Burj Al Arab

Tower of the Arabs

It was the first hotel characterized itself as a "7-star" property, a designation considered by travel professionals to be hyperbole. All major travel guides and hotel rating systems have a 5-star maximum, which some hotels attempt to out-do by ascribing themselves "6-star" status. Yet according to the Burj Al Arab's official site, the hotel is a "5-star deluxe hotel”. It is the world's tallest structure with a membrane facade and the world's tallest hotel (not including buildings with mixed use) and was the first 5-star hotel to surpass 1,000 ft (305 m) in height.

The Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island 280 metres out from Jumeirah beach, and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge.

Construction of Burj Al Arab began in 1994. It is an iconic structure, designed to symbolize Dubai's urban transformation and to mimic the sail of a boat.

Several features of the hotel required complex engineering feats to achieve. The hotel rests on an artificial islandconstructed 280 meters offshore. To secure a foundation, the builders drove 230 40-meter long concrete piles into the sand.

Engineers created a surface layer of large rocks, which is circled with a concrete honey-comb pattern, which serves to protect the foundation from erosion. It took three years to reclaim the land from the sea, but less than three years to construct the building itself. The building contains over 70,000 cubic meters of concrete and 9,000 tons of steel.

The building design features a steel exoskeleton wrapped around a reinforced concrete tower. Notably the building is shaped like the sail of a dhow, with two "wings" spread in a V to form a vast "mast".

During the day, the white fabric allows a soft, milky light inside the hotel, whereas a clear glass front would produce blinding amounts of glare and a constantly increasing temperature. At night, both inside and outside, the fabric is lit by color-changing lights.

Near the top of the building is a suspended helipadsupported by a cantilever. The helipad has featured some of the hotel's notable publicity events.

In February 2005, professional tennis players Roger Federer and Andre Agassi played an unranked game on the helipad, which was temporarily converted into a grass tennis court, at a height of 211 meters.

The helipad has no borders or

fences on the edges and if a

player hit a winner the tennis balls

would plunge down to the ground.

The interior was designed by Khuan Chew, Design Principal of KCA International. Other projects by Khuan Chew include the Sultan of Brunei's palace, Dubai International Airport, Jumeirah Beach Resort Development, Madinat Resort and much more.

The Burj Al Arab features the tallest atrium lobby in the world, at 180 meters. The atrium is formed between the building's V-shaped span. The atrium dominates the interior of the hotel, and takes up over one-third of interior space. It can accommodate the Dubai World Trade Center building, which, at 38 stories, was the tallest building in Dubai from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s.

While the exterior of the Burj Al Arab is expressed in terms of ultra-modern sculptural design, the interior guest space is a compilation of lavish and luxurious architectural styles from both the east and the west. The hotel boasts 8,000 square meters of 22-carat gold leaf and 24,000 square meters of 30 different types of marble.

In the mezzanine lobby, a fountain creates a "three-dimensional Islamic star pattern”. Pointed arches throughout, found in one of the hotel’s three restaurants, corridors between guest rooms, and at the top of the atrium recall a classic Arabian architectural design form.

Despite its size, the Burj Al Arab holds only 28 double-story floors which

accommodate 202 bedroom suites. The smallest suite occupies an area of

169 square meters, the largest covers 780 square meters.

It is one of the most expensive hotels in the

world. The cost of staying in a suite begins at

$1,000 per night; the Royal Suite is the most

expensive, at $28,000 per night.

Suites feature design details that juxtapose east and west. White

Tuscan columns and a spiral staircase covered in marble with a

wrought-iron gold leaf railing show influence from classicism and art

nouveau. Spa-like bathrooms are accented by mosaic tile patterns

on the floors and walls, with Arabian-influenced geometries, which

are also found elsewhere in the building.

Restaurants

Al Iwan Junsui Sahn Eddar

Sky

View

Al Muntaha

One of its restaurants, Al Muntaha (“The Ultimate"), is located 200 metres above the Persian Gulf, offering a view of Dubai. It is supported by a full cantilever that extends 27 metres from each side of the mast, and is accessed by a panoramic elevator.

Al Mahara

The Al Mahara (Arabic meaning "The Oyster") is accessed via

a simulated submarine voyage, features a large seawater

aquarium, holding roughly over one million litres of water. The

tank, made of acrylic glass in order to withstand the water

pressure, is about 18 centimetres thick.

Reviews by architecture critics

"This extraordinary investment in state-of-the-art construction

technology stretches the limits of the ambitious urban imagination in an

exercise that is largely due to the power of excessive wealth."