Dubai Pearl Hotel & Apartments

2003 | Conceptual
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

SVA Durban /Johannesburg
Team: Ivor Daniel, Kevan Mosses, Tom Steer, Francesco Coppola, Gina Walker

The Dubai Pearl for Mövenpick Hotels was conceived as the catalytic project within a larger mixed-use city development, establishing a landmark destination and defining a new urban identity. The brief called for a luxury all-suite hotel that would serve as both a world-class hospitality destination and a prominent visual marker within Dubai’s evolving skyline.

The key challenge was accommodating 680 suites within a high-rise structure while maximising coastal views and maintaining a strong architectural presence at an urban scale. The building also needed to integrate complex hotel functions, long-stay accommodation, premium guest facilities, and public amenities within a coherent vertical organisation.

A triangular tower plan was developed to optimise oblique sea views for most suites while creating a distinctive crystalline form. A layered glass curtain wall integrates façade and environmental systems, reinforcing transparency and lightness at scale. Programmatic zones are expressed vertically, with public areas at the base, accommodation above, and exclusive club, presidential, and dining facilities at the upper levels. A glazed dome, the symbolic “Pearl of Dubai,” crowns the tower.

Rising 350 metres, the hotel establishes a landmark that combines luxury hospitality with a strong urban presence. Its sculpted form, panoramic outlook, and integrated façade system create a distinctive addition to Dubai’s skyline.