporate a number of environmentally friendly features, has opened to the public in west London. The Little Venice Sports Centre on Crompton Street, which is the only venue in the area to be accredited by the Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI), includes four badminton courts, a large sports hall with underfloor heating and a multi-purpose dance and exercise studio.

A new multi-million pound concert hall is set to be built at the University of Birmingham (UB) to provide a new home for the institution's music department and facilities for the local community. Plans for the venue have been drawn up by Glenn Howells Architects to include a 450-seat auditorium designed to accommodate a range of performances – from solo voice to electro-acoustic – as well as associated research, teaching

Construction work has reportedly started on the 5-star Songjiang Hotel, a 'sunken hotel' being created in a 100m-deep water-filled quarry in Songjiang near Shanghai, China. Situated inside the Shanghai Sheshan National Holiday Resort area, the 21-floor hotel will have two underwater levels, 17 floors between the surface of the water and ground-level and two floors above ground-level. The underwater floors will house a restaurant and guestrooms facing an aquarium, while

The £10m Amphitheatre Wellness Centre in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, is to open on 17 August. Designed by Given Architects, the centre will boast an “Olympic-standard” fitness suite supplied by Technogym, a floodlit synthetic sports pitch, squash courts, a synthetic tennis court, a 25m swimming pool, a soft-play area and a multi-purpose sports hall for badminton, five-a-side football, netball, basketball and gymnastics. The centre was built on the site of the

Sir Robert McAlpine, the Hertfordshire-based company, is set to be named as the main contractor for the new £120m National Indoor Sports Arena (NISA) and the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome venues in Glasgow. A report due to go before Glasgow City Council's (GCC) executive committee on 14 August has identified Sir Robert McAlpine as its preferred contractor from a shortlist of four firms, which also included Laing O'Rourke, Bovis Lend

BAA has unveiled plans for the new £1bn Terminal Two building at London's Heathrow Airport, which has been designed to emit 40 per cent less carbon than the existing second terminal facility. The new development will cater for around 20 million passengers each year and forms part of BAA's wider £4.8bn investment in improving services and facilities at one of the world's busiest airports. Plans for Terminal Two, which will

Designs put forward by LiD Architecture have been selected as the winning concept for a new public civil space, which will be built as part of a mixed-use redevelopment of Dublin's docklands in Ireland. Dublin City Council (DCC) and Point Village Limited announced that the Belfast-based firm had been chosen following the conclusion of a design competition administered by the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland (RIAI). Plans for The

The Dorchester Collection’s Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, US, is to undergo a multi-million dollar renovation that will see the hotel shut from October this year till mid-2011. The project will include the renovation of all of the hotel’s 91 rooms and suites, its famous Champagne Bar and its restaurants and private dining rooms. Twelve new villas will also be built within the hotel’s grounds. A new spa is already

International construction consultancy, Davis Langdon, and FaulknerBrowns Architects have been appointed by Aberdeen City Council (ACC) to progress plans for the city's proposed 50m swimming pool. Davis Langdon has been selected as project manager, while FaulknerBrowns will head up the design team for the new facility, which is set to provide a regional competition standard facility to help attract visitors to the city. Neil Fletcher, chair of ACC's 50m Pool

The latest hotel to form part of Sir Rocco Forte's portfolio of luxury accommodation has opened in Sicily. The £120m (US$203.3m, 141.1m euro) Verdura Golf & Spa Resort joins famous names such as St. Petersburg's Hotel Astoria, The Balmoral in Edinburgh, Geneva's Le Richemond, Brown's Hotel in London and the recently opened Augustine in Prague as the 13th hotel in the Rocco Forte Collection (RFC). Covering an area of 175

The £12m leisure centre planned for Matlock, Derbyshire, looks set to be given the green light by Derbyshire Dales District Council. As previously reported in Leisure Opportunities, the centre is set to include an eight-lane, 25m swimming pool, two sports halls, a dance studio and a fitness suite. However, the designs – created by Dyer Architects – have come under fire from both Matlock Town Council and Matlock Civic Association,

The Welsh Assembly Government has announced that 2DPP Shape, part of Welsh planning consultancy DPP, has been appointed to draw up a new masterplan for the redevelopment of West Rhyl, Denbighshire. Architects, urban designers and regeneration specialists will form part of a team that will be tasked with developing new proposals for the regeneration of the area to the west of Rhyl's town centre, including the creation of new green

A new multi-purpose public arts venue, which is currently under construction in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, is to be called The Apex. St Edmondsbury Borough Council (SEBC) met on 29 July to approve the new name for the venue, which is scheduled to open in 2010, will incorporate a multi-purpose auditorium with a 500-seat capacity for theatre performance and seminars and standing capacity for 700 people for concert performances. Space

A new £20m Olympic-sized swimming pool, which has been included as a potential training facility for teams ahead of the London 2012 Games, has officially opened in Corby, Northamptonshire. The 50m Corby East Midlands International Pool was unveiled by Olympic swimmer Mark Foster on 24 July and is equipped with moveable floors and booms to accommodate international junior diving events and short and long course races. Designed by S&P Architects,