Marina Bay Sands

Architects: Safdie Architects

Location: Singapore

Project Director: Moshe Safdie

Executive Architects: Aedas, Pte, Ltd.

Client: Marina Bay Sands Pte. Ltd. (A Subsidiary of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation)

Structural Engineering: ARUP

Landscape Design: Peter Walker & Partners

Landscape Construction: Peridian International Inc.

Site Area: 154,938 sq.m / 15.4 hectare (1,668,000 sq.ft / 38 acres)

Gross Floor Area: 581,400 sq.m (6,258,000 sq.ft)

Total Area: 845,000 sq.m (9,096,000 sq.ft)

Height: 57 stories / 195 meters (640 feet)

Construction Cost: US $ 5.7 Billion, including Land Cost

Size: Hotel 265,683 sq.m (2,860,000 sq.ft), Sky-Park 9,941 sq.m (107,000 sq.ft), Casino 15,000 sq.m (161,500 sq.ft)

"The towers first of all sort of open up at the base to from an atrium, and because the site is triangular, or at least wedge-shaped, one opens more, the next one less and the last one even less so there's a dynamic of changing geometry." explained Safdie.

Marina Bay Sands combines more than 120,000 square meters ( nearly 1.3 million square feet) of world-class convention and exhibition facilities; three 56-storey hotel towers containing more than 2600 rooms in total, a 1-hectare (2.5 acre) skypark capping the towers, which offers 360-degree views of the city and sea and outdoor amenities for the hotel including swimming pools, restaurants and gardens; an iconic Art Science Museum on the promontory, two state-of-the-art theaters with 4000 seats, a casino; a wide array of shopping and dining outlets, and an outdoor events plaza along the promenade that can accommodate up to 10,000 people.

The project is more than the sum of its buildings, it is an entirely new urban sector of Singapore, a vital district that is connected with nature, interactive, of a human scale, and climatically sustainable. The seamlessness of indoor and outdoor public space is a hallmark of Marina Bay Sands and a major factor in its success.

The hotel is designed to align with the URA's long-term planning objective to complete the ring of development around the Marina Bay water basin. Working with the URA guidelines, the building is set back from the waterfront edge and visually porous so as to open views from the CBD to the Singapore Strait beyond. At street level, the design includes a grand, connecting atrium lobby which extends the city's public pedestrian network.

Three towers with large voids between them frame the views to the sea from downtown. Each "double-loaded" tower spreads at its base to form the atrium at the tower levels, with glazed connections in between. From south to north, the size of the atrium narrows from tower to tower. The west facade is glazed to minimize the views of Marina Bay and the Singapore Skyline.

The Sands SkyPark is located on the 57th storey and includes many of the hotel amenities. At the north end is a public observation deck accessible from level 1. The SkyPark is a shaped structure constructed of spanning steel bridges hovering over the concrete towers below. The spaces between the hotel and park above are designed as glass pavilions with open views to the park overhead, home to restaurants, lounges and a high end spa. The park's maximum width is 40 meters (131 feet). The entire park can host upto 3,900 people. Its lush gardens include 250 trees and 650 plants.

The 151 meters long swimming pool appears to have a vanishing edge, and offers sweeping views to the west. And this 1.2 hectare (3 acre) tropical oasis is longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall and large enough to park four and a half A380 jumbo jets.

The observation deck is the longest occupiable cantilevered structure in the world. It spans from towers to towers and cantilevers 65 meters (213 feet) beyond to form one of the world's largest public cantilevers. It is 340 meters (1,115 feet) long from the northern tip to the south end.

"Its all about rethinking and proposing a new kind of public realm, which is the contrary to the dominant typology of cluster of towers sitting over a mall, turning its back to the rest of the city." says Safdie.















