SO/ Uptown Dubai
SO/ Uptown Dubai, the first of its kind in the Middle East, is a contemporary luxury lifestyle hotel that brilliantly blends energy, glamour, and the Utopian dreams of Dubai. The hotel's interiors are a celebration of avant-garde art, seamlessly integrating art into every space, creating a distinct identity while maintaining a cohesive theme.
Industry: Hospitality
Year: 2023
Location: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Services: Full Service Art Consultancy & Art Production
Featured artists: Alex Raynaud, Aziza Iqbal, Lama Khatib Daniel, Loreta Bilinskaite-Monie, Lubna Abdelaziz
No. of artists engaged: 6
Total no. of artworks: 655
Total no. of accessories: 227
This joint submission by Woods Bagot and Capsule Arts showcases the hotel's innovative approach to art integration, offering an emotionally enriching journey that fosters curiosity and intrigue. The complex and unexpected artworks, coupled with cutting-edge techniques, set a new standard for contemporary luxury hotels, making SO/ Uptown Dubai a trailblazer in the region's hospitality landscape.
From the moment you step through the doors of SO/ Uptown Dubai you enter an unexpectedworld where you're immersed in a kaleidoscopic experience that transcends boundaries.Immediately you're taken on a captivating journey through nature that stimulates the senses-origami birds flutter and disappear against a surreal and vivid density of lush foliage and renaissance blooms, setting the tone for a unique and enchanting stay.
This sophisticated and awe-inspiring masterpiece defies conventions with its bold and enthralling design. Enchasing the lobby's imposing columns, the artwork reaches 10 metres high and uses lenticular technology. This allows the viewer's eye to concurrently view alternating sections of multiple images. It's this effect that gives the appearance of birds in flight moving across the landscape as you view the artwork from different angles.
Towards the lifts, guests move through a tunnel like space where at the end a sculpture of abroad figure inspired by Laocoön–a legend in Greek and Roman mythology, emerges from the stone.
For the Ballroom and Pre-function areas, artworks reimagine traditional architecture into wondrous compositions. Artist Alex Raynaud created digital artworks exploring layers of time, echoing kaleidoscopic visuals by distorting overlapping architectural elements. This effect was emphasised with 3D cut layers creating depth and intrigue.Adorning the walls and ceiling of the ballroom are classic European architecture drawings, blended with Islamic geometry in a modern connection of cultures. The outcome gives the space a feeling that is contemporary and ancient at the same time. A place where past and present are aligned and coexisting.
Servicing this area are the public washrooms where time and space is warped, momentarily distorting your sense of reality as you enter the room. At the centre of a swirling vortex is a wall clock installation, a nod to the surrealist pioneer Salvator Dali who transcended the art world with his foray into fashion.Upon entering the Spa, the artwork empowers an emotional transition that takes you from wild and playful to calm and centred. Directional lines form an organic composition that resembles a natural landscape, while textures and layers unveil themselves as you get closer changing perceptions.
As guests retreat to their rooms, their journey leads them to unexpected secret passages where they are greeted by a female visage that plays with symmetry and female image through deconstruction, morphing classical beauty and contemporary fashion.
Entering the corridors, doors are mysteriously concealed by splashes of gold and classical statues transform into modern polygonal figures. This visually captivating display creates a defining moment in the guest’s hotel experience as it invites viewers to participate in a catwalk exhibit, echoing the hotel's commitment to creating an immersive and experiential space.
6
artists were engaged in this project
50%
of artists are based in the UAE
83%
of artists are based in GCC
17%
of artists are based internationally
“As a Brand, SO/ Hotels focus on the world of fashion, design and theatre. Capsule Arts fully understood this and have created a modern masterpiece with so many touch points throughout the property that seamlessly link with our sense of eclectic style and surprise our guests at every moment throughout their stay with us.
Capsule Arts understands that guests are looking for something different, they’re looking for authentic hotels that tell a story, they don’t want the cookie cutter experience that you can find in many properties.
My favourite part of this guest journey is our lobby, the moment you step into the hotel your breath is taken away, you find yourself immersed in a kaleidoscope of shapes and figures, from graceful origami birds, impressive columns that seem to rise up out of the ground and take you on a journey through nature, you immediately know that you are somewhere unique and want to explore more.”
Daniel Kingston
General Manager at SO/ Uptown Dubai