37-Millimetre Timber Frames Frame Dubai Skyline at Bvlgari Hotel

A front-facing profile of just 37 millimetres — billed by its maker as the world's slimmest wooden profile — now frames the Dubai skyline from the Bvlgari Hotel and Resort on Jumeirah Bay Island.

Luxury window brand Carminati supplied its Skyline Minimal Frames collection for the 158,000-square-metre hotel, which Milan-based studio ACPV Architects completed in 2017. The architects chose Carminati's Skyline Sliding lift-and-slide system, pairing pale oak on the interior with a bronze-coloured aluminium cladding outside, selected for its resistance to coastal environments.

"With a front-facing profile of just 37 millimetres for lift-and-slide systems and 50 millimetres for all other opening types, Skyline Minimal Frames combines outstanding thermal and acoustic performance with a minimal visual impact, making it the world's slimmest wooden profile," Carminati said.

How slim does a timber frame get?

The frame's slimness comes from Carminati's patented Skyline Minimal Frames construction. The timber sash is structurally bonded to the glass pane, and that bond reinforces the whole frame. The result is a window defined by minimal profiles, natural materials and the brand's patented technology — designed, in the company's words, to make the "least possible visual impact".

The Skyline Sliding system operates through a lift-and-slide mechanism and comes in configurations with two sliding leaves — one fixed, one sliding — among other combinations. A patented bottom track, designed exclusively for the collection, sets its carriages entirely into the floor and covers them with a flexible belt. That belt protects the mechanism from dust and allows for "maximum sliding smoothness," according to the brand.

"Large lift-and-slide doors connect the living rooms with expansive shaded terraces, while full-height glazing gives guests the feeling of being outdoors, conveying a sense of luxury associated with greenery, privacy and the tranquillity of the interior," Carminati said. The glazing was intended to create "continuity between the indoors and outdoors" and give access to adjacent terraces.

What did the project require beyond the catalogue?

Glazed panels at the hotel reach up to four metres in height and carry significant wind loads. Carminati says the large-scale commission called for a bespoke product, developed to meet the project's technical requirements and local building regulations.

The solution was a concealed steel structure placed between the lift-and-slide doors and the fixed transoms above. It's built around a composite beam, with three welded steel tubes set within the cavity between the frames. That arrangement let the profiles stay slim while meeting structural demands.

"The structure takes on the challenges of the environment and combines its contrasts in an original and sophisticated solution," Carminati said.

A family firm behind the frames

Carminati was founded in 1894 near Bergamo, Italy, and the founding family still runs it. The company specialises in architectural timber windows and doors, holds patents on its Skyline Minimal Frames system, and develops bespoke solutions for each project through its in-house technical office.

The Skyline Minimal Frames collection spans several products:

• Skyline Sliding
• Skyline Bifold
• Skyline Pivot
• Skyline Drive
• Skyline NoForce
• Skyline Handle

Each product comes in styles from Skyline Modern to Skyline Classic, manufactured entirely from wood or paired with external aluminium cladding — the same wood-and-metal combination deployed at the Dubai hotel.

"Our Skyline Minimal Frames range, personally selected by the architects, possesses all the characteristics required for the project," Carminati said. "The frames provide the perfect setting for enjoying a breathtaking panorama while feeling at the centre of Dubai's vibrant social life and exclusive luxury."

The brand credits the resort itself to "refined Bvlgari style, professionalism and taste of its design team". For coastal luxury projects facing wind loads and salt air, the Jumeirah Bay Island commission shows how a 130-year-old timber window maker keeps its profiles thin by hiding the steel where nobody sees it.