The Burj Al Arab (Tower of the Arabs in arabic) is a luxury hotel located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Of the tallest hotels in the world, it is the fifth tallest, although 39% of its total height is made up of non-occupiable space.Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island 280 m from Jumeirah Beach and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. The shape of the structure is designed to resemble the sail of a ship. It has a helipad near the roof at a height of 210 m above ground

WHAT IS BURJ AL ARAB ?

• The Burj Al Arab (Tower of the Arabs in arabic) is a luxury hotel located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Of the tallest hotels in the world, it is the fifth tallest, although 39% of its total height is made up of non-occupiable space
• Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island 280 m from Jumeirah Beach and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge
• The shape of the structure is designed to resemble the sail of a ship
• It has a helipad near the roof at a height of 210 m above ground

BURJ AL ARAB

THE SITE

• The beachfront area where Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach Hotel are located was previously called Miami Beach
• The hotel is located on an island of reclaimed land 280 meters offshore of the beach of the former Chicago Beach Hotel.
• The locale’s name had its origins in the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company which at one time welded giant floating oil storage tanks, known locally as Kazzans on the site

BURJ AL ARAB

THE DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

• It is very similar to the Vasco da Gama Tower in Lisbon, Portugal
• Construction of the island began in 1994 and involved up to 2,000 construction workers during peak construction.
• It was built to resemble the billowing spinnaker sail of a J-class yacht
• Two “wings” spread in a V to form a vast “mast”, while the space between them is enclosed in a massive atrium.
• Fletcher Construction from New Zealand was the lead joint venture partner in the initial stages of pre-construction and construction.
• The hotel was built by South African construction contractor Murray & Roberts and Al Habtoor Engineering and the interior works were delivered by UAE based Depa
• The building opened in December 1999

BURJ AL ARAB

FEATURES & SITE PREPARATION

Several features of the hotel required complex engineering feats to achieve.

• The hotel rests on an artificial island constructed 280 m (920 ft) offshore
• To secure a foundation, the builders drove 230 forty-meter-long concrete piles into the sand
• Engineers created a ground/surface layer of large rocks, which is circled with a concrete honeycomb pattern, which serves to protect the foundation from erosion.
• It took three years to reclaim the land from the sea, while it took fewer than three years to construct the building itself.
• The building contains over 70,000 m3 (92,000 cu yd) of concrete and 9,000 tons of steel

BURJ AL ARAB

THE ATRIUM

• Inside the building, the atrium is 180 m (590 ft) tall.
• The 18 storied atrium is enclosed by 12 individually tensioned two-layer membrane panels form the north facing façade
• Given the height of the building, the Burj Al Arab is the world’s fifth tallest hotel after Gevora Hotel, JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, Four Seasons Place Kuala Lumpur and Rose and Rayhaan by Rotana.
• But where buildings with mixed use were stripped off the list, the Burj Al Arab would be the world’s third tallest hotel. The structure of the Rose Rayhaan, also in Dubai, is 12 m taller than the Burj Al Arab.

BURJ AL ARAB

ROOMS & SUITES

The hotel is managed by the Jumeirah Group

• Despite its size, the Burj Al Arab holds only 28 double-story floors which accommodate 202 bedroom suites
• The smallest suite occupies an area of 169 m2, the largest covers 780 m2
• Suites feature design details that juxtapose east and west
• White columns show great influence. Bathrooms are accented by mosaic tile patterns.
• The Royal Suite, billed at US$24,000 per night, is listed at number 12 on World’s 15 most expensive hotel suites compiled by CNN Go in 2012

BURJ AL ARAB

THE RESTAURANTS

Al Muntaha (“The Ultimate”)

• is located 200 m (660 ft) above the Persian Gulf, offering a view of Dubai.
• is supported by a full cantilever that extends 27 m (89 ft) from either side of the mast
• Accessed by a panoramic elevator

Al Mahara (“Oyster”)

• Accessed via a simulated submarine voyage
• Features a large seawater aquarium, holding roughly 990000 L  of water
• The wall of the tank, made of acrylic glass in order to withstand the water pressure, is about 18 cm thick

BURJ AL ARAB

THE RATING

• The Burj Al Arab is a five-star hotel, the highest official ranking
• While the hotel is sometimes erroneously described as “the world’s only seven-star hotel”, the hotel management claims never to have done that themselves
• In the words of a Jumeirah Group spokesperson: “There’s not a lot we can do to stop it. We’re not encouraging the use of the term. We’ve never used it in our advertising.”