Marina Bay Sands

Following four years of construction in Singapore opened Hotel Marina Bay Sands. The three tower 200 meters is a huge terrace in the form of a gondola with pools and green gardens with total area of 120 thousand square meters. The main pool is located outdoors, is not visible to the rim, because of what the impression that the water's edge terminates at a height. Swimming pool stretches for 150 meters and is the largest swimming pool, built on this level. The hotel has 2,560 rooms, shopping center, conference hall, 2 theaters, a museum and several restaurants. Marina Bay Sands is one of two winning proposals for Singapore's first Integrated Resorts, the other being the Resorts World Sentosa,
Bidders were assessed based on four criteria:
• Tourism appeal and contribution
• Architectural concept and design
• Development investment
• Strength of the consortium and partners
Las Vegas Sands initially committed to invest S$3.85 billion in the project, not including the fixed S$1.2 billion cost of the 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m2) site itself. With the escalating costs of materials, such as sand and steel, and labour shortages owing to other major infrastructure and property development in the country, Sheldon Adelson placed the total cost of the development at $8.0 billion as of July 2009.




2. DESIGN

Fig(2.1) Architectural model showing the layout of the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort:

The hotel and Sky Park are in and on the towers in the background, respectively; the shopping mall, theatre and casino are in the long lower building; and the ArtScience Museum is in flower-shaped building in the foreground.
The resort is designed by Moshe Safdie, who says it was initially inspired by card decks. In addition to the casino, other key components of the plan are three hotel towers with 2,560 rooms and suites, a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) Art Science Museum and a convention centre with 1,200,000 square feet (111,000 m2) of space, capable of accommodating up to 45,000 people.
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 tower slabs also give further character to the massing and relate to the site context: 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 decrease from one tower to the next. The three void spaces are connected by one continuous and conditioned glazed, filling the space between the towers with restaurants, retail spaces, and a public thoroughfare. Each tower slab from is also twisted slightly in relation to its pair, creating a dance-like relationship between the two parts and accentuation the slenderness of the buildings, resulting in the appearance of six towers, rather than three.
In addition to the million square meters of built space the project program also called for the development of extensive exterior gardens with swimming pools, jogging paths, and public spaces. As one of the aims of the project had been to minimize the geight 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.

2.1 THE BELLY
The façade of the project which required careful consideration was thus the “belly” of the sky park. Made of more than 9000 silver-painted metal –composite panels, this skin encloses the mega trusses which bridge the buildings at level 55,as well as a multitude of back of house spaces(i.e., large mechanical rooms with water tanks supporting the pools and a network of corridors and offices for hotel operations staff). The geometry of the sky park began with a platonic torpid form, which was then further shaped to streamline the cross sections of the building. The resulting surface was then regularized and panelized using a computer script, triangulation the façade into simple shapes, the shapes were water-jet cut from flat sheet panels and shipped to the building site in containers pre-designed to be lifted to the top levels of the building.
Once on top of the building, the panels were installed via temporary aluminum frame under slung mobile gantries which traveled on a permanent track of steel rails. The gantry system track serves double day as a building maintenance unit, therefore the track was designed to be hidden within the reveal pattern of the facade panels.






3. CONSTRUCTION

Fig(3.1) When construction started in 2007.

Fig(3.2) Marina bay sands

In May of 2006, after a highly-competitive bidding process, the Singapore government selected Las Vegas sands corp. to build the country's first integrated resort property. It will be one of only two resort-casino properties in the South East Asian city-state and will operate as such for a period of 30 years. the gigantic complex complete with three 60-story hotel towers with 3 stories underground will house 2,600 hotel rooms / suites and a 4,000 car garage; topped by a two acre sky park bridging across the towers consisting of a garden, swimming pool, jogging paths, spas; ‘floating’ crystal pavilions; on the promontory a lotus-shaped museum; a grand, a multi-leveled retail arcade for international luxury brands. Celebrity chef restaurants; an outdoor event plaza; entertainment theaters and night clubs plus a Las Vegas-style casino; highly flexible exhibition halls and a convention centre that can host over 45,000 delegates.


Fig(3.3) Marina bay sands

Fig(3.4) Marina Bay Sands

Skypark is beginning to look like a park with more than 20 trees now planted 200 meters in the air.Closer to the opening, the roof top gardens will be home to 250 trees and 650 plants.


Fig(3.5) The grand arcade trave rse of the MBS hotel
The 340m-long skypark, which will house a 1,2 hectares swimming pools -
equivalent to the size of 10 olympic size swimming pools -, observation decks, gardens, restaurants, spas, and walking trails.it will be cantilevered out some 70m without any support underneath.once completed, the skypark is expected to be a leading tourist spot where one can enjoy a panoramic view of the beaches and downtown singapore.drawing by lim vong marina bay is a bay near central area in the southern part of singapore, and lies to the east of the downtown core. it is an artificial bay and was formed when land reclamation created the marina centre and marina south areas, which form a body of sheltered waters of what was once open sea. This land was reclaimed as part of the long-term strategy for singapore’s growth about 30 years ago, with a view to the downtown core eventually out-growing itself.The reclamation is about more than just increasing land area. The large area of sea which has been embraced by the reclamation has now been isolated from the larger ocean by the building of a dam across the narrow inlet so that, gradually as the singapore river discharges its fresh water load into this area over the next decade or so, it will dilute the sea-water and eventually create a fresh-water reservoir, making singapore politically less dependant on malaysia for its fresh water needs, and creating a great recreational resource in the heart of the city to boot.


Fig(3.6) Marina resort
Fengshui master says the integrated resort has many auspicious elements going for it. The sky park is curved, planes that come around will see a smile from their bird's eyes view. The towers represent three mountains or three warriors guarding the gateway to singapore. Despite fengshui being open to many interpretations, there are rules and principles to the practice, which are guided by the so-called balance of the five elements. its silvery white facade represents metal, while other elements represent fire. wood is in the landscaping and greenery, while water surrounds it.

Fig(3.7) The marina bay sands art and science museum

The lotus shaped art science museum sits at the front of the development. The building's shaped steel frame was among the most difficult parts of all the structural design. However, using software scripting it was possible to analyze this one petal at a time, altering the parameters for each subsequent part. An international team of PERI specialists from singapore and germany created a comprehensive formwork and scaffolding solution for the korean building company, ssang yong engineering & construction. in particular, the skytable large slab tables as well as PERI ACS self-climbing technology have optimised construction progress with reduced crane times. These rised steadily upwards with each floor being completed in only four days.

During construction, three iron structures were propped temporarily at places with the severest inclination beside the post-tension method. Through this, the quantity of temporary work for the main work was reduced by a great deal so that the work could be executed without interference from structures. as a result, constructors succeeded in early march 2009 in connecting at 23F above ground and a height of 70m for the east-side building and the west-side building that were inclined at 52 degrees maximum for towers I, II and III that were rising in the form.
In each case, two asymmetrically curved legs have been positioned against each other which grow together like bridge pylons to form units. although the three hotel towers are still identical with regard to the height and number of floors, the forms of the respective building elements nevertheless have considerable differences in terms of the base width, curvature radius and lateral offset dimension. Furthermore, the individual floors are also offset from one another in a longitudinal direction. Only two cranes per tower were available to the Construction crews, therefore crane independent and crane-saving formwork solutions were used to construct the core walls and floor slabs respectively.
With the help of ACS self-climbing technology and the large-area sky table slab tables, crews were able to finish a complete floor with a standard height of 3 m in only four days. Twelve elevator shafts climbed three cycles in advance and a total of 110 sky table slab tables were required for constructing two complete floors in each case.



Fig(3.8) Construction of deck

Fig(3.9) Construction of deck


Fig(3.10) Construction of deck

Fig(3.11) The marina bay sands construction site
Up to 20 m long and 5 m wide, the 100 m² sky table units could be easily moved with only one crane lift. the innovative moving method ensured that the table was always pulled out of the building in a horizontal position and the operating personnel were always standing in a safe and secure place on the slab edge. Due to the large lowering height of the multiprop props, 20 cm slab offsets and, at the same time, 50 cm parapet wall heights presented no problems. Connected to MRK frames, the tables could be additionally used for the 9 m high intermediate floors.

Fig(3.12) The marina bay sands towers

With the help of ACS, the different-sized shafts with dimensions ranging between 2.30 and 10.10 m, could be shuttered, struck and climbed without the need of a crane. Altogether, five working levels rose at the same time to the next section:
Two platforms for forming, reinforcement work and concreting the shaft walls as well as three finishing platforms for pretensioning the subsequent storey slabs. in combination with CB climbing scaffold and the vario GT 24 girder wall formwork, operational sequences on the construction site were optimized.
The technical team of ssang yong E&C applied the post-tension method that is used mainly in constructing bridges to construct a building inclined at 52 degrees at its highest, which is 10 times more inclined than the leaning tower of pisa. The team adopted a tension method whereby post-tension is installed on a 600 mm thick bearing wall and wire is stretched from inside.



Fig(3.13) Close-up to the marina bay sand middle tower


Fig(3.14) With only one crane lift, 100 square meters of slab formwork could quickly and safely moved.
The project's foundations have had to be massive because of building on marine clay. the team has had to get through the clay to make room for the underground car-parks and railway tunnels which sit beneath the facility. bored piles which go down to over 50m with large bored piles up to 2.8m in diameter have been necessary, typical of many singapore construction projects.





4. OPENING

Fig(4.1) During the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics opening ceremony

Marina Bay Sands was originally planned to be completed in a single phase in 2009, but rising construction costs and the financial crisis forced the company to open it in phases. The first phase's preview opening was further delayed until 27 April 2010, and the official opening was pushed back to 23 June 2010. The rest of the complex remained under construction and was opened after a grand opening on 17 February 2011.On 27 April 2010, Marina Bay Sands had the first of a planned 3 to 4 phase openings. The casino, parts of the conference hall, a segment of the Shoppes, 963 hotel rooms and the event plaza were opened.
The Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) held the first conference at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre on 2–5 May 2010, but the event was marred by uncompleted facilities and power failure during a speech. IPBA withheld payment of S$300,000 and was consequently sued by Marina Bay Sands. In June IPBA counter-sued, describing the venue as a complete disaster and that its earlier payments had been imposed by duress, fear and force. An amicable settlement with undisclosed terms was announced in August. On 23 June 2010, the resort had its official opening with a 2-day celebration, this includes the Sands Sky Park, the Event Plaza along Marina Bay, more shops, additional dining options and nightlife offerings, and the rest of the hotel room


5. SPECIALITIES


5.1 CASINO

Marina Bay Sands casino is housed in its own building and offers four levels of gaming in a luxurious, spacious setting. Patrons can enjoy a wide variety of popular table games including roulette, blackjack, baccarat and sic bo, and slot machines featuring the latest games such as video poker, and electronic sic bo and roulette. Premium players and Paiza members have access to exclusive gaming and dining privileges at the casino’s upper two levels, which feature over 30 private gaming rooms.

5.2 SKY PARK

The Sands Sky Park is an architectural masterpiece sitting on top of the three hotel towers at Marina Bay Sands. This 1.2 hectare tropical oasis is longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall and large enough to park four-anda-half A380 jumbo jets. It extends to form the one of the world’s largest public cantilevers. It is 200 meters in the sky. Landscaped gardens are home to 250 trees and 650 plants and 12,400 square meters of space big enough to fit three football fields.


5.3 INFINITY POOL

The Infinity Pool is part of the 380 metre long Sands Sky Park, which spans across the three towers of the Marina Bay Sands complex and covers a total area of 12,000 sq mts. The length of this roof-top deck can be equated to the height of the Eiffel Tower.
The Infinity Pool is one of the world’s largest outdoor pools at three times the length of an Olympic pool and 55 storeys high. The pool creates an illusion of the water extending to the horizon while in reality, the water spills over the edge into a catchment below and is then pumped back into the pool. It has two circulation systems, with the first filtering and heating the water in the main pool and the other, filtering the water in the catch basin and returning it to the upper pool.



Fig(5.1) Infinity Pool








6. CONCLUSION
 Marina bay sand is a magnificent destination for entertainment, business, and shopping.
 The success of project lies in the fact that the inventiveness of the design was matched by an equally inventive and novel approach developed by engineering and constructon teams.
 Delivers once in lifetime experiences.
 This landmark building is situated in the heart of Singapore’s central business district.
 With a luxury hotel, state of art convention, exhibition facilities, and some of the best shopping &dining in the region.
 This is the place to go for world class entertainment.