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ME Dubai at Opus receives 2020 Legend Award

ME Dubai hotel at the Opus receives 2020 Legend Award from Departures Magazine in their list of the world’s most stunning new buildings.

The 2020 Legend Awards serve as inspiration for future travel—when it is safe to do so; honouring buildings that set the gold standard for global architecture by pushing the boundaries of innovation to create larger-than-life works of art that are feats of culture, not to mention feats of gravity.

“If you have ever looked at a piece of art, listened to a recording, or seen a display of fashion that you knew right away was destined to become iconic, you understand how we feel about these buildings. Most have only gone up in the last year, and already, they have redefined the skylines of their city or the hospitality offerings of their region,” explains Departure Magazine’s editors.

Located in the Burj Khalifa district adjacent to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay on the Dubai Water Canal, the Opus by Zaha Hadid Architects for Omniyat explores the balance between solid and void, opaque and transparent, interior and exterior.

Designed as two separate towers that coalesce into a singular whole, the Opus takes 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, 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.

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 ME Dubai at the Opus incorporates 74 rooms and 19 suites with bespoke furniture by Zaha Hadid Design while the Opus building also houses offices floors, serviced residences and restaurants.

Departures Magazine’s 2020 Legend Awards ‘ Most innovative architecture’

Photograph by Laurian Ghinitoiu