Located in the heart of Downtown Macau, the Jade Entertainment Complex sits in a dense­ly developed urban fabric where the recent pace of development has pushed up land values exponentially. The small site is a 50 m x 50 m square above ground, with extended borders below grade. The devel­oper’s multi-use program calls for entertainment venues, casino gam­ing, parking, restaurants, hotel, condominium and adjoining amenities. With the size and relative mix of each component imminently tied to the economic viability of the project, the first challenge was to aggregate the multiple program elements effectively on the site.
     The solution to program aggregation follows closely with the relative value and size of floor space to height within the building section. The spatial requirements of the gaming floor necessitated its location un­derground, where the borders of the site extend beyond the build-to line above. The rest of the program is stacked based on its relative value in height. As relative value decreases as one moves up from the ground and down from the top, the public revenue generating spaces take precedence at the top and bottom, while the parking is located in the middle at the least valuable point. Condominiums are located high in the building to take advantage of a higher investment grade, with hotel and amenities stacked below.
     The plan is derived from the structural requirements of the tower. In a typically organized gridded tower with a central core, as the building height increases and the floor area remains constant, the slenderness ratio approaches an unacceptable limit. By pushing the cores to the perimeter, a more stable ‘4-corner’ configuration is created, effectively reducing the bending moment along the height of the tower. The intro­duction of a central atrium shaft works to cheat the slenderness ratio further to a mere 1:5. By increasing the perimeter and footprint without increasing the floor-area ratio, the hollow tube structural scheme gains a significant advantage with a minimal cost premium.
     The atrium is the heart of the building. It works on multiple levels be­yond the pragmatics of structure. Firstly, it is an architecturally significant spatial experience soaring into the sky. Secondly, it works to tie the public promenade together in a complex spatial matrix. Lastly, it acts as the building’s lungs circulating hot and cold air through the public space.