apr 30, 2010

moshe safdie: marina bay sands opens

singapore’s marina bay sands (MBS) designed by architect moshe safdie opened its doors to the public, at a feng shui approved time of 15:18pm on april 27th, 2010.

marina bay sands photos: marina bay, asiaone, reuters, AFP, ST

this first phase of MBS includes 963 hotel rooms, parts of a shopping mall and convention centre along with the resort’s casino, restaurant and bars. the complex’s official opening is set for june 23rd, when 2,560 more guest rooms will open along with additional commercial spaces.

view of the pedestrian walk way

distant view of the marina bay sands

a scaled replica on show for public viewing

architect moshe safdie with the scaled model of the marina bay sands

as part of the project, safdie has introduced an art path within the resort. over the course of six months and having looked at the work of about 30 aritsts, he has selected seven installations by five international artists including sol lewitt, antony gormley and zheng chongbin. the pieces selected are meant to play on environmental influences including light, water and wind, integrating art with architecture. the worth of the public art situated at MBS is around 40 – 50 million singaporean dollars.

‘drift’ by antony gormley image courtesy of moshe safdie architects

‘drift’ took UK-based artist antony gormley one and a half years from conceptualization to completion. he wanted to create a matrix that would not only occupy the space within MBS, but also activate it. the installation is a massive three dimensional stainless polyhedral matrix comprised of more than 16, 000 steel rods and more than 8, 320 steel nodes.

‘rising forest’, zheng chongbin image courtesy of moshe safdie architects

‘rising forest’ by zheng chongbin is a ceramic sculpture which is composed of 83 large-scale glazed stoneware ceramic vessels occupying approximately 4,000 square meters in MBS’s hotel atrium. each of the vessels weight approximately 1,200 kg and measure 3 meters tall. each vessel holds a tree, creating a ‘canopy’ across the interior and exterior areas of the atrium.

andrea chin I designboom

apr 30, 2010

beautiful.

aah says:
Apr 30, 2010
Moshe Safdie project defies Dubai in becoming the leading edge developed city in the world.
But who will be using these facilities?
The same international clients from Burj Khalifa or Asian based businessmen?
Will it fit the newcoming local and regional economy?
Or Will it pull other countries to continue the development of advanced and expensive design projects?

pierregeo says:
Apr 30, 2010
hate it.

argenpibe says:
Apr 30, 2010
that building is seriously ruining the skyline of singapore

osayowais says:
Apr 30, 2010
Ugly. This building demonstrates the problem of pursuing creativity, coolness, and exuberance at the expense of aesthetics.

kirk says:
May 03, 2010
love that indoor forest..but the design as a whole? just ok. the question is for whom and for what is the building? can they be accessed and afforded by the greater majority or only for the few elite?

dawndy says:
May 03, 2010
Why do I have a feeling that the Singapore skyline is an imitation of Sydney’s?

The Sydney Harbour Bridge vs. The Double Helix whatchamacallit bridge

Sydney Harbour/Circular Quay vs. Marina Bay

The Sydney Opera House vs. The Esplanade ‘Durians’

And now with this new casino thing…it looks just like a banana boat sitting atop six orange peels. Then again with global warming and rising sea-levels, this could be the very next Noah’s Ark Singapore needs!

I just don’t get it. Do you?

Boohoos says:
May 03, 2010
I guess the towers are ok, but what is that thing on top? Ugly….What a waste of money!

Louis Montreal says:
May 03, 2010
nothing wrong to emulate other influences.
i like the whole concept, it reflects a new aproach to design,

francisco Romero says:
May 04, 2010
‘Imitating’ and ’emulating’ are 2 different things.

Imitating’s more like it. Banana boats or no banana boats…it still is a copycat city.

No more no less.

Boohoos says:
May 04, 2010

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