A vision to create the largest conference hotel in the Middle East is now a reality with the official opening of the Grand Hyatt Dubai last month.

Overlooking the Creek in Bur Dubai, the five-star hotel reflects the original brief from the client, for both a city centre conference facility as well as a resort, says Dr Sadek Owainati, projects director of Dubai-based Arkiteknik International, the consultant on the project.

The design concept was conceived and developed by the late managing director of Arkiteknik, Jaber Al Jassani. Today, the striking Grand Hyatt hotel building has made its mark on the city's skyline and stands as testimony to his innovative architectural brains.

"There was a clear strategy from the start to develop a separate convention centre and independent accommodation facilities," explains Owainati.

The project, which was officially completed on February 15, offers a city conference resort with 674 hotel bedrooms and suites, 186 apartments and villas, 14 restaurants and bars and the largest conference hotel solution in the Middle East (4,340 sq m of conference and convention space).

Set within acres of tropical landscaped garden, the hotel features two magnificent conference ballrooms, 11 meeting rooms and two boardrooms, with the ability to cater for 2,000 delegates theatre-style.

Suspended from the ceiling in Grand Hyatt Dubai's imposing atrium are the hulls of four traditional dhows, each weighing four tonnes, to serve as a constant reminder of the city's trading past.

The stunning circular exterior design comprises four towers, the entrances for which were raised 10 m above the surrounding land, creating an imposing structure and enhancing the Dubai skyline.

"The architectural exterior is a modern design based on the utilisation of glass curtain walling and aluminium panel cladding, as well as specific lighting features on the facades," he adds.

Two of the four towers, the nine-storey Tower A and 16-storey Tower B, comprise the 674 hotel guest rooms and suites, and they are interconnected with a corridor and a shared lift lobby. The third, Tower C, is a 21-storey (including the mezzanine) structure housing 140 furnished apartments with one, two, three or four-bedrooms. Finally, the 12-storey Tower D comprises 36, three and four-bedroom apartments, as well as 10 four-bedroom villas on the two storeys below the tower.

Space is a common theme throughout the design of the 2 million sq ft development, whether its expansive landscaped exteriors or rooms and suites which have been provided with all the luxuries and facilities expected of a top-class hotel. "A prime design principle in this project was to emphasise openness," says Owainati.

The public areas include a spacious central atrium with lush gardens, which branch out into various and split-level lobby restaurants, bars, lounges and shops. A luxurious health spa, dedicated tennis centre, children's area and one of the largest leisure pools in the city are aesthetically placed within a myriad of water features, tranquil walkways and expansive lawn areas.

Most of the hotel's food and beverage outlets have open kitchen designs, a first in the Middle East for a hotel of this scale. But while the design and atmosphere of each outlet is considered individual, their open-plan nature ensures individual integration into the overall concept," says Owainati. The specific requirements for each outlet were discussed and coordinated with the operator, Hyatt.

The space and different well-balanced components combine both modern and Middle Eastern architecture under one roof," he says.

"Being a city hotel without a beach, and although it is overlooking the Dubai Creek, the design incorporates various water features into both the interior and exterior public areas," he adds. Thus, running water passes through the main lobby as a waterfall and on through the atrium gardens.

As project manager, Arkiteknik selected local and international subconsultants specialised in various fields, to complement its design. The company prepared all architectural and structural designs, defined all MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) systems and will continue to be involved until February 14 next year, the official end of the maintenance period.

The scope of work for the project included: foundations and piling; superstructures (using 91,000 cu m of concrete, 21,800 tonnes of reinforcement and 1,700 tonnes of structural steel for the hotel main entrance and timber for the atrium roof); precast panelling around the base of the tower's facade; glazing (curtain wall and double glazing); flooring (principally concrete, many high-class finishes including marbles, fabrics, wood panelling, plastering, metal cladding, ceramic-glazed tiles and granite tiles); and ceilings (of gypsum, wood, fabrics, steel and aluminium).

"To gain time, piling work was awarded ahead of the finalisation of interior design," says Owainati. Concrete with a strength of 40 N per sq mm premixed was specified for the project and close supervision throughout the various stages of the concrete work ensured that strict quality standards were achieved. Piling work started in May 1998, and was finished that September. Substructure work followed in November 1998, including pile cap preparation and service tunnels for the main towers and public areas. This work was completed in August 1999.

The main contract for the Grand Hyatt project was awarded to Korea's Ssangyong in September 1999, with work starting on time on October 27 of the same year for a contract period of 28 months.

The architectural and structural design envisaged expanding the hotel and the substructure work incorporated these requirements. About six months after commencing the main works, the decision was taken to implement the expansion and the room capacity to be boosted to 674, as opposed to a proposed 432 rooms. Dedicated underground parking for the apartments was also added to the design.

The hotel's rooms and suites are served by a dedicated lift core. Facilities at the hotel were designed to the highest specifications, says Owainati.

The hotel incorporates a variety of advanced mechanical and electrical systems. A compound houses eight water-cooled chillers each of which provide 1,000 tonnes of refrigeration. Other aspects of the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system) include environmental control using room management systems for room security, climate control and energy-saving measures, and the many thousands of air handling units. The compound also incorporates boilers for hot water supply. The tanks for water supplied by the municipality and a separate system for water for irrigation purposes are placed at the basement which provides most of the back-of-house offices and services including the laundry.

The fire-fighting systems are water-based and incorporate wet and dry risers and hydrants. The sprinkler and fire alarm systems are integrated, utilising smart smoke detectors. Special gas detectors and suppression systems are installed at all kitchens. Indeed, all safety systems, including voice evacuation, in the hotel are based on the strict standards imposed by both the Civil Defence and Hyatt.

The lighting systems, meanwhile, have what Owainati describes as 'sophisticated' dimming control. The various lighting systems include cathode (exterior and interior), fibre optics, decorative and direct lighting, LED systems and a variety of special lighting arrangements and chandeliers..

Power supply for the Grand Hyatt project comes from two substations, one of which serves the main plant areas and apartment buildings and another for the public facilities, guestrooms and suites.

Car parking is available at the site for 1,231 vehicles, from dedicated facilities for the convention centre and underground valet parking to regular external parking. Arkiteknik designed two one-way traffic systems to serve the hotel and apartments separately, though, as Owainati points out, the areas adjacent to the hotel will, in all likelihood, one day be developed and road structures thus altered.

"Tenders were awarded after a competitive bidding process following a detailed analysis of each of the project's main aspects," says Owainati.

Access for operators was available from last November and by January this year most rooms were available for snagging. The convention facilities were available (and used for their first function) at the end of January. Full completion of the project was achieved by February 15.

"The clear vision and input of the client was so vital in all phases of design and construction, so we could turn their concepts into reality," he adds. "Coordination with the operator (Hyatt) was important and this close coordination is particularly important on a project of the scale and complexity of the Grand Hyatt project.

"It is a major achievement to successfully complete and handover this project, given the sheer number of parties, workers and aspects of the development," Owainati says of a project which, at its peak, had more than 150 subcontractors, more than 25 nationalities and more than 4,000 labourers on site.

"Another major achievement was the way in which we executed the project in a highly cost-effective way," he adds.

Other challenges included paying full attention to the details of the luxurious finishes and furnishing throughout the project.

"The interior design was carefully studied to provide harmony and Hyatt elegance for the benefit of guests, and the space provided by the interior landscaping is outstanding," concludes Owainati.

As well as being the main contractor, Ssangyong was also responsible for the fit-out work for the guestrooms and suites and for electromechanical works. The fit-out work for the public areas and convention centre was awarded to Arabtec Hotel Interiors as a nominated subcontractor. ETA-Melco provided the 28 Mitsubishi public and service lifts and escalators; Alico and Gulf Glass Industries (GGI) the aluminium and glazing respectively; ETA Joinery, the main joinery work; Wings Wood, the external joinery work; Al Bader the landscaping work (planting and preparation); TSSC (main industrial kitchens) Al Otaiba Ferretti the kitchens for the apartments; and Al Habtoor Marble (marble flooring, wall cladding, columns and special furniture in the atrium and public areas).

Other firms which were involved in the project include Al Bayder Irrigation and Contracting, RAK Ceramics, Sara Establishment for Trading, Universal Concrete Products, Sameer Abbas General Trading, Airmaster Equipment Emirates, Bahri and Mazroei Trading Company, Kati Interiors, Shamel International Industries, Trading and Contracting, Prefab Building Industries Company, Headline Engineering, Mehrtash Trading Enterprises and Cylingas.