EMIRATES PALACE ABU DHABI
The Emirates Palace was designed to be the Versailles of the Gulf. The original brief was for a mixed use urban waterfront project as a base in Abu Dhabi for the GCC Conference, with halls, hotels and prestige villas as individual buildings. It soon became clear that it should instead be a landmark building with iconic stature. The building has the Gulf Council chamber discretely located in the heart of the building with a central atrium and dome stretching above it linking the 8 luxury suites for the rulers of the Gulf states. Each 'suite' has its own access directly to the council chamber, while the main conference and theatre are connected with separate circulation to the luxury hotel. The hotel is now managed by Mandarin Oriental and it fronts a 500m beach. The red stone is symbolic of the colours at Al Ain, the home city of the ruling family and the building sits on a dramatic urban axis in the grandeur of Versailles.