The posh hotel, owned by InterContinental Hotel Group, extends 88 meters, or nearly 300 feet, into the quarry. All but the top two of the 18 stories press against the sides of the quarry, diving into a campus of natural elements combined with extreme architecture. A striking glass waterfall-style elevator starts at the surface and cascades down the side of the rock face. Of course, you could always just skip the elevator and land in the middle of the resort grounds via the centralized helipad.

The two lowest levels are underwater, so to speak, with a unique aquarium surrounding the restaurants and accommodations on both. Even better, each of the six underwater suites on these floors also have their own aquarium. In all, the hotel contains 337 standard to luxury rooms alongside everything else a premier resort might offer, from pampering to full-on adventure.

Dubbed “Shanghai Wonderland,” those who can afford to stay at the resort and spa will experience a unique location while enjoying posh amenities like expansive pools with lounging areas and a lake large enough for kayaking. Visitors can observe waterfalls from their room, leisurely walk the grounds, or head out for some rock climbing and bungee jumping within the compound walls. Private theater box balconies also allow guests to view a nightly water and light show. In truth, there’s no need to leave the resort with all it has to offer, but travelers to Shanghai can easily launch over to nearby attractions such as the Chenshan Botanical Garden and Guangfulin site, along with a bustling city full of activity.

Unlike most mega hotels, Shanghai Wonderland was built using a low-impact design that takes advantage of unused natural space. Exterior balconies house ample greenery, and the roof has also been covered with plants to better blend into the landscape above. The shade from the surrounding cliff walls helps to regulate the temperature and improve heating and cooling efficiency. The structure, designed by JADE+QA Architects, is also partially powered using renewable technologies like solar panels and geothermal systems.

Building 18 stories down is no easy engineering or construction feat. In fact, for more than a decade, over 5,000 architects, designers, planners, engineers, and construction workers contributed to the completion of this project. One of the largest challenges was figuring out how to pump concrete into the bottom of the quarry, a process that required significant revamping of typical protocols. An extensive use of technology and innovation were required to make this hotel, which cost a whopping $300 million to complete.

“It was a challenge,” says Martin Jochman, chief architect of the hotel. “This quarry was really a scar on the surface of the earth. It was overgrown and dangerous.” He adds that: “we took some big risks because it was totally unknown. The hotel comes out of nature.”

JADE+QA Architects, the award-winning UK firm credited with the project, specializes in architecture, urban planning, and product design, with a focus on “respecting nature through sensitive design.”

The post InterContinental Hotels Builds Luxury Resort Inside Abandoned Shanghai Quarry first appeared on Dornob.

First, there’s the fact that Fallingwater came close to literally falling right into the water thanks to a cantilevered design that wasn’t well supported. Erosion of the banks on either side presented a serious concern, and dampness penetrated the house on all sides. Ultimately, it’s cool to look at but not very practical. But could a different sort of design on a different sort of waterway be successful in ways that Fallingwater isn’t?

Architect Dan Brunn didn’t have Frank Lloyd Wright in mind when he designed “Bridge House” over a small natural stream in the mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles. He was actually inspired by the elongated motor court of the Breakers, the ostentatious waterfront Vanderbilt family home in Newport, Rhode Island, though you’d never guess it from the final result.

The home is true to its name, with a simple form stretching from one bank of the narrow trickling stream to the next. Sleek and modernist, it has no unnecessary frills or complicated floor plans. Serving as Brunn’s full-time residence, the 4,500-square-foot home has a rectangular shape, measuring 20 feet wide by 210 feet long, stretching from the front of the building site to the back instead of side to side like a more conventional residence.

“The idea is to do something extraordinary with ordinary means,” says Brunn.

That wasn’t his first idea, though. When he bought the property, he intended to renovate the existing home, but problems with the foundation soon emerged, so he decided to go in a dramatically different direction instead. Determined to build to zero net energy (ZNE) standards and make full use of passive solar orientation and the beautiful views, the architect saw the bridge plan as a way to have a lower impact on the site.

Usually, the opposite would be true. One good reason we don’t see a lot of residences straddling creeks and streams is all the potential for disruption and pollution, not to mention messing up the views for other people. But the lightweight modular steel structure of the Bridge House, supported by two heavy steel beams, made it possible to set the building in place without making a mess. The fact that the stream is small and flows within a private neighborhood helps, too.

Making extensive use of carefully placed glass, Bridge House gets sunlight streaming in from optimal angles all day long and focuses views on the trees and water outside rather than neighboring houses. Standout features include a Series 980 Double Pivot Door from Western Window Systems, which sets the airy, welcoming mood at the main entrance, and a courtyard centered over the stream so it can really be enjoyed to the fullest.

The post A Stream Runs Under This Modern “Bridge House” in Los Angeles first appeared on Dornob.

What better way to welcome visitors to a place known for its clever integration of architecture and plant life than a jaw-dropping feature like this? Imagine stepping off of a plane feeling parched and haggard after a long international flight and walking right into a temperate jungle with a 131-foot waterfall at its center, streaming out of a massive hole in the ceiling like something from a sci-fi movie. Conceived of by water feature design firm WET in collaboration with Safdie Architects, the cataract will stand as the centerpiece of ‘”Forest Valley,” the airport’s new indoor garden.

Set beneath a massive glass dome, the forest will be planted in a series of tiers to resemble a hilly landscape. In the space of 1.4 million square feet, this sprawling urban park will house a series of elevated walkways, hiking trails, and rest areas alongside its retail, hotel, restaurant, and entertainment facilities. To better blend in with the aesthetic, the dome will be supported by tree-like structural columns. After dark, the central waterfall will light up, cycling through an array of vivid colors as part of a choreographed LED light show.

“The project redefines and reinvents what airports are all about,” says architect Moshe Safdie. “Our goal was to bring together the duality of a vibrant marketplace and a great urban park side-by-side in a singular and immersive experience. The component of the traditional mall is combined with the experience of nature, culture, education and recreation, aiming to provide an uplifting experience. By drawing both visitors and local residents alike, we aim to create a place where the people of Singapore interact with the people of the world.”

You might be thinking that this whole thing looks like a colossal waste of natural resources or that the humidity created by the waterfall would fog the dome’s glass up, but Forest Valley’s designers and engineers have already thought those potential kinks through. To maintain the waterfall and its surrounding vegetation, the Jewel Changi will be equipped a rainwater harvesting system. After conducting a series of airflow studies, the architects were able to come up with a design for the dome that prevents humid air from accumulating around the cascade. The airport extension is currently under construction and is expected to reach completion in 2019.

Surely, any layovers or delays you experience at this airport will be some of the best you’ve ever had to endure. Maybe one day, people will even start going to the airport for fun.

The post Forest Valley: World’s Largest Indoor Waterfall Coming to Singapore Airport first appeared on Dornob.

Even a simple water feature can take an ordinary deck and turn it into something magnificent. But a water feature fashioned by celebrated industrial designer James Dyson (of Dyson vacuums fame) is bound to be the most unforgettable water feature ever.

This particular fountain, part of an overall garden design dubbed “The Wrong Garden,” was created by Dyson for the Royal Horticultural Society’s 2003 Chelsea Flower Show. Like everything else designed by Dyson, it accomplishes a seemingly impossible task with highly astonishing style: in this case, it makes water flow uphill.

Dyson’s inspiration for the highly unusual outdoor fountain was M.C. Escher’s “Waterfall,” an illustration in which a stream of water seemingly breaks the laws of physics. Likewise, Dyson’s fountain looks like it somehow exists in a loophole where gravity has no control over the flow of water. A constant stream seemingly flows up the long surfaces of four triangular water tanks before spilling off of the highest points.

How can that be real, you ask? The secret is deceptively simple: the water is actually flowing inside and through the tanks and being propelled through small openings at the highest corner of the tanks. The stream flowing “up” the tanks is actually flowing down after spilling through the openings, but the illusion is so effective that it is hard to identify the trick even when looking right at it.

Will we see home versions of this baffling “uphill fountain” illusion anytime soon? People involved in the Dyson project think it could be recreated on a smaller scale, even though they are unwilling to share exactly how the illusion was achieved. Until the vacuum giant starts selling a DIY kit, duplicators are on their own. Do you have any insight into how Dyson achieved this remarkable illusion that you’d like to share?

The post Water Flows Uphill in Mysterious Fountain first appeared on Dornob.

Glacial white lets the swooping shape speak in the absence of color – no need to capture liquid in a basin or pierce this vessel, it simply sends water down to a floor drain and accents its path along the way.

This design from Eumar was inspired by Swedish waterfalls and intentionally eschew standards of conventional plumbing like exposed pipes or additive handles.

Why such a sculptural approach? Aside from adding interest to an ordinary bathroom, it also accentuates water usage, encouraging people to (hopefully) use less. They call this piece “Abisko,” explaining that it takes its name from a Swedish National Park. Developed to appeal to people who care about conservation, the basin evokes the “freedom and simplicity” of pure, unspoiled water sources in nature.

“Abisko means a free and moderate treatment of water, without drain pipes and other unnecessary details around. the simplicity should enhance the water to something more valuable then ‘just water’. pure water is not a matter of course, but an exclusive product of nature that shouldn’t be accumulated in big tubs. just like in nature, you find your own way to catch the water to be used with carefulness and moderation.”

“Abisko is with its organic form available for everyone. the design allows free and creative usage compare to traditional basins. why not wash your tired feet in a mountain spring during your stay at the hotel? Abisko is also easy to keep clean and need no special maintenance.”

“Abisko made of CreaCore silky-mat solid surface with solid color and material all the way throughout, come forward Wall-mounted single-Washbasins. Without tap hole, without overflow. Size: 1400*723*475mm. Weight: 75kg. Seamless and hygienic, nonporous and anti-bacterial, practical and easy to maintain, aesthetic and durable, repairable and renewable, thermo shock resistant, that meet the requirements of the CE standard (EN 14688). All products are thoroughly tested to achieve maximum comfort and durability.”

This sink is available for purchase through Eumar’s website.

The post Waterfall Sink Reminds You to Conserve Water first appeared on Dornob.

Luxury does not always have to cost a lot or occupy a great deal of space within a home. This simple cascading waterfall concept dubbed the Wuerfel Bathroom Range by Chin Chia Lim may not be quite as marvelous as a spa or jacuzzi might be but it is remarkably simple, stylish, easy to construct and takes advantages of two systems every bathroom interior design includes anyway: a sink and a bathtub.

Whether you simply enjoy the visual effect of the cascading water pouring from above down into the bath before or after you are in it, or wish to sit back and dip your head under the waterfall from above, this design has that resonance of something that is not essential but nonetheless extraordinary – particularly in these lovely and highly idealized renderings.

Of course, as great as these images make the system look there could be issues of cleaning, dripping and other real-life concerns that simply do not show up in a conceptual rendering of this kind. Nonetheless, were this to go into production, designers could presumably find relatively easy workarounds for these problems.

The post Bathroom Waterfall? Combined Sink & Bathtub Design first appeared on Dornob.