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• Hyperbody TU Delft

Lift off. The 5 star hotel with 600 rooms is conceived as a new spectacular and architectural highlight for Dubai. The streamlined form of the building reminds of the body of a bird, spreading out its wings and lifting up its head just before starting to fly. The fascination of the Flyotel is based upon the theme of flying · People on the move are weaving threads around the world by travelling from airport to airport · The Flyotel celebrates the fascination of flying. The design captures the images of a bird spreading out its wing and lifting its head just before taking off. The Flyotel seems to float on water, just connected to the beach like a body which is both pier and building. Extraordinary is the construction of the diagrid steel framework: the 3d computermodel of the architect is directly translated through an unique file to factory process of mass-customization to the production machines of the steel manufacturer. The non standard design technique and the file to factory production process technique makes the structurally and architectural audacious expression of the volume possible and cost-effective to realize.

Perforated aluminium skin. The facade which is geared to the land will be nearly completely glazed with a deep smaragd green gaze. Every eight floors restaurants and bars (gastronomy) are placed, which source their attraction from the transparent casing of the building. Different restaurants will face the city exposing their individual character through the glass façade. Due to the fact that the building will be fixed at the ocean bed, the designers have planned an underwater-restaurant. The façade facing the sea is only 20% glazed; the other 80% are built with an innovative and decorative surface. A wave-pattern shaped perforated 6mm thick aluminium skin is draped as an elegant burka around the otherwise sleak highrise and confrerence centre volumes. The folds of the skin stretch from tower to travelator bridge to conference center in one continuous movement.

Hydroplanes. Under the transparent umbrella of the Flyotel wing the hydroplanes are parked on the water. Their proud owners may rent them for tourists to make a memorable trip around the Arabian Gulf and the Arabian deserts. The hydroplanes are flying low over the surface of the water offering great views on the hilarious new developments in the Persian Gulf like the Palm I and II, the World Islands and the spectacular Burj Al Arab Hotel all along the coast of Dubai, and the Pearl development in the waterfront of Qatar. Flying back to the hotel one experiences the surprising views on the elegant Flyotel, and one taxis quietly into the safe haven under the half-open hangar, shaped like a giant spread wing. Lobbies, shopping mall and restaurants connect the sandy Arabian beach with the majestic hangar docking place. The a-symmetric lower extension of the building, which builds the connection between land and hotel, will have a multiple function: as a convention centre with the possibility of harbouring a Marina and a hangar for waterplanes under its wing. The convention centre will be covered with photovoltaic panels, grabbing power from the sun.

Vertical jungle. The guest will enter the hotel lobby via a compact and bow-shaped travelator bridge. During their way from entrance to hotel lobby the visitors will experience an all-sensorial experience. Beneath visible and haptic stimulations also fragrances and music or sounds will be communicated with the public. The rooms are accessible by gentle ramps spiralling up to the top. Where the spiral connects to the giant void with a jungle of fast growing plants one finds the bundle of elevators. The interior space is overgrown with plants and give ample space for the hotel guests to sit and rest as if in a dense jungle. Water, birds and fast growing plants are abundantly present in this vertical jungle. The plants in the void, which opens towards the sun and the city, filter the strong sunlight, making the interior jungle a comfortable place to be. The hotel apartments are divided in two distinct sections: one private section along the three-dimensional exterior facade including a private balcony, and a public section open to the interior jungle, featuring switchable glass panels to block the transparency when more privacy is desired.

Design: ONL [Oosterhuis_Lénárd]

Design team: Kas Oosterhuis, Ilona Lénárd, Sebastian Gonzalez, Michael Gorczynski, David Milam, Casper Kroon

Site: Persian Gulf

Date: 2004