A towering architectural and engineering achievement which rises up from its own man-made island, the Burj al Arab hotel has become an international symbol of Dubai. Evoking a boat’s sail caught in the wind, the 321-metre-high structure has a high degree of glazing, but it is the trademark Teflon-coated, woven glass fibre sail, 180 metres by 45 metres, that forms the main canvas for the lighting.

Cool and white by day, the structure picks up the pulse of the beachside restaurants and bars at night with dynamic lighting created by computer-controlled colour-change luminaires, programmable stroboscopes and moving-head skytrackers. Regular shows provided by the changing colours and patterns are supplemented by individually programmable strobes set into the exoskeleton and spire. At key moments skytrackers project moving beams of light into the sky. The appearance changes every 15 minutes with a more dramatic sequence on the half hour. Shows on the hour are longer, slower and more hypnotic. The exoskeleton and bracing trusses are lit in crisp white light with subtle landscape lighting to the island itself so that the colour projections play against a neutral, static backdrop.

For special occasions, high-power scrolling projectors positioned in an enclosure on the beach throw a 120-metre-high moving image on to the sail. The bridge linking the tower to the mainland is indirectly illuminated on the underside by concealed blue floodlights. Recessed into the bottom of the structure, they shine down on to the water surface so that a naturally dynamic light pattern bounces back as reflections move with the action of the waves.