Opus by Omniyat, UAE-lighting servecs report.pptx

1. OpusUAE
ZahaHadidArchitects
Year:2019
Karbala University
Lighting services
Dr: Maysoon Safi Yasir
3edstage
Muhammed Jawad kutran

2. Located within Burj Khalifa district of Dubai, the
Opus by Zaha Hadid Architects for Omniyat will
house the first ‘ME by Melia’ hotel in the Middle
East. Operated by Melia Hotels International,
one of the world’s leading hoteliers with more
than 350 hotels in 39 countries, ‘ME by Melia’
hotels are located in cultural capitals across the
globe with their progressive, design-driven
approach.
TheOpusisdesigned astwoseparatetowersthatcoalesceinto asingularwhole—
taking theformofacube.Thecubeisthen‘carved’,creatingacentralvoid thatisan
important volume withinthebuilding initsownright—providing viewstothe
exteriorfromthe centreofthe building. Thefree-formedfluidityofthiseight-storey
void contrastswiththe preciseorthogonal geometryofthesurrounding cube.
Opus

3. “TheOpuswillbealigned withOmniyat’s visionoftreating eachprojectasifitwerea
uniqueworkofart,”saidMahdi Amjad, Executive Chairman andCEOofOmniyat.
“Thedesignconveystheremarkablyinventive qualityofZHA’swork;expressinga
sculptural sensibility thatreinventsthebalancebetweensolid and void,opaqueand
transparent,interiorand exterior.”
“You always expect to be surprised by ZHA’s
designs, but the Opus for ‘ME by Melia’ Dubai goes
beyond what we could ever have anticipated. We are
proud to have this amazing project in our portfolio,”
explained Gabriel Escarrer, Vice Chairman and CEO,
Meliá Hotels International at the earlier
announcement of ME Dubai to be located at the
Opus.
Opus

4. Spanning 84,300sqm, theOpuswas designed astwo separate towers that “coalesceinto asingular whole”, taking
theformofacube.Thecubehasbeen“eroded”inits centre,creatingatypicallyZaha Hadid free-formvoidthat is
animportant volumeofthedesign inits own right.Thetwo halvesofthebuilding on eithersideofthevoidare
linkedbyafour-storeyatrium at ground level,aswell asanasymmetric, 38-metre-wide, three-storeybridge71-
metresabovetheground.
“Thepreciseorthogonal geometriesoftheOpus’ elemental glass cubecontrast dramatically with thefluidityofthe
eight-storey voidat itscentre,”explained Christos Passas, ProjectDirectorat ZahaHadid Architects.
Thecube’s double-glazed insulating façadesincorporate aUVcoating and amirroredfritpattern toreducesolar
gain. Applied around theentirebuilding,this dottedfritpatterning emphasises theclarityofthebuilding’s form,
whileat thesame timedissolving itsvolume throughthecontinuous playoflightvarying between ever-changing
reflectionsand transparency.
Opus

5. Thevoid’s 6,000sqm façade iscreatedfrom4,300individual units offlat,single-curved ordouble-
curvedglass. Thiscurvedfaçade was designed usingdigital 3Dmodelling that also identifiedspecific
zones that requiredtemperedglass. Duringtheday,the cube’sfaçadereflectsthesky, thesunand
thesurroundingcity,while at night,thevoidisilluminated byadynamic light installation of
individually controllable LEDswithin eachglass panel.
Thelighting design fortheexteriorvoidwas developedby dpa lighting consultants, who wereasked
toprovide“aninteresting and practicalsolution tothefaçade lighting, and totakeinto
consideration thevisualappearance duringthedayand night, and thedesiredseamless appearance
and integration intothefaçade,”explained Michael Curry,SeniorAssociate at dpa lighting
consultants.
Opus

6. Acriticaldesign consideration for dpa was toensurethat thelightingequipment didnot detractfrom
orcompromisethebeautiful, smoothflowing formoftheinternal void.Maintenance and energywere
also important considerations, as wellas theinfrastructureand integration intosuchanelegantly
detailed façade.
Currycontinued: “Thevoidformsan important volume and canvas towhich thelightingcould
complement byonlylighting this void,leaving theouterbodyofthebuilding tosit likea
monumental mirroredsculpture. Ourintentionsweretoprovidedynamic lighting options with the
LEDpixelsbeingused tocreatevisualinterest that couldbeused onaday-to-day basis as a
sophisticated solutionorsubtle and softcolor,throughtoprovidingmoredynamic eventlighting
solutions and specificdesigns usedforspecificdateswithin theUAE and worldcalendar, for
example.”
Opus

7. Fordpa, theprojectspanned severalyears fromconcepttocompletion, firstjoiningthe
projectin2013,with variousinteresting challenges toilluminate such aunique and
complicated pieceofarchitecture.And whilethe briefcalled forarelativelysimple
solution, Curryadded that “therewas alotofdetailed work carriedout post-design
stage with themanufacturer’s design team with regardsto visualand technical
development”.
As such, dpa collaborated closely with ZHA and other
team members, alongside lighting manufacturers
Vexica to develop a unique, bespoke product that
would integrate seamlessly into the façade of the void.
This resulted in the installation of 5,000 individually
controllable 1.5W LED ‘points’ of light, which provide a
sophisticated and dynamic lighting solution.
Opus

8. Using Pharos’ DMX lighting control system,
programmed by Creation, enabled unique tailoring of
the content, with the LED ‘pixels’ acting as a creative
tool with which to paint light across the inner void of
the façade.
Inside, the ME Dubai hotel incorporates 74 rooms and
19 suites, while the Opus building also houses office
floors, serviced residences and restaurants, cafés and
bars, including contemporary Japanese robatayaki
restaurant ROKA and the Maine Land Brasserie.
TypicalZahaHadid flourishesandthemes permeate theinterior oftheOpus,as
undulating curvesand unusual shapesfeaturethroughout thebuilding
Opus

9. While dpalighting consultants designedthe lightingfor the external void,the interior lighting design
was developedbyIlluminate Lighting Design. Rikus DeKock, Lighting ProjectDirectorat Illuminate,
explained:“Illuminate was signedonthe back endof2014 towork with ZHA andour interior parent
company, HBA,to take ZHA’s designdirection andimplement itforconstruction documentation.
“Opus was abit differenttoour usual projects inthe way that we typicallyhave onelead design
consultant andwe justwork with them onthe lightingside.Here we had a veryspecificdesigndirection
from ZHA that includedtheoveralllighting mood,and we had towork outall the technicalities with
HBA tomake it areality.”
Thebrieffor theinterior lighting design,DeKock explained, camemoreina“language ofrenders and
visuals”, rather than aspecificnarrative. However,“through the visuals itwas clear that the lighting
designwas extremelyclean,with typical ZHA curvedlines. Thesame language flowed fromthe rooms
throughout the publicareas.”
Opus

10. De Kock added that while the design changed during the timeline of the
project, the overall intent of clean ceilings and curved lines remained the
main focus. This is evident throughout, with the use of hidden linear
fixtures creating flowing lines of light that seamlessly blend into the fabric
of the building.
This feeling of flow is something that stood out to De Kock while working
on the project – particularly considering the typically atypical interior
design from ZHA. “It was refreshing to work on a design that is not typical,”
he said. “I come from the theatrical side of lighting, and back then we
deliberately strived to make everything unusual. A typical ZHA design is
always ‘flowing’, and the form of the design is a driving factor. Once you get
into the ‘flow’ of the design, it is quite remarkable how the lighting design
just follows.
“The main challenge was to match the technical specifications of the
lighting to match the design intent and still achieve the correct lux levels
where needed. Luckily in the age we are in with lighting and technology, we
could overcome this quite easily.”
Opus

11. While ZHA presented De Kock and the Illuminate team with a series of
visuals to guide the lighting design, he explained that the entire
process felt more collaborative, rather than the architects dictating
what they wanted. “It was mainly a two-way street,” he said. “ZHA
would provide us with the visuals of their design intent, and some
elements of the lighting design were then ‘fixed’, so to speak.
“For example, if we had a cove or pendant in an area from their design
intent, we would work to keep it, but we would also do the lighting
study and add or modify the lighting where it was needed. We would
then get back to the ZHA team with our comments. However, in some
areas we had more of a free reign as the ZHA design was purely
interior and no lighting was added, therefore we had to do the lighting
concept based on that.”
In these instances, De Kock took inspiration from the wider work of
Zaha Hadid to create a lighting scheme that would live up to the
striking architecture. “I did a lot of studies on all of her designs, and
how they evolved into the Opus,” he said. “As the actual architecture
of the building is a masterpiece, I drew from that for the lighting
design.”
Opus

12. Throughout the building, Illuminate specified a
combination of spotlights and downlights from the likes of
Reggiani, Ecosense, iGuzzini and LightGraphix to
complement linear light strips from LED Flex. “The fixture
selection was 100% driven by the design and technical
performance that we had to get out of it to still make the
lighting functional,” explained De Kock. “We wanted to
keep it as clean as possible, and used low glare fixtures
wherever possible.”
Although the fixtures specified by Illuminate were
eventually value engineered out of the project due to
budget restrictions, De Kock is pleased with the final
outcome, believing that the “overall lighting design intent
can be seen, and it complements the architecture”.
Opus

13. Opus
Indeed for a project such as this,
so driven by the remarkable
architecture and interior design, it
is important that the lighting
design doesn’t draw focus; instead
it needs to serve as an
accompaniment, highlighting
Hadid’s beautiful architectural
design. In both the interior and
exterior lighting design, Illuminate
and dpa respectively developed
seamless lighting solutions,
showcasing the latest jewel in the
Zaha Hadid crown.