British architect and designer, Tom Wright is best known as the designer of the 7-star hotel Burj Al Arab in Dubai. He also designed Capital Gate in Abu Dhabi, which is the most inclined tower in the world and the Ribbon of Light in Iran.
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About Tom Wright
Tom Wright was born on 18 September, 1957 in Croydon, a town in Greater London, United Kingdom. He studied at the Royal Russell School and later at the Kingston University School of Architecture. Having graduated in 1983, Wright went on to become a director of the architectural practice Lister Drew Haines Barrow, which was taken over in 1991 by Atkins, for whom he has worked since then. Wright became design director for the Jumeirah Beach Resort, Dubai and from 1993 to 1999 he designed the Burj Al Arab (Tower of the Arabs) was conceived in October 1993. The aim was to create an icon for Dubai: a building that would become synonymous with the area, as the Sydney Opera House is with Sydney and the Eiffel Tower is with Paris.
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The hotel is built in the shape of a modern yacht sail to reflect Dubai′s seafaring heritage combined with a modern aspect moving forwards into the future. Since 1999 Tom Wright has continued to work for Atkins as Head of Architecture from the Atkins H.Q. in Epsom, London. Here he has assisted design projects for some of the most prestigious international clients. The current portfolio includes work throughout Australasia, the Far East, the Middle East, Europe and the USA. Example projects include the Al-Rajhi Tower in Riyadh, and the Lakeside Hotel, Tunisia. In October 2013 Tom Wright left Atkins with two other design directors, Hakim Khennouchi and Geku Kuruvilla, to create a new practice WKK.
Info source: https://upclosed.com/people/tom-wright/
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The Works That Made Him Famous
- Burj Al Arab, Dubai
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The Burj al Arab (or the Tower of the Arabs) with its 321 meters of height is one of the tallest hotels in the world. It is the symbol of Dubai and of the shameless wealth of this Emirate. Its construction began in 1994 and ended in 1999 and it was not free from design difficulties. The Burj al-Arab with its unusual “sailing” shape is the success of a team of architects who had the task of designing one of the best hotels in the world for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The hotel is located on an artificial island connected by a bridge of 280 meters, its height of 320 meters makes it the 2nd highest hotel in the world after the Rose Tower also in Dubai. The hotel is equipped with a heliport where in 2005 a tennis court was set up at the height of 211 meters above sea level for a show between the two champions Roger Federer and Andrè Agassi. All rooms are suites and have variable surfaces.
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The main facade of the Burj Al-Arab is made of Teflon-coated textile material, and the Burj Al-Arab is the only Hotel that boasts seven stars. Gold 22 carats, precious fabrics and Carrara and Brazilian marble, cover every corner of this marvelous building. At night, at intervals of 15 minutes, the hotel changes color through a sophisticated lighting system designed to create a scenic effect but in order not to annoy the guests staying inside. The hotel also has a restaurant at sea level surrounded by an immense aquarium. During its construction has totaled 3 records: the first is that of the building with the largest atrium in the world, then that of the building covered by the largest canvas in the world while the third record is that of the only hotel to boast seven stars. In addition to the various records, the Burj Al-Arab also boasts the highest atrium in the world, a mere 181 meters. A curiosity: 90 of the hotel’s 200 suites were booked by model Naomi Campbell to host guests at her birthday.
Info source: http://educazionetecnica.dantect.it/2013/12/08/la-vela-delle-meraviglie-burj-al-arab/
- Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi
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Capital Gate, is the most inclined tower in the world and it is built in the Emirati city of Abu Dhabi. It is a leaning tower, like the Tower of Pisa, although in this case the inclination is intentional. It has an inclination of 18 degrees, almost four times higher than the Tower of Pisa, and has just been named by the Guinness World Record “the most leaning building in the world”. Capital Gate has several uses and many potentialities to show: on one hand, it hosts a five-star hotel in the Hyatt chain, essential in any project of great importance like this one; on the other, it becomes the seat of the most luxurious offices of the Arab emirate: every political meeting and will be organized in the most inclined tower in the world. The floors of the Capital Gate are vertically stacked up to the 12th floor; up to the top there is a gradual offset from 30 to 140 cm, which enhances the impressive inclination of the Tower. The building also has other innovative technical-constructive features, including the world’s first known use of a ‘pre-curved core‘, which contains more than 15,000 cubic meters of reinforced concrete reinforced with 10,000 tons of steel.
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The core, deliberately built a little out of center in the opposite direction to that of the building, has been straightened with increasing height of the building and positioned vertically with the variation of the center of gravity and with the increase in weight of the floors added. The external structure consists of a very strong exo-skeleton, called “the diagrid“, a diagonal steel mesh that carries all the weight of the floors and avoids the internal dimensions of pillars or beams. The façade is double glazed to achieve greater energy efficiency. The exhaust air is pre-cooled between the internal and external façade in order to reduce the energy consumption of the building by recycling the used air. The glass used on the facade of the tower is low emissivity. It has been designed to keep the inside of the building cool and eliminate reflections, while maintaining the transparency of the façade. Stainless steel ‘splash‘ is a shading device that eliminates more than 30% of the sun’s heat before it reaches the building, resulting in savings on the need for cooling inside the building.
What Are The Main Characteristics Of His Style Of Architecture?
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Tom Wright took this opportunity with both hands on several occasions and created some of the world’s most famous buildings like the Burj Al Arab. Tom wright markets himself and his designs in many ways through many forms of media. He has been depicted on television shows as people talk about the buildings he has designed and how these buildings are so iconic and magnificent. He also has a website called WKK architects as he left Atkins and started another business with to other partners.
Info source: http://tomwrightinspireddesigns.blogspot.com/
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