The Making of CIEL TOWER

The idea behind The CIEL Tower is to create an iconic landmark that will redefine mid-luxury hospitality and offer guests an unparalleled experience. The tower will feature a unique design, with a sleek and modern exterior that will make it a distinctive addition to Dubai’s skyline. Talking about the idea behind it, Rob Burns, CEO at The First Group, said: “The ambition behind the project is to create a world-class hospitality destination that will attract visitors from around the world. The tower will offer a range of luxury amenities, including high-end restaurants, a spa, an infinity pool, and observation decks that offer stunning views of the city. In addition, the tower will have more than 1,000 hotel rooms and suites, making it one of the largest hotels in the world.”

The CIEL Tower is not just a building, but a symbol of Dubai’s ambition to push the boundaries of what is possible. Burns said that the project represents the city’s commitment to innovation, creativity, and excellence, and is set to become a global icon that showcases the best of what Dubai has to offer.

Design philososhy “Ciel is the centrepiece of our fastgrowing portfolio of world-class hotels that set new industry benchmarks in the UAE,” said Burns, adding that from a design perspective, Ciel is undoubtedly the group’s largest and most complex development to date. “The building itself encapsulates the power of Integrated Design – a multi-layered, simultaneous process necessary in the creation of complex superstructures.”

Designed in conjunction with their long-term architectural partner, NORR, Ciel boasts a number of innovative features, including a stunning rooftop Sky Terrace situated on the 81st floor that will house an infinity pool and observation deck, providing guests with panoramic views of Dubai’s skyline, the Palm Jumeirah and Arabian Gulf. Another standout feature is the hotel’s 300-metre-tall interior atrium that boasts vertically stacked landscaped and naturally ventilated terraces, which will provide occupants with shared communal and interactive space. The design itself has received global praise, with the hotel winning 2019 Inter-

Palace In The Sky

1,000 HOTEL SUITES

11 RESTAURANTS

LUXURY SPA & FITNESS CENTRE (LEVEL 61)

SKY TERRACE & INFINITY POOL (LEVEL

tallest hotel, they also recognise its longterm commercial potential, particularly in light of Dubai’s reputation as one of the world’s most important hotel investment markets and tourism destinations.

Dubai’s hotel sector has gone from strength to strength over the past decade, driven by year-on-year growth in visitor arrivals and the city’s status as the Middle East’s most advanced business and investment hub. According to the latest full-year data published by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, Dubai’s hotel industry reported strong year-on-year growth across all key performance metrics in 2022, with occupied room nights rising 19 per cent, RevPAR up 30 per cent, and the average daily rate increasing to 19 per cent.

“This level of growth positions Dubai among the world’s best-performing hotel markets, which helps explain the level of interest we have received from investors keen to tap into Ciel’s potential as one of the city’s most remarkable new hotel investment opportunities,” he added.

Timeline for the project

“We are making great progress in the construction of Ciel and are firmly on track to open the property officially in early 2024. Despite the challenges presented by Covid-19 to the construction sector since mid-2020, work on Ciel continued unabated throughout the pandemic. This feat is a testament to the commitment and dedication of the project’s design and construction teams,” said Burns.

national Property Awards (IPAs) for ‘Best International Hotel Architecture’, ‘Best Hotel Architecture Arabia’ and ‘Best Residential High-rise Architecture Arabia’.

Ciel also received the top prize in four major categories at the 2019-20 Dubai, Africa and Arabia Property Awards: ‘Hotel Architecture’; ‘New Hotel Construction and Design’; ‘Commercial High-rise Development’; and ‘Residential High-rise Architecture’.

Building the hype

Initially, Ciel’s status as one of Dubai’s newest architectural icons and the world’s tallest hotel will help cement

its reputation as a favourite among guests when it opens in 2024. However, in the longer term, Burns said that the group is confident it will be Ciel’s service standards, world-class guest amenities and unbeatable value for money that will drive guest loyalty and establish it as one of the city’s most successful mid-luxury hotels and a popular lifestyle destination in its own right.

“As one of the UAE’s fastest-growing hotel operators, this unbeatable combination of qualities has proven key to the success of our portfolio to date,” he added. Stressing his point, Burns gave the example of The First Collection in Jumei-

rah Village Circle, their award-winning lifestyle hotel in Jumeirah Village. “Last year, it was named one of the world’s 25 hottest hotels by TripAdvisor, the world’s largest independent traveller reviews website, in its annual ‘Best of the Best Travellers’ Choice Awards. It was the only hotel operating in the Middle East and Africa to feature on the list.”

Investing in the project

Burns said that the group has received unprecedented levels of interest from local and international clients keen to invest in Ciel. While they are drawn to the building’s headline status as the world’s

The group marked the halfway point in Ciel’s construction in January 2022 and made good progress in completing the building’s exterior. Currently, the group is focused on its interior fit-out.

When completed, Ciel will offer more than 1,000 guest rooms and suites, along with premium guest amenities and facilities, such as the Ciel Observatory and Lounge on the 81st floor and its signature rooftop Sky Terrace mentioned earlier.

The hotel will also feature a range of specialty F&B outlets, including a soonto-be-announced signature restaurant, a Sunset Lounge on the 74th floor. “Ciel is one of the most exciting new hotels in Dubai and the world, and we are eagerly looking forward to welcoming our first guests in 2024,” concluded Burns.

Ciel Tower Wasn’t Supposed To Be The World’s Tallest Hotel, Until It Became One

Innovative architecture and engineering are leading to the rise of another iconic skyscraper in Dubai. While this one will complement the skyline, it promises to stand out as a unique addition to this growing city

will be the tallest hotel in the world at over 365 metres in height. Literally reaching for the sky, this tower will have 1,000 hotel rooms, bespoke restaurants, landscaped terraces with leisure facilities and swimming pools, a dramatic oceanfacing infinity pool located at level 76, and an observation deck at level 82.

“When we started the design effort on Ciel, it wasn’t to construct the tallest hotel. However, during the design process, over the course of four or five months, as we added atrium gardens and a tower top visitors’ observation deck, we realised that we were fast becoming the tallest hotel in the world,” said Jan, during an interview at his studio in Festival City, Dubai.

“Over a two-year period, we produced thousands of hand-sketches that tested ideas and refined concepts for the tower. In our 3d-printing lab, we made hundreds of models and prototypes. We studied the influence of wind in shaping the tower and the need to bend glass for the exterior envelope of the building. The fact is the design of super-tall buildings, towers over 300 metres in height, is complex. For these types of buildings, clearly defined guiding principles in engineering and architecture are needed to ensure the result is true to the concept,” explains Jan.

Ciel reflects Jan’s design philosophy of combining architecture and engineering, of ‘finding the intersection of art and science’.

And Jan has a passion for combining landscape and architecture. Vertical and horizontal, Jan’s designs combine urban density with natural landscapes.

than the integration of architecture and engineering, our challenge was to bring landscape and the natural environment, in the form of gardens, into a vertical structure.”

Suneeti Ahuja-Kohli

The story of Ciel, which will be the world’s tallest hotel upon completion next year, reads as a narrative in ingenuity. At its core, the design represents the successful convergence of art and science.

If it wasn’t for the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-08, the plot of land now housing Ciel would have been constructed as a residential building with a completely different look and feel. The original plan was to construct a rectangle-shaped tower on the plot. The construction of this building, however, stopped as the world economy stalled. The plan to build a tower was resurrected a decade later, in 2017, when The First Group took on the role of developer for the plot.

This latest landmark in the Dubai skyline is designed by Yahya Jan, President and Design Director of NORR Group, a Canadian architecture and engineering firm with a studio in Dubai.

“We received a call from The First Group, a developer we have great respect for and for whom we have designed and delivered hotels over the past 15 years. They asked us to study the possibility for a hotel on the property,” said Jan.

“It was a challenging project to begin with, particularly because of the size of the project and shape of the plot. But after four weeks of study, we proposed a design that was unique in meeting the goals of a signature hotel tower. As a result, we were appointed as the chief architects and engineers for this project.”

Ciel, which means ‘sky’ in French,

UNDERSTANDING AND DELIVERING EXPECTATIONS

Two decades of providing pre and post contract cost management services on projects ranging from small and mixed used large developments

In Jan’s designs, this sensibility is much like his studio in Dubai’s Festival City, where the neatly designed wood tables are interspersed with trees, natural light flooding throughout the space. “We are fascinated with bringing nature into our projects. We love towers and we love trees. Our design for Ciel combines these sensibilities.”

Sustainability and environmental response are key drivers in Jan’s work. In terms of operational energy consumption, Ciel is designed to be 30 per cent more efficient than the ASHRAE guidelines for this building type, making it a very efficient building throughout its life cycle. “Our team has put more than 150,000 hours into designing Ciel. More than half of these are in environmental engineering and structural design by our inhouse team,” said Jan, adding, “Other

This unusual tower features 12 oceanfacing gardens, vertically stacked over each other; each garden eight-storeys in height. “These atrium gardens are places where people come together. Our goal is to provide hotel guests with a variety of spaces for relaxation and to foster a sense of community. The trees and bamboo green walls in these gardens are irrigated with recycled and treated water that would otherwise have been wasted after use. And these spaces are naturally ventilated, with computer-controlled louvers, allowing the exterior ambient air into these gardens.

Other than Ciel, Jan and his team have been responsible for the design of landmark buildings in the UAE and the region. Over the past 27 years, Jan’s projects in the Middle East include the Emirates Towers, Shangri La, and Vida Residence towers in Dubai, Avenues shopping mall and Trade Centre in Kuwait, and the Al Hitmi project in Doha.

“For me, the real challenge in design is the willingness to look at things from first principles, to really ask the dumb questions, and to treat each challenge as unique.” The design of Ciel illustrates Jan’s ‘First Principle’ thinking. “Wind is one of the primary drivers in the structural engineering of super tall buildings. The tapered form and shaping of Ciel, including the cutout at the top of the tower, which we sometimes call the eye of the needle, is designed to reduce wind load for economy and user comfort.”

Jan’s daily routine is fluid. “My work is my passion. In some ways, I have never worked a day in my life. Because what I do is truly my purpose.”

“Over the past few decades, Dubai has become an amazingly exciting place — a highly competitive testing ground for innovative ideas in the design of buildings. As a result, architects, engineers, and contractors have learnt techniques that allow for fast-track construction and cost efficiency,’” says Jan. In many ways, Ciel is a testament to Dubai’s prowess in innovative design and construction — in pushing boundaries and challenging our imagination.

A Brand Apart

a 78-storey, 365m tower that is the tallest hotel-only building in the world, this is a prestigious project which ads another feather in their cap.

T o successfully manage and control construction costs on projects, it is essential that the Cost Consultant is appointed at the earliest stage of design, ideally at the preliminary conceptual phase. HQS Cost Management (HQS) has a long-standing relationship with The First Group, the developer of Ciel and was appointed as the Cost Consultant at the beginning of the design effort. HQS has also worked closely with NORR Group, the design architects and engineers of Ciel, on a number of projects. For Ciel, the process of managing the cost during design was already well established. Various procurement options for the main contractor were explored to ensure that cost risks were managed within agreed parameters. Implementing a rigorous cost control process was especially important to mitigate unexpected challenges related to the global pandemic and its associated supply chain issues. Working closely with the Ciel team, HQS studied value engineering ideas that controlled cost without compromising the project’s design intent and stated quality. With the construction phase nearing completion, HQS

is proud to be associated with the project and deliver to the expectations of The First Group. HQS has been in the Middle East for over twenty years, providing pre-contract and post-contract cost management services. HQS is a boutique firm that works closely with clients to understand and deliver on their expectations without compromising the quality of the built work. Projects undertaken range from interior fit-out projects to large mixeduse developments. Projects in Abu Dhabi include Qasr Al Watan (Presidential Palace), Al Wathba Resort, ADCOP and IPIC Square.

Projects in Dubai include LIV Marina, Jewel of the Creek, Swiss International Scientific School and the recently completed Opus. Projects in the Northern Emirates include Sharjah English School, RAK Bank Head Office, and ADCOP Staff Accommodation.

In Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, recent projects include Ajdan Rise and Fairmont Hotel. In Oman, Dhofar Beach Resort Salalah and Muscat Plaza Hotel. Other regions where work has been undertaken by HQS include Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, India and the United Kingdom.

Specwall has contributed significantly in the making of the CIEL Tower, the latest addition to Dubai’s skyline, is an architectural marvel that has challenged engineering limits at several levels

Specwall is an advanced interior and exterior wall system with inherent insulation, acoustic and fire ratings in the form of a lightweight solid A1- and A2-rated panels which exceed current fire safety regulations and are ready to decorate. In the making of the Ciel Tower, the world’s tallest hotel, standing at 78 storeys and 365m which is located in Dubai Marina, projected to reset the global luxury hotel market, Specwall was chosen to replace drywall and blockwork in the development following the main client and contractor being impressed with the system after visits to existing sites. Specwall got involved with the CIEL Tower project in 2021. Their panels were specified for 72 floors of the development, as well as the ground floor and the basement.

The ground floor to the ninth floor is reserved for parking and presented some challenges due to the varying size of the wall panels needed thanks to different heights and curved sections. Specwall was perfect for this as it can easily be cut to any size and shape –a quality which also helped in the basement where wall heights were between 5m and 7m.

From the ninth to the 16th floor, CIEL Tower is made up of amenities, including a bar and infinity pool, and maintenance space. Specwall panels are inherently resistant to all types of damage, including from water, making

them an ideal choice for these spaces.

Finally, the rest of the floors also benefitted from Specwall’s versatility due to the egg shape of the building. The ease of cutting Specwall at any angle made it a simple, effective solution to meet the specification of the building. CIEL Tower is an important project for Specwall and the manufacturer, TSSC. As

Working on Ciel Tower was an exciting technical challenge, which Specwall was perfectly suited to. Its lightweight panel system were designed, produced, supplied and installed to measure and fulfilled the complex design brief.

Specwall offers CIEL Tower inherent insulation and fire safety values, as well as coming with high acoustic performance which was supplemented by acoustic panels on the internal walls.

The company appreciates and thanks The First Group, NORR and China Railway for the support and confidence entrusted by them in Specwall as a solution to expedite the construction process.

The trend towards greener, more sustainable construction is becoming more urgent, especially in the UAE where both the government and private enterprise has recognised the key role the built environment plays in resource usage and the transition to Net Zero Carbon.

As technology advances, many developers are looking to reduce their environmental footprint as far as possible and create sustainable buildings. Products like Specwall are vital for this.

Specwall panels, manufactured in the Middle East by TSSC, have an extremely high fire safety rating, send only two per cent of material to landfill, reduce the amount of emissions produced during construction and can be 100 per cent recycled. Furthermore, they can be demounted, moved and re-used on site if the floor layout changes, and during construction all off-cuts can be reused in situ.

Using Specwall is an easy way of increasing your building’s environmental rating, reducing its embodied emissions, cutting waste and ensuring that your project is future proof for both occupiers and future buyers. Its system enables you to improve your structure and cut costs at the same time.

Yahya Jan President and Design Director of NORR Group

Sunil Sukumaran, Managing Director at HQS

Amr Al Bawab

Chief Construction

Officer at Ciel, talks about the construction of the world’s tallest hotel and how it is a culmination of the group’s work

Ciel, the latest addition to Dubai’s skyline, is an architectural marvel that has challenged engineering limits at several levels. Amr Al Bawab, Chief Construction Officer, Ciel said that building superstructures of this type has traditionally presented considerable engineering and construction challenges. However, he feels that computational modelling technology has advanced considerably in the past decade. In conceiving Ciel’s architectural design, the tower’s shape was heavily influenced by wind tunnel and computational fluid dynamic modeling to reduce wind loads on the structure itself. The project management team is also employing collaborative technologies that aid workflows during the building’s construction phase. Al Bawab said: “These innovations have helped accelerate Ciel’s construction timeline, streamline processes, and drive operational efficiencies while reducing overall costs.”

Elaborating on his role in the construction of Ciel and how special the project was for him, he said: “As Chief Construction Officer, my role is to bring together all the respective teams involved in Ciel’s construction and development, while ensuring that everything operates smoothly, and that the construction process remains on schedule and within the project’s budget.”

Ciel is the largest and most ambitious project undertaken at The First Group to date, and while it has presented several challenges, the group’s nearly twodecade record of building large-scale residential towers and hotels in Dubai has fully prepared them for a project of this size and scope.

Architect’s Playground

values, and this trend has continued into 2023. Abu Dhabi also enjoyed a strong year in terms of property sales. International investors are always eyeing new opportunities in the UAE thanks to its reputation as a safe destination for investment and the country’s position as the region’s second-largest economy.”

Dubai’s hotel sector also continues to post record growth, driven by the increase in visitor arrivals. The city’s hotel development pipeline remains very strong. “In addition to Ciel, we have other significant hotel projects under development in Business Bay and Jumeirah Village and are actively identifying new opportunities in key areas of Dubai,” he added.

Key to motivation

Looking back at his career, Al Bawab said:

“Having the right work environment has a great impact on my motivation, whether it’s related to the team I am leading or the executive team I am part of. My passion for setting targets and driving results, while overcoming challenges, gives me a true sense of achievement. Additionally, my desire to help my team members and others within the organization to reach their potential is a reason that keeps me looking forward to coming into work every day.”

“As the world’s tallest hotel, Ciel is generating significant buzz globally and has helped shine a spotlight not only on Dubai as one of the world’s hottest hotel markets, but also on our reputation as a developer of world-class hotel projects. It is a very special project for us as an organisation, and I am extremely proud and honoured to be playing a role in its development,” he added.

Role of technology

Al Bawab said that the project manage-

ment team has employed several collaborative technologies that have aided workflows during the building’s construction phase. “For instance, they have used Oracle’s Aconex cloud-based operation management platform, which each stakeholder in the development has access to.

“The Aconex platform has enabled each party to create, review, and modify documents, drawings, and other vital data in real-time. The software has made it far easier and simpler to track and control processes, from design and construc-

tion to signoff and completion.”

CAD software was employed during the development of the tower’s architectural design and conceptual phases. The design team also used software for renders and 3D visualisation tasks.

Outlook on property and construction market in the UAE

Al Bawab said the outlook for both markets is very positive. “Dubai’s property market marked its best-ever year in 2022 in terms of sales transactions and overall

On the aspect of Dubai becoming an architect’s playground, he said : “Dubai’s reputation in this respect is not new. The city’s skyline has long been renowned for featuring some of the world’s most impressive and technically challenging architecture. In this sense, we are confident that Ciel will become an icon of Dubai, not just because of its size and scope but also because of its pioneering design. Innovative features include the observation deck with panoramic views of Dubai’s skyline, the Palm Jumeirah, and Arabian Gulf on the 81st floor and a rooftop infinity pool and bar on the 76th floor.”

Another standout design feature is found in the building’s interior, which is composed of vertically stacked atrium gardens featuring trees and extensive green walls that span the entire height of the tower.

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