The YAS Marina and Racetrack Hotel - Bartenbach LichtLabor GmbH

The YAS Marina and Racetrack Hotel

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The Yas Hotel project opened in Abu Dhabi, UAE On Nov 3 2009 after a preliminary opening coinciding
with the inaugural Ethiad Formula 1 race held on October 30. A 500-room, 85,000-square-meter complex
constructed by Aldar Properties PJSC. Asymptote was awarded the commission to design the buildings
and environs from a closed competition two years prior to the official opening.
Photos by Bjorn Moerman

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The Yas Marina Hotel is located within the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi. It is the first new hotel in the
world to be built over an F1 race circuit. The hotel’s exterior surface is designed as an environmentally
responsive skin that by day reflects the sky and surroundings and by night is lit by a full color changing
LED lighting system that incorporate video feeds that are trasmited over the entire surface of the building.
The Yas hotel, a 500-room, 85,000-square-meter structure made up of two twelve story hotel towers
linked together by a monocoque steel and glass bridge A Grid Shell structure that both cross above and
over the Yas Marina Circuit F1 race track.
Asymptote created and conceived of the building as an architectural landmark embodying key influences
and local and global inspirations ranging from the aesthetics and forms associated with speed and
spectacle to the artistry and geometries that form the basis of ancient Islamic art and craft traditions.
Of architectural and engineering significance is the main feature of the hotel s design; a 217-meter
expanse of sweeping, curvilinear glass and steel covering that is made up of 5,800 pivoting diamondshaped
glass panels. This Grid-Shell component is a key aspect of the overall architectural design and
significance of the project by producing an atmospheric-like veil visible from miles away.
The two hotel towers, one being set within the race circuit, and another placed in the Marina itself, are
physically linked by a sculpted steel monocoque bridge construction that passes above the Formula 1
track. The bridge along with the Grid-Shell visually connect and fuse the entire Yas Hotel complex. The
Yas Hotel was designed by Asymptote to become a significant and important landmark for Abu Dhabi.
The pixelated lighting design by Asymptote in collaboration with Arup Lighting creates a dynamic
appearance at night, with colours flowing smoothly across the double curved surface. says in a press
release
“The hotel embodies various key influences and inspirations ranging from the aesthetics and forms
associated with speed, movement and spectacle to the artistry and geometries forming the basis of
ancient Islamic art and craft traditions, a perfect union and harmonious interplay between elegance and
spectacle. The search here was inspired by what one could call the ‘art’ and poetics of motor racing,
specifically Formula 1, coupled with the making of a place that celebrates Abu Dhabi as a cultural and
technological tour de force.”
Client
Aldar Properties PJSC, Abu Dhabi
Lead Architect
Asymptote Architecture: Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture
Project Directors: Mick McConnell, Andrew Drummond
Project Managers: Theo Sarantoglou Lalis, Constantin Doehler, Matthew Utley
Project Team: Danny Abalos, Keehyun Ahn, Sebastian Andia, Bernardo Crespo, Greg Derrico, Reed
Finlay, , William Garcia, Armand Graham, Moritz Greiling, Justine Groves, John Guida, Kurt Hanzlik,
Robert Hendrick, Tyson Hosmer, Robert Ivanov, Jeremiah Joseph, Feby Kuriakose, David Lessard,
Sophie Luger, Brooks McDaniel, Jonathan Podborsek, Klaus Ransmayr, Ben Ritter, Greg Spaw, Ariane
Stracke, Kyle Stover,Tae-Hyung Park, Martin Zangerl, Christoph Ziegler
Assistants: Manca Ahlin, Phuttipan Askawool, Ali Baker, Christoph Boeckeler, Julie Bogdanowicz, Remi
Chevrillon, Cluadia Friesz, Hiroe Fujimoto, Daniel Angulo Garcia, Daniel Gillen, Avital Gourary, Richard
Heger, Katharina Hieger, Julia Hoins, Ji Young Kim, Siyoung Kim, Jonathan Kleinhample, Adam Koogler,
Rolando Lineros, Brendan Maloney, Mirai Morita, Tom Raymont, Friedrich Rohde, Sander Schuur, Greg
Spaw, Jeff Walker, Robert Wehinger, Michael Whalen, Ann Wright, Margaret Yoo

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Consultants
Local Architects: Dewan Architects & Engineers, Abu Dhabi Tilke & Partners W.L.L., Dubai
Structural Engineers: Dewan Architects & Engineers, Abu Dhabi ARUP, New York
Gridshell Engineers: Schlaich Bergermann und Partner (SBP), Stuttgart Waagner-Biro, Vienna
Gridshell Building Information Modeling (BIM) Consultant: Gehry Technologies, Los Angeles & New York
Gridshell Lighting Consultant: ARUP Lighting, New York, Amsterdam ( Rogier van der Heide, Brian Stacy
and Richard Fisher )
Façade Consultants: Front Inc., New York TAW & Partner, Hamburg
Link Bridge Engineers: ARUP Bridge, New York Centraal Staal, Groninge, The Netherlands
Interior Design: Consultants: Jestico + Whiles, London Richardson Sadeki, New York De8 Architetti,
Bergamo, Italy
Lighting Consultants: LAPD Lighting Design, Hertfordshire, UK Bartenbach LichtLabor GmbH,
Aldrans/Innsbruck, Austria Red Engineering Middle East, Dubai ARUP Lighting, New York
Gridshell Wind Engineers: Wacker-Ingenieure, Birkenfeld, Germany
Gridshell Node Housing Consultant: Billings Jackson Design, London
MEP Engineer: Red Engineering Middle East, Dubai, UAE
Landscape Design: Cracknell Landscape Architects, Abu Dhabi
Audio, Visual & I.T. Consultant: Cyber-Consult, Dubai
Traffic Consultant: WSP Middle East Ltd, Dubai
Water Feature & Pool Consultant: Belhasa Projects, LLC, Dubai
Fire Safety: Wagner Fire Safety Management Consultants, Dubai
Signage & Wayfinding Strategy: GS Fitch, Dubai
Vertical Transportation: VDA, New York
Security: Olive Group, Dubai
Kitchen & Laundry: Tricon Foodservice Consultants PLC, Dubai
Food & Beverage: Future Food, Dubai
Source: http://www.asymptote.net/buildings/yas-hotel/