New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 34/02C | Page 85

Project
Morpheus Hotel
Location:
Macau, China
Architect:
Zaha Hadid Architects
HEART OF THE CITY
A vanguard of architectural design, the Morpheus Hotel by Zaha Hadid Architects
is the new five-star centrepiece of Macau’s City of Dreams resort
These pages:A fluid ‘net’ of
structural beams forms the
exoskeleton of the sculptural
Morpheus Hotel in Macau by
Zaha Hadid Architects. The
glazed facade behind comprises
43,388m 2 of high performance
glass panels. Three organic voids
create drama and connect hotel
guests with the wider setting.
What to do when you want to break with a
location’s tradition of copycat architecture? One bold
way forward is to create a new design language.
Melco Resorts & Entertainment commissioned
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) to design Morpheus
as the fifth hotel in its City of Dreams resort devel-
opment on tourist and gambling mecca Macau.
In modern interpretations of Greek mythology,
Morpheus is referred to as the god of dreams or
sleep. Melco wanted Morpheus to be designed to
‘satisfy the dreams of luxury international travellers’.
In response, the high-end, five-star hotel itself
looks like a dream of surreal architectural splendour.
Historically, Macau buildings have referenced
architecture styles from around the world.
Morpheus, however, has evolved from its unique
environment and site conditions as a new archi-
tecture expressly of the city, says ZHA’s project
director Viviana Muscettola.
Linked at ground level with the surrounding
three-storey podium of the City of Dreams resort,
Morpheus houses a lobby atrium, and 772 guest
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