Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore, owned by the Las
Vegas Sands corporation. At its opening in 2010, it was billed as the world's most expensive
standalone casino property at S$8 billion, including the land cost.[2][3] The resort, designed by Moshe
Safdie, includes a 2,561-room hotel, a 120,000-square-metre (1,300,000 sq ft) convention-exhibition
centre, the 74,000-square-metre (800,000 sq ft) The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall, a museum,
two large theatres, "celebrity chef" restaurants, two floating Crystal Pavilions, art-science exhibits,
and the world's largest atrium casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines. The complex is
topped by a 340-metre-long (1,120 ft) SkyPark with a capacity of 3,900 people and a 150 m
(490 ft) infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world's largest public cantilevered platform, which
overhangs the north tower by 67 m (220 ft).[4][5] The 20-hectare resort was designed by Moshe
Safdie architects.[6][7][8]
Marina Bay Sands was originally set to open in 2009, but its construction faced delays caused by
escalating costs of material and labour shortages from the outset. The global financial crisis also
pressured the owners, Las Vegas Sands, to delay its projects elsewhere to complete the integrated
resort. Its owner decided to open the integrated resort in stages, and it was approved by the
Singapore authorities.[9] The resort and SkyPark were officially opened on 23 and 24 June 2010 as
part of a two-day celebration, following the casino's opening on 27 April that year.[10] The SkyPark
opened the following day. The theatres were completed in time for the first performance
of Riverdance on 30 November. The indoor skating rink, which uses artificial ice, opened to a
performance by Michelle Kwan on 18 December. The ArtScience Museum opened to the public and
the debut of a 13-minute light, laser and water show called Wonder Full on 19 February 2011
marked the full completion of the integrated resort.
The opening of Marina Bay Sands was held on 17 February 2011. It also marked the opening of the
seven celebrity chef restaurants.[11] The last portion of the Marina Bay Sands, the floating pavilions,
were finally opened to the public when the two tenants, Louis Vuitton and Pangaea Club, opened on
18 and 22 September 2011, respectively.[12] Marina Bay Sands is set to have a fourth tower
constructed in the near future.

Background
Marina Bay Sands is one of two winning proposals for Singapore's first integrated resorts, the other
being the Resorts World Sentosa, which incorporates a family-friendly Universal Studios Theme
Park (Universal Studios Singapore). The two large-scale resorts were conceived to
meet Singapore's economic and tourism objectives for the next decade and will have 30-year casino
licenses, exclusive for the first ten years. Bidders were assessed based on four criteria: tourism
appeal and contribution, architectural concept and design, development investment, and strength of
the consortium and partners.

The infinity edge swimming pool in the Skypark

On 27 May 2006, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) was declared the winner with its business-oriented
resort.[13] LVS submitted its winning bid on its own. Its original partner City Developments Limited
(CDL), with a proposed 15% equity stake, pulled out of the partnership in the second phase of the
tender process. CDL's CEO, Kwek Leng Beng said his company's pullout was a combination of
factors—such as difficulties in getting numerous companies he owns to comply in time, as well as
reluctance of some parties to disclose certain private information in probity checks required by the
Singapore government.[14] However, Kwek was retained as an advisor for Sands' bid.

Investment[edit]
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.[15] 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
S$8.0 billion as of July 2009.[2][16]
Las Vegas Sands declared the undertaking as "one of the world's most challenging construction
projects and certainly the most expensive stand-alone integrated resort property ever built".[17] It
expects the casino to generate at least $1 billion in annual profit.[18] Two months after the initial
phased opening, the casino attracts around 25,000 visitors daily, about a third being Singaporeans
and permanent residents who pay a $100 daily entry levy or $2,000 for annual unlimited
access.[19] Half a million gamblers passed through the casino in June 2010.[20] In the third quarter of
2012, the revenues of the Marina Bay Sands fell almost 28 per cent from a year earlier.[21]
For the economy, Marina Bay Sands is projected to stimulate an addition of $2.7 billion or 0.8% to
Singapore's Gross Domestic Product by 2015, employing 10,000 people directly and 20,000 jobs
being created in other industries.[14]
On 3 April 2019, Sands announced a $3.3 billion expansion of its Marina Bay Sands property in
Singapore. The expansion will include the construction of a fourth hotel tower containing 1,000
luxury suites and a 15,000-seat arena.[22]
Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) have to pay a Singapore $100 fee for an one time
entry and a S$2000 fee for an annual pass. The fee was changed on 4 April 2019 to S$150 for an
one-time visit and S$3000 for yearly visits.[23]

Design and construction[edit]

Construction on 5 August 2009

The resort is designed by Moshe Safdie, who says it was initially inspired by card decks.[6][8] The
prominent feature of the design is the three hotel towers, which has 2,500 rooms and suites, and a
continuous lobby at the base links the three towers. The casino has a four-storey central atrium with
four levels of gaming and entertainment in one space.[24] In addition to the hotel and the casino, other
buildings include a 19,000 m2 (200,000 sq ft) ArtScience Museum,[7] and a convention centre with
110,000 m2 (1,200,000 sq ft) of space, capable of accommodating up to 45,000 people. The resort's
architecture and major design changes along the way were also approved by its feng
shui consultants, the late Chong Swan Lek and Louisa Ong-Lee.[25][26] Aedas[27] were responsible for
employing all consultants and for developing, co-ordinating and implementing the design. The
structural engineering for the project was handled by Arup with Parsons
Brinckerhoff the MEP engineers. The main contractor was Ssangyong Engineering and
Construction.[28][29]

Sands 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. Substantial temporary structures were necessary to support the legs of the tower
while they were under construction, and required real-time monitoring for continual assessment and
analyses in the course of their erection.[30]
A distinctive feature of the hotel is the SkyPark, a three-acre park on top of the building with
swimming pools, gardens, and jogging paths. The structure 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.[31] There are four movement joints beneath
the main pools, designed to help them withstand the natural motion of the towers, and each joint has
a unique range of motion. The total range of motion is 500 millimetres (20 inches). In addition to
wind, the hotel towers are also subject to settlement in the earth over time, so engineers built and
installed custom jack legs to allow for future adjustment at more than 500 points beneath the pool
system. This jacking system is important primarily to ensure the infinity edge of the pool continues to
function properly.[32]

Opening[edit]

The Rain Oculus above the shopping mall canal was designed by Ned Kahn

Marina Bay Sands was originally planned to be completed in a single phase in 2009,[16] 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 at the auspicious time of 3:18 p.m as part of the "preview opening".[33]
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.[34] 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".[34] 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 SkyPark, the Event Plaza along Marina Bay, more shops, additional dining options and
nightlife offerings, and the rest of the hotel rooms. First day events included a "World Championship
Climb" on the glass facade of the building to the SkyPark, with seven teams of 21 top rock climbers
from around the world competing, and an evening concert for 4,000 invited guests and customers,
featuring one international rapper such as Kelly Rowland and one national contemporary R&B such
as Sylvia Ratonel. The SkyPark was opened on the second day at 2 p.m.,[17] with about 2,000 adult
tickets costing S$20 each sold.[35]
The two Sands theatres were completed in time for the first performance by Riverdance on 30
November 2010. The ArtScience Museum opened its doors to the public at 10 am on 19 February
2011. The highly anticipated musical The Lion King made its debut on 3 March 2011. The floating
pavilions were opened when the tenants Louis Vuitton and Pangaea Club finished their
refurbishment and opened on 18 September 2011 and 22 September 2011, respectively. The Lion
King ran its last show on 30 October 2011.[36]

Attractions[edit]

Marina Bay Sands Casino

Marina Bay Sands has three 55-storey hotel towers which were topped out in July 2009. The three
towers are connected by a 1 hectare roof terrace, Sands SkyPark.[37] The observation deck provides
panoramic views across the bay.[38]
In front of the three towers include a Theatre Block, a Convention and Exhibition Facilities Block, as
well as the Casino Block, which have up to 1,000 gaming tables and 1,400 slot machines.
The ArtScience Museum is constructed next to the three blocks and has the shape of a lotus. Its roof
is retractable, providing a waterfall through the roof of collected rainwater when closed in the day
and laser shows when opened at night. In front of the Event Plaza is Wonder Full, a light and water
show that is the largest in Southeast Asia and was produced by Laservision.[39] The ArtScience
Museum and Wonder Full show opened on 17 February 2011.
The SkyPark has the world's longest elevated swimming pool,[40][32] with a 146-metre (479 ft)
vanishing edge (a concept called an infinity pool) located 191 metres (627 ft) above ground. The
pools are made up of 422,000 pounds (191,000 kg) of stainless steel and can hold 376,500 US
gallons (1,425 cubic metres) of water. The SkyPark also has rooftop nightclubs such as Lavo (New
York, Vegas) and Cé La Vi,[41] gardens, hundreds of trees and plants, and a public observatory deck
on the cantilever with 360-degree views of the Singapore skyline. The SkyPark is accessible only to
hotel guests for security reasons.

The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands have close to 93,000 m2 (1,000,000 sq ft) of retail space with
over 300 stores and F&B outlets, featuring boutiques such as Ralph
Lauren, Chanel, Cartier, Prada, Gucci, Hermès, Emporio
Armani, Chopard, REDValentino, Dior, Dunhill, Vertu, Miu Miu, Saint Laurent Paris, Salvatore
Ferragamo, Montblanc, Blancpain, Vera Wang Bride, an Hermès watch boutique, and Herve Leger.
A canal runs through the length of the Shoppes, in the same style as The Venetian in Las
Vegas. Sampan rides on the canal are available for guests and shoppers at the shopping mall,
similar to the gondola rides available in the Venetian. Also housed within the Shoppes are six of the
ten Celebrity Chef restaurants—Bread Street Kitchen (by Gordon Ramsay), Cut (by Wolfgang Puck),
Waku Ghin (by Tetsuya Wakuda), Pizzeria and Osteria Mozza (by Mario Batali), Long Chim
(by David Thompson) and DB Bistro & Oyster Bar (by Daniel Boulud).
There are two Crystal Pavilions. Despite a brief legal dispute in June 2011, it was decided that one
of the Pavilions will house two nightclubs—Avalon and Pangaea. In addition, the second Pavilion
houses the world's largest Louis Vuitton boutique, in addition to being on a floating island, at
1,900 m2 (20,000 sq ft), which is connected to the portion of the boutique in the Shoppes via an
underwater tunnel. Both Pavilions opened in 2011 just before the 2011 Formula One season came
to the Marina Bay Street Circuit. The Pavilion vacant by Avalon and Pangaea will be taken over by
Singapore’s third Apple Store.
The Sands Theatre and Grand Theatre seat 1,680 people and 2,155 people respectively, with The
Lion King showing, and international acts such as Cirque Éloize and A. R. Rahman's Jai Ho, located
in the latter during their world tours. The musical Wicked also had a limited run starting in 2011. Next
to the theatres is a skating rink (synthetic ice) measuring 600 m2 (6,500 sq ft).
Dragonfire boxing is another regular event, which started on 5 May 2012 with the boxers Chris
John with Daud Yordan.
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.[6][7][8][42]

Transportation[edit]
By Mass Rapid Transit (MRT):

 Bayfront and Promenade on both the Circle Line and Downtown Line
 Marina Bay on the Circle Line and North South Line
By public bus:

 Services 97/97e, 106, 133, 502/502A, 518/518A, NR1, NR6

By water taxi:

 From Grand Copthorne Water Front, Raffles Landing Side, Boat Quay, River Side Point and
Robertson Quay

In popular culture[edit]
A partially destroyed version of the structure was featured in the 2015 video game Call of Duty:
Black Ops 3, which takes place 10 years after a biochemical disaster rendered most of Singapore's
eastern half inhospitable. The trailer of the 2016 movie Independence Day: Resurgence has a scene
depicting the destruction of the property after being caught in the gravitational pull of a hovering alien
spacecraft.[43] It was also featured in the 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians, both in scenic B-roll of
Singapore, as well as a setting towards the end of the film.

Gallery[edit]

Marina Bay Sands with the Merlion

 

Aerial of the roof top pool of Marina Bay Sands

Aerial of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel

The ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands

See also[edit]

 Singapore portal

 Future developments in Singapore

 List of tallest buildings in Singapore
 Resorts World Sentosa
References[edit]

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Further reading[edit]

 Reid, Robert (August 2011). "Towering Imagination". Civil Engineering: 50–59. Archived
from the original on 10 February 2008. Discusses the engineering behind the project.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has

media related to Marina
Bay Sands.

 Official website
 Las Vegas Sands press release on winning integrated resort bid
 Safdie Designing Ambitious Resort in Singapore (Architectural Record)
 Moshe Safdie and Associates | Project Details of the Marina Bay Sands
 Opening Event | Laservision