This is a travel article World Words wrote for Private Air Magazine on the incredible flame towers in Baku, Azerbaijan. This travel content article discusses the concept and architecture behind these landmark towers, and also looks at the comfort and luxury afforded by its main tenant, the Fairmont Hotel. You can read the article by clicking the link below. Here’s how it starts:

“You can see why Baku is often called ‘the new Dubai’. It is a city permanently under construction, where the vast majority of city highlights have been created in the 21st century and even time-honored attractions, like the city’s Old Town, have been so extensively renovated they almost feel like fresh additions. This spirit of newness is best seen in the capital’s landmark architectural achievement, the Flame Towers; three gigantic flame-shaped columns standing high above the city. And one of these towers is home to Baku’s finest hotel.

Fairmont Flame Towers opened in early 2013, and was instantly hailed as an iconic landmark. Located at the city’s highest point and climbing even higher into the sky, it is always visible from almost anywhere in Baku

Designed by renowned architects HOK, the flame columns were a big challenge. HOK’s Head of Mixed Use, Barry Hughes says: “The real constraint was to stay true to the flame tower concept. The idea of the flame resonated with the client because it had a direct connection with the history of the region, and Azerbaijan’s tagline, ‘The Land of the Fire’. There were long conversations about the shape and essence of a flame, and the shape of the ‘flick’ at the top. Then the hard work of making this iconic shape work as a building began.””