Introduction to the Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland

Architect Martin Yorkman is designing a radical new hotel in Shanghai, to be built 90m below ground level in an abandoned flooded quarry. The goal is to create a landmark building that stands out in the city’s high-tech metropolis. The hotel features a unique design, with a glass wall resembling a waterfall and a flooded lower section creating a lake.

Engineering Challenges

The unique location poses significant engineering challenges, including being partly underwater, requiring waterproofing and earthquake proofing, and dealing with the quarry’s unstable rock composition. Securing unstable sites, particularly those with rock walls prone to collapse, is crucial for the safety of guests and workers.

• Waterproofing and earthquake proofing
• Dealing with unstable rock composition
• Securing rock walls to prevent collapse

Rock Bolts and Stabilization

Rock bolts are a simple yet effective device that can help hold up rock walls. The use of rock bolts was first introduced in the St. Joseph Lead Company’s mine in Bonta, Missouri, where miners extracted lead ore from thin veins in the rock. Engineers devised ways to extract ore by scaling heights using trapezes and rock bolts, which proved to be a significant innovation, creating a strong anchoring point and allowing for safer mining practices.

In the Shanghai quarry, a team of engineers is using rock bolts to stabilize the rock face. The process involves blasting rock walls, inserting 6,000 super-sized rock bolts, and covering the area with metal mesh and a layer of cement, creating a giant grid across 5,700 square meters of rock face to prevent it from falling and endangering visitors.

Seismic Design and Earthquake Protection

The hotel’s unique design makes it vulnerable to earthquakes, requiring an extra engineering solution to prevent damage from opposing forces. Historical structures like Machu Picchu and China’s Forbidden City have withstood earthquakes due to techniques like precision-cut stones and interlocking joints, which incorporate a “flex factor” to absorb tremors.

Engineers are using new methods and the latest technology to design and build the structure, which has no precedent in terms of seismic design. The foundations require almost 50,000 cubic meters of concrete, posing a new problem of how to place such a large quantity of concrete so deep.

• Seismic isolation design
• Precision-cut stones and interlocking joints
• Flex factor to absorb tremors

Underwater Construction and Waterproofing

The hotel’s underwater section poses a significant engineering challenge to withstand huge amounts of water pressure. Designers are working on innovative solutions, such as learning from the Boeing B17 plane’s design to withstand immense pressure. The invention of plexiglass by chemist Otto R. Rome revolutionized aviation engineering, and its use in aircraft greatly improved safety and visibility.

A team in China is working on a project that involves a large underwater space with massive water tanks and acrylic glass windows, providing an elegant and beautiful view of the target area. The largest windows weigh up to 4 tons and measure over 5 meters wide and 3.5 meters high.

Glass Waterfall and Cliff Walkway

The hotel features a glass waterfall, which is the most challenging part of the structure due to its curved and irregular shape covered in glass. A steel framework is being covered with over 5,000 square meters of frameless glass panels to create a glass waterfall illusion, featuring observation lifts and a man-made lake that will require 200 million liters of water to fill.

Building a walkway at the top of a 90m high cliff is a significant challenge that requires strong and safe engineering. A potential solution may be found in innovative designs, such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water House in Pennsylvania, which challenges the landscape it sits upon and may inspire a solution for the cliff walkway project in China.

Conclusion

The Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland is a remarkable engineering feat that combines 100-year-old ideas with modern technology, built into the side of an abandoned quarry over 12 years, pushing the limits of engineering and architecture to create a unique subterranean luxury resort.

Key Vocabulary

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Vocabulary Quiz

1. Which term refers to the process of making a building resistant to earthquake damage?

A) Waterproofing
B) Seismic isolation design
C) Rock composition
D) Stabilization

2. What is the primary purpose of using rock bolts in the Shanghai quarry hotel project?

A) To create a glass waterfall illusion
B) To build a cliff walkway
C) To stabilize the rock face and prevent collapse
D) To fill a man-made lake

3. Which historical structure is an example of withstanding earthquakes due to techniques like precision-cut stones and interlocking joints?

A) The Great Wall of China
B) Machu Picchu
C) The Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China
D) The Shanghai Quarry Hotel

4. What material is being used to create a giant grid across the rock face in the Shanghai quarry to prevent it from falling?

A) Metal mesh and cement
B) Glass panels and steel framework
C) Acrylic glass and plexiglass
D) Concrete and rock bolts

5. How much water will be required to fill the man-made lake in the hotel?

A) 100 million liters
B) 200 million liters
C) 500 million liters
D) 1 billion liters

Answer Key:

1. B
2. C
3. B
4. A
5. B

Grammar Focus

Grammar Focus: The Use of Gerunds and Infinitives

Grammar Quiz:

1. The main purpose of using rock bolts in the Shanghai quarry is _______ the rock face from falling.

• to prevent
• preventing
• to be preventing
• being prevented

2. The engineers are working on _______ innovative solutions to withstand huge amounts of water pressure.

• to design
• designing
• to be designing
• the design of

3. The use of plexiglass _______ aviation engineering by improving safety and visibility.

• revolutionized
• to revolutionize
• revolutionizing
• was revolutionizing

4. The hotel features a glass waterfall, which is the most challenging part of the structure due to its curved and irregular shape _______ in glass.

• to be covered
• being covered
• covered
• to cover

5. Building a walkway at the top of a 90m high cliff requires _______ strong and safe engineering solutions.

• to find
• finding
• to be finding
• the finding of

Answer Key:

• 1. to prevent
• 2. designing
• 3. revolutionized
• 4. covered
• 5. finding