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ME Dubai within Opus named Hotel Design of the Year

Home to the ME Dubai Hotel, the Opus has been named ‘Hotel Design of the Year’ at the 2021 INDEX Design Awards.

Opus for Omniyat 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 bridge 71 metres above the ground.

The cube’s double-glazed insulating facades incorporate a UV coating and a mirrored frit pattern to reduce solar gain, while the void is created from 4,300 individual units of flat, single-curved or double-curved glass. 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.

During the day, the cube’s facade 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, and the hotel’s bedrooms incorporate the ‘Vitae’ bathroom collection, designed by Hadid in 2015 for Porcelanosa, continuing her fluid architectural language throughout the hotel’s interiors.

2021 INDEX Design Award winners

Photograph by Laurian Ghinitoiu