China has an assortment of what we shall call 'experimental architecture projects'. They range from counter-balanced CCTV buildings, to a bird's nest inspired Stadium.
A new development in Songjiang, China has to be one of the largest scaled projects attempted, and also the most unusual project yet. The proposal? A 19-storey, 428,000m2, 5-star quarry hotel, with almost all of the 380 hotel rooms being underground. All of these rooms will have a spectacular view over a thundering waterfall. We assume these windows will be soundproofed?
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| 16 storey's below, with 3 poking out at the top |
A proposed 'Experience Centre' located somewhere in the labyrinth of rooms will provide a stress free relaxation environment, with leisure and entertainment activities. The extreme sports section, making use of the unusual location of the site (the foot of the Tianmashan Mountain), will be more suited for the adventurous type of person, not something you'll see me on anytime soon. Activities include extreme rock climbing and extreme bungee jumping, not like the regular ones already scary enough! There is also a 10 metre deep aquarium located in the depths of the underground skyscraper for casual viewing before heading over to the restaurant.
The people in charge of this gargantuan project are the Shimao Property Group, with help from British firm Atkins. The Shimao Property Group already have a host of unusual projects, including the Hangzhou Shimao Qiantang Royal View. The senior manager, Li Xuyang states that 'the project features a magical and lively atmosphere, and perfectly meets the demand of city dwellers for a relaxing weekend outing, leisure trip and exciting theme park.'
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| Every Hotel room looks out over the expansive cavern and a view of the 'thundering' waterfall. |
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| Construction Beginning? Final completion expected in early 2015 |