Herzog & de Meuron have designed a complex organized into two tessellated towers on a low-rise base articulated around a courtyard that evokes a traditional souk. The program comprises a hotel, residences, offices, and retail in a compact complex, which prioritizes pedestrian access through shaded pathways, landscaped terraces, and courtyards that replace the prominence of the automobile.
Inspired by vernacular architecture and early modern structures in Dubai, Herzog & de Meuron's project pays particular attention to climate efficiency. Self-protecting facades, staggered volumes, and wind-channelling geometries reduce solar radiation and enhance comfort. In contrast to conventional glass towers, the building presents itself as a mineral element, with deep recesses, freestanding columns, and plays of light and shadow.
The hotel offers 150 rooms and extensive shared facilities, while the upper-floor residences boast terraces and panoramic views. The office tower incorporates flexible spaces, natural ventilation, and a rooftop garden accessible to the public.
Rendering. Janu Dubai by Herzog & de Meuron.
Project description by Herzog & de Meuron
Janu Dubai, part of the Aman Group, is uniquely positioned at the threshold between the high-rises of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the adjacent low-rise palaces and gardens. The development introduces a new urban concept with two sculptural towers rising from a low-rise, base centred around a courtyard, reminiscent of a traditional souk. The project integrates hotel, residential, office, and retail spaces into a cohesive, climate-responsive architectural ensemble.
Drawing inspiration from climate-appropriate vernacular architecture of the region, the soft quality of the desert light, and the textured façades of Dubai’s early modernist structures, the design is shaped by performance. Self-shading facades, carefully calibrated massing, and wind-channelling forms help reduce solar gain, enhance comfort, and take advantage of prevailing breezes. Unlike more typical reflective glass towers on parking plinths, this architecture emphasizes a mineral presence and lived experience that is grounded, porous, and responsive to context.
In a city renowned for its spectacle, Janu Dubai poses a different question: how can architecture foster community, comfort, and cultural resonance, while still offering exceptional luxury?
Mediating Between Scales
Janu Dubai bridges the vertical skyline of DIFC with the horizontal scale of nearby palaces and gardens, creating a gradual transition between these contrasting urban environments. Positioned at this intersection, the project transforms a previously vehicle-dominated zone into a pedestrian-friendly environment. Shaded walkways, lush courtyards, and a network of planted terraces activate the public realm and encourage movement through and around the site. The project embraces permeability and accessibility over monumentality.
Mineral Architecture
The towers depart from the sleek anonymity of surrounding glass skyscrapers. Their facades, conceived as stone forms gently shaped by wind, feature deep recesses and sculpted geometries that animate light and shadow throughout the day. The massing is articulated into stepped volumes and terraces, creating generous outdoor spaces with panoramic views. Freestanding sculptural columns frame exterior spaces and generate a rhythm of solid and void that filters sunlight, defines thresholds, and enhances spatial depth.
Courtyards and Gardens
At ground level, a reimagined souk anchors the project—animated by retail and F&B spaces organized around shaded courtyards. The towers’ stepping volumes create both street-level gardens and accessible rooftops, forming an immersive, walkable environment that reinterprets the traditional souk. The landscaping integrates existing Ghaf trees and other indigenous species, ensuring biodiversity and grounding the project in local ecological heritage. Water features, shaded planting, and natural materials combine to create microclimates that reduce heat and enhance comfort throughout the year.
Retail Experience
The retail component establishes the project’s human-scale character through its low-rise, two-story structure. Strategically positioned and directly connected to DIFC, these spaces remain fully public. A sculptural outdoor staircase draws people from the drop-off area, providing access to both retail levels as well as to the central courtyard and surrounding amenities. The architecture activates the street edge through multiple outdoor terraces and arcade-like spaces—elements that become particularly valuable during the mild winter months.
Hotel and Residences
The Janu Hotel tower offers a ceremonial yet intimate arrival, framed by layered landscaping and a vertical 18-meter-high lobby. Directly accessible from the drop-off, the lobby connects hotel guests to a suite of amenities situated above, including a spa, fitness facilities, wellness center, dining terraces, multiple restaurants, a club and lounge all oriented around framed views and shaded outdoor spaces. The hotel offers 150 rooms across five typologies, many featuring private terraces, gardens, or plunge pools. Above, the branded residences—located in the most sculpted and panoramic part of the tower—offer a range of configurations with expansive outdoor living areas and uninterrupted views of the Burj Khalifa and surrounding palatial gardens.
Office Tower
Along Al Mustaqbal Street, the office tower provides high-quality, comfortable, flexible workspaces. Its identity is shaped by expressed A-frame structural elements that reveal the logic of the building’s load path through its façade. A triple-height lobby opens directly to the public space, enriched with indoor landscape and natural daylight. Office floors offer flexible layouts, natural ventilation, and access to outdoor balconies. At the crown, a triple-height sky garden serves as Dubai’s newest public destination, offering a shaded retreat with panoramic views toward DIFC and the wider Dubai skyline accessible to all visitors.
Janu Dubai represents a significant contribution to Dubai’s evolving skyline, balancing architectural distinction with human experience. As Dubai continues to establish itself as a global crossroads, Janu creates spaces where the city’s vibrant international community can connect, collaborate, and find moments of respite within the city.
