This unique structural masterpiece, designed by visionary architect Moshe Safdie, spans the width of all three soaring Marina Bay Sands hotel towers.
Project Overview
The Marina Bay Sands SkyPark appears to float like a ship across the top of the three hotel towers, and the pool spills over an astonishing 478-foot (146-meter) vanishing edge.
Featured in major magazines, television shows, and movies for its bold look and daring design elements, the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark in Singapore is a triumph of modern engineering. It is the one-hectare roof terrace that connects and sits atop the three 57-storey hotel towers. Measuring 478 feet long (146 meters), almost three Olympic swimming pools in length, the pool is the world’s largest infinity-edge pool at that height. It comprises of 422,000 pounds (191,416 kilos) of stainless steel and holds 380,000 gallons (1,438,456 liters) of water. In addition to the infinity-edge stainless steel pool, the SkyPark also consists of three large hydrotherapy spas, a wading pool, and a reflecting pool.
The success of the project lies in the inventiveness of the design and the inventive approach developed by the teams involved.
How were the SkyPark pools built?
The SkyPark is one of the most incredible technological feats in the pool industry, because of the consideration of the three towers’ movement by wind at that height and settlement in the ground over time.
Moshe Safdie, the leading architect for the Marina Bay Sands project, brought Natare on to handle the comprehensive and design challenges of the rooftop pools. The challenges were the combination of complex design parameters matched with a fast project schedule, from initial sketches to substantial completion within four years.
The mechanical systems of the pool were designed with multiple and independent recirculation and filtration loops allowing for a variety of operational modes depending on the bather load, weather conditions, feature effects, and hours of operation. The entire system was individually engineered and structurally designed using the most comprehensive computer design and modeling tools.
A scale model of the pool enclosures and submersed connectors were built and tested at Natare’s headquarters in Indianapolis. The mock-up allowed Natare to troubleshoot and modify the sealing method to provide a superior product never used in elevated pools.
The pool interior is finished with ceramic tile adhered directly to the stainless steel foundation. The pool consists of three separate shells; the middle shell constructed atop the middle tower, and the outer shells constructed on bridges that connect the middle tower with the outer ones. The structural bridges between each tower were installed with a 3-inch pitch, or camber, to accommodate the weight of the pool when filled with water.
Natare developed a plan to pre-fabricate all components from their manufacturing facility in Indianapolis and shipped them in more than 30 ocean freight containers to the site approximately 15,340 kilometers away to their new destination in Singapore.
The Challenges of Wind and Ground Settlement
With multiple pools sitting at a height of 650 feet (198 meters), it is imperative they can withstand any sort of natural ground movement and wind speeds.
Natare engineered the stainless steel swimming pool to allow for the swaying of the skyscrapers in every direction. 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 with a total range of motion of 500 millimeters (19.68 inches). The SkyPark is designed for wind pressures of up to 2.5 kPa (5,933 lbs./ft² or 250 kg/m²) and wind speeds of up to 105 ft./s (32 m/s).
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. The pool also adjusts to maintain its level flow along the horizon of the infinity edge, even as the three towers settle into the ground at different rates over the years. This jacking system is important primarily to ensure the infinity edge of the pool continues to function properly.
Marina Bay Sands SkyPark is arguably one of the world’s most challenging construction projects and certainly the most expensive stand-alone integrated resort property ever built. The SkyPark is a triumph of modern engineering with a bold look and daring design elements.
Interested in learning more about the construction of Marina Bay Sands and the SkyPark pool? Check out this episode of Spark.
