They are just some of the buildings that define the UAE. But what is the story behind them? In the fifth part of our summer series celebrating the country’s architecture, we look at the history behind Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace.
The Hilton was Abu Dhabi’s first five-star hotel and a Corniche landmark that ushered in a new era of internationalism for the city.
When it opened in 1973, the Hilton brought with it delicacies such as smoked salmon, and signalled to the world the emirate had arrived.
As the city grew during the 1980s and 1990s, new hotels opened that challenged Hilton’s supremacy.
But by the early 2000s, a new hotel was planned that would eclipse them all.
In the very rooms of the old Hilton in the early 2000s, a team from one of the world’s top architectural firms was overseeing something special being built only a stone’s throw away.
This red-hued structure, already rising on the Corniche, would become a global landmark and major tourist attraction as much as a top hotel.
About 20 years on, one of the architects behind Emirates Palace has reflected on how they designed one of the world’s most exclusive hotels.
'Intriguing new project'
Jeremy Heyes, of the global architectural firm Wimberly, Allison, Tong and Goo (WATG), remembers a call coming through from Abu Dhabi about an intriguing new project that had to be ready by December 2005.
“Abu Dhabi had been chosen to host the next GCC summit,” Mr Heyes told The National. “It was incredibly significant and there was massive ambition to get it done as quickly as possible. Not only had we won [the design brief], there was a huge amount of protocol about how the place was organised.”
WATG sent a team to Abu Dhabi to oversee the project as it rose from the site at Ras Al Akhdar. At its peak, 80 design professionals from the firm worked on site, including interior designers, architects and engineers.
Mr Heyes, who is from the UK, said he spent 70 per cent of his time in Abu Dhabi during the project working under chief architect, John Elliott, who died in 2010. About 20,000 construction workers made it happen.
WATG’s design starts to work before a guest even gets into the main building. The hotel, in an elevated position, can be seen from kilometres away and the drive up to the entrance slowly takes people through gardens, past water fountains and under arches. “It is clearly meant to be inspiring,” said Mr Heyes. “The arrival sequence is meant to heighten expectations.”
From there guests are brought into the reception area and, then, ushered in under the spectacular 72.6 metre dome. “Floor to ceiling, it is one of the biggest internal spaces you get anywhere in the world. It is physically bigger than St Paul’s Cathedral. It is absolutely enormous, yet feels like a sanctuary,” said Mr Heyes. “It is beautiful and serene.”
Emirates Palace has 114 domes, 1,002 crystal chandeliers, more than 92,900 sq m of marble, 200 fountains, a triumphal arch and pristine white sand imported from Algeria for the beach.
The design speaks to a classical regional architectural language through this use of domes, columns, arches and light. It was important, Mr Heyes said, that it did not ape other styles or recreate structures such as a Mughal palace. One of the reasons the hotel feels serene, he said, is that modern laser-cutting techniques allowed them to use larger pieces of granite in places such as the floors than was previously possible.
“The reason why Emirates Palace is a calmer design is because we supersized it,” said Mr Heyes. “Look at the floor in the main space: that is jet-cut granite that is supersized. That is why I think technology influenced how we designed it.”
Inside, there is a blend of natural stone, antique gold and mother of pearl, while the stone of the hotel’s exterior reflects the deep red sand of Al Ain.
“As the sun sets, it hits the sands and the colour turns pink. That’s the inspiration. It is also practical and means if there is a dust storm we are not white, and don’t have to get the jet washer out.”
One of the most interesting facets to the project was the relative rarity of a palace being situated on a beachfront. “Beaches are about swimming and people in bathing suits yet a palace is about significant royal events,” said Mr Heyes. “It was an extraordinary choice of site and pretty visionary.”
Apart from the private chambers and rooms for the royals attending the 2005 GCC summit, it also boasts a massive theatre the size of any West End facility and a 2,500 capacity ballroom. There are secret doors and floors so guests do not see what is happening.
“You never see things being delivered to restaurants,” said Mr Heyes. “There is a two-lane carriageway that goes underneath the entire property to deliver guest services to conference facilities. All is done as if by magic.”
Emirates Palace has 394 rooms including 92 suites and 22 residential suites for heads of state. It boasts 7,000 doors, 128 kitchens, a marina, four helipads and the interior is decorated with 26,247 metres of 22-carat gold leaf (it even has its own in-house gold leaf specialist). Outside are verdant gardens with 8,000 trees that have attracted more than 150 species of birds, while staff harvest 20 tonnes of dates from its palms every year. Emirates Palace was built on 1,000,000 square metres of reclaimed land — equalling half the area of Monaco, the hotel says.
More than 15 years after it opened, the hotel is now looking to the future. Mandarin Oriental took over as operators in 2020 and a new era began.
Mr Heyes worked on other landmark projects such as the refurbishment of Claridge’s Hotel in London but Emirates Palace remains a highlight of his career.
“We used to stay at the Hilton and walk across to the site and see this beautiful palace coming up out of the ground,” he said, of the early design phases.
“It was quite clearly a career-defining moment for me. Even today, when I come up to that main drive and get out of the car, I think, 'Wow!' I’m very proud of it.”
A version of this article was first published on August 14, 2022
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Baftas 2020 winners
BEST FILM
- 1917 - Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Sam Mendes, Jayne-Ann Tenggren
- THE IRISHMAN - Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
- JOKER - Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh, Quentin Tarantino
- PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho, Kwak Sin-ae
DIRECTOR
- 1917 - Sam Mendes
- THE IRISHMAN - Martin Scorsese
- JOKER - Todd Phillips
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
- PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
- 1917 - Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Jayne-Ann Tenggren, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
- BAIT - Mark Jenkin, Kate Byers, Linn Waite
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- ROCKETMAN - Dexter Fletcher, Adam Bohling, David Furnish, David Reid, Matthew Vaughn, Lee Hall
- SORRY WE MISSED YOU - Ken Loach, Rebecca O’Brien, Paul Laverty
- THE TWO POPES - Fernando Meirelles, Jonathan Eirich, Dan Lin, Tracey Seaward, Anthony McCarten
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- THE FAREWELL - Lulu Wang, Daniele Melia
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- PAIN AND GLORY - Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
- PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho
- PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE - Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur
LEADING ACTRESS
- JESSIE BUCKLEY - Wild Rose
- SCARLETT JOHANSSON - Marriage Story
- SAOIRSE RONAN - Little Women
- CHARLIZE THERON - Bombshell
- RENÉE ZELLWEGER - Judy
LEADING ACTOR
- LEONARDO DICAPRIO - Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood
- ADAM DRIVER - Marriage Story
- TARON EGERTON - Rocketman
- JOAQUIN PHOENIX - Joker
- JONATHAN PRYCE - The Two Popes
SUPPORTING ACTOR
- TOM HANKS - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
- ANTHONY HOPKINS - The Two Popes
- AL PACINO - The Irishman
- JOE PESCI - The Irishman
- BRAD PITT - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- LAURA DERN - Marriage Story
- SCARLETT JOHANSSON - Jojo Rabbit
- FLORENCE PUGH - Little Women
- MARGOT ROBBIE - Bombshell
- MARGOT ROBBIE - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- THE IRISHMAN - Steven Zaillian
- JOJO RABBIT - Taika Waititi
- JOKER - Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
- LITTLE WOMEN - Greta Gerwig
- THE TWO POPES - Anthony McCarten
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- BOOKSMART - Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Katie Silberman
- KNIVES OUT - Rian Johnson
- MARRIAGE STORY - Noah Baumbach
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
- PARASITE - Han Jin Won, Bong Joon ho
DOCUMENTARY
- AMERICAN FACTORY - Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
- APOLLO 11 - Todd Douglas Miller
- DIEGO MARADONA - Asif Kapadia
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- THE GREAT HACK - Karim Amer, Jehane Noujaime
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
- BAIT - Mark Jenkin (Writer/Director), Kate Byers, Linn Waite (Producers)
- FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab (Director/Producer), Edward Watts (Director)
- MAIDEN - Alex Holmes (Director)
- ONLY YOU - Harry Wootliff (Writer/Director)
- RETABLO - Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio (Writer/Director)
ANIMATED FILM
- FROZEN 2 - Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho
- KLAUS - Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh
- A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON - Will Becher, Richard Phelan, Paul Kewley
- TOY STORY 4 - Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen
CASTING
- JOKER - Shayna Markowitz
- MARRIAGE STORY - Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Victoria Thomas
- THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD - Sarah Crowe
- THE TWO POPES - Nina Gold
EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
- AWKWAFINA
- JACK LOWDEN
- KAITLYN DEVER
- KELVIN HARRISON JR.
- MICHEAL WARD
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- 1917 - Roger Deakins
- THE IRISHMAN - Rodrigo Prieto
- JOKER - Lawrence Sher
- LE MANS ’66 - Phedon Papamichael
- THE LIGHTHOUSE - Jarin Blaschke
EDITING
- THE IRISHMAN - Thelma Schoonmaker
- JOJO RABBIT - Tom Eagles
- JOKER - Jeff Groth
- LE MANS ’66 - Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Fred Raskin
COSTUME DESIGN
- THE IRISHMAN - Christopher Peterson, Sandy Powell
- JOJO RABBIT - Mayes C. Rubeo
- JUDY - Jany Temime
- LITTLE WOMEN - Jacqueline Durran
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Arianne Phillips
PRODUCTION DESIGN
- 1917 - Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales
- THE IRISHMAN - Bob Shaw, Regina Graves
- JOJO RABBIT - Ra Vincent, Nora Sopková
- JOKER - Mark Friedberg, Kris Moran
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh
SOUND
- 1917 - Scott Millan, Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate, Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson
- JOKER - Tod Maitland, Alan Robert Murray, Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic
- LE MANS ’66 - David Giammarco, Paul Massey, Steven A. Morrow, Donald Sylvester
- ROCKETMAN - Matthew Collinge, John Hayes, Mike Prestwood Smith, Danny Sheehan
- STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood
ORIGINAL SCORE
- 1917 - Thomas Newman
- JOJO RABBIT - Michael Giacchino
- JOKER - Hildur Guđnadóttir
- LITTLE WOMEN - Alexandre Desplat
- STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - John Williams
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
- 1917 - Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron, Dominic Tuohy
- AVENGERS: ENDGAME - Dan Deleeuw, Dan Sudick
- THE IRISHMAN - Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Pablo Helman
- THE LION KING - Andrew R. Jones, Robert Legato, Elliot Newman, Adam Valdez
- STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy
MAKE UP & HAIR
- 1917 - Naomi Donne
- BOMBSHELL - Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan
- JOKER - Kay Georgiou, Nicki Ledermann
- JUDY - Jeremy Woodhead
- ROCKETMAN - Lizzie Yianni Georgiou
BRITISH SHORT FILM
- AZAAR - Myriam Raja, Nathanael Baring
- GOLDFISH - Hector Dockrill, Harri Kamalanathan, Benedict Turnbull, Laura Dockrill
- KAMALI - Sasha Rainbow, Rosalind Croad
- LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) - Carol Dysinger, Elena Andreicheva
- THE TRAP - Lena Headey, Anthony Fitzgerald
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
- GRANDAD WAS A ROMANTIC - Maryam Mohajer
- IN HER BOOTS - Kathrin Steinbacher
- THE MAGIC BOAT - Naaman Azh
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
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What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
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The Bio
Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4