The lighting installations across Dubai’s hotels also double as impressive works of art.
The region’s thriving hospitality sector is providing a leading market for audio visual (AV) and entertainment equipment. With 1,559 hotels in the GCC alone and an estimated 570 in the pipeline in 2016 across the Middle East region, there is high demand for the most advanced professional AV and lighting installations for the hospitality sector.
Dubai boasts some of the world’s most luxurious, impressive and iconic five star hotels. According to a report issued by the Federal Authority of Human Resources (FAHR), the city’s hospitality industry will be one of the top five sectors set to experience significant growth as a result of the Expo 2020. All this development provides a fantastic backdrop for futuristic lighting systems that are both functional and impressive.
A city keen on world records, the four tallest hotels in the world can be found in Dubai (JW Marriott Marquis, Rose Rayhaan, Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Emirates Towers). The hotels’ lighting installations do not disappoint either with the Burj Al Arab featuring the largest architectural lighting system ever built and Burj Khalifa, home to Armani Hotel Dubai having claimed a world record for the largest LED-illuminated façade.
Here the team at Prolight + Sound Middle East takes a look at the impressive lighting controls and installations found across some of Dubai’s iconic five star hotels:
Burj Al Arab
The engineers and designers at the aptly named Futronix were the masterminds behind the lighting control centre for the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel – the third tallest hotel in the world. With 14,000 dimming circuits it is the largest architectural lighting system ever built and is run off a number of unique automation features. Introducing such a forward thinking lighting installation was pretty impressive for a hotel that opened nearly 20 years ago (December 1999).
The dedicated lighting control panels installed throughout the hotel allow for any manner of adjustments to suit the required ambience at any given time. On the exterior, the hotel’s iconic white sail is illuminated by 142 floodlights making it visible for miles across Dubai’s night skyline. The façade is studded with spotlights and washed with coloured lighting which can be changed to commemorate special occasions such as the UAE National Day when it bears the colours of the UAE flag.
W Dubai – Al Habtoor City
One of the latest additions to Dubai’s dramatic five star hotel scene is the W Hotel Dubai. One of the most instantly recognisable brands in the hospitality sector, the W Hotel brand is known for its eclectic and modern design. Dubai’s latest branch projects a bold neon light show across Sheikh Zayed Road’s Business Bay flyover.
The hotel’s 356 guest rooms and suites follow this same bold and futuristic scene characterised by funky decor and stick lighting. The lighting installations in the hotel also double as abstract art and complement the hotel’s vivid colour palette. Inspired by the constant movement and vibrancy of Sheikh Zayed Road, bright colours, rhythmic lines and contemporary design make up the hotel’s eclectic design set.
Atlantis, The Palm
Another Dubai icon and record-breaker, Dubai’s Atlantis, The Palm was built on one of the world’s largest man-made islands. The hotel’s complete lighting controls package was provided by Cooper Controls at a cost upwards of USD 5 million and includes more than 10,000 channels and 1000 control plates. Lighting system designs by Craig Roberts Associates, Dallas and Focus Lighting were all incorporated into the 47-hectare site with 1539 guest rooms. Mains tungsten, fluorescents, metal halides, multi-colour LEDs, cold cathodes and LV electronic transformer fittings were amongst the wide range of light sources installed throughout the brilliantly lit hotel.
With any number of ambitious projects in the pipeline there is no end to the exciting opportunities the hospitality sector presents for the region’s professional lighting sector. Visit Prolight + Sound Middle East, co-located with Light Middle East, to get a taste of the technological advances shaping the sector.