It’s hard to believe that Marina Bay Sands is 10 years old this year! Since opening in April 2010, the Moshe Safdie designed complex has become deeply engrained into the urban fabric in Singapore.
The strikingly iconic form of the three hotel towers joined by a cantilevered rooftop garden has made the building one of the most recognisable in the world. It has been featured heavily in Hollywood and even made into a Lego set!
The complex includes three hotel towers with more than 2,500 rooms, a museum devoted to the intersection of art and science, and a massive conference centre. Two glass crystals with shops inside float within Marina Bay waterfront, and one of the original floating crystal structures has recently been replaced with a glass sphere designed by Norman Foster that is going to host one of the world’s coolest Apple stores!
I still vividly remember when the building was being constructed, especially watching the SkyPark segments being lifted into place.
The Art Science Museum is one of the most architecturally remarkable structures, with its petal shaped form floating in structural tension above a lily pond.
The superlative complex was one of the most expensive buildings ever built at S$8 billion (US$5.88 billion). The 340m long SkyPark is longer than the Eiffel Tower’s height, and terminates in one of the longest cantilevers in the world at 67m (220ft).
Images by Jonathan Choe
