Photography © Laurian Ghinitoiu
Awards Icon
Multi Use

2020 WAN Awards entry: Opus - Zaha Hadid Architects

Opus by Zaha Hadid Architects is an entry in the Mixed Use Category of the 2020 WAN Awards

by Copy taken from 2020 entry 08 June 2020 2020 Future Projects

Opus is located in the Burj Khalifa district adjacent to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay on the Dubai Water Canal.

Housing the new ME Dubai hotel, offices floors, serviced residences and 12 restaurants, cafes and bars - Opus design explores the balance between solid and void, opaque and transparent, interior and exterior.

Spanning 84,300 sq m the Opus building 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, three-storey 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. 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 ever-changing reflections and transparency. The void’s 6,000 sq m facade is created from 4,300 individual units of flat, single-curved or double-curved glass.

Furniture by Zaha Hadid Design is installed throughout the Opus’ lobby, guest lounges, and bedrooms. The 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.

All the information about how to enter the 2020 WAN Awards is here.  

We are very happy to offer support so please don’t hesitate to email Georgia, WAN Awards Event Coordinator with any questions at [email protected].  

Last year more than 40 countries took part in the WAN Awards with strong showings from Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. And we saw some truly outstanding projects, take a look at the winners from last year here.

Dubai

Want to submit your project to World Architecture News?

Contact The Team