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Zaha Hadid Architects tops out on 'Hollywood-inspired' resort complex in Macau

2021-11-23T12:03:00-05:00

Zaha Hadid Architects has shared an update about its latest venture in the Chinese entertainment capital of Macau. The multibillion-dollar project has topped out on Phase 2 of its Hollywood-themed twin-tower resort called Studio City. The resort was built to expand developer Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s operation in the city’s burgeoning Cotai Strip.

Renderings courtesy mir/Zaha Hadid Architects

The facades of each building are defined by three layers of gradated glass with external shade fins that ensure an energy-efficient envelope. Featuring more than 250,000 square meters (2.7 million square feet) of total floor area, the 900-room development is home to a six-screen movie theater, retail and gaming areas, and one of Asia’s largest water outdoor parks. The studio has previously worked with Melco to complete a nearby luxury hotel complex called Morpheus in 2018.

Renderings courtesy mir/Zaha Hadid Architects

“Studio City Phase 2 reaffirms our ongoing commitment to the city and c...

Foster + Partners designs Apple's new Cotai Central store, an urban “oasis of tranquility” in bustling Macau

2018-07-02T20:11:00-04:00

In their latest collaboration with Apple, Foster + Partners envisioned the tech giant's new retail store near Macau's Sands Cotai Central resort as a luminescent “paper lantern” that reveals a “tranquil oasis” inside. According to the design team, the store can offer a sense of calm and respite at the heart of bustling Cotai, a gambling and tourist hub.

Apple's Chief Design Officer Jonathan Ive and Senior VP of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts worked alongside Foster + Partners in designing the project.

Photo © Nigel Young/Foster+Partners.

Carved out from a dense bamboo grove, the cubic building features an external public event plaza and provides pedestrian connections from surrounding buildings. The store's structural frame is supported by three corner columns wrapped in mirrored stainless steel that reflect the colors and patterns of its glass-stone facade.

Photo © Nigel Young/Foster+Partners.

The interior space shows off shimmering stone panels and towering bamboo groves ...

Zaha Hadid Architects’ Morpheus hotel in Macau to open tomorrow

2018-06-14T17:40:00-04:00

Opening its doors tomorrow, the Morpheus hotel is already set to become one of Macau's most opulent addresses. Located on the southern edge of China, the area often touted as the "Las Vegas of Asia" has become the region's most popular entertainment destination, welcoming more than 32 million tourists a year and housing a new breed of mega, casino resorts that make the ones in Nevada look modest.

Photo by Virgile Simon Bertrand.

Joining their ranks, the Morpheus hotel will very soon be adding another 770 hotel rooms and sky villas to City of Dreams, a massive 1,400-room integrated resort complex on the Cotai Strip. It is the final chapter for Melco Resorts and Entertainment’s sprawling resort development, and also happens to be one of the final buildings designed by the late Zaha Hadid. Intimately involved with the project prior to her passing, the 150,000-square-meter, 40-story complex is complete with all the posh details one has come to expect.

Photo by Ivan Dupont.

With its openin...

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Aedas unveil major boundary crossing facility for Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge

2018-01-16T15:38:00-05:00

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) and Aedas today unveiled their involvement in a boundary crossing which will provide a new entry point into Hong Kong. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF) is a joint project between the two architects, working with AECOM, which will provide new connections between Hong Kong, mainland China, and Macao, and which will bring wider benefits across the Pearl River Delta.

After years of delay and enormous cost overruns, work seems to be picking up again on the ambitious Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge project; connecting Hong Kong International Airport with Macau across the Lingdingyang channel and Zhuhai in mainland China via a series of bridges and one undersea tunnel which, once completed, would be one of the world's longest at 34 miles/55 kilometers.

Image via Wikipedia

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Aedas, working with AECOM, now revealed designs and construction images of one the bridge project's key elements, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF).

HKBC Construction

From the architects: "The HKBCF will cover 130 hectare on a new 150-hectare artificial island reclaimed from the open waters to the north-east of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), and will benefit from the proximity to the HKIA’s transport links, including the SkyPier Ferry Terminal, and the MTR’s Airport Express and Tung Chung line...

Take a look at the rapid urbanization of China's Pearl River Delta

2016-05-10T15:23:00-04:00

The region where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea has seen some of the most rapid urban expansion in human history over the past few decades – transforming what was mostly agricultural land in 1979 into what is the manufacturing heartland of a global economic superpower today.

Shenzen (1964)

Shenzen (2015)

Macau (1991)

Macau (2015)

Hong Kong (1964)

Hong Kong (2015)

Guangzhou (1949)

Guangzhou (2015)

Some related content:

Win the "Architectural Guide China", a handy travel book of the country's architectural history

2016-02-23T12:25:00-05:00

Architectural Guide China is a unique travel guidebook that presents up-to-date insight into the rich architectural histories in Eastern China's megacities, which continue to create widespread impact through rapid urbanization, population growth, and the consequential effects on the natural environment.

In this volume of Architectural Guide, authors Evan Chakroff, Addison Godel, and Jacqueline Gargus give an architectural overview of nine major urban sites in mainland China as well as Hong Kong and Macau. If you're planning a trip to any of those places, this book can definitely come in handy.

Thanks to DOM-publishers, Archinect is giving away Architectural Guide China to three of our readers!

Read on for more about the book, and find out how to enter the giveaway.

"The 'Reform and Opening' era affected these metropolises in different ways and has influenced the existing structures of dynastic capitals, trade centers, former European colonies and discovery areas.

The volume contains 620...

Movie-themed resort in Macau to show off "figure-8" ferris wheel

2015-07-16T04:20:00-04:00

The Golden Reel will be the 'centerpiece attraction' of the soon-to-[be]-opened Studio City resort. It will be located between the hotel's two central towers, 427 ft off the ground. The movie-inspired design is said to be based on the idea of two flaming asteroids crashed through the building, leaving two large holes around which the figure-eight shape is made.

Your call, Vegas.

China's Pearl River Delta: Tying 11 Cities into a Megaregion

2014-09-22T14:18:00-04:00

Today, on China’s southern coast, the integration of the Greater Pearl River Delta (PRD) is turning fiction into fact (sans the harsh lawman), with 11 cities linking to create an urban area of 21,100 square miles (55,000 sq km) and a population of up to 80 million. The nine cities of the PRD, plus the special administrative zones of Hong Kong and Macau, are becoming increasingly linked by a series of bridges, tunnels, roads, and high-speed rail networks.

Pulse Pavilion in Macau

2013-06-10T15:42:00-04:00

We have received images of Pulse Pavilion, a fascinating temporary structure designed and built by third- and fourth-year undergraduate architecture students at the University of Saint Joseph in Macau. The design team was led by guest professors Kristof Crolla (Laboratory for Explorative Architecture & Design Ltd. / LEAD) and Dannes Kok. Pulse Pavilion was open to the public at Plaza Sai Van, adjacent to Macau Tower, from June 1st until today.

Archinect Blogger extraordinaire, Freda Weng Chu, shares news of her architecture exhibition in Macau

2013-03-25T20:15:00-04:00

I had my first architecture exhibition early this year in Macau, China and it was the greatest experience I have ever had... The exhibition was divided into 2 halls; the primary hall included all my Graduate school work in Washington University in St. Louis - concept sketches, technical drawings, renderings and physical models. The secondary hall contained concept sketches and all my traveling / study abroad experiences in Barcelona, Spain, Brazil, Buenos Aires, Argentina and a lot more!