Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental Hotel | Martin Jochman

This unique project has a long and twisty history. Having designed the concept and won the international competition in 2006 with Atkins, British architect Martin Jochman set up his own studio JADE+QA in Shanghai in 2013 and signed contract with the developer Shimao to complete the design and oversee the project on site with his own team. Until then the project was for various reasons (mainly economical, but also because of the technical challenges caused by the unusual location of the hotel in 90m deep quarry), paused for several years. Since 2013, together with the Shanghai based local design institute ECADI for the Engineering, Hongkong based interior design studios CCD and AB Concepts and the BAM for landscape design, the design of the hotel was finalised and quickly become reality. Hotel is located ion a 280x220m x 88m deep disused quarry, that was used for excavating rock for construction use. The overall building area of 62,171.9m2 will accommodate 337 guestrooms on 16 floors with one floor level with both guestrooms and public areas located under water. The 2 top floors above the ground level will accommodate the main lobby, banqueting and conferencing facility, restaurants, bars and the back of the house facilities. Externally there will be extensive landscape and themed leisure park with extreme sport 'Team building facility. The project is now well on course for completion in 2018. The project has been nominated for a prize at 2009 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona and won Gold prize in the 2011 MIPIM Asia in Hong Kong. Discovery Chanel of the National Geographic is filming the designa dn construction for their "Megastructures" series to be aired on completion of the project. M.Jochman Dip Arch RIBA , JADE+QA

Songjiang, a place of inspiration close to Shanghai, endowed with cultural and historic heritage, is the must-go place for sightseers and tourists from home and abroad. Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental resort, currently under construction to be completed at the end of 201 is  located close to  Mount Tianma and Mount Heng and surrounded by rippling canals and verdant growth. It will become favorite tourist destination for rich experience, relaxation, food & leisure attractions, inclusive of retail & entertainment. Characterized by its unique features of topography and natural environment, the integral project of Shimao Wonderland is an extraordinarily piece of design in line with the experimental trends in today’s tourism industry. Due to the balanced master plan for the leisure and activity in such unusual surroundings, a magic place of adventure will be  unraveled to cater to the ever changing demands for weekend tourism from crowded cities like Shanghai. Furthermore, the surrounding areas of peaceful nature will help the visitors leave behind the hustle and bustle of the city life with its stressful competitive edge. The unique  five star hotel located in a disused quarry successfully maximizes the potential of creativity and imagination by incorporating features such as under-water restaurants, clubs and guest rooms. The unusual quarry environmnet with its cliffs and waterfalls enable inclusion of  combination of extreme sports and deluxe 5 star services.  

[IT] Un lussuoso hotel arroccato sulla parete scoscesa di una cava che offre un suggestivo paesaggio naturale di acqua e ricca vegetazione. L’hotel supera di due piani la parete rocciosa della cava, che raggiunge una profondità di 100 metri, ed include anche aree costruite sott’acqua. La geometria curvilinea della struttura racchiude un ampio ingresso illuminato da luce naturale che riutilizza la facciata della roccia con cascate e vegetazione naturali. Su due livelli costruiti sott’acqua trovano spazio un ristorante e diverse stanze che si affacciano su un acquario profondo dieci metri. L’hotel accoglierà anche una piscina e diversi spazi per le attività sportive. Sarà inoltre possibile praticare sport estremi quali rock climbing e bungee jumping accedendo ad un’area a sbalzo sulla cava per mezzo di speciali ascensori. “Ci siamo ispirati – spiega Martin Jochman, alla guida del gruppo di progettazione – alla cava stessa, trasformando l’immagine della collina verde che scende lungo la parete rocciosa in una serie di giardini pensili su terrazze. Al centro abbiamo creato una “cascata” di vetro trasparente che consente la circolazione verticale collegando il fondo della cava al livello del suolo”.