The Yas Hotel - Abu Dhabi

Rarely is a brand new hotel seen by hundreds of millions of people around the world on its opening weekend. But that was the case as Sebastian Vettel crossed the finishing line of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and the 5,000 LED panels draped around The Yas Hotel lit up to resemble a chequered flag waving in the wind. The spectacular light show celebrated not just the hotel’s launch, but the arrival of Formula 1 in the United Arab Emirates.

Aldar Properties’ hotel, spanning Abu Dhabi’s brand new race track, looks set to play a big part in shaping the Emirate’s profile on the international stage, and will eventually be joined by the Ferrari World Abu Dhabi theme park, Yas Links Abu Dhabi – an 18 hole Links Championship golf course, a VIP marina, Yas Marina, a water park and Yas Mall, as well as several more hotels on Yas Island.

Other architectural landmarks such as Jean Nouvel’s Louvre, Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim  and the Foster + Partners’ designed Zayed National Museum are planned for the Cultural District of Saadiyat Island.
Architects for this project were Asymptote, with Jestico + Whiles designing the bulk of the public areas and guestrooms, and Richardson Sadeki providing schemes for the spa and rooftop areas, as well as the Bridge Bar.

The hotel consists of 499 rooms and 14 entertainment and dining options in two separate buildings, connected by a bridge overlooking Yas Marina Circuit. The bridge atop the circuit offers unrivalled views of the track from two levels, VIP access and the Rush nightclub.

The most striking feature of the hotel is, without a doubt, its external architecture. A fully programmable cloak, or gridshell, of illuminated glass panels, designed by Arup Lighting in conjunction with Asymptote, encases the building, enabling it to act as a light show providing different shades and colours, including animations. It is billed, quite simply, as “the largest colour LED display in the world.” Hani Rashid of Asymptote explains that his firm’s longstanding expertise in digital design enabled them to build “a structure with no standard curvature at a price which is much cheaper than it looks like it cost”. Rashid says that the shape of the building was influenced by research that they have been carrying out over several years into the “aesthetics of aerodynamics: what someone is seeing when they look at an aerodynamic car or yacht or aeroplane and think it is beautiful...the poetry of aerodynamics.”

Experiments in wind tunnels, as part of this research into aerodynamic forms, have led to a series of sculptures. These have been exhibited in respected art environments around the world including the Venice Biennale and Phillips de Pury in New York. The sculptures now sit in the reception lobby of the hotel, providing a nice link between the exterior contours of the building and the interior design elements.

Internally, Asymptote designed the bare bones of the building. The metal lines, inlaid in the floor, reference the speed trajectories of the cars on the track outside and this design feature is carried through onto custom designed carpets. The effect is reminiscent of the streaked lights you see in long exposure night traffic photography.

The mashrabiya influenced screens which Asymptote used to divide spaces in the public areas are a subtle reference to Arab design and culture: “In traditional Islamic architecture the use of mathematics is very important. Islamic motifs rely heavily on mathematical models and precise geometry and we echoed this by using pure mathematical models to design the grid shell itself as well as the screens used inside the hotel”.

Interestingly, Asymptote discovered post-construction that the external grid shell provides a function not unlike that of the wind tower, historically used to cool buildings in the region. As hot air trapped between the shell and the building rises, it draws in air at the bottom. The resultant air movement produces a cooling breeze on the roof terraces as well as serving to reduce the cooling load of the building.
Asymptote and Jestico + Whiles are both adamant that they wanted to steer clear of hotel design clichés and talk about the use of subliminal, subtle and abstract references in their designs. While they both looked to speed and aerodynamics as a reference, Jestico + Whiles also considered the marine setting an important inspiration. “We blended the harder aesthetic of the technology and craftsmanship of the Formula 1 cars with softer, abstract references to marine life”, explains James Dilley. “A link to the sea can be seen in a lot of the spaces: references to coral and seaweed in the design of the reception; use of a deep purple inspired by squid ink in the colour palettes; and bespoke chandeliers evocative of sea-life or underwater bubbles. Harder materials, resonant of racing forms, are overlaid and softened by tactile fabrics like suede and silk.”

Nautilus, the seafood restaurant with floor to ceiling marina views, is a beautiful space. Dilley explains that the light intensity in the Gulf region, duller than in some other geographies as a result of the high concentration of particles in the air, required a different approach to lighting. “Nautilus is in effect a light box, instead of simply adding light through traditional fittings we decided to use the walls themselves to illuminate the space, supplemented by chandeliers. By using backlit Corian® we can change the colour and intensity of light in the restaurant, tailoring it throughout the day. The pattern of small holes drilled through the clean white Corian walls was inspired by a diving trip and the way that light underwater alters with a dappled effect as waves break over the surface.”

While Dilley is very proud of what has been achieved in the standard rooms where “the footprint isn’t huge, but we have been able to give guests a lot of choices in how they experience the space”, it is the Presidential Suites that are really interesting from a design perspective. As with all the hotel rooms, complex glazing by the German firm Gartner all but removes the sound of racing cars from the interior, but venture outside onto the balcony and you will find a raised lap pool-come-jacuzzi sitting feet away from the grid shell itself.

Overall the specification is very high. Furniture from B&B Italia, Moroso and Kettal sits with soft furnishings by Maxalto and tiles from Bisazza, while the extensive ground floor complex of board and meeting rooms is filled with hundreds of Eames chairs from Vitra. Much of the lighting is by Zumtobel. TVs in the suites are by Bang & Olufsen.

Getting the hotel open on schedule was a major achievement but unsurprisingly, this meant there wasn’t really a chance to get quite the level of polish and perfection one would expect from a newly opened five-star operation. Snagging is ongoing though, and if the commitment to design shown by the management thus far is anything to go by, we can expect a very sleek finished product. 

The Yas Hotel
P.O. Box 131808
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Tel. +971 2 656 0000
www.theyashotel.com

Rooms 499 guestrooms and suites
Dining 14 bars and restaurants
Leisure ESPA spa, gym, two swimming pools
Facilities 1,760m2 conference space including 509m2  ballroom and 10 meeting rooms