Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. Developed by Las Vegas Sands, it is billed as the world's most expensive standalone casino property at S$8 billion (US$5.7 billion), including cost of the prime land.

When complete, the resort will feature a 2,560-room hotel, a 120,000 sq.m. convention-exhibition center, The Shoppes mall, an Art & Science museum, two Sands Theatres, six "celebrity chef" restaurants, two floating pavilions, a casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines. The complex is topped by a 340m-long SkyPark with a capacity of 3,900 people and a 150m infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world's largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 67m. The 20-hectare resort was designed by Moshe Safdie Architects. The local architect of record was Aedas Singapore, and engineering was provided by Arup and Parsons Brinkerhoff (MEP)

Originally set to open in 2009, Las Vegas Sands faced delays caused by escalating costs of material and labour shortages from the onset. The severe global financial crisis also pressured the company to delay its projects elsewhere to complete the integrated resort. Although Marina Bay Sands has been compared on scale and development costs to MGM's CityCenter, the latter is a mixed-use development, with condominium properties - comprising three of the seven main structures, being sold off.

The resort was officially opened with a two-day celebration on 23 June 2010 at 3.18 pm, after a partial opening earlier in April. The museum, theatres and floating pavilions are still being built and are expected to be fully completed by December 2010.

Background

Part of the parcel of land for Marina Bay Sands in the foreground prior to development. The parcel overlooks Singapore's financial district in the 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. The two large-scale resorts were conceived to meet Singapore's economic and tourism objectives for the next decade and they 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
• strength of the consortium and partners

On 27 May 2006, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) was declared winner of the Marina Bay site in the prime new business district of Marina South with its business-oriented resort. LVS highlighted its forte in Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing and Exhibitions (MICE), of which its founder, Sheldon Adelson, is a pioneer in Las Vegas and the key to his early business success. In the Design Evaluation portion of the tender, a panel of local and international architects commended Sands' design as superior to other bids in terms of pedestrian circulation and layout, and it also fit in with the Marina Bay landscape best. They liked that the hotel towers was set back from the waterfront to open up expansive views of the city and the entire Marina Bay, making the skyline for Singapore's downtown more attractive and distinctive.

Singapore Tourism Board highlighted Sands' line-up of six celebrity chefs, such as Australia's Tetsuya Wakuda and Thomas Keller (Napa Valley, California, USA) and Charlie Trotter (Chicago, USA).

LVS submitted its winning bid on its own. Its original partner City Developments Limited (CDL), with a proposed 15 per cent 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. However, Kwek was retained as an advisor for Sands' bid.

Investment

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 Vorlage:Convert site itself. 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 place the total cost of the development at S$8.0 billion as of July 2009.

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". It expects the casino to generate at least $1 billion in annual profit. 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. Half a million gamblers have passed through the casino in June 2010.

For the economy, Marina Bay Sands is projected to stimulate an addition of $2.7 billion or 0.8 per cent to Singapore's Gross Domestic Product by 2015, employing 10,000 people directly and 20,000 jobs being created in other industries.

The resort is designed by Moshe Safdie, who says it was initially inspired by card decks. In addition to the casino, other key components of the plan are three hotel towers with 2,500 rooms and suites, a Vorlage:Convert Art-Science museum and a convention centre with Vorlage:Convert 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 a number of consultant feng shui masters.Vorlage:Citation needed

Opening

Marina Bay Sands was originally planned to be completed in a single phase in 2009, 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 grand opening was pushed back to 23 June 2010. The rest of the complex remain under construction and will not be completed before 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".

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 a power failure during a speech. IPBA withheld payment of S$300,000 and was consequently sued by Marina Bay Sands. 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".

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 7 teams of 21 top rock climbers from around the world competing, and an evening concert for 4,000 invited guests and customers, featuring Diana Ross, Kelly Rowland, JJ Lin among others. The SkyPark was opened on the second day at 2 pm, with about 2,000 tickets costing S$20 each sold.

Timeline forecast

• In December 2010, the Art-Science Museum, two Sands Theatres and two floating Crystal Pavilions will be completed.
• In March 2011, Disney's The Lion King musical production will debut at the Marina Bay Sands Theatre.

Attractions

View of the CBD skyline, City Hall, and Esplanade from the SkyPark

View of Singapore Flyer from the SkyPark

Marina Bay Sands features three 55-storey hotel towers which were topped out in July 2009. The three towers are connected by a 1 hectare sky terrace on the roof, named Sands SkyPark.

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 1000 gaming tables and 1400 slot machines. The Art-Science Museum is constructed next to the three blocks and has the shape of a lotus. Its roof will be retractable, providing a waterfall through the roof of collected rainwater when closed in the day and with laser shows when opened at night. The Art-Science Museum opens in December 2010.

The SkyPark is home to the world's longest elevated swimming pool, with a 495-foot (150-meter) vanishing edge, perched 200 meters above the ground. The pools are made up of 400,000 pounds (181.6 tonnes) of stainless steel and can hold 380,000 gallons (1440 cubic metres) of water. The SkyPark also boasts rooftop restaurants, nightclubs, gardens hundreds of trees and plants and a public observatory with 360-degree views of the Singapore skyline.

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 19.68 inches (500 millimetres). 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.

Moshe Safdie designed an Art Path within the resort, incorporating seven installations by five artists including Sol Lewitt, Antony Gormley and Zheng Chongbin. The pieces are meant to play on environmental influences including light, water and wind, integrating art with architecture.

Transportation

By Mass Rapid Transit (MRT):

• 10 mins walk from Promenade MRT Station on the Circle Line.
• Bayfront Station on the Downtown Line Phase 1 & Circle Line (To be operational in 2013)

By Public bus: The following bus services stops along Bayfront Avenue:

Bus Stop Code: 03511 (Marina Bay Sands MICE)
Service	Between	And	Notes
SBS Transit Trunk Services
97	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Marina Centre Bus Terminal
133	Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange	Shenton Way Bus Terminal
133M	Shenton Way Bus Terminal	Marina Centre (loop)
SBS Transit Fast Forward Services
97e	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Marina Centre Bus Terminal	AM Peak
SMRT Buses Trunk Services
106	Bukit Batok Bus Interchange	Shenton Way Bus Terminal
SMRT Buses NightRider Services
NR1	Resorts World Sentosa	Yishun Ring Road (loop)
NR6	Resorts World Sentosa	Anchorvale Drive (loop)
Changi Airport Shuttle Services
Airport Shuttle	Marina Bay Sands	Changi Airport PTB 1, 2 and 3 Bus Terminal Budget Terminal

Bus Stop Code: 03519 (Opp Marina Bay Sands MICE)
Service	Between	And	Notes
SBS Transit Trunk Services
97	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Marina Centre Bus Terminal
133	Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange	Shenton Way Bus Terminal
133M	Shenton Way Bus Terminal	Marina Centre (loop)
SBS Transit Fast Forward Services
97e	Marina Centre Bus Terminal	Jurong East Bus Interchange	PM Peak
SBS Transit Express Services
502	Soon Lee Bus Park	Marina Station Road (loop)
502A	Soon Lee Bus Park	Marina Station Road
518	Pasir Ris Bus Interchange	Bayfront Ave (loop)
518A	Pasir Ris Bus Interchange	Bayfront Ave
SMRT Buses Trunk Services
106	Bukit Batok Bus Interchange	Shenton Way Bus Terminal
Changi Airport Shuttle Services
Airport Shuttle	Marina Bay Sands	Changi Airport PTB 1, 2 and 3 Bus Terminal Budget Terminal

Gallery

• Construction area taken from The Float at Marina Bay on 18 August 2007
  Construction area taken from The Float at Marina Bay on 18 August 2007
• 
  Construction on 5 August 2009
• 
  Construction as of 25 November 2009
• 
  Rear view of the Marina Bay Sands taken from Marina Barrage on 20 December 2009
• 
  Night view, June 2010
• 
  View of a rainbow from the SkyPark

See also

• Resorts World Sentosa
• Future developments in Singapore
• Tall buildings in Singapore

External links

• Vorlage:Official
• Las Vegas Sands Corp 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
• Photos of the Marina Bay Sands Infinity Pool
• Opening Event | Laservision