The Opus by Zaha Hadid
Rising from the Business Bay waterfront like a cube with a freeform void bitten from its centre, the Opus is Zaha Hadid's only building in Dubai and one of the last major projects she personally oversaw before her death in 2016. It is simultaneously a hotel, residences and offices — and the public lobby is a pilgrimage site for design lovers.
The Building Itself
The 21-storey structure appears to defy gravity: two towers connected by a fluid, eight-storey atrium whose interior surfaces curve and fold in ways that make your eyes recalibrate. The all-glass facade shifts from mirror-silver to deep charcoal depending on the angle and time of day, and the void at the centre frames a perfect rectangle of Dubai sky.
Me by Meliá operates the hotel portion, and the lobby is accessible to non-guests. Step inside and you are surrounded by Hadid's signature organic forms — white sculptural reception desks, sinuous staircases and furniture pieces that blur the line between architecture and art object.
Dining and Nightlife Inside
Robert by Alain Ducasse occupies the ground floor of the Opus and serves a menu of modern European cuisine in a dining room that is itself a sculptural experience — curved ceilings, dramatic lighting and views directly into the void. Reservations are essential, and the prix-fixe lunch is considerably more affordable than dinner.
For a drink without a full meal, the Opus Bar on the lobby level pours inventive cocktails beneath the soaring atrium. It is one of the few genuinely architecturally significant bar spaces in Dubai, and the bar stools — also Hadid-designed — are conversation starters in themselves.
The Opus by Zaha Hadid on video
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