Burj Al Arab (building)
Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, renowned for its distinctive sail-shaped design and record-breaking height. Completed in 1999, the hotel stands at approximately 1,053 feet (321 meters) tall, featuring fifty-six floors and 202 guest rooms. It was developed by the Jumeirah Group and designed by the architectural firm W. S. Atkins and Partners, symbolizing the maritime heritage of Dubai. The hotel's amenities include ten restaurants and lounges, a waterpark, fitness facilities, and a helicopter landing pad, catering to both leisure and business travelers.
Noteworthy for its opulent interior and high-end services, Burj Al Arab markets itself as the first and only seven-star hotel in the world, although this classification has faced scrutiny. The hotel also boasts the tallest atrium in the world, reaching 597 feet (182 meters), and has been recognized with numerous awards, including accolades for being the leading hotel in the UAE. Surrounding developments have continued into the twenty-first century, enhancing its status as a premier destination in Dubai's evolving landscape. Despite no longer holding the title of the tallest hotel, Burj Al Arab remains an iconic symbol of luxury and architectural innovation in the region.
Burj Al Arab (building)
Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It has broken records both for its height and its level of luxury offered to guests. Built in the 1990s during a time of rapid expansion in Dubai, Burj Al Arab became a landmark for its amenities and its unique sail shape. Including its spire, the hotel stands about 1,053 feet (321 meters) tall and includes fifty-six floors of 202 total guest rooms. Burj Al Arab also features restaurants and lounges, meeting facilities, a waterpark, fitness areas, and a helicopter landing pad.
Background
The United Arab Emirates is a Western Asian country located on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula near Saudi Arabia and Oman. The largest and most heavily populated city in the Emirates is Dubai. Modern Dubai was founded in 1833 when the ruling Al Maktoum family and a small tribe called the Bani Yas settled on a harbor of the Persian Gulf. These settlers quickly established themselves in maritime industries such as fishing, international trade, and pearl diving.
The local economy developed at a fast pace, and the Dubai area became a major business hub of the Arabian Peninsula. Industry, urbanization, and transportation grew into the twentieth century. However, the discovery of large oil fields in the area in the mid-1960s brought a new and unprecedented level of prosperity to Dubai. Oil production brought the area billions of dollars, much of which was invested in the structures and services of the city.
By the twenty-first century, Dubai had greatly reduced its reliance on money from the oil industry. Instead, its leaders and businesses focused on industries that had been greatly bolstered by oil revenue, including tourism, real estate, international trade, and transportation. Unique attractions and special sports events drew attention and visitors from around the world, many of whom flocked to luxurious hotels. Among the hundreds of buildings along Dubai's famous skyline, one of the most notable and opulent is the hotel known as Burj Al Arab.
Overview
In the 1990s, a great wave of construction was beginning in Dubai. City planners, engineers, and entrepreneurs envisioned creating a landmark hotel that would rule the skyline, and both attract and accommodate more tourism in the area. The idea for the hotel Burj Al Arab, meaning “The Arabian Tower,” was first proposed in 1993.
The hotel design was developed by the United Kingdom-based architectural firm W. S. Atkins and Partners (later renamed AtkinsRéalis) under the direction of Tom Wright. The architects developed a unique triangular design for the building that resembled the raised sail of a ship. With the hotel located near the Persian Gulf, the sail shape was meant to symbolize and celebrate the role of that body of water in the growth, both past and present, of Dubai.
Funded by the luxury hotel company Jumeirah Group International, construction of the Burj Al Arab began in 1994 under the oversight of Atkins and with the participation of various contractors. Consultants helped to prepare the lands, protect the superstructure from the effects of coastal winds and vibration, and choose the best materials for the construction process and the final product. Materials used included steel, concrete, carbon fiber, glass, fabric, and gold.
Developers aimed to make a truly remarkable hotel, both in its striking sail shape and in its dimensions. At the time of its completion in 1999, Burj Al Arab was the tallest hotel in the world. Including its massive spire, the hotel reaches a height of 1,053 feet (321 meters). It includes fifty-six floors with a helicopter landing pad on the twenty-eighth floor. It was designed by architect Rebecca Gernon to be multi-functional, including being used as a racetrack, tennis court, and a platform for kite surfing.
The Burj Al Arab also boasted the tallest atrium, or open-roofed court area, in the world until 2019, when China’s Leeza SOHO tower was constructed in Beijing, reaching 636 feet (194 meters). The Burj Al Arab atrium rises some 597 feet (182 meters) through the middle of the structure. Its engineering was as notable as its height, with its top capped with a huge fiberglass screen that allows abundant lighting while reducing heat. This screen is formulated and situated to warp slightly to accommodate high winds and shifting of the structure, as well as resist blowing sand and grime.
Hotel amenities are a major draw for cosmopolitan travelers. Luxurious guest rooms are situated in a triangular formation between the atrium and beautiful views of the Persian Gulf, accessed by eighteen elevators. Additional offerings at Burj Al Arab include a garden, ten restaurants and lounges, meeting facilities, the Wild Wadi Waterpark, the Talise Spa, and a fitness center. In 2008, the hotel's Skyview Bar broke the Guinness World Record for the world's most expensive cocktail. The twenty-fifth floor was converted in the early 2020s from two ultra-luxury suites into a museum featuring the building’s history, design, and construction.
The hotel is renowned for its guest services. Rooms are elegantly furnished, and dining establishments routinely win praise from food critics. Guests can access top-of-the-line services ranging from access to private beaches and pools to chauffeured transportation in Rolls-Royce vehicles. Burj Al Arab advertised itself as the first and only seven-star hotel in the world, although that claim has been questioned. It has also won many commendations such as the 2022 World Travel Awards Leading All-Suite Hotel in the Middle East and Leading Hotel in the United Arab Emirates.
Burj Al Arab continued to grow into the second decade of the twenty-first century. In 2016, the surrounding lands were expanded by about 107,639 square feet (10,000 square meters) by adding an enormous steel deck affixed to the bed of the Persian Gulf. Despite this prosperity and expansion, Burj Al Arab is no longer the tallest hotel in the world, being surpassed in 2018 by Dubai's Gevora Hotel.
Bibliography
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“Burj Al Arab.” Emporis, 2019, www.emporis.com/buildings/107803/burj-al-arab-dubai-united-arab-emirates. Accessed 1 Oct. 2019.
“Burj Al Arab.” SkyscraperPage, skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=48. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
“Burj Al Arab.” The Skyscraper Center / Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/burj-al-arab/402. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
"Jumeirah Burj Al Arab." Jumeirah, www.jumeirah.com/en/stay/dubai/burj-al-arab-jumeirah. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
Salah, Faisal. "Timeframe: When the Construction of Burj Al Arab Began Three Decades Ago." The National News, 12 July 2024, www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/2024/07/12/burj-al-arab-construction-history. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
"7 Interesting Facts about Burj Al Arab." Amazing-Dubai, www.amazing-dubai.com/history/interesting-facts-burj-al-arab.html. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.