Emirates Palace

2.14.11 - Designing environments that lift the spirit
Hotel Spec

Jeremy Heyes, senior vice president at WATG, has more than 20 years of experience in planning and architecture both in the UK and overseas. Here he discusses issues that influence hospitality design, as well as his most memorable project, the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.
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11.15.10 - Ten WATG Hotel Projects Win 23 World Travel Awards
eGlobal Travel News

Ten WATG-designed projects won top honours in 23 categories in this year's World Travel Awards. The World Travel Awards have been called the "travel industry's equivalent to the Oscar's" by The Wall Street Journal.

Garnering nine individual awards – more than any other property in the world – was the Emirates Palace, in Abu Dhabi, designed by WATG's London office. Among its many achievements, it was cited as "The World's Leading Meetings and Conference Hotel."
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9.18.10 - Icons of Abu Dhabi
Khaleej Times

From Big Red Bus tours to the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority's London, Australian and other oversees offices, Emirates Palace is a top recommendation for any tourist coming to the city.

Yes, in true Arab style, it is grand and it is opulent, but all in good taste. It stands out at the western side of the Corniche, like something coming out of Harun Al Rashid's world, a poetry in concrete.

The building was designed by Wimberly, Allison, Tong and Goo architects, an international firm specialising in luxury hotels. It all started in 2001 and, five years and Dh 11 billion later, the palace was opened. Before the Marina Bay Sands was recently completed in Singapore, Emirates Palace was the world's most expensive hotel ever built.
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4.03.08 - Architectural and Design Wonders of Kempinski
Hotel Designs

An international landmark since its opening in 2005, the Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi was designed by Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo (WATG). The design incorporates traditional Arabian elements such as the grand dome and a staggering 114 smaller domes spread over the building. The largest dome, the Grand Atrium dome, is a 42m wide dome with a surface finish of silver and gold coloured glass mosaic tiles. On the apex sits a gold finial. The gazebo and main auditorium both have domes measuring 17m in diameter; the smaller domes range from 12m to 7m in diameter, with the smallest dome measuring 2.9m. The colours of the building reflect the different shades of sand found in the Arabian Desert. KY&A were responsible for the Palace interiors, which houses a magnificent collection of 1002 chandeliers made with Swarovski?s premier Strauss crystals. The Palace is set in 1 million square metres of exotic park and is approximately 1 km long, almost a third of the construction used 110,000 m³ of marble (13 types used from Italy, Spain, China and India).
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