The culmination of a 10-year partnership, this is the fifth collaboration between Dubai-based Muraba and Spanish RCR Arquitectes, bringing a shared aspiration to work in harmony with the natural environment and allowing each location’s unique characteristics to guide the concept. With Dubai’s culture and climate, Muraba and RCR present a new form of skyscraper for the region – an exercise in acclimatising architecture to place, working with nature rather than against it.

Muraba Veil towers to 380m. Uniquely, the entire building is the width of a single apartment at 22.5m. Approved and registered with RERA, the 73-storey tower will comprise 131 units, ranging between two- to five-bedroom exclusive residences, together with a range of curated leisure amenities, including a wellness spa, restaurant, gallery, padel court, private meeting rooms and a private cinema. The appointed engineer for Muraba Veil is the world-leading engineering consulting firm WSP, with client advisory by Arup.

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. The building is revealed behind a series of layers, the first being the ‘veil’ itself – a bespoke stainless-steel mesh, porous and responsive, reflecting the different shades of the sky and dematerialising the architecture’s presence. The structure, whose unusually narrow profile and appearance could only be achieved by the 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.

Inside, the Veil takes its cue from the model of the Arabian house, which reveals itself through subsequent layers softened by shade and greenery before finally coming to the inner courtyard, the cool, communal and convivial centre of the dwelling; the representation of a paradise on earth. Each of the 131 exclusive residences occupies the entire width of the building. Screened by the Mashrabiya-inspired veil and bordered by generous outdoor spaces on both sides, the residences enjoy dual aspects and a gentle through breeze, reducing temperature by natural means – the Arab courtyard reimagined.

The Veil is ultimately designed as a sanctuary for this place and, this time, offers the opportunity to live a serene, private, perhaps meditative existence floating high above the city – a retreat from the instant, the material and virtual, conceived as an oasis for the mind as well as the body. Wherever a visitor goes in the Veil, the impression is of being simultaneously swathed and shielded from external heat and liberated by space. It’s as true of the deep, high, wide rooms and terraces of individual residences as it is of the Veil’s other world, the cavernous subterranean spa – a wellness club consisting of a series of experiential pools, treatment rooms and gym, as well as restaurants, lounges, an ‘oasis’ and amphitheatre, hidden beneath a vast dune-like carapace at the foot of the tower.

Situated in a prime canal-side location next to Dubai’s main transport artery, Sheikh Zayed Road, the slender profile of the residential tower belies its use of time-honoured techniques for ventilation and use of natural light, harnessing an architecture that is both inventive and reflective. Crafted for precision, performance and beauty, the architectural gem is a well-guarded work of art, with a by-appointment-only gallery tour dedicated to its unique features.

Ibrahim Al Ghurair, Managing Director of Muraba, says: “This is more than a beautiful residence. What we set out to achieve is a life-enhancing work of architecture, which speaks to the heritage of the built environment of the UAE. We want Muraba Veil to be synonymous with exquisite serenity, with the same calm that you feel when you enter the courtyard of an Arabic house.”

Rafael Aranda, Founder of RCR Arquitectes, adds, “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. They must communicate with nature and be infused with the atmosphere of the local culture.”