Memorial at Dubai’s The Opus to honour architect Hadid

A rooftop lounge and a permanent memorial to the late Zaha Hadid, the award winning Iraqi-British architect, are being planned at a striking structure she conceptualised taking shape in the Business Bay area.

Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. Franco Origlia / Getty Images
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DUBAI // A rooftop lounge and a permanent memorial to the late Zaha Hadid, the award-winning Iraqi-British architect, are being planned at a structure she conceptualised which is taking shape in the Business Bay area.

The pixilated mirror-like facade of The Opus appears to melt from the inside and is the highlight of the star architect’s first Dubai project after her distinctive work on the sand dune inspired Sheikh Zayed bridge in Abu Dhabi.

Two 20-storey towers unify as a cube that appears to hover above the ground with surrounding structures reflecting off it. By night, the cube’s interior will recede and vanish as brightness fills the inner void with thousands of LED lights.

Planning helped create the inner void with variously shaped glass panels each containing an LED light programmed with an individual IP address to allow control of all 4,300 panels.

“The profile of the double curved facade was computer modelled to the millimetre in three dimensions by the Zaha Hadid team, forming the basis for various suppliers around the world to fabricate components,” said Mohammed Hmeid, sales and marketing director of developer Omniyat.

The challenge lay in making the void’s dark blue glazing appear as a smooth surface.

The seemingly fluid interior is composed of structural steel supporting the roof, secondary steel to back the glazing, aluminium curved to fit the glass, attach to the steel and the glass itself.

“The primary structural steel was manufactured locally. The secondary steel was fabricated in Holland, the aluminium was curved by hand in both Denmark and Holland due to the large quantities required, while the curved glass was produced in three different factories in China. All of these pieces of a very large puzzle came together in the contractors assembly factory in the UAE,” Mr Hmeid said.

Agnes Koltay, director of specialist external building firm Koltay Facades, was concerned how custom shaped pieces manufactured in different countries would fit together in Dubai. To tackle this, the contractor developed a detailed 3D computer model.

“Each supplier worked from that model and each piece was checked against that model after fabrication. Pieces are laser scanned and compared to the originating model. Without this technology, accurate assembly could not have been possible,” she said.

On the busy worksite, cranes lift glass panels and workers in blue-and-yellow hats complete facade installation. Building systems are being tested before the base of the building is handed over to ready the interior areas.

The official launch of The Opus is likely early next year before which details about the memorial to Hadid will be announced.

The hotel and apartments will be ready for use in two years. The project was scheduled for completion in 2009 but was delayed due to the market slowdown and a complex design structure.

Engineers and architects dealt with the unique geometry of every individual facade unit in the inner void with flat, curved cylindrical and twisted double bent glass pieces.

“We need projects like this to push the limits of current technology, inducing research and development,” said Ms Koltay.

“Omniyat’s determination of building this project with Zaha Hadid was always strong, and lead to success.”

The Opus will add to shape the identity of the emirate with existing landmarks such as the Burj Al Arab, Burj Khalifa and Cayan Tower, said Janet Bellotto, associate professor and associate dean of the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises, Zayed University.

“The Opus, which captures the legacy of Zaha Hadid, follows a very strong roster of architectural projects. Projects like this one continue to distinguish Dubai, a city known for the potential of new designs, to realise unique ideas. The Opus, and other unique buildings, is a great contribution to the urban landscape while pushing the boundaries of design,” she said.

rtalwar@thenational.ae