Introduction:

Marina Bay Sands located in Singapore is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay.
While the construction started in 2006, it was opened to public in 2010, and at that
time costed at about US$8, including the land cost. With 2561 rooms it stands at 6th
largest in Asia and 34th largest hotel in the world. It is located in Marina South, a piece
of land reclaimed from the sea during late 1970s. Keeping in view the prominent
location of the Marina Bay, it was decided that three towers would be created instead
of one. The three concrete towers stand at a height of 55 stories each. The total height
is 679ft. The tower legs are both straight and curved. Atop the three towers is a
SkyPark 1120ft. long and with a capacity of 3900 people. Also sports a 490ft. long
infinity swimming pool. The resort includes two floating Crystal Pavilions between
three towers, a couple of theatres, a skating rink, and several other signature
attractions. The resort was constructed to meet the country’s economic and tourism
objectives for the next decade. The project has been awarded CTBUH 2010 Best Tall
Building Awards, Finalist Asia and Australasia Region.i

Towers and SkyPark:

The three towers are broader at the base and narrow as they rise. Each tower has two
asymmetric legs, with a curved eastern leg leaning against the other, creating a
significant technical challenge in its construction. A continuous lobby at the base
linked the three towers. The SkyPark bridges all three towers with a segment
cantilevered off the north tower. The hull of the SkyPark was pre-fabricated off-site in
14 separate steel sections and then assembled on top of the towers. The pools are
located 191 meters above ground. And are made up of 422,000 pounds of stainless

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steel and can hold 376,500 gallons (1424 cubic metres) of water. It also has gardens,
hundreds of trees and plants, and a public observatory deck on the cantilever with
360-degree views of the Singapore.ii Moshe Safdie designed an Art Path within the
resort, incorporating installations by five artists including Zheng Chongbin, Antony
Gormley, and Sol LeWitt. The pieces are meant to play on environmental influences
including light, water and wind, integrating art with architecture. In Hotel Tower 1 –
where the slope is as steep as 26 degrees - both legs are connected at Level 23 to form
a single building. As the SkyPark was pre-assembled, lifting it was pretty difficult. Each
piece was hoisted 200 metres using strand jacks more commonly used in bridge
construction and each lift required 24 hours.iii

Construction:
The general form of the Hotel Marina Bay Sands was driven by the architectural
requirement of continuous atrium. Prestressed concrete slabs and concepts of trusses
were implemented. The aesthetics of the buildings demanded detailed construction
sequence analysis to assess the continuing deviation of the towers. Moreover, the only
way to each tower led to differential movements imposed by the load, which further
complicated the engineering design SkyPark rooftop and support. Concrete reinforced
walls with thickness ranging from 28 inches at its base to 20 inches at higher levels.
Shear walls serve as vertical and transverse primary structural system of the three
buildings. Additional cores also created with concrete walls are located in both legs of
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each building. The requirement for such a restriction in the design after rigorous
analysis of buckling of the two legs soon established. Flat post-tensioned slabs with a
thickness of 22cm, extend directly between shear walls. This structural arrangement
maximizes efficiency and creates a simple solution slab floor that can be built quickly.
Height frames made with steel beams are within the mechanical floors at level 23,
connecting the legs of the tower and resisting high shear forces that occur when these
are located above the central atrium. Downstairs, the post-tensioned plates resist
horizontal thrust generated by the inclined legs. Glass fins installed fro shading. The
belly of the ship shaped SkyPark is made of more than 9000 silver painted metal
composite panels. Material mainly used are aluminum, steels as the structural frame
and reinforcement and as well as for the design.iv

Pre fab construction was also implemented. The foundations system for the towers
comprises of the pile system. By using pre fabricated system labours can be reduced,
system can be made effective and economical as well as time saving.

Cost and Criticism:

The total cost of construction was estimated at $5.7 billion (USD).v

As per my knowledge the resort has not received any criticism structure wise if any,
design wise. Though it faced a lot of engineering problems, most prominent being the
building movement. Wind engineers had to make excessive wind tests on the towers.
In addition to determining the loads for each tower in isolation, it was necessary to
predict the behavior and movement of each tower relative to the others. This led to
design innovations and also to the fact to inculcate enough safety and comfort.

Importance:
The resort was constructed as an effort to strengthen the economy by promoting
tourism and investments. The fact that Marina Bay Sands generate $2.7 billion and
add a total of 0.8% to the GDP is more than enough to support the cause. The original
idea though was inspired by a deck of cards.vi

Interesting Factsvii:
 Marina Bay Sands built one new hotel floor every 4 days, the fastest pace ever
for a development of this scale in Singapore.
 It takes the average person 20 minutes to climb up the 55 floors of the hotel
towers.
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  One of the commissioned art pieces, the Rain Oculus by Ned Kahn (located on
the Event Plaza) has 6,000 gallons of water flowing per minute.
 More than 200,000 people watched WICKED and the production played to
standing ovations since it opened in December 2011 with 160 performances
over 20 weeks.
 Approximately 650-tonnes of structural and architectural steel were used in the
construction of each pavilion.
 The skypark is designed for wind pressures of up to 2.5kPa and wind speeds of
upto 32m/s.

Life Span:
The floating platform was to last about 10 years.viii The governments officials think that
checks are likely needed if the intend to extend the life span of the structure.

Conclusion:
How the complex design parameters were combined with very fine project represents
the quality of the engineering feat. From scratch to a skyscraper in almost 4 years is
the absolute wonder of engineering, and accounts only to the well ability of the
construction management to avoid and negotiate problems as they arose.

Project Creditsix:
Project : Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort, Singapore

Client/Owner : Marina Bay Sands (Las Vegas Sands Corp.)

Architect : Safdie Architects, Somerville, Mass.—Moshe

Structural, Civil, Façade, Geotechnical, Acoustic Engineer : Arup

M/E/P Engineers (Design) : Vanderweil Engineers

M/E/P Engineers (Production) : Parsons Brinckerhoff

Size : 9 million square feet

Cost : $8 billion (including land)

Materials:

Adhesives, Coatings, and Sealants

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Appliances Fabristeel

Concrete: Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. ssyenc

Glass Shanghai Yaohua Pilkington Glass Co.

Masonry and Stone : Engareh (atrium)

REFERENCES
i www.ctbuh.org
ii www.architectmagazine.com
iii www.marinabaysands.com
iv en.wikiarquitectura.com
v en.wikipedia.org
vi en.wikipedia.org
vii www.marinabaysands.com
viii www.todayonline.com
ix www.architectmagazine.com