SYMBOLISING Dubai’s resurgence as well as the soaring ambitions of its owner, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is expected to open its doors later this year as the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world at 355 m.

The hotel is housed in a stunning twin-tower complex that sits on a 21,246-sq-ft ‘L’-shaped plot between Sheikh Zayed Road (service road) in the west and Business Bay development to the east. This plot adjoins the creek (future extension) with a promenade on the south side.

The twin towers sits atop two basement levels, a ground floor and a seven-level podium, and encompass a total built-up area of 3.415 million sq ft. The towers comprise 66 guest floors, eight service levels and six intermediate levels plus the roof top.

The 1,608-room hotel, which aims to cater to the ever-growing leisure and business tourism industry of Dubai, will open in two phases with the first phase comprising 807 rooms and numerous restaurants and lounges.

An artist’s impression of the corner suite sitting room at the hotel.

Currently, a diverse range of activities is under way to give the striking landmark its finishing touches, according to David Miller, project director of Brookfield Multiplex, contractor.

Listing some of the work in progress on site, he says: “Landscaping is ongoing and work on the peripheral ties leading to the hotel has also commenced. Interior decor works are ongoing in public areas and restaurants while loose furniture and artifacts works is ongoing in guest rooms and corridors. In addition, the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) commissioning and balancing works are also in progress.”

The hotel – a stunning addition to Marriott International’s JW Marriott world-class luxury hotel brand – will have a total of nine restaurants and five lounges and entertainment venues as well as a banquet hall with a capacity to host 1,600 people.

Among the highlights of these facilities will be the vault lounge, which will sit on the 71st and 72nd floors offering panoramic views of the city, and a yet-to-be named late-night music venue, which will offer live music daily.

The restaurants will comprise Prime 68, a boutique steakhouse; Atul Kochhar’s Rang Mahal Indian restaurant; Positano for Italian coastal cuisine; an Arabic restaurant; and La Farine, an attractive boulangerie and social meeting spot. The restaurants arcade is placed facing the promenade and future Creek extension.

The hotel’s 1,500-sq-m Saray Spa will offer treatments designed to ensure mind and body renewal.

Other facilities include a 32-m swimming pool and an enormous pool deck covering the seventh floor of the hotel with elegant cabanas, lounges and umbrellas. Parking slots are available to accommodate more than 1,600 vehicles.

According to the project architect Ashok Korgaonkar, managing director of Archgroup Consultants, the vision for the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai hotel was to reflect the soaring ambitions of its owner, Emirates airline, as well as the city of Dubai, by creating an iconic tall structure that serves as a new benchmark and rein­­­­­forces the image of the city as the frontrunner in the international hospitality scene.

The venue for live music ... a rendition.

“The project was conceptualised as a comprehensive facility serving a wide variety of clientele – from private short-term tourists to spa enthusiasts to large conference delegations – and providing for all their needs under one roof,” he says.

The project aims to become the most convenient and popular location of local residents, leisure travellers and non-residential visitors as well as executives visiting the adjoining Business Bay or serving the Mena (Middle East and North Africa) region, and the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) market.

“The sheer economies of scale allow the required variety of facilities and amenities to serve all the different demands in terms of room types, restaurant variety and cuisine choices, conference facilities, banquet, spa offerings and retail,” says Korgaonkar.

The form of the towers is inspired by that of the date palm – a symbol deeply entrenched in the Arabian culture. The towers are symmetrically placed on the seven-storey podium to allow the best views of the surrounding Burj Khalifa, Business Bay and nearby coastline. The podium houses all the public areas, restaurants, banquet hall, spa and essential back-of-house areas. Its terrace is beautifully landscaped with gardens, swimming pools and a party lawn.

The grand entrance lobby is four floors high and overlooks the Business Bay development. The banquet hall has an independent access from Sheikh Zayed Road.

The delicate forms and detailing on the exterior hide the sophisticated engineering and technological inputs within the towers. The structural design has undergone rigorous testing and rechecking on computer-generated models and wind tunnel tests. The electromechanical design is also of the highest standards befitting the building which aspires to set the benchmark for hotels in the region.

In total, there are four entrances to the site: Entrance One, the main entrance drop-off from Business Bay towards the east; Entrance Two, the banquet drop-off from the Sheikh Zayed Road towards the west; and entrances Three and Four, on the north side, which are the parking entrance from the internal road of the Business Bay development and the service and staff entrance, respectively.

Two basement floors as well as a section of the podium levels have been allocated to house 1,000 cars. In addition, the adjoining parking building, which belongs to the same owner, was connected at the second level from the banquet drop-off. This parking can accommodate 600 cars in the evenings after office hours and on holidays.

The towers sit on a raft foundation while a pile foundation has been provided for the podiums. The superstructure predominantly comprises post-tensioned slab.

Structural glazing is a combination of stick curtain-wall, unitised curtain-wall, point-fix system, aluminium composite panels and solid aluminium with steel framework.

Commenting on the challenges of the project, Miller says during the construction boom in the region the project experienced a shortage of concrete, but with the proactive approach of Brookfield Multiplex the impact on the project was minimal, with delays and disruptions being minimised.

While the concept design was presented in 2006, mobilisation on the project commenced in March 2007. The contractor is expected to handover the project by the end of May.

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