Burj al arab

There are few buildings that did become the symbol of a city and even of a country. The Pyramids of
Giza, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Big Ben in London, the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Opera House in
Sydney belong to selected group of buildings whose very image evokes the country where they are
standing.
In 1994 a group of young British architects led by Thomas Willis Wright received the commission of their
lives: to design a building that would become the symbol of a city, Dubai, and a country, the United Arab
Emirates. At that time few people were aware of the existence of the emirate, but it was the Burj Al
Arab, the Tower of the Arabs, the one put Dubai on the map.

CONCEPT
Dubai's impressive economic boom was due in big part to oil, however their leaders noticed that their oil
reserves would run out in 2016. Therefore, they decided to shift the emirate's economy to luxury tourism.
The Burj Al Arab hotel was to be the new symbol of this emirate, and led Dubai to become one of the of
the world's largest real estate development areas.
When it was completed in 1999, the Burj Al Arab was the tallest hotel in the world, reaching 321 meters
(today that record belongs to the Burj Dubai).
The impressive building stands on an artificial island 300 meters from the coast, opposite the Jumeirah
Beach in Dubai.
Nevertheless, it is not just its height but its particular form that makes it distinctive, inspired by a sail
swollen by the wind, as the many boats reaching Dubai's port, an important destination in the Persian
Gulf, long before the oil era.
It built in the shape of a modern yacht sail to reflect Dubais seafaring heritage combined with a modern aspect
moving forwards into the future.
According to the architect We looked at the other building in the world that are symbols to see what they had in
common. We found that they were all totally unique in shape and they all have a simple easily recognisable
form. We decided that the test to determine if a building is symbolic is if you can draw it in 5 seconds and every
one recognises it.

The building's layout is organized around two blocks forming a V shape enclosing a main courtyard. Two
steel arches, separated from the main structure, give the Burj Al Arab its characteristic form.
The facade is covered with two layers of canvas, separated 60 cm from each other, in order to isolate the
excessive heat and sunlight. The canvas are another reference to the vessels sailing the emirate.