The Opus by Omniyat

A glass cube hollowed out at its centre, the only building in Dubai designed entirely by Zaha Hadid

The void running through The Opus measures more than twenty metres in height and splits the building in two. That design choice required a steel and glass bridge weighing nearly 1,000 tonnes, suspended 71 metres above the ground. Omniyat Properties gave Zaha Hadid control of the whole project, from the outer shell down to the interiors of the homes. The architect died in 2016 and never saw the building completed, with official handover set for December 2017. The tower brings together a ME hotel, office floors, ground floor retail and 96 furnished residences. Between 2019 and 2022, it won or was shortlisted in around twenty international architecture and hospitality awards.

The 38 metre bridge spanning the void

The bridge connects the two halves of the cube and crosses the void over a length of nearly 38 metres, with a width of about 26 metres. Its height ranges between 21 and 25 metres, which allows it to house three levels of serviced residences. The primary steel structure weighs 745 tonnes. Add the secondary steel, the slabs and the glazing, and the total reaches 1,000 tonnes. More than five international engineering teams worked on the framework and on the double curved facades, modelled in 3D so the steel structure would match the glazed envelope exactly. Each curved glass panel was designed, manufactured and installed individually, an industrial requirement few residential projects take on.

A mirrored facade by day, an LED screen by night

Hadid conceived the building as a single block of ice, eroded into a free form. The flat, reflective outer facade mirrors the sky and the nearby canal. Inside the void, curved mirrored glass gives the project its visual signature as seen from Sheikh Zayed Road. After sunset, a network of individually programmed LEDs turns the facade into a moving light display. The base is set back, so the cube appears to float above the street. The CTBUH jury gave it an Award of Excellence in 2019, and the Prix Versailles named it the world's best hotel in 2021.

96 homes, from one bedroom units to triplexes

The residential offering is deliberately limited: 96 units within a building that has six basement levels, a ground floor and 21 storeys above. The mix runs from one and two bedroom apartments up to duplexes and triplexes, the latter offering two or three bedrooms. The homes occupy the upper floors, facing Burj Khalifa, Mohammed Bin Rashid City and the Persian Gulf to the west. Hadid also designed the interiors: curved lines, indirect lighting, built in home automation. Units are delivered furnished. For a buyer, this cuts down the work of preparing a unit for rental but limits personalisation.

ME hotel services available to residents

The real functional edge lies in sharing amenities with the hotel. Residents have a separate entrance but can use the hotel's pool, spa and gym. Concierge, valet, housekeeping and in room dining are part of the service. Several restaurants, cafes and bars occupy the lower floors, with a cultural programme and art performances announced by the developer. A conference room and a coworking space round out the offering. This model mainly appeals to owners who spend little time in Dubai and want a hotel managed home.

On the Opera side, close to the canal

The Opus sits in the part of Business Bay closest to Downtown. Dubai Opera, Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall are all within walking distance. Marasi Business Bay marina and the Dubai Water Canal are a few minutes away. Sheikh Zayed Road runs along the district, and Dubai International Airport is about fifteen minutes by car. In the evening, the building also works as a dining and nightlife destination thanks to its restaurants, which keeps the lobby lively but offers less privacy than a purely residential tower.

Omniyat, before The Sterling and Vela

The Opus served as a showcase project for Omniyat, which has since focused on very small scale developments in Business Bay. The Sterling counts only seven townhouses, and Vela Dorchester Collection just 38 residences on Marasi Bay. The developer has also kept its connection to the architect alive: in 2017, it set up a scholarship fund in her name at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, aimed at students from the UAE and the wider Arab world. For investors, the appeal is clear. This is a completed asset, well covered in the architecture press, whose scarcity rests on a signature that will not produce any further buildings in Dubai.