Archinect - News

The world's 'deepest hotel' just opened to guests in an abandoned Chinese quarry

2018-11-16T15:50:00-05:00

Rising 88 metres (290 feet) from the floor of an abandoned quarry, the 18-storey InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland Hotel in the city’s Songjiang district has been in development for 12 years and cost 2 billion yuan (US$287.9 million) to complete. Of its 18 floors, just two are aboveground while its two lowest are completely submerged by a lake that occupies the remainder of the vast quarry pit.

Remember the Chinese 'Deep Pit Hotel' that was poised to open inside an abandoned quarry outside of Shanghai? Officially titled InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, the 336-room luxury property finally launched yesterday.

'World's First Underground Hotel' set to open in an abandoned Chinese quarry

2018-09-28T18:29:00-04:00

InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland (also known as the Deep Pit Hotel), will finally open its doors in October. The eye-popping, luxury hotel is standing out as a must-see destination in itself. Built mostly below ground in a deep pit of an abandoned quarry in southwestern Shanghai, it’s being hailed as a modern architectural wonder. [...] Of its 18 floors, 16 are technically below ground, including two floors underwater.

Image courtesy of Atkins.

"The hotel houses 337 rooms and suites that boast curved balconies where guests can enjoy views of the waterfalls spilling from the surrounding cliffs and the transparent glass waterfall built into the centre of the hotel," writes Lonely Planet on its website. What's not to love?

Image courtesy of Atkins.

Artificial waterfalls inside an enormous rock pit certainly feel more authentic than the 350-foot example gushing down this skyscraper 1,130 miles further west in the city of Guiyang.

Construction begins on Atlanta's largest public park by John Portman & Associates

2018-09-10T15:49:00-04:00

Construction has begun on Atlanta's soon-to-be largest park by John Portman & Associates. The repurposed quarry pit will not only provide an outdoor recreational area but also create 2 billion gallons of emergency drinking water for Atlanta, increasing the city’s emergency water reserves from 3 to 30 days.

The first phase of Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry includes constructing a signature gateway for the park's entrance. Once completed, the new green space will be 100 acres larger than Atlanta’s currently largest park.

Book Review: Katrina Palmer's "End Matter"

2015-06-09T20:02:00-04:00

On September 2, 1666, a fire began in a bakery on Pudding Lane in London. By the next day, the flames had fanned out north and west, engulfing much of the city’s medieval center. The fire, later knowns as the Great Fire of London, destroyed much of the old cathedral of St. Paul as well as the overcrowded, narrow streets that surrounded it. In the aftermath of the fire, a period of social unrest was followed by a large-scale reconstruction, helmed by the noted architect Sir Christopher Wren. He built a new cathedral in the English Baroque style and supervised, to some extent, the city’s larger reconstruction. Today, St. Paul’s Cathedral and much of the city’s core owes its appearance in part to Wren’s preference for a particular variety of white, soft stone hewed on the Isle of Portland. The restitution of London spurred the industrial development of Portland’s quarries. For every monument that rose up, such as the looming Doric column that memorialized the fire itself, a hole was e...

The Stunning Repurposed Architecture and Lunar Landscapes of Gotland’s Refined Resort

2012-04-02T19:55:00-04:00

London-based photographer Peter Guenzel explores the sparse and calming atmosphere of former limestone refinery turned eco hotel, Fabriken Furillen... the minimalist retreat is set amid the area’s untrammeled natural beauty featuring rocky coastline, wind-swept pines and glistening sea... founder Johan Hellström preserved its original infrastructure and recycled local materials such as concrete, limestone and hardwood to build the hotel's 17 rooms.