Hetzel Design was appointed through Barrett Building Company to design a football stadium for 20,000 spectators in Cabo San Lucas.
Hetzel proposed a dynamic contemporary scheme with undulated canopy inspired by bull horn silhouette. The efficient rectilinear stadium footprint was designed to be built in three phases. The stadium features exciting and iconic exterior design, comfortable seating with optimal sightlines for all spectators, luxury VIP suites, and state-of-art support facilities for the players. The scheme is enhanced by color changing LED ribbon lighting design concept. The idea behind it is to cater to team colors of multiple teams which will be sharing this venue.

Hetzel Design’s collaboration with Chimelong begun with Chimelong Spaceship, an award winning aquatic indoor theme-park and mega aquarium.  The client wanted us to study opportunities for the location next door- the top of Hengqin Mountain, with the commanding views of Macau and Hong Kong. The idea was to create a visitors’ center on the mountain’s peek and celebrate the amazing views, provide guests with opportunities to relax and take break from the excitement of the neighboring Ocean Kingdom, Macau and Hong Kong.

The idea was to create something iconic, exciting, yet contextual. We embarked on a long journey searching for solutions.  We are providing a case study of our explorations. We obviously enjoyed this assignment and explored a plethora of avenues until we embarked on the CHAMELION concept- a simple wedge block of mirror glass.  It is a building which fully reflects its surroundings, aiming to fully blend into the natural environment. The only visible feature is the cantilevered observation disc, seemingly floating over the landscape.

Chimelong would not be Chimelong if there was not a magic moment- the mirror glass envelope is animated by programmable actuators- so it can become alive, jumping out of its invisibility and into full performance mode when necessary!

This unique hybrid is one of the pioneering attempts to merge human water activities with marine life exhibits. The waterpark and the aquarium are interwoven and overlapping, offering a very unique and exciting guest experience. The interior design is organic and stark, allowing interior walls to provide canvas for projection mapping.  The exterior architectural expression is inspired by the fluidity of the ocean surface, both in form and choice of shimmering reflective metal cladding.

The world’s largest marine science museum, Chimelong Spaceship, opened in Spring 2023.

This ocean world has a high tech theme throughout, from the spaceship inspired architecture to the virtual reality experiences inside. Separated into 10 unique zones, the museum features animals from both the Northern and southern Hemispheres, which can be viewed inside the immersive exhibits area. Models, lighting, and visual effects enhance the experience by displays of ancient seabed with extinct fish and other sea creatures. Interactive multimedia terminals throughout the park will tell the story of particular species of animals, allowing children to learn about how they live in the ocean.

The buildings share size, progressive design, as well as integration of menagerie, edutainment, and entertainment making the aquarium stand out among other similar projects worldwide. Functions, such as breeding and R&D are featured. The projects also used structural engineering involving the basin foundation and the dome structure.

Hetzel Design teamed up with Legacy entertainment to produce concept design for this groundbreaking facility. Legacy provided creative direction, storytelling and show design, while Hetzel was in charge of architecture, planning and exterior design esthetics.

Paramount Pictures engaged Hetzel Design to design a stand-alone attraction in Aqaba, Jordan, inside a luxury hilltop resort with strong entertainment component.

The attraction, featuring state of the art A/V technology, is entered through an immersive lobby, and surrounded by retail, bar, unique augmented reality restaurant, and boutique hotel, featuring just four state-of-art VIP suites. No effort was spared in the attempt to create the most impressive immersive environment and transport guests into the Star Trek universe.

While the Aqaba resort was never to see the light of day, the attraction concept and many design features from this project were adopted for subsequent Star Trek themed attractions planned for other locations. Coming soon to a theme park near you!

As part of our masterplan for the LINQ, we were charged with creating a concept for an iconic building to replace the tired collection of O’Shea’s casino, parking lot and the eight-story Imperial Palace Pagoda tower. Our gut reaction was to manifest the frenetic energy of the Strip into a building that literally pulls you in and settled on the Vortex form. The 4-story building is a modern beacon utilizing layers of glass and flowing metal to create complex geometries. This culminates with a façade clad with LED media that are embedded in the building and form the underside of the canopy of the vortex structure on the rooftop bar, providing patrons with a truly immersive experience.