Corporate Fitness Works (CFW) has launched a fitness club design division, responding to demand from commercial real estate owners and developers wanting to include a fitness element in their projects. US-based CFW has carved out a market in developing and managing health clubs and programmes for corporations, such as New York Life and Volkswagen. The new division, called CFW Design, will cater for the increased demand from developers wanting to

Danish architecture firm Cobe has won an international competition to create designs for a new science museum in the Swedish city of Lund, with the visitor attraction set to open in 2024. Constructed of wood, the museum will be CO2-neutral and will have "the potential to become a future icon of sustainability", according to Cobe. The two-storey building proposed in the successful design has a total floor space of 6,000sq

The Hammams of the Casablanca Hassan II Mosque in Morocco have been redeveloped abd renovated, and are open to the public for the first time. French design and operations specialists, Deep Nature, is operating and managing the hammams through its Moroccan subsidiary. Built at the same time as the mosque, the hammams are inspired by tradition and have undergone a complete renovation, respecting the architectural authenticity of the baths. Located

A new €6m (US$6.7m, £5.4m) community sports centre is being built in the Hauts-de-Bry in the commune of Bry-sur-Marne on the eastern suburbs of Paris. The centre – designed by Atelier Ferret Architectures – will provide 3,200sq m of space for a number of indoor sports, with facilities including a large, multi-use sports hall, a table tennis area and a large climbing wall. It will be able to host regional

Architects Wilkinson Eyre are to create a new visitor attraction in the form of a massive biome complex, near Reykjavik. The Aldin Biomes have just received planning permission and when complete, will showcase a tropical environment and local food production methods, as well as a range of wellness offerings, including barfus walks and yoga. The 48,000sq ft structures, designed for client Spor í sandinn, have been conceived as a major

A 170,000sq ft (51,816sq m) vertical aquarium is one of the ideas being considered for a proposed 500ft-high (152m) observation tower at the centre of a development project on the California coast at San Diego. Seaport San Diego, a US$2.4bn (€2.15bn, £1.93bn) scheme that encompasses 70 acres of land and water along Harbor Drive, is currently in the initial planning stages with architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and developers 1HWY1.

The first installation of the Museum of Underwater Art – a series of inter-tidal and fully submerged galleries planned for the Great Barrier Reef region of Queensland, Australia – is due to open in December on the coast at Townsville. Ocean Siren will be a solar-powered sculpture of a young girl, which uses live temperature data supplied by the Australian Institute of Marine Science to give a visual representation of

Hoshinoya Resorts has opened its seventh property, a luxury 50-room hot spring resort in Guguan, Taiwan. The abundant natural water that rushes down the Xueshan Mountain range, at 9,800ft, and into the Dajia River is heated by the earth’s core, turning into natural hot springs. Hoshinoya Guguan features architecture and landscapes crafted to blend with the natural surroundings. The natural spring waters of the valley flow through the property’s outdoor

A spectacular light and sound event has launched in Townsville, north-eastern Queensland in Australia. Halo, which is created by Sydney-based AGB Events, will run in the evenings until 4 August, and is being staged in conjunction with the inaugural North Australian Festival of Arts. The event will see Castle Hill, which looms above the city, lit up with a dramatic light and sound show for five minutes, every 20 minutes.

The Horniman Museum and Gardens in London is seeking feedback on concept plans produced by Studio Egret West that are designed to make the museum more accessible, enhance the visitor experience and develop more income-generating opportunities. Overlooking Dulwich in south-east London, the Grade II*-listed building opened in 1901 and houses around 350,000 objects, artefacts and specimens from around the world, with galleries that include anthropology, natural history, music and an

Three out of the six projects on this year's Stirling Prize shortlist are culture, attractions and leisure-related, underlining the sector's reputation for producing innovative architecture. The Macallan Distillery and Visitor Experience in Scotland (by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners), The Nevill Holt Opera in Leicestershire (Witherford Watson Mann Architects) and The Weston, Yorkshire Sculpture Park (Feilden Fowles Architects) have all been chosen. They're joined by Cork House, Goldsmith Street and

Destination spa Lefay will open a luxury eco spa resort in the Italian Dolomites on 1 August. Located in the ski area of Madonna di Campiglio, Lefay Resort & Spa Dolomiti features 88 suites and 22 branded residences, as well as a 5,000sq m Lefay spa – one of the largest spas in the Alpine region. The resort was designed by architect Hugo Demetz, who used traditional materials such as

The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) team has announced that designer Bill Bensley will deliver a keynote speech on hospitality design and sustainability at this year's summit in Hong Kong (15-17 October). Bensley's keynote will challenge delegates to rethink how hotels and resorts are designed and built, by posing questions he believes that the conscientious traveller of the future will be asking, such as: Does this hotel respect its environment? Does

FaulkerBrowns Architects and LDA Design have unveiled designs for a new ice rink and urban park in east London. Featuring an Olympic-size, twin-rink ice centre, the £30m project is being driven by client, the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, which wants the new complex to replace the ageing Lee Valley Ice Centre. The existing, 34-year-old ice centre attracts around 279,000 visits a year, but the venue is reaching the end

The World Heritage Committee has added the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The museum is one of eight Wright-designed US buildings to have made the list, after the American architect's 20th century works were awarded the honour. The others are the Unity Temple (Illinois), Frederick C. Robie House (Chicago); the Taliesin (Wisconsin); Hollyhock House (Los Angeles), Fallingwater Pennsylvania), the

Solent University, UK, has officially opened its new £28m sports and fitness centre. The centre houses two sports halls, three gyms and an indoor cycling studio. There are also two exercise studios, a physiotherapy treatment room and a dedicated basketball centre – one of only two of its kind in the UK. The university worked with Pulse Fitness on the design of the new facility, which is part of an

Cultural heritage has become the latest focus for Microsoft in its AI for Good portfolio – a five-year commitment to using artificial intelligence to tackle some of society's biggest challenges. The project will create opportunities for designers and architects to collaborate on projects impacting facilities. "As we have learned more about the dimensions that make up cultural heritage, we've concluded that preserving cultural heritage isn't something that is solely nice

Virgin Galactic believes it has the necessary financial muscle to achieve commercialisation of its space tourism flights, after merging with investment partnership Social Capital Hedosophia (SCH). The transaction, which is due to complete during the second half of 2019, will deliver US$1.3bn (€1.16bn, £1.04bn) of equity to Virgin Galactic, made up of US$1bn (€890m, £800m) in common stock of the combined company (at US$10 per share) and up to US$300m

New Zealand's Auckland Zoo has revealed a timetable for opening each part of its new South East Asia Jungle Track project ‒ a NZ$58m (US$39m, €34.6m, £31m) investment that's part of the zoo's wider 10-year, NZ$150m (US$100.9m, €89.5m, £80.4m) evolution programme, funded by Auckland Council. The zoo has worked with Studio Hansen Roberts on the design of the South East Asia Jungle Track, with NZ Strong (builders), Jacobs Engineering and

One of the Middle East's biggest aquariums, the National Aquarium in Abu Dhabi, is on track to open in 2020 as a cornerstone of upcoming mixed-use destination, Al Qana. The development, by Al Barakah International Investment (BII) and Abu Dhabi Municipality, will welcome a million visitors a year when complete. The 7,000sq m (22,965sq ft), aquarium will be home to 33,000 responsibly- and ethically-sourced marine creatures to highlight the importance

COMO Metropolitan hotel in London has opened ten luxury residences, offering private apartment-style accommodation adjacent to the hotel and opposite Hyde Park. The Residences offer the same five-star facilities and service as the hotel, which is a one-minute walk away, including access to the hotel's holistic wellness centre, COMO Shambhala Urban Escape. Inside, designer Linzi Coppick of Forme UK has prioritised a sense of home. Natural daylight floods the apartments,

After five months of construction and an investment of CHF 45m (€40m), the completely renovated Grand Hotel Quellenhof in Switzerland has opened its doors. For 150 years, the Quellenhof has served as the flagship of Europe’s wellbeing & medical health resort in Bad Ragaz. Swiss interior designer Claudio Carbone has been responsible for the redesign and the development of a new concept which is centered around the hotel’s history and

Speaking in the new edition of CLADmag, designer André Fu reveals how he found inspiration for his designs for the new St. Regis hotel. “I was born in Hong Kong and so designing the hotel made me question exactly what my home town means to me,” he explained. “I wanted to go deeper than the stereotypical concept of lanterns, junks and temples and tap into my own memories of the

The Czech city of Ostrava is to have a new concert hall designed by Steven Holl Architects and Prague-based Architecture Acts following an international competition. The structure will create a tension between new and old, with the new building sitting astride the city's existing House of Culture. The 1,300-seat concert hall, which is expected to open in 2023, was designed as a "perfect acoustic instrument in its case" in collaboration

A report from Colliers International has found that people are increasingly willing to pay more in rent or mortgage to live near to, or even onsite with, their gym. The study of 3,000 people in the UK found that 72 per cent of people responded positively to this hypothetical situation, while 29 per cent said they would be prepared to pay more for a rooftop gym. "Investors and landlords have

The opening date for the Four Seasons Philadelphia has been set for 12 August. The property was originally scheduled to open in Q3 2018. The 219-bed hotel, located atop the 1,121ft (342m) Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia’s downtown, offers views from the 48th to 56th floors. Set above it, the spa will include seven treatment rooms and an indoor infinity pool. The 17,321sq ft facility will encompass the entire 57th

Architects who love Lego will be able to treat their families to a Lego holiday experience when a new Lego waterpark opens in Italy in 2020. Gardaland has announced plans to open Europe's first Lego-branded waterpark, designed by Merlin Magic Making, with the multi-million dollar development set to open its doors next year. Aimed at families with children aged two to twelve, the new addition to the Italian theme park