Join AIA Hong Kong for a unique hard hat tour of the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed, fifth hotel tower at Macau’s City of Dreams.

With 40 floors and a gross floor area of 150,000 square meters, the latest hotel at City of Dreams houses approximately 780 guestrooms, suites and sky villas. The design was conceived as a single “sculptural element” with two towers united by an exposed exoskeleton mesh structure. The effect is that the rectangular outline of the site is extruded as a monolithic block with a series of voids that carve through the centre, merging traditional architectural elements of roof, wall and ceiling to create a sculptural form that defines many of the hotel’s internal public spaces. The exposed structure is not only sensuous and intriguing, but also contributes to the building’s lateral stability, thereby reducing the need for internal structure and optimising the interior layout.

James Marshall of Dragages will provide participants with an overview of the project. He will then lead the group on a preview of the building, which will explain the exoskeleton structure at various stages of construction.

Dress: Participants must bring their own site shoes. Hard hats and reflective vests will be provided on site; there is no supply of safety shoes on site.

Program:
08:30 –  Meet at Shun Tak Ferry Pier
09:00 – 10:00  Ferry from Hong Kong to Cotai Macau Ferry Pier
10:30 – 11:00  Briefing on Site Visit / Project Background
11:00 – 12:00  Site Visit
12:00 – 13:30  Lunch in Macau (Optional)
14:00 – 15:00  Ferry from Cotai Macau back to Hong Kong

Special thanks to:

Criswell Davis is a two-time cancer survivor and currently serves on the Patient Advisory Council for a new cancer treatment hospital in Dayton, Ohio.  As a member of this council he brings his vast American hardwood industry experience to the process of creating healing spaces for cancer patients who follow in his footsteps.

In this talk to the AIA Hong Kong Chapter, Criswell will present the historical context of using sustainable American hardwoods in interior design with a focus on the relationship between humans and natural timber finishes in Health Care environments. He will cite the many benefits to patients treated in those spaces and will also discuss “biophilic design” and how sustainable American hardwoods can play a key role in these design applications.

Criswell Davis
President of Mighty Oaks Consulting

Criswell Davis is an internationally recognized American hardwood expert, speaker and hardwood consultant.  Among many other events, he has lectured to the HDII Jakarta, INDEX Dubai, The AIA Shanghai and Hong Kong, SOM, Hyatt Hotels, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Moshe Safdie Architects, Kieran Timberlake Woods Bagot and The Construction Specifications Institute in Washington DC.  He advises some of the largest architecture and design firms in specifying American hardwoods for projects worldwide and has been in the American hardwood industry for more than 28 years, including 20 years representing a large specialty American sawmill.

Criswell has served on the Board of Directors of the Wood Products Manufacturers Association, the Western Hardwood Association and the Hardwood Federation PAC in Washington D.C.  An approved AIA Continuing Education provider and university lecturer, he is often called upon to speak on behalf of the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) in the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Special Thanks to: