Coop Himmelb(l)au to design "Snow World" in Changsha, China

Coop Himmelb(l)au recently won a competition to design the Deep Pit Ice and Snow World in the Dawang Mountain Resort area near the city of Changsha. The quarry project, which also featured proposals from Gensler and Asymptote, is the second of its kind in China, following the Songjiang Shimao Hotel outside of Shanghai. It is one of many new schemes for Changsha from international architects such as Zaha Hadid. The 394,000 square foot project is positioned directly on top of a historic cement mining quarry pit and lake, and consists of an Entertainment Ice World, Indoor Ski Slope, Water Park and restaurant and shopping facilities. The design emphasizes the existing quarry pit and the 560 foot spanning sculpted shell of the Snow and Ice World.

The Shell, which spans from cliff to cliff, covers a sunken and hanging garden, creating a new leisure space of islands, water pools, cliffside pathways and ramps that connect the building to its natural surroundings. Other highlights include a cantilevered outdoor swimming pool that also creates a 200-foot-tall waterfall into the quarry pit. A central glass cone provides controlled natural daylight to the Ice World structure and the islands and water surfaces below, and a sculptural 330-foot-tall tower will is to the Ice World via a grand central plaza. The project is slated to start construction sometime in 2014 with an expected completion date in 2016.

Changsha China Coop Himmelb(l)au

Coop Himmelb(l)au to design "Snow World" in Changsha, China

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