The design of the new Morpheus Hotel in Macau, China is embellished with a series of voids carved through the center that give the structure a fluid, almost liquid look reminiscent of the T-1000 terminator’s mimetic polyalloy reforming.
Comprising 770 guest rooms, suites, and sky villas, the Morpheus Hotel provides 147,860 sm of space across 42 stories. Amenities include civic spaces, meeting and events facilities, gaming rooms, a lobby atrium, restaurants, and a spa and rooftop pool.
Photo: Virgile Simon Betrand.
ZHA designed the hotel as a simple extrusion of the existing abandoned foundations. The underlying diagram of the hotel’s design is a pair of towers connected at the ground and roof levels. The central atrium that runs between these towers runs the height of the hotel and is traversed by external voids that connect the north and south facades. Between the voids are a series of bridges that give the building its fluid sense of motion. The bridges provide a unique space for the hotel’s restaurants, bars, and guest lounges.
Photo: Virgile Simon Betrand.
The Morpheus also includes what ZHA describes as the world’s first free-form high-rise exoskeleton. This exoskeleton maximizes the building’s interiors by creating spaces that are uninterrupted by supporting walls or columns. The exoskeleton pattern becomes less dense as it climbs the building’s facade.
See Also: Zaha Hadid’s King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station incorporates futuristic façade
The Building Team included J. Roger Preston (M&E engineering), Buro Happold International (SE), Arup (fire engineering), and Dragages Macau (main contractor).
Photo: Virgile Simon Betrand.
Photo: Ivan Dupont.
Photo: Virgile Simon Betrand.
Related Stories
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Construction Management Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, Barton Malow, Hill International top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest construction management and project management firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Contractors [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, Whiting-Turner, Skanska top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest contractors in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Engineering firms look to bolster growth through new services, technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Following solid revenue growth in 2013, the majority of U.S.-based engineering and engineering/architecture firms expect more of the same this year, according to BD+C’s 2014 Giants 300 report.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering/Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, AECOM, Parsons Brinckerhoff top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering/architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Fluor, Arup, Day & Zimmermann top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Gensler, Perkins+Will, NBBJ top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
2014 Giants 300 Report
Building Design+Construction magazine's annual ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S.
| Jul 17, 2014
A new, vibrant waterfront for the capital
Plans to improve Washington D.C.'s Potomac River waterfront by Maine Ave. have been discussed for years. Finally, The Wharf has started its first phase of construction.
| Jul 14, 2014
Meet the bamboo-tent hotel that can grow
Beijing-based design cooperative Penda designed a bamboo hotel that can easily expand vertically or horizontally.
| Jul 10, 2014
BioSkin 'vertical sprinkler' named top technical innovation in high-rise design
BioSkin, a system of water-filled ceramic pipes that cools the exterior surface of buildings and their surrounding micro-climates, has won the 2014 Tall Building Innovation Award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
