Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu
Me Dubai, the first Meliá brand hotel in the Middle East, has been recently inaugurated. It is housed inside The Opus, the 95-meter building owned by the Omnyat real estate company located in the heart of the Burj Khalifa district, adjacent to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay on the Dubai Water Canal.
Consisting of two separate towers that connect forming a cube with a central "sculpted" void that seems to hover above the ground, Zaha Hadid's The Opus aims to become one of the attractions of the city.
The sinuous five-star hotel ME Dubai is the first and only hotel entirely designed by Zaha Hadid.
This umpteenth architectural masterpiece bears the mark of her unmistakable style and contributes to perpetuating the memory of her uniqueness almost four years after her disappearance.
Exploring the balance between solid and void, opaque and transparent, interior and exterior, the design was presented by Zaha Hadid in 2007 and is the only hotel in which she created both its architecture and interiors.
The Opus -spanning 84,300 square metres (907,400 square feet)- was designed as two separate towers that coalesce into a singular whole—taking the form of a cube.
The cube has been ‘eroded’ in its centre, creating a free-form void that is an important volume of the design in its own right.
The two halves of the building on either side of the void are linked by a four-storey atrium at ground level and also connected by an asymmetric 38 metre wide, threestorey bridge 71 metres above the ground.
The void’s 6,000 square metre façade is created from 4,300 individual units of flat, single-curved or double-curved glass.
The cube’s double-glazed insulating façades incorporate a UV coating and a mirrored frit pattern to reduce solar gain.
The high-efficiency glazing units are comprised of 8mm Low-E glass (coated on the inside), a 16mm cavity between the panes and 2 layers of 6mm clear glass with a 1.52mm PVB resin laminate.
This curved façade was designed using digital 3D modelling that also identified specific zones which required tempered glass.
Applied around the entire building, this dotted frit patterning emphasizes the clarity of the building’s orthogonal form, while at the same time, dissolving its volume through the continuous play of light varying between everchanging reflections and transparency.
During the day, the cube’s façade reflects the sky, the sun and the surrounding city; whilst at night, the void is illuminated by a dynamic light installation of individually controllable LEDs within each glass panel.
Furniture by Zaha Hadid Design is installed throughout the hotel, including the ‘Petalinas’ sofas and ‘Ottomans’ pods in the lobby that are fabricated from materials ensuring a long lifecycle and its components can be recycled.
The ‘Opus’ beds in each bedroom while the ‘Work & Play’ combination sofa with desk are installed in the suites.
The hotel’s bedrooms also incorporate the ‘Vitae’ bathroom collection, designed by Hadid in 2015 for Noken Porcelanosa, continuing her fluid architectural language throughout the hotel’s interiors.
The ME Dubai hotel incorporates 74 rooms and 19 suites, while the Opus building also houses offices floors, serviced residences and restaurants, cafes and bars including ROKA, the contemporary Japanese robatayaki restaurant and the MAINE Land Brasserie.
Sensors throughout the Opus automatically adjust the ventilation and lighting according to occupancy to conserve energy while ME Dubai follows Meliá Hotels International initiatives for sustainable practices. Hotel guests will receive stainless-steel water bottles to use during their stay with drinking water dispensers installed throughout the hotel.
With no plastic bottles in guest rooms and a program to become entirely plastic free in all areas, the hotel is also reducing food waste by not serving buffets and has composters to recycle discarded organics.
Zoe Miles