Singapore: A challenging masterpiece

Moshe Safdie, the Israeli architect responsible for the structural concept for the Marina Bay Sands (MBS), summed up his vision for the Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s (LVS) Singapore mega-structure: “We wanted to create a series of public spaces, shopping, theatre, museum and three hotels, which are crowned by a SkyPark. In other words, something that will be memorable for Singapore.” And it seems they have succeeded in doing just that.
At last week's MBS grand opening, Sheldon Adelson, LVS chairman and CEO, spared no expense on the event, inviting more than 1,000 journalists and more than 2,500 VIP guests.

Moshe Safdie (L) and Sheldon Adelson say that MBS will become a benchmark

Located along the Marina Bay waterfront, Marina Bay Sands features, aside from the casino, three cascading hotel towers topped by an amazing SkyPark (they look in fact like a cricket wicket, as one journalist described it), crystal pavilions, a lotus-inspired Art Science Museum, retail stores and countless entertainment venues. Safdie’s works are known for their dramatic curves, use of simple geometric patterns, and vast windows and open spaces.
On June 23, Grammy Award-winning Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child headlined an outdoor concert featuring performances from regional artist JJ Lin and Broadway's "Jersey Boys". In the evening, VIPs were entertained by international superstar Diana Ross.
The opening celebration also featured the first-ever “World Championship Climb to the Sands SkyPark”, which brought together seven teams of three participants from ten different countries in an extreme relay speed climb on each of the three hotel towers.
Marina Bay Sands is definitely set to become a lead entertainment destination with its diversity of attractions and facilities, combining seven signature restaurants and, atop it all, the remarkable SkyPark. The construction cost around USD 80 million and required approximately 7,000 tons of steel to complete the structure. To walk the whole length of the SkyPark takes around twenty minutes.
“The vision was to build an integrated development that is timeless, a landmark that possesses a distinct identity which will distinguish Singapore from other cities,” Adelson explained. The project, Safdie added, “is very integrated with nature and with green open spaces.”
Sands SkyPark includes the 150-metre infinity swimming pool, the world’s largest outdoor pool 200 metres above ground level, and is in fact, a rooftop garden platform. Longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall – as Adelson described it at the press conference ahead of the grand opening – the SkyPark is not only a garden, but it also includes exclusive restaurants, a public observation deck and gardens containing 250 trees and 650 plants.
“The opening of the Sands SkyPark signifies an important milestone for Marina Bay Sands. This has been the single, most challenging engineering component of our unique integrated resort and to see it materialize is an incredibly proud moment for us. Marina Bay Sands along with its signature Sands SkyPark will be a truly impressive icon and we are excited to present this bold architecture to not only Singapore but to the rest of the world,” the gaming tycoon said.
When complete, the integrated resort will feature a 2,560-room hotel among the three towers, 120,000 square-metre convention-exhibition centre, the mall, seven restaurants, an Art Science Museum, two Sands Theatres, two floating pavilions, and a casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines.