Site visit: Rocco Forte Hotel, Abu Dhabi

The 'wave' or 'curve-like' shape of the Rocce Forte Hotel seen from the front elevation.

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Located on Plot 1, Sector West 68, the new Rocce Forte Hotel is within easy reach of downtown Abu Dhabi.

It is a mixed-use project comprising a 281-room, five-star hotel with a 30-shop boutique retail mall, spa, business centre and signature dining on a 30,000m² built-up area.

There are 247 standard guest rooms, two on the first floor for special needs, 18 junior suites, 12 executive suites and two royal or presidential suites. There are five restaurants, namely Italian, Brazilian, Asian fusion, Ye Olde dining and the Sky Bar.

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FEATURED COMMENT Interesting article about an unusual building but not a single word about the great interior created by KCA, who also cr   6 Comments Read more comments »

The hotel is close to such major facilities and tourist drawcards as ADNEC, Zayed Sports City and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, and is practically adjacent to the Al Bateen Executive Airport, making it an ideal stopover for business travelers.

“Abu Dhabi is expanding concentrically as its centre spreads outwards,” comments Nabil Habib, project director at Al Farida Investments, the owner and developer of the project.

Atkins was approached to develop the concept design, as well as produce the detailed design drawings and tender documentation, together with an overall project supervision role. “We were specifically involved with the architectural, MEP, structural and interior design,” explains Ben Thompson, Atkins head of communications for the Middle East.

The hotel comprises a triple-height main reception with ten typical floors above. A large podium sits adjacent, consisting of a retail area on the ground floor, together with a ballroom, business centre with meeting rooms, spa and restaurants. A large roof terrace sits on top of the podium, with landscaped areas, an outdoor swimming pool, pool bar and outdoor seating.

“The architecture is contemporary in the form of a long, fluid glass structure. Its impressive elevation is a harmonic play of coloured glass mosaic, creating a dynamic, flowing skin, combining various lively colours and tones. The mosaic effect, along with the winding glass elevations, breaks up the big building mass, and creates a dynamic elevation,” comments Thompson.

The main feature of the building is an 11-storey glass atrium at one end of the hotel, housing the all-day dining facilities. This atrium also encloses an oyster-shaped ‘sky bar’ suspended at mid-height on the sixth floor.

Atkins senior project manager Iraklis Andreakis explains how the design and engineering consultancy refined the striking design of the project. “There have been enhancements to the building,” he says. According to the original renderings, while the main façade has remained the same distinctive feature, the atrium itself changed.

“Originally there was a forest of steel structures, which would not be very pleasing for a person sitting in the bar to look out on, so we got rid of all this. Our specialist design team from the UK devised six steel columns to carry the free-standing glass, whereas before it was supported by this spiderweb of steel structures that was almost like scaffolding.”

“We took the underlying concept, procured by TDIC and the developer, and we took it forward to design. This changed, and the sky bar has become much bigger. The geometries remain the same, with minor internal adjustments made according to the requirements of the operator to enhance revenue,” says Andreakis.

“If you look at the layout, it gives you the main characteristic of this building, which is a ‘curvy’ or ‘wavy’ structure. This is great to look at, but from a construction point of view it multiplies the problems. We like to say there are no straight lines. We like a building to be straight, comprising boxes and rectangles, but here everything is ‘wavy’. Even the room dimensions change according to the undulating building shape,” says Andreakis.

“That complicates everything, especially MEP in terms of the ducting and plumbing, as you cannot go straight and have branches to each room, but have to follow the geometry.

The steel columns in the atrium holding up the free-standing glass are 48m in height, manufactured locally in Sharjah. Each column was divided into two, with the first section fixed and the second precision-lifted into place with a 50t crane. The columns, which take the load of the glass, themselves have an organic design with large openings adding to the panoramic views.

“The Sky Bar is cantilevered by a steel structure. Safety integrity is in place; it can take the worst-case scenario in terms of loads.” This ‘floating’ effect creates a particular ambiance for the aprons, enhanced by the extensive views.