Dubai as Inspiration

Dubai As An Inspiration: An Architectural Review

Dubai is a city that is known for its beautiful skyline of shiny tall buildings and its well developed and planned infrastructure.

It is constantly a wonder for anyone who visits the city that Dubai was nothing more than an endless desert about 50 years ago. Now its a lovely combination of traditional and modern cultures and lifestyles. 

Below is a short review on some of the main attractions in the city.

Burj Khalifa

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World's tallest building. A living wonder. Stunning work of art. Incomparable feat of engineering. Burj Khalifa is all that. In concept and execution, Burj Khalifa has no peer.

Bringing Burj Khalifa to life required a combination of visionary ideals and solid science. In the process, the project amassed an awe-inspiring number of facts, figures, and statistics.

While it is superlative in every respect, it is the unique design of Burj Khalifa that truly sets it apart. The centrepiece of this new world capital attracted the world's most esteemed designers to an invited design competition.

Ultimately, the honour of designing the world's tallest tower was awarded to the global leader in creating ultra-tall structures, the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) with Adrian Smith FAIA, RIBA, consulting design Partner. The selected design was subject to an extensive peer review program to confirm the safety and effectiveness of the structural systems.

The architecture features a triple-lobed footprint, an abstraction of the Hymenocallis flower. The tower is composed of three elements arranged around a central core. The modular, Y-shaped structure, with setbacks along each of its three wings provides an inherently stable configuration for the structure and provides good floor plates for residential. Twenty-six helical levels decrease the cross section of the tower incrementally as it spirals skyward.

The central core emerges at the top and culminates in a sculpted spire. A Y-shaped floor plan maximizes views of the Arabian Gulf. Viewed from the base or the air, Burj Khalifa is evocative of the onion domes prevalent in Islamic architecture.

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Not just the exteriors but Burj Khalifa has breathtaking interiors as well. Each and every detail that makes the Burj what it is today makes one stand still in awe and appreciation.

Over 1,000 pieces of art from prominent Middle Eastern and international artists adorn Burj Khalifa and the surrounding Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard. Many of the pieces were specially commissioned by Emaar to be a tribute to the spirit of global harmony. The pieces were selected as a means of linking cultures and communities, symbolic of Burj Khalifa being an international collaboration.

The interior design of Burj Khalifa public areas was also done by the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP and was led by award-winning designer Nada Andric. It features glass, stainless steel and polished dark stones, together with silver travertine flooring, Venetian stucco walls, handmade rugs and stone flooring. The interiors were inspired by local culture while staying mindful of the building's status as a global icon and residence.

Atlantis, The Palm

​Atlantis, The Palm opened in September 2008, and spans a massive 46 hectares, with 17 hectares of water park alone. Atlantis also features exciting marine and entertainment attractions that the whole family can enjoy, and a collection of world-renowned and award-winning restaurants.

It was always Atlantis, The Palm’s Executive Chairman Sol Kerzner’s vision to transport guests into a dazzling, imaginative world when they come to visit this famous resort atop the crescent of the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.

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Set on 46 hectares and with 17 hectares of water themed amusement rides and slides at the Aquaventure Waterpark, Atlantis boasts fresh and salt-water pools, lagoon exhibits, an open-air marine habitat and extraordinarily luxurious accommodations in over 1 500 rooms and suites. But it’s the awesome architecture and interiors that often cause guests to whip out the cameras.

Architecture

Kerzner’s brief to the designers was to ‘come up with something that captured the essence of Altantis – the wonder, the water and the sense of discovery – yet with distinct Arabic elements. The result was sun-kissing spires, Moorish archways, Arabian-inspired lamps and palm-shaped pillars tied together with accents of traditional Middle Eastern vernacular architecture such as hand-wrought iron columns of flowers, leaves and buds.

The interior designers who had the task of transforming the structure into an aquatic Lost Continent of Atlantis were Wilson and Associates, design architects Wimberly, Allison, Tong and Goo and the innovative landscape architecture design firm EDSA. 

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Using the theme of crystal and light energy, designers were able to incorporate moments of unexpected wonder throughout the resort. Look around and you’ll notice shimmering semi-precious stones and intricate fossilised shell and fish stone combined with classic Arabian architecture, custom-crystal chandeliers and shimmering hand-embroidered silk fabrics. Put together, it creates a sense of awe and opulence.​

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Artwork

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American artist Dale Chihuly created the famous glass sculpture in the lobby at Atlantis, the Palm. The impressive piece of art, which is surrounded by a reflection pool, brings the essence of the ocean and its inhabitants to life. It took two years to complete, is made up of over 3 000 pieces of vividly-coloured blown glass ranging from fiery oranges and reds to tranquil blues and greens.

Spanish artist Albino Gonzalez hand-painted the eight incredible murals that cover the main lobby in Atlantis, The Palm, telling the story of the ancient mythical lost city around a solar calendar.

Atlantis, The Palm is adorned by hundreds of artworks, most of which were created by San Francisco mural artists Mark Evans and Charley Brown. They created panels for seven domed ceilings – some of which are 2,000 square feet and can be seen in the Tower of the Moon, Tower of the Sun and the Garden of the Sea – as well as other imagery and faux tapestries for the resort’s public spaces.

In keeping with Islamic traditions, the artists avoided painting living figures, rather choosing classical motifs such as jewellery, sea shells, coral and geometric patterns.

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