MARINA BAY

SANDS
SINGAPORE
Design Concept
Conceptually, each tower is composed of two slabs of east
and west-facing rooms. The double-loaded towers spread at
the base forming a giant atrium at the lower levels, and
converge as they rise. The glazed west side faces the city
center while the east side is planted with lush
bougainvilleas facing the botanical gardens and ocean
beyond. In plan, as the parcel varies in width, the cross
section is decreased from one tower to the next. The three
void spaces are connected by one continuous and
conditioned glazed atrium, filling the space between the
towers with restaurants, retail spaces, and a public
thoroughfare. Each tower slab form is also twisted slightly
in relation to its pair, creating a dance-like relationship
between the two parts and accentuating the slenderness of
the buildings, resulting in the appearance of six towers,
rather than three
Construction Challenges
• The first and most critical task was to secure the building footprint.
The entire complex sits on 0.56 million square meters (6 million
square feet) of reclaimed land – sand infill on deep soft marine clay
deposits.
• Marina Bay is a former salt water estuary that is now a fresh water
reserve. Prior to excavation, the site needed to be reinforced.
• The key challenge of building the hotel towers was the construction
of the part of the towers that slope at an incline.
• Like a suspension bridge, high-tensile steel tendons give an added
layer of support inside the walls.
• The most practical method of erecting the Sky Park was to
prefabricate each of the 14 main steel segments off-site, truck them
to the site, lift them into place and assemble them on top of the
tower.
Façade and Sky Park
• The design solution proposed and
implemented was a custom double-glazed
unitized curtain wall.
• Perpendicular to the façade, glass fins were
installed to provide shading.
• The outer skin follows the natural curved
shape of the buildings, and the use of
reflective glass creates a taught mirrored
façade.
• One of the keys to achieving this aesthetic was
a minimal spandrel panel at the floor slabs,
with a continuous double-glazed unit spanning
the full 3 meters floor to floor.
Façade and Sky Park
• As one of the aims of the project had been to
minimize the height of the podium buildings,
seeking to reference Singapore’s pastoral hills
more than its urban core, the problem emerged
that the complex program left no vacant land
suitable for these amenities.
• Creating gardens on top of the roof of the
casino and the convention center was studied,
however these vast spaces lacked views,
overshadowed and overpowered by the
adjacent hotel towers. The idea emerged to
bridge between the three towers in order to
reclaim exterior garden space and create a 2.5-
acre park in the sky
THE INTERLACE
SINGAPORE
Concept
Site Features
Special Features
INFERENCES
HEARST TOWER
MANHATTAN,
NYC
Concept
ADDITION OF A
OLD STRUCTURE
NEW STRUCTURE

NEW SKYSCRAPER
• An important design specification
was the preservation of the
existing landmark facade and its
incorporation into the new tower
design.
• Hearst’s original intention for this
building was to provide a high
quality working environment for
his employees.
• The building truly seems
celebrating the marriage of the old
and the new type of architecture.
About The Tower FREE FORM
Since the west side of the building is close to another
skyscraper, the service core was put at the west side. As a
result, the eastern edge of the building couldn’t be
reinforced by a central core. In order to eliminate the
structural disadvantage of this unsymmetrical form, the
structures on the perimeter were designed as diagrid
system. The diagrid structural system can provide
sufficient support for the building facade to resist lateral
forces.

EFFICIENCY
Another reason for using a diagrid on the perimeter is that
it is more efficient than the moment frame system. The
complete diagrid system saved 20% of steel material.

REDUNDANCY
In order to prevent collapsing and to withstand extreme
loading events, such as blasts, earthquakes, or
unexpectedly large loads.
Sustainability Features
•  INNOVATIVE LANDSCAPE AND EXTERIOR DESIGN
INCREASES BUILDING EFFICIENCY BY 26%.
• EFFECTIVE STORM WATER MANAGEMENT
REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF RAINEWATER
DUMPING INTO NYC’S SEWER SYSTEM BY 30%.
• 85% OF THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE WAS
RECYCLED FOR THE FUTURE BUILDING.
• ORIGINAL CAST STONE FACADE IS RESTORED.
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS WERE CHOSEN WITH
NO HARMFUL CHEMICALS AND MANUFACYURED
WITH RECYCLED CONTENT.
EVOLUTION
TOWER
MOSCOW,
RUSSIA
Concept
• The original concept was combining the city authorities’
ambitions to impress the world with an iconic wedding
palace building and the developer’s intentions to increase the
total gross and rentable areas to make the project financially
viable.

• Finally, both parties united around a sketch of two twisted

ribbons elevated from the Yin and Yang symbols, where
black and white represented the groom and bride embracing
each other in dance.

• The design of the tower crown was further improved

by separating two ribbons with the “veil of the bride”
above the sky bar. The Wedding Palace was a 2,000sqm
“socially orientated” locomotive, hiding behind its
atrium glazing the 80,000-squaremeter office tower
rising above it.
Geometric Transformation Concept
Special Features
• The tower crown, representing the bent of a striped ribbon
facade, consists of two 41-meter-span twisted-steel arches,
with interim steel supports cantilevered from the central
cylindrical concrete core walls, and four smaller arched
supports beneath the white steel ribbon stripes.

• The podium’s terraced and landscaped roof, part of a new

civic plaza, provides public space for recreation activities,
greenry, fountains/water features, open outdoor cafes, and
more.

• The organic twisting silhouette stands out against the

background of extruded glass towers, greatly contributing to
the overall composition of the Moscow-City high-rise
cluster.

• Vegetated green roofs over the retail mall and integrated

coil floor heating under the landscape plaza levels use grey
water in winter to melt the snow and ice for the safety of
pedestrians. Four outdoor travelators move people between
terrace levels of the plaza (a 10-meter height change) and
operate through extreme winter conditions.
TURNING TORSO
SWEDEN
Concept