Singapore is the location for largest ever Las Vegas Sands resort

Las Vegas Sands has unveiled the futuristic designs for their largest ever development now they have won Singapore's first casino license. At a cost of $3.6 billion, it will be the most expensive resort of its type ever.

The designs have already been commented on as being something from a 1970's sci-fi movie. The designs are certainly radical with three towers rising inward before all being joined by a platform.

Architects love it. Fengshui masters think it is a disaster.

The 1ha sky park, larger than two football fields, is one of the most prominent features of the $5 billion resort, which Las Vegas Sands won the bid to build.

Linking the tops of three 50-storey hotel towers, the park overlooks the museum, retail and convention spaces and boasts a 360-degree view of the city and the Singapore Strait.

'I think the sky garden could become something iconic and a first in the world,' said Dr Erwin Viray, assistant professor at the National University of Singapore's department of architecture.
Architect Goh Chong Chia, managing director of TSP Architects and Planners, is equally excited. 'Roof gardens have been created before but not on this sort of scale. It's like lifting the ground to a whole new level.'
United States-based architect Moshe Safdie designed the resort. He said the greenery at the summit fits Singapore's image as a 'garden city'.

The Sands also consulted a fengshui master, but said he was out of town and could not be contacted for comment.

But those The Sunday Times interviewed were not enthusiastic about the design.
Geomancer Victor Li, who has worked with The Raffles Hotel and The Grand Hyatt Singapore, said: 'On their own, the three tall buildings look like three ancestral tablets and, with the sky garden, it looks like a broken flyover, with 'neither head nor tail'.'
He said the Mandarin phrase 'neither head nor tail' has a negative connotation, usually used to describe things that are incomplete and imperfect.

The flatness of the rooftop is another problem.
Master Tan Khoon Yong of Way Onnet Group said it resembles a blade that will affect all buildings surrounding the IR, especially the Swissotel Stamford.
'Also, because the rooftop is flat, it restricts the development and growth for the IR,' he said.

While geomancer Adelina Pang has no problem with the flat roof, she warned that the garden should not have ponds or water features, because this would symbolise a drowning building.
Out of the 40 people interviewed by The Sunday Times yesterday, 22 were impressed by the design, while 18 disliked it.

Ms Loke Mei En, 33, a hedge fund manager, said: 'It looks embarrassing. The design is haphazardly put together. It's an aberration on our waterfront.'

Others liken the towers to 'joss-sticks' and a 'glorified factory'.

But the overall layout has won many fans. The architects say the placement of public spaces in front and private quarters at the back facilitates the flow of people and makes 'urban design sense', while geomancer Gwee Kim Woon says the buildings are positioned in a shape of a bat.
The Mandarin word for 'bat' sounds similar to the Mandarin word for luck, so bats are often associated with luck.

As for the lotus-shaped Art- Science museum, people from both camps supported the idea of a bloom along the waterfront.
Architect John Ting said: 'To us in Asia, the lotus is providential and if you know how to capitalise on the concept of a lotus, it can be iconic.'

But architect Tay Kheng Soon feels the project might be too striking for its own good. 'Because it is so outstanding, it is likely to be mistaken as the icon of Singapore. No self-respecting city has a casino as its icon.'