The Earthscraper: InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland

While most spectacular developments soar high into the clouds, this one took a completely opposite direction – deep into the earth. Near Shanghai, a structure was built that completely redefined the concept of innovation in the real estate market. We are talking about the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland (also known as the Shimao Quarry Hotel), a globally unique luxury 'earthscraper'.

The history of this project is a tale of unprecedented industrial revitalization of a wound in the landscape. For decades, the gaping, 88-meter-deep abandoned quarry seemed like a lost cause. Architect Martin Jochman from JADE + QA (who began this bold vision while at Atkins) saw the raw, jagged rocks as a natural frame for a futuristic oasis. The highly complex engineering work took over a decade and cost over $500 million, leading to its official opening on November 20, 2018.

The building's form spectacularly hugs the edge of the rocky abyss. Out of the hotel's 18 floors, a staggering 16 descend below ground level, creating a vertical glass and steel facade that mimics a cascading waterfall. Steel balconies and wings of the structure smoothly follow the natural curvature of the quarry, while green roofs blur the line between the architecture and the surroundings.

However, the real secret awaits at the very bottom. The two lowest floors are completely submerged beneath the surface of the flooded pit. Guests in the underwater suites can fall asleep watching marine life through the large-format windows of a deep aquarium, where the blue of the water collides with the brutal form of the former mine.

This is not only a triumph of bold engineering but, above all, inspiring proof that modern luxury can breathe a second, fascinating life into the most inaccessible and forgotten corners of the Earth.