Travel - Supernova
At night, the buildings under construction in Dubai are just silhouettes in the darkness. Lit up though, are congregations of cranes. Apparently a fifth of the world’s largest cranes are in Dubai, hoisting floors higher and higher as the city literally reaches for most elevated status.
The most famous example is the hotel Burj al Arab, in English – and in truth – an Arabian Tower, standing heads and shoulders above its neighbours. When architect Tom Wills-Wright was asked to submit designs for a landmark building on the Dubai skyline, he and his creative team reviewed other iconic buildings – the Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower and the Pyramids – around the world. All have an unusual shape, so it was clear that for this new one to catch the eye and the imagination, it must also have a remarkable form. Burj al Arab opened in 1999, and people have been looking up to it ever since.
The high-impact, high-altitude atrium is central to the prestigious hotel’s unique design. It takes up a third of the interior space; with a height of 182 metres it could shelter the Statue of Liberty. Its architect cites it as one of his favourite places; he likes to see people standing and staring up, or looking down to the lobby far below, amazed.
Interior designer Kuan Chew continues this sense of wonderment inside: the interior’s dazzling decoration is an exuberant partner to the attention-attracting façade. At the time of construction, during that era of minimalism, it would have been a shock to see the great shell-like curves framing the reception desks, and the columns, curling gold garlands and mirrored rails that frame the first five floors of the atrium. Carpets and furnishings are vibrant and rich, pattern is conspicuous, and thousands of square metres of 22-carat gold leaf were used in the interior. The overall effect is stunning: an opulent, futuristic interior. Water is a central feature of the Burj al Arab; dancing arcs of it weave together in graceful displays, and a jet of water shoots 42 metres in the air. A waterfall cascades between the escalators to the atrium lounge in an artfully computer-choreographed sequence of mesmerising movements.
Even more captivating is the underwater-themed restaurant. Access is via a three-minute virtual submarine voyage, and once you’ve disembarked, you dine on award-winning fare, seated beside the diverse sealife of the Arabian Gulf: leopard and reef sharks, manta rays, moray eels, and butterfly, unicorn and parrot fish swimming in a massive floor-to-ceiling aquarium that wraps around the restaurant.
The hotel – until recently the world’s tallest – soars 321 metres into the air and was inspired by the billowing sail of a traditional Arabian dhow. It is often accessed by the helipad cantilevered out from its top floor, which has previously served as a grass tennis court for Andre Agassi and Roger Federer, and a golf green for Tiger Woods. The sail’s translucent white fabric is actually Teflon-coated fibreglass, stretched across the steel structural frame. By day the glow of the white wall lights up the atrium; at night, the façade becomes a beacon, with a kinetic display of light in changing colours. Fire and water shows make an even greater spectacle.
Not long after Burj al Arab opened, an understandably enthusiastic journalist reported that her stay here was a seven-star experience. Although in fact the hotel is rated the highest of the star system at five-plus, it is certainly in a different galaxy thanks to its innovative design, luxurious suites, impeccable butler service and spa, and its ability to impress even the most jaded. It has become the pin-up poster of destination architecture.
Today, a new colossus of Dubai has taken shape. Burj Khalifa is an 828-metre-high skyscraper, currently the tallest free-standing structure in history. However, standing apart on its own island, curving white against the sky, Burj al Arab will retain its title as the most instantly recognisable and iconic building on the Dubai skyline.