How often does a designer get invited into the Mohave Desert compound to check out the rockets (Spaceship 1) and delivery aircraft (Spaceship 2)? And how often does one have a chance to design a complex featuring a working spaceport? This is certainly one of the most exciting projects we worked on so far.  Christian Hope’s 3113 Studio and Hetzel Design were charged with a task to master plan and design a functional spaceport in conjunction with a resort, aerospace attraction, strong edutainment component and support facilities in Saudi desert.

We felt nothing but pride when Mr. Richard Branson picked (multiple schemes by different designers were prepared) and presented our scheme to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. We hope to push this project beyond the concept level in near future. Hopefully we get to ride Spaceship 1 at the opening day as well.

Songcheng Group has made its name in China for its amazing performance-based shows. Their ultimate goal is location-based entertainment: high-quality theme parks and resorts.
They chose a beautiful hilly site near Zhuhai for their latest theme park anchored resort. They also picked three distinct resort themes – Santorini, South of France, and a treehouse nature resort! We were very much on board with the nature resort, slightly questioning the South of France and Santorini concept which both seemed out of place in the forested hilly terrain.
Nevertheless, we gave all three ideas our best shot – to our client’s satisfaction! Once immersed into the
Greek island vibe with a glass of ouzo, one may decide to ignore the context altogether.

Inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood, the cinematic-themed resort comprises a 30,000-square-foot Family Entertainment Center. The entertainment center features DC Comics characters, such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash. Studio City features an Art Deco design inspired by two asteroids shooting through a Gotham City building. Hetzel Design teamed up with Goddard Group, a Los Angeles-based entertainment design firm that also designed Galaxy Macau.

We joined forces with Klai Juba Wald to design a new addition to the existing Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. After exploring multiple massing options, we all fell in love with a two-tower scheme featuring undulated towers which define a guitar-shaped negative space between them. The absence of architecture suggests the presence of music!

This concept turned out to be too cerebral (and too expensive) in the end, so we reluctantly resorted to a single tower solution, also in a shape of a guitar. One could find humor in our comparative analysis of different guitar types, in search for the one that would fit the most rooms (Gibson won over Fender here).

This may not be exactly what we envisioned, but it is certainly one of the most unusual structures in Northern America.

There’s magic and wonder brewing in Nayarit that might just bring about a revolution in entertainment. Already stunning, the high-end Vidanta resort in Nuevo Vallarta will double in capacity over the next three years. A world-class theme park, and an entertainment boardwalk featuring a major Cirque the Soleil attraction will anchor this new development. This new concept in family vacationing will fuse luxury with imagination, creating a fantastical world where adventures leap to life through immersive rides, attractions, and interactive performances. Highly thematic new resort hotels will surround and compliment the entertainment hub, so that every moment of the vacation experience is filled with magic and amazement.