Completion of Four-Year, $5.5 Billion Marina Bay Sands and Unveil of the Design for Large-Scale Mixed-Income Housing Complex in Singapore
Crystal Pavilions at Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort To Open September 18 and 22, 2011
Bishan Residential Project Design, Evolved From Habitat ’67, Is Unveiled
Marina Bay Sands, the $5.5-billion integrated resort in Singapore designed by architect Moshe Safdie for the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, is celebrating its completion after only four years with the opening this week of the two Crystal Pavilions, one of which will be home to two luxury night clubs and the other to Louis Vuitton’s first Island Maison in southeast Asia. The 9-million-square-foot resort and urban district anchors the Singapore waterfront and creates a gateway to the city, and is already serving as an economic engine and a cultural symbol for the new Singapore. It is estimated that the complex has increased tourism spending in Singapore by 49 percent since its initial opening in 2010.
Safdie Architects has also announced plans for a distinctive example of re-imagined urban living, designed by Moshe Safdie for mixed-income use. Unveiled in Singapore this week by CapitaLand Residential Singapore and Mitsubishi Estate Asia, developers of the project, the new housing complex will be located on a 129,137-square-foot site in the heart of Bishan Central—one of Singapore’s most significant outlying residential areas. The condominium complex will comprise approximately 509 apartments, across two 38-story towers, and will incorporate private terraces, many common public spaces, and sky gardens. The design has been evolved from Safdie’s groundbreaking Habitat ‘67 by the architect and his firm, in a series of recent such projects, also including Golden Dream Bay in Qinhuangdao, China.
Crystal Pavilions at Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort
Floating in Marina Bay, the two Crystal Pavilions are, through singular strategies of engineering, essentially islands, accessible from the primary Marina Bay Sands retail area—the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands—by underwater tunnels, a bridge, and from the bay by boat. The pavilions provide a counterpoint to two other feats of architecture and engineering at Marina Bay Sands: the SkyPark, and the ArtScience Museum. The SkyPark, 656 feet above the bay, spans the resort’s three hotel towers and cantilevers approximately 65 meters beyond. The ArtScience Museum is grounded around a circular base with 10 extending finger-like structures that house 21 naturally lighted galleries. Surrounded by a lily pond reflecting pool and boasting commanding views of downtown Singapore, the museum plays a significant part in making the integrated resort such a potent symbol of Singapore.
Opening September 18, 2011, the new Louis Vuitton Maison, the northern pavilion, is a one-ofa- kind concept for the luxury brand, and will feature nautically inspired interiors designed by the internationally acclaimed architect Peter Marino, who has incorporated art and cultural elements in the retail space.
Opening September 22, 2011, the southern Crystal Pavilion will be home to two nightclubs. Pangaea, on the first level, will be accessible through an underwater tunnel and will host up to 500 partygoers per night. On the top level, Avalon will feature performances by the world’s leading DJs, with live music in a multi-sensory interactive environment.
Bishan Residential Project Design Is Unveiled
In the new Singapore project, Safdie has introduced a strong stepping form for the condominium complex, moving past the traditional approach of deploying individual towers, to create a multi-dimensional matrix of homes, private terraces, and public gardens. The design provides for lush vertical greenery, optimal orientation relative to the sun, naturally ventilated units, and generous views, all without compromising on efficiency or building structures.
“With fractal-geometry surface patterns, a dramatic stepping structure, and a network of gardens open to the sky, the condominium project at Bishan Central is the latest in our series of global projects evolving from the experimental project Habitat ’67 in Montreal,” said Safdie, whose firm, Safdie Architects, is based in Boston and also has offices in Jerusalem, Toronto, and Singapore. “Instead of independent towers, the building’s two towers are linked by three bridging ‘sky gardens.’ The overall mass is porous and open, allowing air to breeze through and the light to penetrate, and resulting in a more humane and delicate urban fabric than is usual in the traditional apartment building.”
Many of the towers’ residents will have good views of lush Bishan Park below. At ground level, 75 percent of the site’s area will be developed into gardens, outdoor “garden rooms,” swimming pools, and walking paths.
“While providing great quality of life, mitigating a sense of density, and maximizing contact with nature, the complex also results in a village-like clustering of residential units, echoing hillside developments and the integration of architecture and plant life into a singular experience,” said Safdie, whose firm is collaborating with Coen and Partners of Minneapolis on the landscape design.
Design of the project is in progress, as is development. Sales are targeted for the first half of 2012, and first occupancy is expected in 2015.
