Profile

Rory Hopkins

Senior Associate
WATG

Rory is a gifted designer with an extensive background in the hospitality and leisure industry.
His talents have been cultivated by experiences acquired on numerous high profile international
projects including Presidential Palaces, luxury hotels and resorts, conference centres, high rise
urban living and various mixed use developments throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle
East.
Rory brings global knowledge and experience having lived and worked in various regions of
the world. In 2001, Rory relocated to Abu Dhabi as WATG’s resident architect for the Emirates
Palace Hotel. As one of the most important and prestigious civic projects undertaken in the
UAE, this project demonstrates Rory’s ability to merge the complexities of integrating a luxury
hotel, state of the art conference centre and a palatial residence, with the dexterity of a fast
track construction schedule and coordinated team management to meet the obligatory schedule
culminating in 270,000 square metres of built area that has become a civic landmark for the
region and global icon for the city of Abu Dhabi.
His clients benefit from the vast design experience, understanding and appreciation of local
cultures, conditions and traditions that Rory brings to a project while seamlessly working closely
with the operators to meet their strategic policies for international development. His passion to
realise the client’s dream while focusing on the creativity and viability of a project allows Rory
to utilise his unique and emblematic design skills to ensure that his work is representative and
sensitive to the locale.