LOOK AT ME

BOND INTERIORS’ LATEST PROJECT ME DUBAI BY MELIÁ IS THE ONLY HOTEL IN THE WORLD FULLY CONCEPTUALISED BY THE LEGENDARY ARCHITECT, DAME ZAHA HADID

- DAME ZAHA HADID

Long awaited and much anticipated, the ME Dubai by Meliá has now opened its doors in Dubai’s Business Bay. Conceptualised by famedlate architect Dame Zaha Hadid, the task of bringing her designs to life fell, in part, to UAE fit-out firm Bond Interiors.

With a scope that included the full fit-out of highly-specified spaces such as 93 rooms and suites, the atrium, all-day dining, a gym, spa, conference centre, public areas, back of house and basement offices; Bond Interiors not only completed the project on site, but did so in a record time of 10 months.

Overcoming numerous challenges on the way, the team brought to life the Pritzker Prize winner’s signature swoops and other architectural flourishes from concept through to reality.

The hotel’s bespoke interior involved extreme fit-out engineering that started with demolition, followed by major structural, civil and steel work.

Dubbed The Opus, the cube-shaped structure with a void through its centre is the late Hadid’s only project in Dubai to be designed by her both inside and out.

“The idea is to create an opening onto the city and to frame these views,” Hadid said in 2007 after unveiling the initial proposal.