The lighting design intent for the exterior of the hotel was to enhance the theatricality of the façade and surroundings. Uplights graze the patterned walls between each window to create a rhythmic play of light across the building. An illuminated pathway of recessed in-ground lights enhances the entranceway and is framed by highlights to planters.
Inside the hotel’s lobby, the lighting immerses guests in their surroundings and emphasises its artistic features. A 26 m painted ceiling entitled Under the Same Sky, depicts constellations and Dubai landmarks. The team washed the ceiling with indirect light from the perimeter to frame the scene and provide a balanced level of ambient light throughout the atrium. Minimalist downlights were integrated into the design to supplement light levels with minimal impact on the artwork itself.
Elsewhere in the lobby at the Fountain of Tales, a tiered seating and bookcase area, integrated joinery lighting contributes to the cosy intimacy of the space and forms visual effects at the top of the installation where the fountain meets a rotating globe. Joinery lighting also illuminates a double-height shelving wall, also in the atrium.
Across all of the hotel’s 434 guest rooms and suites, layers of light were used to emphasise the materials and finishes in each scheme. Each of the guest rooms and suites reflects a different creative theme - Bedouin, Glamping, Farmstay, Artist Village and Hakawati. The team used surface-mounted spotlights and discreet downlights to provide a base layer of ambient light, then added an eclectic mix of reading lights, desk lamps and pendants to add depth and character.
Upstairs in the 6th-floor Monkey Bar, lighting is deliberately subdued to create a jungle-inspired design aesthetic. Decorative pendants suspended amongst planters across the ceiling lend an intensity to the space, complemented by low-level lighting in the form of wall and floor lamps. The showpiece bar features joinery lighting around feature display areas and a line of illumination under the countertop to highlight the green geometric tiles beneath. Overlooking the scene, a large monkey wall installation behind the bar features illuminated orange eyes.
In the outside terrace bar, the team used integrated bench lighting in each of the caged seating areas and concealed lighting in planting to enhance the theatricality of the experience. The rooftop pool was given a cooler colour temperature to offset the warmth of the bar.