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Abu Dhabi Hyatt to Put Leaning Tower of Pisa to Shame

January 29, 2009 at 10:55 AM | by JetSetCD | 6 Comments

Move over, Dubai. Your close neighboring city to the west is getting serious on their friendly competition for tourist dollars. Abu Dhabi is not content with their reputation as a business city in the shadow of Dubai, and to prove it they are having a little fun with their architecture and casting their own funky shadow.

Opening later this year is the 200-room, 5-star Hyatt at Capital Gate, which will not only be Hyatt's first Abu Dhabi hotel but will also hold a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Oddly positioned as the "World's Most Inclined Tower," it will lean four times as far as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It won't simply inch further than Pisa, but will blow it out of the water by leaning a heavy 18 degrees to Pisa's measly 4.

Because of the organic shape of the structure, RMJM Architects have conceived of making the panes of glass as diamond-shaped panels, each one different and placed just so to keep the illusion of a leaning structure. Don't worry about the wind and earthquakes with this one, however, as it's got all the modern precautions that the Leaning Tower of Pisa lacks.

Another larger picture is after the jump.

[Photos: RMJM Architects]

6 Comments

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Return to » Abu Dhabi Hyatt to Put Leaning Tower of Pisa to Shame

  1. bangerang

    HotelChatter Member

    yes!

    i cant wait for this hotel to be delayed like 50 times!
    January 29, 2009 at 11:57 AM
    #Permalink

  1. Jenna

    HotelChatter Member

    guh

    that building freaks me out.
    January 29, 2009 at 4:06 PM
    #Permalink

  1. Extended Checkout

    HotelChatter Member

    no!

    is this thing even under construction yet?
    January 29, 2009 at 4:09 PM
    #Permalink

  1. bangerang

    HotelChatter Member

    nope

    just announced.  they won't get a shovel in the dirt (sand?) for another 6 months at least.
    January 29, 2009 at 4:16 PM
    #Permalink

  1. uniq

    HotelChatter Member

    not quite...

    ... the project has been under construction for roughly a year now and has been announced even earlier: http://www.gulfnews.com/articles/07/10/09/10159034.html

    there used to be a webcam under capitalgate.ae, however the url seems not to exist anymore - who knows why?

    the specific location can be seen here:

    http://wikimapia.org/beta/#lat=24.4192131&lon=54.4379318&z=17&l=0&m=b&v=1

    February 3, 2009 at 10:19 AM
    #Permalink

  1. uniq

    HotelChatter Member

    oh... and btw...

    there's also going to be the first Rocco Forte property in the middle east around the corner  - that's the one i can't wait to stay in!
    February 3, 2009 at 10:21 AM
    #Permalink

Return to » Abu Dhabi Hyatt to Put Leaning Tower of Pisa to Shame

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