Conceived by Adam D. Tihany, At.mosphere has opened as the world’s highest restaurant in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. Guests arrive via express elevator at the tower’s Level 123 into a two-story high glass-enclosed atrium. A cantilevered staircase, designed by artist Carol Bove, descends one floor into the restaurant, grill, and lounge. Bove’s dramatic installation includes bronze rods that align with the astrological configuration of the stars over Dubai on the grand inauguration day of Burj Khalifa on January 4, 2010.
The restaurant provides an intimate, luxurious setting created by calm shades of amethyst and cocoa in sumptuous textures such as silks, velvets, and leathers. Hand-polished wood panels clad the walls and arch up across the ceiling, leading the eye to floor-to-ceiling windows. Meanwhile, the bold architectural forms of the wood walls and ceilings evoke an intimate vault-like feeling. Made of marble and surrounded by glass, a sleek exhibition grill at the back of the room separates the main dining area from a private dining room, where guests can view a contemporary art installation and soak in the amazing vistas.
Across from the restaurant is a separate doorway leading to the lounge, where deeper shades of amethyst in a rich combination of patterned velvets, natural woven textiles, and leathers create an effervescent setting. The polished wood beams and paneled walls and ceilings gently undulate upward, suggesting a lighter, more animated atmosphere. In place of the traditional lounge design is a round “conversation table” anchored by a glass-enclosed back room, discreetly displaying the beverage selection through etched and backlit glass walls.
The lounge and its surroundings rest on a marble-clad, elevated platform overlooking the sunken and lushly textured lounge furnishings. Within the area is a VIP section in a distinguished design and color palette of steel blue, chocolate, and caramel with a touch of cream. Late at night, a DJ transforms the windows into canvases onto which dynamic contemporary images are projected from concealed state-of-the-art video projections.
