2500 unique connections, 40 floors, one hotel of dreams
To realise Zaha Hadid’s vision of a unique exposed exoskeleton facade on the 40 floor tower block, designed as a monolithic block encased in a striking steel and glass lattice shell required some cutting edge thinking
To make this possible, we used cutting edge parametric-based engineering techniques to design 2,500 unique complex steelwork connections for the exoskeleton. With connections of such scale and complexity, the structure could be considered the most challenging large scale steelwork of its kind to ever be accomplished.
Using finite element analysis and a bespoke programmatic approach, our team was able to process the huge number of models required and, critically, the corresponding 3D visualisations of every connection before producing a single piece.
Using software in ways that it had never been used before, our design enabled us to quarter the resources and halve the time that would have been needed.
About the building
Hotel D is the fifth tower in Macau’s ‘City of Dreams’ complex, a premier leisure and entertainment destination. Standing 40 floors high, the 150,000m2 hotel accommodates approximately 780 guest-rooms, suites and sky villas. As well as meeting and event facilities, a casino, lobby atrium, restaurants, spa and sky pool. Find out more about this Hotel D here.
