Dubai Aluminium (Dubal) is the largest single site aluminium smelter in the Western world. dpa were commissioned by the engineering consultancy K Home to design the lighting for a new gateway security building for Dubal together with the external lighting of the adjacent emergency facility.

The use of cool white light was preferred for these key buildings with a blue light used to uplight the striking curved roof of the gateway building and to frame the internal spandrel within the atrium. Close offset uplighting to external columns coupled with controlled uplighting to the brise soleil provides a strong external identity with a concealed blue cold cathode detail framing the roofline.