Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Event capacity of 1,750
Over Stage Engineering
Events, Exhibitions & Conferences
When the prestigious five star Le Meridien Hotel in Dubai was extended, J&C Joel designed, manufactured and installed nine motorised timber shutters. These were manufactured from wenge wood, that could be raised and lowered to ‘diffuse’ direct sunlight into the hotel’s new restaurant and foyer area.
The architectural concept was for the shutters to be made from a distinctive dark hardwood that appeared unsupported within each window reveal. The nine shutters were required to be various sizes. The largest measured 6.5 metres wide by 5.8 metres high and weighed almost 1,800kg.
The J&C Joel Project Team worked in conjunction with a specialist UK joinery company to produce a modular frame design. The team assembled and inspected each frame off-site before dismantling it for transportation.
Temperature-controlled containers then transported the frames off-site before dismantling it for transportation.
Each timber panel has steel rods hidden within the main vertical timbers to ensure the overall load is transferred to a structural steel member at the head of the frame. Each panel section had to be installed so that they fitted together perfectly for maximum aesthetic effect and with great care to ensure no damage to the timber members.
The system uses a double-braked, twin-wire hoist assembly for each individual panel. The hoist operates 10mm diameter steel suspension cables, which run around ball-raced diversion pulleys.
The cables then pass through specially designed penetrations in the concrete roof slab. Finally, they terminate horizontally within the structural steel member, keeping the entire lifting system completely concealed.
