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A new natural history museum in Abu Dhabi will take visitors on a 13.8-billion-year journey through time and space. Called the Abu Dhabi Natural History Museum and set to open in 2025, the museum will be located on Saadiyat Island, in the Saadiyat Cultural District. The project was officially unveiled by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and chairman of the [more...]

Clifford’s Tower in York, considered one of England’s most important buildings, has opened to the public following a £5m redevelopment. The structure is all that remains of York Castle, which was built on the orders of William I and once dominated the former Viking city of Jórvík. While the landmark has played a crucial role in English history during its 800-year-old history, it had been pretty much an empty shell [more...]

The MSG Sphere, a controversial auditorium and music globe designed by Populous, has been given full planning permission by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). If built, the Sphere would tower 90m above Stratford, London, and in addition to the auditorium, would include a nightclub, bars, restaurants, cafés, shops and parking. The sphere would boast the “largest and highest resolution LED screen in the world” – in the form of [more...]

The Burrell Collection in Glasgow, UK has reopened following a £68.25m refurbishment which took five years to complete. Exhibiting objects from Europe and Asia, the vast collection was donated to the city and people of Glasgow by art collector Sir William Burrell in 1944. A museum housing the collection, which includes more than 9,000 objects, was then built and opened in Pollok Park in 1983. The collection holds items from [more...]

The first Ritz-Carlton location in Costa Rica will launch in 2024, situated within the 1,400-acre private club and resort community Peninsula Papagayo. Hospitality specialists SB Architects are behind the design, with spa and wellness consultancy Blu Spas helping create programming, project design and concept for the wellness areas. Located in Guanacaste, Peninsula Papagayo sits on the north Pacific coast of Costa Rica, deemed to be one of the most biodiverse [more...]

Music psychology specialist, Brian d’Souza, has launched a sound wellness business to offer transformative sound experiences to the hospitality, wellness and spa industries. Called Swell, the company delivers bespoke solutions combining field recording, music composition, nature and sound therapy to improve relaxation while promoting positive listening habits for deep relaxation. d'Souza says the traditional linear listening experience can result in 'listener fatigue' if guests and staff hear the same music [more...]

German architect Ole Scheeren has won a design competition for his vision for a tropical resort complex in the beachfront city of Sanya, on the Chinese island of Hainan. Scheduled to open in 2026, Sanya Horizons has been designed for developer CDF Investment & Development and will be sited on 83,500sq m of lush beachfront property. The property will consist of two hotels under IHG luxury brands – The Regent [more...]

Italian architect Alberto Apostoli has renewed his partnership with Newform – an Italian wellness company – and designed A.Zeta. A.Zeta is a showerhead with a segmented steel profile, designed as an aesthetic representation of flowing water. The studied inclines enhance the water flow and can be programmed in two modes; rainfall or waterfall. Available in polished chrome finish, satin, or black and white, the shower plate features essential lines enhanced [more...]

A new geothermal forest spa called Forest Lagoon will launch in April near Akureyri, in Northern Iceland, with design by Basalt Architects – the creative driving force behind Iceland’s iconic Blue Lagoon. The story behind Forest Lagoon began in 2014 when workers digging inside the Vaðlaheiðargöng heath – for an unrelated project – discovered a geothermal hot water spring. This water source will serve as the beating heart of the [more...]

Brewing giant Diageo has revealed plans to create a Guinness-themed cultural hub and microbrewery in London, UK, with design by London-based agency, Hot Pickle. Called Guinness at Old Brewer’s Yard, the visitor attraction is set to open in London’s Covent Garden in Autumn 2023. Located on a historic brewing site – ​​the Old Brewer's Yard was the site of beer brewing as far back as 1722 – the £73m development [more...]

Culturespaces has announced that its new digital art centre, Fabrique des Lumières, will open in Amsterdam on 22 April 2022. Located in the historic former gas plant of Westergasfabriek – built in 1885 by the Imperial Continental Gas Association – the cultural attraction will use "cutting-edge technology" to create immersive exhibitions devoted to some of the most celebrated figures in art history. The venue has a total surface area of [more...]

Multi-Grammy award-winning musician and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams is creating a beachfront resort in The Bahamas in partnership with Miami Beach-based hospitality entrepreneur David Grutman. Named Somewhere Else, the project marks the duo’s third hospitality project. Their portfolio already includes an indoor-outdoor dining concept, called Swan, as well as the Goodtime Hotel, both of which are based in Miami. The upcoming beachfront resort will open in January 2024 on the Bahamas’ [more...]

The number of registered visitors to Dubai's Expo 2020 has passed 10 million. Expo 2020, which was, as the name suggests, originally scheduled for 2020 but had to be moved due to the pandemic, is the largest major global event to be held since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition to physical visits, the Expo's digital platform had seen 37 million visits by 27 December 2021. The Expo [more...]

Two Asian-inspired wellness sanctuaries crafted by Banyan Tree will open on luxury private islands off the coast of Mozambique in Q4 2022. The first, a signature Banyan Tree spa, will open at Banyan Tree Ilha Caldeira – a new private island getaway. The resort will be joined by a sister island named Banyan Tree Veya Ilha Nejovo, dedicated to wellness and wellbeing. This adults-only 20-villa wellness destination will be located [more...]

Hotel group Dorchester Collection and real estate development group Omniyat have joined forces to create a new luxury hotel named The Lana. The 225-room destination will open in Q4 2022 in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa district inside a 30-storey tower designed by architecture firm Foster + Partners. Situated next to the Dubai Creek and Marasi Marina, The Lana will mark the Dorchester Collection’s debut location in the Middle East. Parisian interior [more...]

Global hotel and spa operator Six Senses is incubating the launch of a new global wellness concept called Six Senses Place. CEO Neil Jacobs and his team have indicated that new ‘clubs’ could potentially open at urban Six Senses properties in New York – where the company is busy on a property designed by Bjarke Ingels Group – as well as London, Bangkok, Shanghai, the Loire Valley, Istanbul, Rome and Lisbon. [more...]

The iconic Orient Express luxury train is set to return to Italy following a hiatus of 46 years. The new Orient Express La Dolce Vita service will welcome passengers from 2023, with six trains embarking through itineraries across 14 regions – including three international journeys from Rome to Paris, Istanbul and Split (Croatia). Orient Express – which is owned by French hotel giant Accor Group – will work in partnership [more...]

Almost 300 drones were used to signal an environmental message above the Eden Project’s biomes, during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). The Eden Project collaborated with display company Celestial – whose drone fleet is currently the largest in the UK – and Volvo Car UK to create a 90 second film imploring world leaders to Act Now to combat global warming. The film can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/MLhN7jqG6GE The [more...]

Acoustical consulting firm Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics and audio/video design services for the recently opened Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in LA, US. Working closely with the project team that included Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Gensler, Buro Happold, WHY Architects (exhibit design), and Paratus Group, Jaffe Holden spent several years working with the museum team on the 300,000 square foot venue, which features the 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater, 288-seat [more...]