Hotel entirely designed by Zaha Hadid opens at ZHA’s Opus building in Dubai

Under the Burj Khalifa, Zaha Hadid Architects' Opus building explores “the balance between solid and void, opaque and transparent, interior and exterior”. The project is home to the new ME Dubai hotel, the first and last one in which the late architect created both the architecture and the interior design.

– Four years after it was originally set to open, the hotel

ME Dubai by Melia

in

The Opus

by Omniyat building in Downtown Dubai has inaugurated, just before closing down after two weeks as the city went into lockdown. Photographer Laurian Ghinitoiu has captured both the architectures and interiors of the project.

Spanning 84,300 square metres, the Opus is composed of two merging towers which create a massive ‘eroded’ cube with a free-form void at its centre. 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, three-storey bridge 71 metres above the ground.

The precise orthogonal geometries of the Opus’ elemental glass cube contrast dramatically with the fluidity of the eight-storey void at its centre

,” explained Christos Passas, project director at Zaha Hadid Architects. The contrast of volumes and void allows to building to almost dissolve its whole volume thanks to continuous play of light varying between ever-changing 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.

The void’s 6,000 square metre façade is created from 4,300 individual units of flat, single-curved or double-curved glass, and it was designed using digital 3D modelling that also identified specific zones which required tempered glass.

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. The Opus building houses offices floors and serviced residences as well as restaurants, cafes and bars. The new ME Dubai by Melia hotel incorporates 74 rooms and 19 suites, while.

In the lobby, guests can relax in exquisite lounges with

Petalinas

sofas and

Ottomans

pods by Zaha Hadid Design. All bedrooms feature custom-designed

Opus

beds and the ‘fluid’

Vitae

bathroom collection, designed by Hadid for Noken Porcelanosa; while the ‘Work & Play’ combination sofa with desk are installed in the suites.