Construction of Twenty-acre Underwater Hotel Underway in Dubai
January 5, 2004
DUBAI – Ever dream of looking out your window onto a bubbly coral reef, or of having the ocean current lull you to sleep?
Well come December 2006, you'll be able to sleep with the fishes within the comfort of your bedroom at Hydropolis, an underwater luxury hotel in construction off the coast of Dubai.
Construction of the $520 million hotel – which features a hydrotherapy spa, ocean pharmacy, waterpipe smoking room and 220 bubble-shaped suites with clear glass walls and bathtubs – began in December. A convention to choose interior designers is scheduled for spring 2004 in Dubai, Hydropolis spokesperson Joerg Rueckert said.
The brainchild of German architect Joachim Hauser, the 27-acre Plexiglas, steel and concrete structure will be by far the world's largest underwater hotel. Hauser intends Hydropolis to provide a holistic healing environment that draws on the sea's creative powers.
''For several years I have occupied myself with all questions concerning inhabiting the ocean, the beauty of the underwater world, and the elementary forces of the sea, which are of fundamental importance to the existence and the health of man,'' Hauser said.
A consortium largely comprising Middle Eastern investor groups is financing the construction. They procured the entire $520 million budget within three months.
Interior designers anxious to lay claim on the new property will present their ideas at a springtime convention at Dubai, Rueckert said. ''Furnishings will be especially designed for this special hotel underwater,'' he said. ''Nobody knows exactly what will be, but Mr. Hauser has a lot of ideas. Hauser will decide which designers will be chosen. We have special different places—event halls, bathrooms, restaurants, wellness and lounging rooms and the suites themselves. There will not be just one designer.''
Hauser has indicated he will select fabrics and furnishings that enhance the aura of an curative, spiritual underwater world. He envisions an interior graced with open views of the sea and an assortment of lights: changing bio-dynamic light, wavy light objects, 3-D light ornaments, illuminated glass objects, artificial plants made of fiber optics, water bubble and light displays, two-layered glass constructions with kinetic lighting elements and light-reflecting crystal sculptures.
Motion-sensor activated water basins and water fountains, small gardens, yellow sand sculptures and sand surfaces, relaxing sounds and scents and projections of arabesque ornaments will adorn the interiors. Aqua leather armchairs and cushioned arena steps will grace rooms and lounges sporting transparent fabrics and fine woods.
Construction commenced in December on the 333,333-square-foot land station, which will boast a restaurant, cinema, cosmetic surgery clinic, marine biology research laboratory and business center with conference facilities and staff offices.
The 20-acre underwater hotel will be built in the shape of an eight laying on its side, a symbol for wisdom. The guest suites will be 10 to 36 feet underwater, and the electronic systems and storage will be built into the granite basin of the harbor 66 feet underwater.
A 1,700-foot transparent tunnel will link the land station to the underwater hotel.
Architects' drawings show that from the water's surface, the hotel will resemble a UFO adorned with oscillating lights in blue, aqua, lavender and white discs, bubbles and two translucent domes that pop up above the surface of the water. The smaller dome covers the restaurant and spa areas; the large one represents a retractable ballroom ceiling.
The hotel will include an ocean pharmacy that sells health and beauty products made from sea life, a museum, prayer rooms, an e-library, shops selling ocean-related items and three 150-seat restaurants, a ballroom, three bars and a library.
Mechanically-induced clouds of fog on the water's surface will shade the hotel, and a security system will protect the entire complex from aircraft and missile attacks, intruders, fire and smoke.
Well come December 2006, you'll be able to sleep with the fishes within the comfort of your bedroom at Hydropolis, an underwater luxury hotel in construction off the coast of Dubai.
Construction of the $520 million hotel – which features a hydrotherapy spa, ocean pharmacy, waterpipe smoking room and 220 bubble-shaped suites with clear glass walls and bathtubs – began in December. A convention to choose interior designers is scheduled for spring 2004 in Dubai, Hydropolis spokesperson Joerg Rueckert said.
The brainchild of German architect Joachim Hauser, the 27-acre Plexiglas, steel and concrete structure will be by far the world's largest underwater hotel. Hauser intends Hydropolis to provide a holistic healing environment that draws on the sea's creative powers.
''For several years I have occupied myself with all questions concerning inhabiting the ocean, the beauty of the underwater world, and the elementary forces of the sea, which are of fundamental importance to the existence and the health of man,'' Hauser said.
A consortium largely comprising Middle Eastern investor groups is financing the construction. They procured the entire $520 million budget within three months.
Interior designers anxious to lay claim on the new property will present their ideas at a springtime convention at Dubai, Rueckert said. ''Furnishings will be especially designed for this special hotel underwater,'' he said. ''Nobody knows exactly what will be, but Mr. Hauser has a lot of ideas. Hauser will decide which designers will be chosen. We have special different places—event halls, bathrooms, restaurants, wellness and lounging rooms and the suites themselves. There will not be just one designer.''
Hauser has indicated he will select fabrics and furnishings that enhance the aura of an curative, spiritual underwater world. He envisions an interior graced with open views of the sea and an assortment of lights: changing bio-dynamic light, wavy light objects, 3-D light ornaments, illuminated glass objects, artificial plants made of fiber optics, water bubble and light displays, two-layered glass constructions with kinetic lighting elements and light-reflecting crystal sculptures.
Motion-sensor activated water basins and water fountains, small gardens, yellow sand sculptures and sand surfaces, relaxing sounds and scents and projections of arabesque ornaments will adorn the interiors. Aqua leather armchairs and cushioned arena steps will grace rooms and lounges sporting transparent fabrics and fine woods.
Construction commenced in December on the 333,333-square-foot land station, which will boast a restaurant, cinema, cosmetic surgery clinic, marine biology research laboratory and business center with conference facilities and staff offices.
The 20-acre underwater hotel will be built in the shape of an eight laying on its side, a symbol for wisdom. The guest suites will be 10 to 36 feet underwater, and the electronic systems and storage will be built into the granite basin of the harbor 66 feet underwater.
A 1,700-foot transparent tunnel will link the land station to the underwater hotel.
Architects' drawings show that from the water's surface, the hotel will resemble a UFO adorned with oscillating lights in blue, aqua, lavender and white discs, bubbles and two translucent domes that pop up above the surface of the water. The smaller dome covers the restaurant and spa areas; the large one represents a retractable ballroom ceiling.
The hotel will include an ocean pharmacy that sells health and beauty products made from sea life, a museum, prayer rooms, an e-library, shops selling ocean-related items and three 150-seat restaurants, a ballroom, three bars and a library.
Mechanically-induced clouds of fog on the water's surface will shade the hotel, and a security system will protect the entire complex from aircraft and missile attacks, intruders, fire and smoke.
