It takes a lot to stand out amid Macau’s garish architectural cornucopia, yet even before the Morpheus hotel opened on the 15 June, it was being touted as a distinctive landmark. Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the 150,000-square-metre, 40-storey flagship hotel is the final chapter of Melco Resorts and Entertainment’s sprawling City of Dreams resort development, combining casino gaming, shopping and four other hotels located on the Cotai Strip.
The unveiling is a poignant reminder of the untimely death in 2016 of the Pritzker-Prize-winning architect, Dame Zaha Hadid. Morpheus is one of the last projects with which she was intimately involved and bears all the hallmarks of the late architects’ signature style, as do other recently completed projects, such as the Generali Tower in Milan.
The unconventional monolithic structure features a freeform exoskeleton that rises from ground level, wrapping around a pair of towers and a cathedral-like central atrium to create a gargantuan block punctuated by three undulating voids that reflect the figure eight. ‘The carved out volumes allow you to experience the inner and outer faces of Morpheus as you journey through the building,’ explains the project architect Viviana Muscettola. ‘It’s quite fantastic how inside and outside talk to each other.’
Inside, three futuristic sky bridges connect the main circulation cores while providing vertigo-inducing communal dining and lounge spaces. There are 780 hotel rooms and the upper seven floors house VIP gaming facilities, three pool villas and six duplex villas, as well as a semi-enclosed rooftop swimming pool. Interior design by California-based Peter Remedios takes inspiration from super-yachts with custom-design textiles and furnishings.
On the ground floor, an all-white Pierre Hermé Paris Lounge is partially enclosed in a geometric steel angular frame, while the 35-metre-high atrium lobby features a reception decorated with white marble shards and staff kitted out in couturier Barney Cheng-designed uniforms. Twelve elevators whisking guests upwards through the voids add a Bladerunner touch.
There are three restaurants: two by star French chef Alain Ducasse and Yi, a contemporary Chinese restaurant serving regional Chinese cuisines omakase-style. Meanwhile the Spa sets a new benchmark for hedonism in Macau with a Snow Garden installation featuring real snow.
The structure is one of the last projects with which the late, great architect was intimately involved
The freeform exoskeleton wraps around a fairly monolithic structure
Morpheus Hotel by Zaha Hadid Architects
The 40-storey hotel includes 770 guest rooms, suites, sky villas and a rooftop pool. Inside the building, three undulating voids reflect the figure eight.
The project includes a visually stunning, cathedral-like central atrium
The complex features 780 hotel rooms, while the upper seven floors house VIP gaming facilities and further functions for the residents
Interiors include three pool villas and six duplex villas...
....as well as a semi-enclosed rooftop swimming pool
INFORMATION
For more information visit Zaha Hadid Architects’ website
-
Inside Valentino’s glamorous new Sloane Street store, inspired by the art of haute coutureThe latest in Valentino’s ‘The New Maison’ store concept opens on London’s Sloane Street this week, offering an enveloping marble and carpet-clad space of ‘intimacy and uniqueness’
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiencesAesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternativesFrom the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
-
Modernist architecture: inspiration from across the globeModernist architecture has had a tremendous influence on today’s built environment, making these midcentury marvels some of the most closely studied 20th-century buildings; check back soon for new additions to our list
-
Minimalist architecture: homes that inspire calmThese examples of minimalist architecture place life in the foreground – clutter is demoted; joy promoted
-
The finest brutalist architecture in London and beyondFor some of the world's finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond, scroll below. Can’t get enough of brutalism? Neither can we.
-
The iconic British house: key examples exploredNew book ‘The Iconic British House’ by Dominic Bradbury explores the country’s best residential examples since 1900
-
Loyle Carner’s Reading Festival 2023 stage presents spatial storytelling at its finestWe talk to Loyle Carner and The Unlimited Dreams Company (UDC) about the musical artist’s stage set design for Reading Festival 2023
-
The Leaf is a feat of engineering and an ode to the Canadian PrairiesThe Leaf in Winnipeg, Canada, is the first interactive horticultural attraction of its kind: a garden and greenhouse complex promoting a better understanding of how people can connect with plants
-
Behind the V&A East Museum’s pleated façadeBehind the new V&A East Museum’s intricate façade is a space for the imagination to unfold
-
Casa Monoculo offers a take on treetop living in BrazilCasa Monoculo by architect Alan Chu is a house raised above the treetops in Alto Paraiso City, Brazil
