Housing the new ME Dubai hotel, Opus design explores the balance between solid and void, opaque and transparent, interior and exterior. Spanning 84,300m2 the Opus building was designed as two separate towers that coalesce into a singular whole—taking the form of a cube. The cube has been ‘eroded’ in its centre, creating a free-form void that is an important volume of the design in its own right. The two halves of the building on either side of the void are linked by a four-storey atrium at ground level and also connected by an asymmetric 38 metre wide, three-storey bridge 71 metres above the ground. The cube’s double-glazed insulating facades incorporate a UV coating and a mirrored frit pattern to reduce solar gain. Applied around the entire building, this dotted frit patterning emphasizes the clarity of the building’s orthogonal form, while at the same time, dissolving its volume through the continuous play of light varying between ever-changing reflections and transparency. The void’s 6,000m2 facade is created from 4,300 individual units of flat, single-curved or double-curved glass. The ME Dubai hotel incorporates 74 rooms and 19 suites, while the Opus building also houses offices floors, serviced residences and 12 restaurants, cafes and bars including ROKA, the contemporary Japanese robatayaki restaurant and the MAINE Land Brasserie. Furniture by Zaha Hadid Design is installed throughout the Opus’ lobby, guest lounges, and bedrooms. The bedrooms also incorporate the Vitae bathroom collection, designed by Hadid in 2015 for Noken Porcelanosa, continuing her fluid architectural language throughout the hotel’s interiors.