Burj Al Arab

Burj Al Arab

The Burj Al Arab is the world's tallest hotel.
The Burj Al Arab is the world's tallest hotel.
Hotel facts and statistics

Location Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Architect Tom Wright of Atkins, Said Khalil of Mitchelsson Group
No. of rooms 202[1]
Website burj-al-arab.com

The Burj Al Arab (Arabic: برج العرب‎, literally, Tower of the Arabs) is a luxury hotel located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. At 321 metres (1,053 ft), it is the tallest building used exclusively as a hotel.[2] However, the structure of the never-finished Ryugyong Hotel is nine meters taller than the Burj Al Arab, and the Rose Tower, also in Dubai, which has already topped Burj Al Arab's height at 333 m (1,090 ft), will take away the title upon its opening.[3][4][5] The Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island 280 metres (919 ft) out from Jumeirah beach, and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. It is an iconic structure, designed to symbolize Dubai's urban transformation and to mimic the sail of a boat.

Construction

Construction of Burj Al Arab began in 1994. It was built to resemble the sail of a dhow, a type of Arabian vessel. Two "wings" spread in a V to form a vast "mast", while the space between them is enclosed in a massive atrium. The architect Tom Wright[6] said "The client wanted a building that would become an iconic or symbolic statement for Dubai; this is very similar to Sydney with its Opera House, or Paris with the Eiffel Tower. It needed to be a building that would become synonymous with the name of the country." [7]

The architect and engineering consultant for the project was Atkins, the UK's largest multidisciplinary consultancy. The hotel was built by South African construction contractor Murray & Roberts.[8] The hotel cost $650 million to build.[9]

Features

Several features of the hotel required complex engineering feats to achieve. The hotel rests on an artificial island constructed 280 meters offshore. To secure a foundation, the builders drove 230 40-meter long concrete piles into the sand.[10]

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.[10]

The world's tallest atrium

Inside the building, the atrium is 180 meters (590 ft) tall. During the construction phase, to lower the interior temperature, the building was cooled by one degree per day over 6 months.[citation needed] This was to prevent large amounts of "condensation or in fact even a rain cloud from forming in the hotel during the period of construction."[attribution needed] This task was accomplished by several cold air nozzles, which point down from the top of the ceiling, and blast a 1 meter cold air pocket down the inside of the sail. This creates a buffer zone, which controls the interior temperature without massive energy costs. [7]

Burj Al Arab characterizes itself as the world's only "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.

Rooms and prices

One of the hotel suites

It is managed by the Jumeirah Group. 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 (1,819 sq ft), the largest covers 780 square meters (8,396 sq ft). 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.[11]

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 Mahara

One of its restaurants, Al Muntaha (Arabic meaning "Highest" or "Ultimate"), is located 200 metres (660 ft) above the Persian Gulf, offering a view of Dubai. It is supported by a full cantilever that extends 27 metres (89 ft) from either side of the mast, and is accessed by a panoramic elevator. The main chef there- Edah Semaj Leachim, was awarded Chef of the Year 2006 and also owns the restaurant, in accordance with the Burj Al Arab hotel.

Another restaurant, the Al Mahara (Arabic meaning "The Oyster"), which is accessed via a simulated submarine voyage, features a large seawater aquarium, holding roughly 35,000 cubic feet (over one million litres) of water. The tank, made of acrylic glass in order to withstand the water pressure, is about 18 centimetres (7.1 in) thick. The restaurant was also voted among the top ten best restaurants of the world by Condé Nast Traveler. They have recently hired acclaimed chef Kevin McLaughlin.

Reviews by architecture critics

Burj Al Arab at sunset

The Burj Al Arab has attracted criticism as well as praise, described as "a contradiction of sorts, considering how well-designed and impressive the construction ultimately proves to be."[12] The contradiction here seems to be related to the hotel’s extreme opulence. "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." Another critic includes the city of Dubai as well: "both the hotel and the city, after all, are monuments to the triumph of money over practicality. Both elevate style over substance."[12] Yet another: "Emulating the quality of palatial interiors, in an expression of wealth for the mainstream, a theater of opulence is created in Burj Al Arab … The result is a baroque effect".[12] Sam Wollaston writing in The Guardian described the Burj as "...fabulous, hideous, and the very pinnacle of tackiness - like Vegas after a serious, no-expense-spared, sheik-over". [13]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Guest Service
  2. ^ "World's Tallest Hotels", Emporis (March 2008). Retrieved on 23 March 2008.
  3. ^ The opening of the Rose Tower was originally scheduled to take place in April 2008, but has still not opened as of late May 2008.
  4. ^ "Rotana to bring 10,000 more rooms under management", Gulf News (2007-11-22). Retrieved on 6 April 2008.
  5. ^ "Four Dubai Openings For Rotana Hotels". Rotana Hotels (2008-01). Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  6. ^ "Burj Al Arab". Galinsky. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  7. ^ a b "Dubai's Dream Palace - Burj al-Arab Hotel". Megastructures. No. 70.
  8. ^ "Murray & Roberts", Murray & Roberts (2006-06-21). Retrieved on 21 June 2006.
  9. ^ "Burj Al Arab", Forbes Traveler. Retrieved on 24 January 2007.
  10. ^ a b "Burj Al Arab", EgyptEng.com engineering directory. Retrieved on 24 January 2007.
  11. ^ Damluji, Salma Samar, The Architecture of the U.A.E.. Reading, UK: 2006.
  12. ^ a b c [The Architecture of the U.A.E..]
  13. ^ Last night's TV | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited

References

See also

External links


Official sites

Video and photographs

Maps and satellite images

The helipad

Ice hotel

Ice hotel


An ice hotel is a temporary hotel made up entirely of snow and sculpted blocks of ice. They are promoted by their sponsors and have special features for travelers who are interested in novelties and unusual environments, and thus are in the class of destination hotels. Their lobbies are often filled with ice sculptures, and food and beverages are specially chosen for the circumstances.

All of the ice hotels are reconstructed every year, and are dependent upon constant sub-zero temperatures during construction and operation. The walls, fixtures, and fittings are made entirely of ice, and are held together using a substance known as snice, which takes the place of mortar in a traditional brick-built hotel.


Norway

Kirkenes Snow Hotel

Kirkenes Snow Hotel is situated in the eastmost town of Norway, close to the Norwegian-Russian border. The hotel had its first season during winter 2006/2007, the hotel had 20 rooms and the largest snow dome in Norway (8 metres high and 12 metres in diameter). All the rooms were individually decorated by the ice artists from Finland and Japan. The west Snow Hall was decorated by a local sculptor Arild Wara. A night in the snow hotel is combined with a special dinner prepared on an open fire, the visitors can also get a sauna before or after staying at the hotel. There is also a reindeer park and a husky farm in the hotel area.

Ice Lodge

The Ice Lodge is one of the largest in Norway and part of the Bjorligard Hotel. It has a longer season than most ice hotels because of its altitude (1,250 meters above sea level).

Alta Igloo Hotel

The Alta Igloo ice hotel has been rebuilt yearly since 2000. It is Europe’s northernmost ice hotel, as it is located in the Finnmark region and is approximately 250km from North Cape. The 2000 square metre hotel has 30 rooms, including 2 suites and it is decorated with numerous ice sculptures and ice furnishings, including lighting systems which enhance the different types of crystalline formations. Besides the bedrooms the hotel also contains an ice chapel, ice gallery and ice bar where drinks are served in glasses made of ice. The Alta Igloo Hotel has a changing theme every year. In 2004, it was a Viking theme, in 2005, Norwegian fairytales, and in 2006, the theme was wild animals of the region. The guests use sleeping bags that sit on top of reindeer hides.

Sweden

Main Hall in ICEHOTEL Jukkasjärvi. Sculptures by Jörgen Westin (January, 2007)

Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi

The Icehotel in the village of Jukkasjärvi, about 17 km from Kiruna, Sweden was the world's first ice hotel. In 1989, Japanese ice artists visited the area and created an exhibition of ice art. In Spring 1990, French artist Jannot Derid held an exhibition in a cylinder-shaped igloo in the area. One night there were no rooms available in the town, so some of the visitors asked for permission to spend the night in the exhibition hall. They slept in sleeping bags on top of reindeer skin - the first guests of the "hotel".

The entire hotel is made out of snow and ice blocks taken from the Torne River - even the glasses in the bar are made of ice. Each spring, around March, Icehotel harvests tons of ice from the frozen Torne River and stores it in a nearby production hall with room for over 5 000 tons of ice. The ice is used for creating Icebar designs and ice glasses, for ice sculpting classes, events and product launches all over the world. About 1 000 tons of what is left, is used in the construction of the next Icehotel.

When the temperature drops and the snow guns start humming on the Torne River shore, usually in mid-November, the building process begins. The snow is sprayed on huge inverted catenary shaped steel forms and allowed to freeze. After a couple of days, the forms are removed, leaving a maze of free-standing corridors of snow. In the corridors, dividing walls are built in order to create rooms and suites. Ice blocks are now being transported into the hotel where selected artists start creating the art and design of the perishable material. Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi opens in phases, the first phase opens in the beginning of December and for each week, another part of the hotel opens up for visitors and guests until the beginning of January when the entire construction is completed.

When completed, the hotel features a bar, church, main hall, reception area and rooms and suites for over 100 guests to sit and sleep on blocks of sculpted ice in the form of chairs and beds. There is also warm accommodation available next to the hotel. The Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi is known to be the biggest hotel of ice and snow in the world, spanning over some 6 000 m2. Each suite is unique and the architecture of the hotel is changed each year, as it is rebuilt from scratch. Each year artists submit their ideas for suites and a jury selects about 50 artists to create the church, Absolut Icebar, reception, main hall and suites. When spring comes, everything melts away and returns to the Torne River. The Icehotel only exists between December and April, and has been listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Sweden. [1]

Documentaries that focuses on this hotel can be seen from time to time on Discovery Channel [2][3] and National Geographic[4].

Canada

Ice Hotel Chapel, Quebec (February, 2006)
Same Chapel from afar

About 10 km west of Québec City, and within the grounds of the Duchesnay winter resort, the first and unique Ice Hotel in North America is erected each January. It had 22 beds when it first opened in 2000. In its last iteration it had 85 beds, all made of ice but lined with deer furs and covered with mattresses and Arctic sleeping bags. Only the bathrooms are heated, in a separate insulated structure. The hotel is usually made (the architecture and size may vary from season to season) with 5000 tons of sculpted ice and 15000 tons of snow, forming arches over rooms with 16 foot (5 m) and larger and higher spaces for one art galleries a N'Ice Club, a Ice Café, a slide of 60 feet and a chapel where weddings are celebrated. The walls are more than 4 feet (1.2 m) thick on average. All of the furniture is made of ice. In addition to using ice glasses as in the Kiruna ice hotel, the bar (and room service) also serves cold cuts on ice plates.

Finland

The Mammut Snow Hotel is not an ice hotel per se as it is made entirely of snow. Many of its furnishings and its decorations, such as the ice sculptures, are made of ice. It is located within the walls of the SnowCastle of Kemi, which is the biggest snow castle in the world. It includes The Mammut Snow Hotel, The Castle Courtyard, The Snow Restaurant and a chapel for weddings, etc.

There are ice decorations also in Lainio Snow Hotel (near Ylläs and Levi, Finland).

Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen is located 10 km south from Saariselkä. It has snow igloos, glass igloos, an ice gallery, an ice chapel and a snow restaurant. The ice gallery has decorations made from ice and an ice chapel for wedding ceremonies. There is also a big snow restaurant for up to 150 people. Hotel Kakslauttanen is also famous of their unique glass igloos.

Romania

In 2006, the first ice hotel in Eastern Europe was built in Romania, deep in the Făgăraş Mountains, at an altitude of 2034 m. Due to its altitude and remote location the Ice Hotel is only accessible via cable car in the winter.

This picturesque setting is next to Bâlea Lake, where each year local craftsmen wait for the lake to freeze, before using the ice to build the small 10 room Ice Hotel and its adjacent Ice Church. Local artists imitate sculptures by Romanian born modernist sculptor, Constantin Brancusi. Typically the hotel is completed in December and is open until late April, early May when of course it melts.

Bedding, furs, specialist sleeping bags are all provided, with bathroom facilities nearby. There are also two chalets within walking distance, which also provide accommodation. Activities such as skiing, sledging or perhaps a ride on a snow bike are on offer. For those who are more organised and adventurous you can even arrange heliskiing.

The Bâlea Lake Ice Hotel is Romanian owned, but has a relationship with a travel company Untravelled Paths Limited, based in the United Kingdom.

See also

References

  1. ^ "What are the Seven Wonders of Sweden?", About.com, retrieved October 16, 2008.
  2. ^ "The Ice Hotel", The Internet Movie Database, retrieved September 6, 2008.
  3. ^ "Mega Builders: Ice hotel", The Internet Movie Database, retrieved September 6, 2008.
  4. ^ "Megastructures: Ice hotel", The Internet Movie Database, retrieved September 6, 2008.

External links


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