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.
Related Stories
| Mar 16, 2012
Temporary fix to CityCenter's Harmon would cost $2 million, contractor says
By contrast, CityCenter half-owner and developer MGM Resorts International determined last year that the Harmon would collapse in a strong quake and can't be fixed in an economical way. It favors implosion at a cost of $30 million.
| Jan 15, 2012
Smith Consulting Architects designs Flower Hill Promenade expansion in Del Mar, Calif.
The $22 million expansion includes a 75,000-square-foot, two-story retail/office building and a 397-car parking structure, along with parking and circulation improvements and new landscaping throughout.
| Dec 27, 2011
Ground broken for adaptive reuse project
Located on the Garden State Parkway, the master-planned project initially includes the conversion of a 114-year-old, 365,000-square-foot, six-story warehouse building into 361 loft-style apartments, and the creation of a three-level parking facility.
| Dec 19, 2011
Chicago’s Aqua Tower wins international design award
Aqua was named both regional and international winner of the International Property Award as Best Residential High-Rise Development.
| Dec 12, 2011
Mojo Stumer takes top honors at AIA Long Island Design Awards
Firm's TriBeCa Loft wins "Archi" for interior design.
| Dec 5, 2011
Summit Design+Build begins renovation of Chicago’s Esquire Theatre
The 33,000 square foot building will undergo an extensive structural remodel and core & shell build-out changing the building’s use from a movie theater to a high-end retail center.
| Nov 28, 2011
Leo A Daly and McCarthy Building complete Casino Del Sol expansion in Tucson, Ariz.
Firms partner with Pascua Yaqui Tribe to bring new $130 million Hotel, Spa & Convention Center to the Tucson, Ariz., community.
| Nov 15, 2011
Suffolk Construction breaks ground on the Victor housing development in Boston
Project team to manage construction of $92 million, 377,000 square-foot residential tower.
| Nov 3, 2011
Hardin Construction tops out Orlando Embassy Suites
The project began in April 2011 and is expected to open in fall 2012.
| Sep 30, 2011
Kilbourn joins Perkins Eastman
Kilbourn joins with more than 28 years of design and planning experience for communities, buildings, and interiors in hospitality, retail/mixed-use, corporate office, and healthcare.
