Pullman ’s Maldives Maamutaa Resort will open two villas with underwater bedrooms this November, allowing guests to see the island’s vibrant marine life up close during their stay. The resort, designed by Blink Design Group with interiors by Miaja Design Group, opened at the end of September and is spread across 18 hectares of landscaped garden in the Gaafu Alifu Atoll. It has 122 villas that are either beachside or

The shortlist has been revealed for the World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2019 Awards and leisure projects are represented across the majority of the 33 categories – as well as in dedicated categories of their own. Among the most notable leisure projects in contention for an award are: • Alexandra Palace East Wing Regeneration by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios • Coal Drops Yard by Heatherwick Architects • Morpheus Hotel by Zaha

Work has commenced on the restoration of the Grade II-listed Power Hall at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester – part of a larger, multi-million-pound project to create a more sustainable museum and a "beacon for contemporary science". The museum was forced to close the Power Hall in April this year due to urgent repairs that needed to be carried out on the roof. Following a grant of £6m

Spa designers Sparcstudio have completed a £14m ($17.2m, €15.8m) refurbishment of the Cottonmill Spa at Sopwell House Hotel, which has seen a three-storey glass-fronted extension and a private spa garden added to the Georgian property. The spa boasts bright, spacious rooms, Tom Dixon lighting, bespoke furniture, and a warm palette of natural tones complemented by the turquoise accents of the Onice Smeraldo marble which is used. At the heart of

Google has created a virtual reality tour of the Palace of Versailles, allowing people to explore the architecture, artworks and history of the former home of French royalty wherever they are in the world. The Versailles: The Palace is Yours exhibit takes visitors on a tour of rooms including the Royal Grand Apartments, the Chapel and the Opera. It was created using a technique called photogrammetry, via which 3D models

The chain of 19 islands forever associated with Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species will soon be home to a Six Senses resort, due to open in 2021 in Cerro Verde on the northeastern coast of San Cristobal Island. UNESCO recognised the Galápagos Islands as a World Heritage Site in 1978 and a Biosphere Reserve in 1985, and development is only permitted on three percent of the total area. In accordance

Continuing the overhaul of its high-end hotel portfolio, Raffles has reopened Cambodia's Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor, following a six-month refurbishment. The property is the second flagship to receive investment, following Aedas and Alexandra Champalimaud's extensive overhaul of Raffles Singapore, which reopened in August this year. Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor, which opened in 1932, was originally designed by French architect Ernest Hébrard, who incorporated elements of Khmer architecture, art and furniture,

Wright & Wright Architects, working with Max Fordham, have unveiled a new potentially net zero library and study centre at the University of Oxford's St John's College. The building is the first of its kind at the college and is powered by a 215sq m (2,300sq ft) solar array installed to cover all possible areas of the roof. The 2kWp system is expected to generate around 40,000kwh/pa, while the building

Spa consultancy Raison d’Etre has collaborated with hotel and tour operator Metropolitan Touring to create an eco-friendly spa at the Finch Bay Hotel in the Galapagos. Built from locally-sourced volcanic rock, the spa has a minimalist, contemporary design throughout with large glass windows to let plenty of natural light in. The building has been created to emphasise the unique flora, fauna and landscape of the Galapagos. A yoga room on

Foundation work is ongoing and steel work is due to commence at FC Cincinnati ’s West End Stadium, for which new designs were released by Populous this summer. The club briefed Populous, who are working with engineers BuroHappold, to deliver “an iconic and groundbreaking design for the city while prioritising and amplifying the fan experience.” With that in mind, the firm included a vertical façade of 513 fins lit by

Naval architect Jean-Michel Ducancelle has designed a solar-powered floating hotel suite aimed at offering an eco-friendly and nomadic place for travellers to stay. The Anthénea pod was conceived as a luxury suite for hoteliers to offer their guests, but can be adapted for use as a spa, bar or restaurant – or anything else. The 50sq m (540sq ft) pod has three spaces: a day space, a night space and

Sneha Divias Atelier have designed a children’s restaurant and concept store in Dubai that uses colours and materials to create an environment that is comfortable, calming and conducive to learning. Unlike many spaces designed for children, White & the Bear doesn’t use a primary colour palette. Instead, neutral colours and warms tones accompany a minimalist design and materials were chosen for their aesthetic and maintenance requirements. Despite that, there are

Spanish firm Arquivio Architects has won a competition to design Lithuania’s new National Concert Hall in Vilnius with a design that integrates the building into the landscape “as naturally as possible”. Following a brief that included a building and two concert halls, Arquivio proposed that the different elements be interconnected by an open ground floor green corridor. In addition, it sought to carefully incorporate the nearby Lutheran Garden. The brief

Sports stadium and events venue experts Populous have unveiled designs for the largest video gaming and esports complex in the Southern Hemisphere. Covering 2,700sq m (29,100sq ft), spread across two floors and with a capacity for over 1,000 people, Fortress Melbourne will house a purpose-built arena with a retractable 200-seat grandstand, a professional boot camp room and training facilities, dedicated areas for LAN, RPG and tabletop gaming, two bars and

Experiential designers MET Studio have worked with the Singapore Bicentennial Office to create "an immersive experience charting the area’s occupation through to modern day Singapore." The experience comprises a 45-minute tour of Singapore’s evolution set within an original colonial building. A combination of digital and physical techniques are used, with the tour curated as a series of zones or acts. Act one sees a "virtual storm" projected onto water within

Pozzoni Architecture has added a 60-person fitness suite and converted the original fitness suite into a ‘state-of-the-art’ multipurpose studio at Formby Pool in Sefton. The new studio can be fully blacked out and features a music and LED lighting system that can be used to create tailored immersive experiences. As part of the project, which was valued at £1m, an overspill car park was also added to the site. To

Architects including Kohn Pedersen Fox, OMA and James Corner Field Operations have completed work on the K11 Musea in Hong Kong, the final milestone in the regeneration of the Victoria Dockside into a purpose built art and cultural district. The 28-hectare (3,000,000sq ft) district has undergone a 10-year transformation, led by Kohn Pedersen Fox and based on the ‘100 Creative Powers’ vision of Adrian Cheng, executive vice-chairman and general manager

Waldorf Astoria has taken on a hotel and spa built on the beach and into the foot of a hillside at the tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula that is only accessible by the privately owned Dos Mares Tunnel. Formerly known as The Resort at Pedregal, the 25-acre resort, situated at Pedregal in Los Cabos, has 119 guest rooms and suites, all of which have ocean views, private plunge pools

South Australia's Monarto Zoo says it will become the world's largest safari experience outside of Africa, through a A$40m (US$27.1m, €24.66m, £21.8m) development that has been approved by the regional government. The project, led by architects Intro, includes the provision of a luxury resort and eco-glamping facilities, a new visitor centre, restaurant, conference facilities and a range of new wild safari experiences in an area to be called Wild Africa,

Major League Soccer (MLS) team Columbus Crew SC has revealed HNTB designs for a new 20,000-seat stadium aimed at helping to amplify crowd noise and generate atmosphere. The stadium will feature a steep seating bowl that will keep fans and the noise they generate close to the on-pitch action. A wrap-around roof will help to contain the crowd noise, reflecting it back through the crowd and on to the pitch.

A new spa experience in Montegrotto Terme, Italy integrates spa treatments, ayurvedic medicine and fitness, along with traditional experiences from as far away as South America and Japan. Neró Spa, located a few kilometres from Padua and Venice, will have an official opening from the 24th to the 27th of October 2019, which will involve four days of meetings, readings and music dedicated to health and wellbeing. The new spa

Swedish architect Martin Brudnizki has revealed plans for the new Six Senses Kitzbühel alpine resort and residences. The resort, owned and developed by Walther Staininger, is scheduled to open in December 2021 and will include a Six Senses hotel with extensive spa and wellness offerings, apartments and chalet residences. Playful elements will see residents able to dine in an igloo. Six Senses Kitzbühel is located in the Austrian Hohe Tauern

Sydney Fish Market is to more than double in size and gain a variety of new leisure amenities and public spaces, following confirmation that AUS$750m (US$509m, €463m) will be invested in its redevelopment. The market, which is said to be the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, will move from its existing location in Pyrmont to the adjacent Blackwattle Bay in Sydney Harbour. The new site will occupy

Marcel Wanders has restated his distaste for modernism, arguing there are elements of the “still prevalent” philosophy that are actively unhelpful. Speaking at 100% Design in London, Wanders said: "I’m attacking modernism all the time and it looks like people don’t even see that we’re in the midst of it. People think that maybe we’re beyond it, but it’s so still the prevalent philosophy of this little universe. And it

NM Architekci has won an international competition to design a permanent exhibition space for the new Polish Army Museum in Warsaw. The decision was based on functional, spatial, aesthetic and educational considerations, followed by the financial credibility of the project, according to the secretary of the selection jury, Marek Szaniawski. Costing an estimated PLN 250m (US$62.7m, €57m, £50.5m) and due to open in November 2020, the new museum will be

The observation deck on the top floor of the Empire State Building has reopened this week after the third of a US$165m (€148, £128) four-phase redevelopment of the experience at the iconic New York City landmark. The observatory redevelopment was carried out by design consultants Beneville Studios, project managers JLL, elevator company Otis, contractors Skanska and Thinc Design, who designed the wider observatory experience exhibition. Squint/Opera were responsible for the

The Majestic Hotel, a new US$850m, 620ft tall Las Vegas hotel that will begin construction in May 2020, will feature a focus on health and wellness. The brainchild of Las Vegas native and developer Lorenzo Doumani, The Majestic Hotel is slated for completion in early 2023, and will include a four-level, 70,000sq ft fitness, nutrition, and medi spa facility. Serving as a state-of-the-art medical wellness destination, it will not only