RCR Arquitectes unveils plans for "unusually narrow" skyscraper in Dubai

Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning studio RCR Arquitectes has revealed its design for the 380-metre-high Muraba Veil skyscraper in downtown Dubai, which will only be one apartment wide.

Set to be built alongside Dubai's main highway and the Dubai Canal, the skyscraper will have a unique form with a wide main facade and only a 22.5-metre width. Described as "unusually narrow" by the team, the skyscraper's form was designed to grab people's attention.

"Awe-inspiring yet understated, Muraba Veil rises from the dunes above the UAE's most cosmopolitan and future-facing city, presenting a daring, stop-you-in-your tracks spectacle, even in Dubai's supercharged architectural vista," said the team.

"The structure, whose unusually narrow profile and appearance could only be achieved by the very latest design and engineering, is inspired by a domestic architecture that is centuries old, traditionally seeking to meet basic human needs for refuge, security, privacy and a close connection to nature."

Designed by Spanish studio RCR Arquitectes for Dubai-based developer Muraba, the 73-storey skyscraper will contain 131 apartments that all span the width of the building, giving them views in both directions.

Alongside the apartments, the tower will contain a spa, restaurant, art gallery, padel court, meeting rooms, a private cinema and a "dune-like" communal space at its base.

The entire building will be wrapped in a stainless steel mesh, or veil, which gives the development its name.

According to the team, the design of the apartment was informed by typical local houses, each arranged around an "Arab courtyard reimagined".

"We are passionate about ensuring our buildings are responsive to the place, that they belong to the site and the native landscape where they are situated," said RCR Arquitectes founder Rafael Aranda.

"They must communicate with nature and be infused with the atmosphere of the local culture."

The Muraba Veil will add to the collection of unique skyscrapers in Dubai. Earlier this year Japanese studio Nikken Sekkei's skyscraper with a 230-metre-long skybridge was named Dezeen readers' favourite new skyscraper.

Other recently completed skyscrapers in the city include a pair of residential towers overlooking Dubai Bay by Foster + Partners, while Mercedes-Benz recently unveiled its first branded residential skyscraper in the city.

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