SHERATON HUZHOU HOT SPRING RESORT BY MAD ARCHITECTS

Sheraton Moon Hotel is located next to Nan Tai Lake in Huzhou, a city situated west of Shanghai and north of Hangzhou, overlooking Suzhou and Wuxi across the lake.

Since ancient times, Huzhou has been known as “the house of silk” and “the land of plenty" and is the only ancient city of culture in the surrounding area named after the lake.

The favorable cultural and geographical environment brings both traditional and modern atmospheres to the hotel, distinguished by its unique design which integrates the building into the waterscape of Tai Lake, subsequently creating a poetic yet artificial echo of the natural landscape. 

The Moon Hotel takes full advantage of its waterfront by directly integrating architecture and nature. The circular building corresponds with its reflection in the water, creating a surreal picture and connection between real and phantom.

Beneath the sunlight and the reflection of the lake, the curved shape of the building is crystal clear. When night falls, the entire building is lit up brightly by both its interior and exterior lighting.

Soft light wraps around the hotel and the water, resembling the bright moon rising above the lake, blending classic and modern through the reflection.

The clear ring-shape posed a great challenge to the structural design and eventually, a “reinforced concrete core-tube” featuring high capacity, light weight and excellent earthquake resistance, was implemented while simultaneously reducing environmental pollution during construction.

The mesh curved surface structure makes the building more solid and it is this solidity that is further enhanced by the bridge-like bracing steel structure that connects with the double cone structure at the top floor.

The hotel façade is covered with layers of fine-textured white aluminum rings and glass, bringing about illusion and drama of the building scale.

The resort features 282 luxurious guestrooms, 39 HotSpring Villas, two Presidential Villas, and a Spa Village that offers five different types of spa experiences, as well as a few techniques that reduce its energy consumption. 

Location: Huzhou, China

Architect: MAD Architects

Associate Engineers: Shanghai SianDai Architecture Design (Group)

Structural Engineer: China Majesty Steel Structural Design

Façade/Cladding Consultants: Zhejiang Zhongnan Curtain Wall, Shanghai Timalco Curtain Wall Engineering

Building Area: 59,686 sqm

Building Height: 102.2 m / 335 feet

Cost: $1.5-billion

Year: 2013

ABSOLUTE WORLD TOWERS WINS EMPORIS SKYSCRAPER AWARD 2012

The world's most renowned architecture prize for skyscrapers, the Emporis Skyscraper Award, goes this year to the Absolute World Towersin Mississauga, Canada, (see project). The two towers were selected by an international jury of experts from over 300 skyscrapers at least 100 meters tall completed last year. The award, given by Emporis, is being presented for the thirteenth time this year.

Absolute WorldTowers, which form part of a five-building complex and were designed by the architectural practices MAD and Burka Architects, won over the jury primarily through their unmistakable design: "The way the two structures twist organically by up to 8 degrees per floor is not just a superb technical achievement, but also a refreshing change to the set forms of high-rise routine," stated the panel of experts in explaining the choice of the pair of towers, 176 and 158 meters tall, as the winner.

The second-placed project is Al Bahr Towers in Abu Dhabi, designed by Aedas Architects. Due to its innovative facade, the skyscraper complex convinces in terms of both climate and design criteria. The outer skin of the facades is rotated by computer in response to the sun's position, leading to a substantial reduction in thermal energy inside the buildings. In designing the towers, the architects drew inspiration from Arab mashrabiya windows – sun and privacy screens found in traditional Islamic architecture.

The expert jury voted Burj Qatar, a 238 meter tall skyscraper in Doha, into third place. Designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, it is the building's exceptional facade design that stands out. The metal mesh facade, whose design – as with Al Bahr Towers – draws on traditional mashrabiya windows and is intended to contribute to protection from the sun, reveals a complex pattern at close quarters. The imposing effect of the ornamental facade reaches its full expression under the dome that tops the cylinder-shaped skyscraper.

The eighth-placed project is Unicredit Tower, designed by Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. The tower include Italy’s tallest building, visible from more than six miles away. Spiraling upward, the 31- ​story asymmetrical tower culminates in a sculptural stainless steel spire. The building is clad in reflective glass. Its narrow, curved forms enclose a circular piazza, a new public space that links the buildings to their surroundings.

Facing the piazza, the facades incorporate sunshades, emphasizing the buildings’ fluid shape. At the street level, the tower is clad in stone. The tower is part of complex of three office towers “and their podium are the largest components of Porta Nuova Garibaldi, a mixed-​use development north of Milan’s city center. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects designed the master plan for the 7-​hectare development, which creates a new and grand gateway to the city” says Cesar Pelli.

CULTURAL CENTER OF HARBIN BY MAD

In February 2010, MAD won the competition to design the cultural center of Harbin. The entire project covers an area of 1.8 square kilometers, with a construction area of 79,000 square meters. In August 2013, the overall structure of the Cultural Center was completed and the entire project began to take shape. The entire building is expected to be completed in 2014 when the Harbin July summer concert will be held.

It is part of the development north of Sun Island, which is an important natural habitat in the north. Influenced by both Chinese and Russian culture, Harbin is reputed as the music capital of the north. Different from other theater buildings that are normally located in the urban center, Harbin Grand Theater will not act as an isolated landmark for the city, but the natural continuation of the human spirit. Apart from regional protection and utilization of the wetland ecosystem, Harbin Theater, Harbin Labor Recreation Center, Harbin Great Square and the Wetland Park together compose the Harbin Cultural Island, to join culture, art and nature in an integrated environment.

Surrounded by rivers, the Cultural Island embraces the wide riverbank as its background appearing as a glacier stretching and connecting to each other into a cohesive whole. The main entrance mimics a jade belt bridge spanning the wetlands and connecting the city and the cultural center together. The movement of the terrain strategically directs the flow of people from different directions to the entrance of Harbin Theater and Harbin Labor Recreation Center. The external ramp of the Grand Theater, resembling a mountain path formed by gusting winds, guides people from the interior to the exterior.

Walking along the landscape passage, visitors are able to appreciate the surrounding cultural and natural landscape. Atop the highest point of these buildings, visitors are able to enjoy a panoramic view of the surrounding scenery as if they are on top of a mountain. The grand theatre takes the natural beauty of the north as its premise. In an attempt to reduce such a large volume, the architectural form is a continuation of the natural environment as it becomes part of the landscape. The entire building acts as an undulating snow covered mountain, following a natural rhythm.

The cladding of the building is custom-made pure white aluminum. White stone and concrete are also used as part of the wall, introducing a pure feeling as ice and snow. The skylight above of the auditorium utilizes natural daylight. During the day, the need for interior lighting can be completely satisfied with energy-saving and special lighting effects. The Grand Theater is made up of two different sized theaters. The larger theater can accommodate up to 1,600 guests and it is formed with lower level stalls and a two-floor gallery.

The interior space uses a large amount of wood to provide the best possible acoustical effects for the Performance Hall of the Grand Theater. Also, the wood and the white wall form a balanced contrast between warm and cold colors, resembling the unique warm atmosphere of mountain huts. The stage design for the theater is not only suitable for western opera and modern drama performances, but also meets the requirement of traditional Chinese theater plays. The acoustics and lighting design provide a high level of performance for the various venues in the theater.

Covered by curved acrylic lamps, the second floor VIP lounge appears as a glowing clear crystal floating in the theater. The standardized stage is equipped with a versatile orchestral pit, designed to meet large-scale performances of Opera, Ballet and other various needs. The 400 seat small theater that connects with the larger theater serves as the venue for small drama performances, chamber music, and operas. The design of the backstage curtain allows the stage to expand like a wide screen with natural landscape in the background integrating the indoor and outdoor view.

The outdoor water section can also be used as an outdoor auditorium, therefore when the curtain opens, it becomes a panoramic arena with unobstructed views. This ingenious design creates a great space and a delicate dramatic effect for the Grand Theater to adapt to the innovation and changes of the modern theater art. The art center demonstrates the rich scale of the city, the nature and the people. It encourages the publicity and mass participation of Harbin’s art and culture activities. People can get a different sensory experience from different distances.

The huge man-made lake between the Grand Theater and the Culture and Art Center contrasts the building with a long landscape bridge wedged in-between to form a Buddhist concept of “Void”. Along the landscape bridge, visitors can reach the Labor Recreation Center west of the Great Square. With a construction area of 41,000 square meters, this building is a comprehensive building complementing the Grand Theater. Its functions include staff training, conferences, cultural education, exhibitions, hotel and catering space.

These facilities will provide a diversified space for visitors, spectators and the staff. The boundary of the Cultural Center interconnects with the river bank and wetland, blurring the boundaries of the natural and the artificial. Open spaces like ramps, bridges, sky terrace and squares bridge the distance between man and nature. This new cultural island in Harbin is emerging to facilitate the blend of humanity, art and nature in the north and it will become the center of this city’s spirit.