W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island, formerly the Yas Hotel and Yas Viceroy Hotel Abu Dhabi, is a five-star hotel famous for being built above and across the F1

Yas Marina Circuit The Yas Marina Circuit (Arabic: حلبة مرسى ياس) is the venue for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, and is situated on Yas Island, near Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Yas Marina was ...

Yas Island Yas Island ( ar, جزيرة ياس) is an island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It occupies a total land area of . It is a popular leisure island and one of the top tourism projects in Abu Dhabi. Yas Island holds the Yas Marina Circuit, wh ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, the capital of the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. It is known as one of the icons of Abu Dhabi and has a futuristic design.

Design

The hotel is located within the

. The building, designed by

Hani Rashid Hani Rashid (born 1958 in Cairo) is an architect and educator. He co-founded the New York-based architecture firm, Asymptote Architecture with Lise Anne Couture. Early life and education Hani Rashid was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1958, his famil ...

and Lise Anne Couture, principals of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

based

Asymptote Architecture Asymptote Architecture is an American architecture practice, based in Long Island City, New York. Asymptote Architecture is known for multidisciplinary architectural designs that often incorporate digital technologies. History Husband and wife ...

, consists of two 12 storey hotel towers, one set within the race circuit and another placed in the Marina itself, linked together by a

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

steel and glass bridge and Grid Shell structure that both cross above and over the Yas Marina Circuit F1 race track. Asymptote designed the building as an architectural landmark that embodies key influences and local as well as global inspirations that range from the aesthetics and forms associated with speed and spectacle to the artistry and geometries that form the basis of ancient Islamic art and craft traditions. Of architectural and engineering significance is the main feature of the hotelʼs design: a 217-meter expanse of sweeping, curvilinear glass and steel facade known as the ''Grid Shell'': it features an

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

lighting system that illuminates all 5,389 glass elements individually, with an integrated control system that updates color and brightness of each glass pane 20 times per second. The Grid Shell is a key feature of the overall architectural design and significance of the project. It creates an atmospheric-like veil that is visible from miles away. The hotel was designed by Asymptote to become a significant and important landmark for Abu Dhabi. For the dynamic facade lighting design, the architects collaborated with

Rogier van der Heide Rogier van der Heide (born 1970 in Bennebroek, the Netherlands) is a designer born in the Netherlands who lives in Liechtenstein. He is noted especially as a C-suite design executive and as a lighting designer of public and commercial projects a ...

and his team at Arup Lighting. The lighting design was recognized with an AL Lighting Design Award for Outstanding Achievement and a "Highly Commended" Middle East Lighting Design Award, as well as a special "Citation for Achievement in Technical Artistry at the 2010 IES Lumen Awards Ceremony in New York City.

"The hotel embodies various key influences and inspirations ranging from the aesthetics and forms associated with speed, movement and spectacle to the artistry and geometries forming the basis of ancient Islamic art and craft traditions, a perfect union and harmonious interplay between elegance and spectacle. The search here was inspired by what one could call the 'art' and poetics of motor racing, specifically Formula 1, coupled with the making of a place that celebrates Abu Dhabi as a cultural and technological tour de force.”

Construction

The 499-room, 85,000-square-meter structure was built by Al Futtaim

Carillion Carillion plc was a British multinational construction and facilities management services company headquartered in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, prior to its liquidation in January 2018. Carillion was created in July 1999, following a ...

for

Aldar Properties Aldar Properties PJSC (شركة الدار العقارية ''Sharikah al-Dār al-`Iqāriyyah'') is a real estate development, management and investment company with headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The company's shares are traded ...

with construction starting in 2007. The feature

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

, formed of a steel and glass reptile-like

gridshell A gridshell is a structure which derives its strength from its double curvature (in a similar way that a fabric structure derives strength from double curvature), but is constructed of a grid or lattice. The grid can be made of any material, b ...

, was designed and built by

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

specialist contractor Waagner Biro. It opened on 1 November 2009 to coincide with the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.The right formula: Abu Dhabi's Yas Hotel
Building, 30 October 2009

References

External links

{{commonscat, Yas Marina Hotel
Official homepage

Official site of the island
Hotel buildings completed in 2009 Hotels in Abu Dhabi Hotels established in 2009 2009 establishments in the United Arab Emirates

Design

Construction

See also

References

External links