Mixed-use Dubai tower will have the world’s tallest ceramic facade

Dubai’s skyline will claim another architectural world title in 2020 when construction completes on the world’s tallest building with a ceramic facade. The twisted mixed-use Wasl Tower will rise 300 meters and comprise a five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel, private residences, and a variety of restaurants. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will manage both the hotel and residences.

257 guestrooms, suites, and serviced apartments will be located on floors 16 to 38 and provide views of the nearby Burj Khalifa. 144 residential units will be located on the tower’s top floors. They will have their own private access and dedicated facilities, such as a Resident’s Lounge. Residents will also benefit from the Mandarin Oriental’s service and direct access to the hotel.

Courtesy UNStudio.

A variety of restaurants and bars will be featured in the building such as a rooftop skybar, an all-day dining venue, a poolside bar and restaurant, a lobby lounge, a club lounge, a cigar room, and a Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop. A double level sky lobby on floors 35 and 36 will include the club lounge, the all-day dining venue, a lifestyle lounge, and a tea lounge. Banqueting and meeting spaces will accommodate social and business events.

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, a two-story facility, will feature 12 private treatment rooms, a fitness center, vitality pools, heat and water therapies, and an outdoor swimming pool set within a landscaped garden terrace.

Courtesy UNStudio.

At night, solar-powered lights will be programmed to make it appear as if the ceramic-clad building is breathing (see video below). The tower’s structural system consists of a central concrete core plus outriggers on four levels.

UNStudio designed the building in collaboration with German engineering firm Werner Sobek.