Construction just began on a sustainable hotel resort built into a 100-meter high quarry in the Songjiang district just outside Shanghai. Looking like a villain’s lair from a James Bond movie, the 19-story hotel complex will feature a huge waterfall pouring down from its roof and two of its first floors will be submerged in the water.
The five-star hotel is designed by UK architecture office Atkins for Shimao Group and will offer around 400 rooms, with underwater restaurants, clubs, shopping facilities, a 10-meter deep aquarium and various sport activities such as rock climbing and bungee jumping.
The building will get its energy from geothermal sources and will feature a green roof. The abandoned water-filled quarry beneath the hotel will be used for heat control and as protection from the elements. A naturally-lit internal atrium will incorporate the existing rock face, with its waterfalls and green vegetation.
The Songjiang Hotel should be completed in three years but predictions state it might open as soon as 2015.
+ Atkins Global
Via Dezeen
