LONDON.- Launched to the public on Friday, the Crest installation designed by Zaha Hadid Architects is a precursor to Zaha’s first complete hotel ME Dubai, which opens in 2016. Crest is designed as a temporary installation which will remain at the V&A, London’s pivotal cultural hub, during the London Design Festival 2014. It will then be taken to Dubai to become a permanent part of the ME Dubai hotel.

Tony Cortizas, Vice President of brands for ME, said ‘What Hadid has done is experimental and pushes the boundaries of her key design signature. This comes at a significant time for the brand, firstly with a slow move east to Dubai – which is set to become one of the most visited cities in the world within the next 20 years. Crest signifies a connection between east and west but the most exciting part of the story today is the design aspect which is a key defining part of our brand and we are very excited about working with someone of Zaha Hadid’s stature on this project.’

Ben Evans, London Design Festival Director says ‘Working with Zaha Hadid, one of the world’s most famous architects has been fantastic, as is the setting in this magnificent space at the V&A – but what is most interesting is the growth of the project; what we see here today will evolve into a new form when it takes it’s place in the permanent home at the ME Dubai hotel in 2016’

Zaha Hadid said of the installation, ‘Crest explores the relationship between surface and structure, transforming the planar water surface of the V&A’s courtyard’s pool into a curvilinear form, creating a compelling interplay with light and reflection.

This experimental sculpture tests the limits and possibilities for a new construction technique involving the assembly of aluminium panels into a pre-stressed flat plate which is then lifted into a self-supporting structure.

Crest is designed as a demountable sculpture to be installed at the ME Hotel, Dubai; establishing an intriguing dialogue with the formal dichotomy inherent within the hotel’s design.’

Melodie Leung, Associate, Zaha Hadid Architects says, ‘It’s a type of process that we’ve never done before, it was an experiment and about achieving a precise form as thin as possible. This is the thinnest shell structure we have built to date’

The ME brand took the London hotel scene by storm last year with the launch of Foster + Partners first entire hotel project in the UK. ME Mallorca and ME Ibiza have launched this summer, with ME Milan in 2015 and ME Dubai opening in Spring 2016. ME Dubai will be located in the Opus building in the Burj Khalifa District. The hotel will have 100 rooms, including four penthouse suites with private roof terraces and the brand¹s signature Suite ME. ME Dubai will also be home to a Michelin-star restaurant and exclusive F&B brands.