Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai is a newly constructed 5-star resort-style hotel located on Dubai’s Arabian Gulf shoreline.
Over a period of 4 years, dpa worked in close collaboration with the Client, Operator and Design Team WASL Group, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Architects DAR and Interior Designers Design Wilkes and Silverfox to design the lighting solutions for all public FoH areas of the Hotel, internally and externally.
Interior Design for the Guestrooms, Public Areas and Ballroom facilities was undertaken by Design Wilkes. Silverfox Studios provided the Interior Design for the Spa and Fitness Centre and the Speciality Restaurants, The Bay, Tasca, and Netsu. Landscape design was courtesy of 40North and Cracknells.
As part of the design brief dpa worked closely with all parties from initial conception stage, ensuring that the lighting design was cohesive throughout the hotel, and well integrated within the Interior Design and Architecture.
dpa followed the project through to the construction stages, maintaining a regular presence on site to ensure the designs were fully understood and coordinated with the various contractors, suppliers, consultants, and site teams.
While all spaces are special in their own way, the most impactful moments within the Hotel occur in the Main Lobby and within Netsu Restaurant.
The Main Lobby is very important, forming the first impression of the Hotel for arriving guests and visitors. At 12 metres tall, it provided a challenge to ensure that the lighting was sufficient to adequately illuminate the space during daylight hours, with the dimming range to provide subtlety and ambience after dark. A discreet, linear, ceiling recessed system was designed and specified, allowing high output linear LED luminaires to be installed in a way which matched the rhythm of the architecture and the ceiling.
At ground level, there is a colonnade of 14 Light Trees, designed by Design Wilkes and Preciosa, with technical and aesthetic input from dpa. The Trees feature approximately 900 individually addressed LED light points, illuminating hand blown glass leaves. The leaves are programmed to produce dynamic ripples of light, individually varying their brightness to create differing effects. The arrangement of the colonnades leads the eye along the central water feature, and through to the landscaped, beach adjacent courtyard and lap pool.
Within Netsu, a signature restaurant on the ground level, Silverfox Studios produced an industrial aesthetic, with a combination of rugged and natural materials. The brief was to create a theatrical dining experience, to use the central open Robata kitchen as a ‘stage’.
In response to this, dpa implemented a series of suspended lighting truss rigs, upon which were mounted theatrical RGBW projectors, with variable beam angles and focussing. These projectors were used to provide warm white intensity at the points where food is displayed and served, and dramatic coloured accents around the space. RGBW linear floodlights were mounted on top of the rigs to provide a coloured wash of light to the MEP service at high level, accentuating the height and industrial aesthetic of the space.
Owner: WASL Group
Operator: Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
Project Manager: DAR
Architect: DAR
Interior Designer for Public Areas: Design Wilkes
Interior Designer for Spa and Restaurants: Silverfox Studios
Interior Design Co-ordinators: PMQ
Landscape Consultants: 40North and Cracknells
MEP Consultant: SEED Engineering
Photography: Alex Jeffries Photography Group
dpa Project Team: David McNeil, Douglas Brennan and Tim Leeding