Identity April 2021

ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN, INTERIORS + PROPERTY

identity

A MOTIVATE PUBLICATION

DHS 25.00 OR 2.70 BD 2.60 SR 25.00 KD 2.10

ISSUE 208 / APRIL 2021

The Power Issue

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contents

Features 16

Imperfect beauty VSHD Design’s Orijins café in Dubai is a surrealist take on a traditional coffee shop

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Ahead of the curve Founder of iconic Nilufar Gallery, Nina Yashar, shares her world of design and future plans for the gallery

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Breathing buildings Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh discusses her approach to creating humane architecture

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What is power?

Three designers from the Middle East tackle the concept of power in design and architecture

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id50 Learn about the architects and designers to know across the Middle East

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Monumental thinking

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Photography by Oculis Project

Architect Mariam Kamara talks about using architecture as a tool for change

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A calming retreat British interior designer Louise Bradley completes a contemporary modern home in London’s Mayfair

Regulars 26

Photography by Takumi Ota

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Newswire

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Design Focus

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Products

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Library

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#idmostwanted

Rimadesio

Velaria sliding panels, Eos shelves.

rimadesio.com

Design Giuseppe Bavuso

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identity

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Editor-in-Chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Managing Partner and Group Editor Ian Fairservice Group Director Andrew Wingrove Editor Aidan Imanova Designer Hannah Perez Sub-editor Max Tuttle Chief Commercial Officer Anthony Milne Group Sales Manager Manish Chopra Senior Sales Manager Neha Kannoth Sales Representative - Italy Daniela Prestinoni General Manager - Production S Sunil Kumar Assistant Production Manager Binu Purandaran Production Supervisor Venita Pinto Contributors Rima Alsammarae Jumana Abdel-Razzaq Ruba Al-Sweel

identity magazine is printed by Emirates Printing Press.

Member of:

Head Office: Media One Tower, PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAE; Tel: +971 4 427 3000, Fax: +971 4 428 2260; E-mail: motivate@ motivate.ae Dubai Media City: SD 2-94, 2nd Floor, Building 2, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 390 3550 Fax: +971 4 390 4845 Abu Dhabi: PO Box 43072, UAE, Tel: +971 2 677 2005; Fax: +971 2 677 0124; E-mail: motivate-adh@motivate.ae London: Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ER, UK; E-mail: motivateuk@motivate.ae

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Photography by Mattia Iotti

Contributors

ABDALLA ALMULLA

JUMANA ABDEL-RAZZAQ

KAWTHER ALSAFFAR

Abdalla Almulla is an Emirati architect and founder of MULA design studio. His works are in flux between theoretical and visual design explorations, often using patterns and geometry as regulators in establishing design guidelines. Working across design, architecture, installation and furniture design, Almulla’s research-driven approach also utilises prototyping and digital technology. In this issue, he responds to the question of ‘What is power?’ through an illustration that showcases the strength of design and architecture in controlling emotion and feelings.

Dubai-based journalist Jumana AbdelRazzaq has worked across several global and local publications, including Construction Week magazine, Architectural Digest and Vogue Arabia. She covers a range of topics including architecture, interior design, art and culture and has led the content management and digital content strategies of some of the largest media companies in the Middle East. In this issue, she writes about the latest developments and trends in lighting design.

Kuwaiti designer Kawther Alsaffar is the principal designer and owner of Studio Saffar, which creates products rooted in local craftsmanship, with a focus on creating crafts in Kuwait that challenge the definition of luxury. She focuses on finding patterns in human intimacy and truth, manifesting this through culturally significant processes and materials. For this issue, Alsaffar creates an illustration that portrays a stream of consciousness relating to her personal experience as a designer, in response to the question ‘What is Power?’.

RIMA ALSAMMARAE

RUBA AL-SWEEL

T SAKHI

Rima Alsammarae is an architecture and culture journalist based in Dubai. She is the co-founder of Round City, an online publication covering architecture, art, design and construction from the Near East and North Africa, as well as a project manager for Tamayouz Excellence Award. In the past, she has been the editor of Middle East Architect and Brownbook magazines. In this issue, she investigates the UAE’s National Pavilion project, Wetland, for the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Ruba Al-Sweel is an arts writer and editor, with words in ArtAsiaPacific, Vogue, VICE and The Brooklyn Rail, among others. She holds a master's degree in Media and Creative Industries from Sciences Po, Paris, and takes particular interest in the development of internet subcultures.

In this issue, she attends the inaugural edition of Noor Riyadh in the Saudi capital and ruminates on the confluence between contemporary art and urban development.

Based in Beirut and Venice, T SAKHI is a multidisciplinary architecture and design studio co-founded by Lebanese-Polish sisters Tessa and Tara Sakhi. The studio places human interaction at the core of the practice, drawing from emotional and physical experiences by incorporating senses and memory. In this issue, Tessa and Tara reflect on the question of ‘power’ in design and architecture through text and photography.

Photo by Young Habibti

While gestures of power often conflate with ego or the importance of ‘self ’, there is equally a very selfless nuance to power when placed in the hands of the right people with the right intentions. Even linguistically, the word ‘empowering’ suggests using one’s own condition of power to elevate those around you. And this is what we wanted to note and celebrate in this month’s ‘Power Issue’ - that it is what we do with the power we are given that is most important. And in the fields of design and architecture, which primarily serve people and the ways in which they live, it is especially paramount.

Our second annual id50 list notes the names of individuals who have used their success – whether in practice, pedagogy, research, mentorship or initiatives – to help elevate the built environments and spaces around them, often keeping in mind the needs of the users, while contributing to better standards of life.

Attempting to create a list of the 50 most noteworthy talents across the region within both design and architecture is a challenging feat – impossible almost. The group of many individuals and firms who are elevating design and architecture across the region is vast and ever-growing. While compiling the list of names and companies that are impossible not to mention – many of whom had already graced the 200th issue’s id50 list – it was Anne Holtrop’s response that made me pause and think again. He said: “Since I was last year in the id50, it could be good to make place for new people.” He immediately suggested another practice in Bahrain to replace his position.

While I resisted the thought at first – because how could I not mention him on the list of people making ground-breaking work in the region? – his attitude displayed the action of using one’s own power to make space for others. Which is why this year’s id50 list is a hybrid – some have been chosen by the editorial team while others have been nominated by previous members of the list. This allows us to recognise new faces but also recognise how power can be used to propel others forward.

In other areas of the magazine, we speak to individuals who have, in their own ways, displayed how design and architecture can be used as a force for change, for reflection and even for joy.

Iranian-born Nina Yashar – the trailblazing founder of Nilufar Gallery, a collectible design gallery in Milan – is a woman ahead of her time and one who, until this day, races ahead by acknowledging the desires and interests of those around her and is actively doing something about it. Currently, she is concerned with democratising collectible design to make it affordable for more people, while also creating space for young designers and artists to showcase their work and ideas.

We also speak to Mariam Kamara – an architect from Niger whose work I have been following for many years – about reclaiming power through architecture and defining one’s own identity. For Kamara, architecture is principally a human act and one that has the power to defy the status quo and build places with aspiration and authenticity.

Lastly, Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh speaks to us about creating ‘humane architecture’ that is inviting and uniting, and prioritises connectivity while breaking the schisms between humans and nature.

Aidan Imanova Editor

Photography by Oculis Project

Editor’s Note

On the cover: Orijins café by VSHD Design.

STYLING STUDIO SALARIS - PH. BRANCATO

BURANO, PRINT ON PURE COTTON CANVAS

DUBAI, BUSINESS BAY, REGAL TOWER, RUBELLISTUDIO.COM - RUBELLI.COM

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ridging the worlds of art, design and furniture, third-generation Lebanese carpet gallery Iwan Maktabi staged its first exhibition since the lockdown last year – showcasing the work of seven prominent Lebanese creatives inside a warehouse in Alserkal Avenue in Dubai. Un(Masked) highlights the latest IWAN MAKTABI X collection – an ongoing project that involves architects, designers and artists who have collaborated with the gallery on limited edition carpets. It includes the likes of David/Nicolas, Georges Mohasseb and Kareen Asli, Roula Salamoun, Nadine Kanso, Hala Matta, Omar Chakil and Gregory Gatserelia – all of whose work were showcased at the exhibition. The show is also dedicated to the idea of de-confining where people can physically enjoy works of design and art after a long period of absence.

“Every year, we show the latest creations made by the designers who contribute to our IWAN MAKTABI X project,” says Mohamed Maktabi, co-founder of Iwan Maktabi. “This year, the selection is quite rich and varied. We chose the designers based on our conviction that these talents have something new and different to say, and we gave them the medium of carpets to say it with. As for the [other] objects in the exhibition, I always had a deep and wide interest in a variety of fields: art, design and antiques, and I [felt that it was] appropriate to show them side by side” Un(Masked) is staged in collaboration with Beirut-based art gallery Saleh Barakat Gallery and House of Today, a platform founded by Chirine Magrabi for Lebanese architects and designers. Barakat has curated a selection of artworks that have been chosen to blend with the collectible carpets of Iwan Maktabi, as well as with the selection of furniture that is also on display. The result is a highlight of the creative talent working out of Lebanon today that includes artists Hala Shoukair, Fadia Haddad, Samir Sayegh, Tagreed Darghouth and Bassam Kahwagi – all presented by Saleh Barakat Gallery.

As for the works on show, Egyptian-Lebanese designer Omar Chakil is The exhibition also comes just over seven months presenting three works, including the ‘Isphahan sconce’, which was created since the explosion in Beirut, where political and specifically for the exhibition. Hand-carved in a single block of Egyptian economic hardships continue to persist. alabaster, it features a design mimicking the medallion that is traditional to “It is easy to succumb to the defeatist atmosphere Persian rugs, marrying references of ancient Persia and Egypt with present-day currently around us: a global pandemic that is Western cultural cues, creating a form that is also reminiscent of Brutalist and affecting the lives of individuals across the globe Art Deco architecture. that has caused a disruption of all public activities; “My intention when using material such as Egyptian alabaster is to build bridges and an explosion that destroyed the capital city we across time and culture,” says Shakil. “The material is emblematic of ancient Egypt live in,” says Maktabi. “This exhibition is a form and rarely used in large monolithic blocks. For the last several decades, market of hope, like springtime after a cold winter, and sellers [have been using] debris and filling it with paste and varnish. So, the idea rebuilding after a deadly explosion. Un(masked) is a is to bring back the noble spirit and treatment of the stone, [which is] known to crucial exhibition for us. help instil clarity and transport the soul into the afterlife.”

“We at Iwan Maktabi will continue to do what we Elsewhere in the show, Beirut-based designer Roula Salamoun’s know to do best, and that means bringing beautiful collection entitled Strata references a topography that draws both on objects to the people around us.” architecture and nature. The carpets were inspired by the hills and cities of Nepal, after a trip to Kathmandu made with the Iwan Maktabi family.

Georges Mohasseb and Kareen Asli’s Studio Manda, also based in Beirut, is presenting a carpet called Borderless, inspired by the designer’s Urban lighting suspension, which is made out of staples used to demonstrate the grid of the city, its linear and orthogonal shape and the harmony of its geometries.

“The exhibition comes at a very particular turning point,” said Mohasseb. “It brings hope back and highlights our vibrant artistic scene, especially since the arts and culture of Lebanon have greatly suffered since the Beirut blast and the disastrous economic crisis, as well as the global pandemic.”

“It’s important for us to continue and never stop creating, because we love what we do,” said Lebanese design duo David Raffoul and Nicolas Moussallem, who are showing a new carpet for IWAN MAKTABI X. “This exhibition is also a way for us to show that we are not giving up on beauty and creation. We believe this exhibition helps keep the Lebanese creative scene present in the Arab world. While our political ruling class tries to cut any sort of ties with the rest of the planet, it shows how the individuals and creatives of Lebanon fight for a borderless expression.”

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Clockwise from top left: Egyptian Alabaster collectible art objects by Lebanese-Egyptian multidisciplinary artist Omar Chakil with paintings by Taghreed Darghouth and Hala Shoukair from Saleh Bakarat Gallery in background. ‘ALL EYES‘ limited edition carpet by Nadine Kanso for Iwan Maktabi. A limited edition carpet designed by David/Nicolas from the ‘Orientations’ collection alongside a lamp by ceramicist Hala Matta from Namika Atelier and paintings from Saleh Barakat Gallery. ‘Strata’ limited edition carpets designed by Roula Salamoun for Iwan Maktabi, next to her Anatomy console and mirror (with the support of House of Today). Lamp by ceramicist Hala Matta from Namika Atelier and paintings from Saleh Barakat gallery THE POWER ISSUE

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Homegrown talents

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he latest iteration of Art Dubai, which is taking place in a new location in Dubai International Financial District (DIFC) from 29 March to 3 April 2021, is perhaps the only physical art fair that is being hosted in the world at the moment, which is exciting in itself. What is more exciting still is the growing plethora of artists from the Gulf region whose works are being showcased across both regional and international galleries alike. This year sees a strong presence of Emirati and Saudi artists, represented by the likes of international gallery Galleria Continua and Perve Gallery from Portugal as well as regional galleries such as Hafez Gallery, Mono Gallery and Athr Gallery from Saudi Arabia and Dubai’s Lawrie Shabibi and Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde – both of which are located in Alserkal Avenue.

Top to bottom: Hashel Al Lamki, Control and Guilt, 2019, Found objects, 30 x 10 cm, Courtesy of Leila Heller Gallery.

Maryam Al Qassimi, Untitled, 2017, Mixed media on paper, 25.5 x 16 cm, Courtesy of Perve Galeria. Lulwah Al Homoud, The Language of Existence, 2018, Silk screen on archival paper, 30 x 40 cm, Courtesy of Mono Gallery and the Artist.

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Exciting names include Ahmed Mater – a physician turned artist, and one of the most significant cultural voices documenting and scrutinising the realities of contemporary Saudi Arabia. Forging an ongoing, complex mapping of the Kingdom, his practice explores collective memories to uncover and record unofficial histories. Part of the earliest contemporary art movements in the Kingdom – with Edge of Arabia, the seminal Shatta and Mostly Visible exhibitions and then with his Pharan Studio in Jeddah – Mater’s creative career has been at the forefront of the transforming Saudi cultural sector. His work is being presented by Galleria Continua.

Other notable Saudi artists include: Sarah Abu Abdallah (Athr Gallery), whose works explore issues of obscurity and value, probing the social and cultural conditions of contemporary Saudi Arabia; Mahdi Al-Jeraibi and Rashed Al-Shashai (Hafez Gallery); as well as Mono Gallery’s Reem Al Faisal, whose photographic works explore solitude in modern society and within ourselves.

A strong representation of Emirati and UAE-based artists will also be making their mark on the fair this year, including the likes of Hussain Sharif (Salwa Zeidan Gallery), whose artworks experiment with the concept of ‘recycling’, conceptual artist Zeinab Alhashemi, known for her large-scale contemporary sight-specific installations and Hashel Al Lamki (both represented by Leila Heller Gallery), as well as Shaikha Al Mazrou and Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim (Lawrie Shabibi).

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interiors

Imperfect beauty VSHD Design’s Orijins café is a surrealist take on a traditional coffee shop PHOTOGRAPHY BY OCULIS PROJECT

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interiors

“The design of Orijins embodies our deep belief that there is so much beauty in imperfection, humility and living in tune with nature. It is a philosophy that creates designs with a timeless appeal. Orijins is our interpretation of the beauty, calm, purity and simplicity we see in nature,” she explains.

Orijins is an experiment in mass, form and texture – which can be observed from the hand-sketched blocks that eventually resulted in the counters, giving them their irregular organic effect, creating a somewhat surreal environment yet one that is both calming and inviting.

The minimalist sophistication of the design required a restricted colour palette, which borrows its subdued tones from natural elements like stones, sand and shells. There is minimal contrast and definition between the tonality of colour used across the space, which creates a rigorous but also natural union of all its elements. This pared-back approach is complemented by a mixture of textures and materials that includes textiles of fur, boucle and heavy waves that balance the rawness of the overall design.

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ow does one reinvent the design language of a coffee shop? With VSHD Design’s Orijins café in Dubai, Rania M Hamed has done just that.

Set inside a sparsely decorated space of muted plaster and cement, the design doesn’t shy away from negative space – which almost becomes as decorative as the defining design elements that dot the café itself. The envelope features curved volumes in the ceiling that ground the space, establishing a sense of natural order where organic shapes take precedence and the relationships between objects become similar to those found in nature.

In fact, nature is the main inspiration behind Orijins, which takes cues from a collection of stones picked up from the shores of the Red Sea, often beautiful in their imperfection and contradicting forms.

“In nature, everything is imperfect, which is what makes it beautiful,” says Rania M Hamed, founder and principal at VSHD Design. “We wanted to reflect this in all the design elements used in the space.”

She went about this by creating a space with a rich amalgamation of contradictions: massive blocks of stone, slender lightweight metal furnishings, curvaceous elements – all set against a textured and muted backdrop.

By combining a mismatched design vocabulary of sculptural, minimal, monolithic and delicate gestures, Hamed aimed to create a novel F&B experience.

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interiors

Natural light delicately enters the space, creating shadows against the plastered walls. The rest of the lighting concept has been kept as minimal and concealed as possible. A very slim LED strip sits along the length of the space to highlight the arch in the ceiling, while a tiny seamless spotlight brightens the bar area.

A bespoke wall light in brushed aluminium designed by VSHD decorates the space, along with floor lamps by Areti. id

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design

AHEAD OF THE CURVE Enigmatic gallerist and curator Nina Yashar shares her world of design and reveals future plans for her iconic collectible design gallery, Nilufar in Milan WORDS BY AIDAN IMANOVA 20

Photography by Brica Wilcox.

design

‘It’s All About Colour’ exhibition by Studio Nucleo at Nilufar Gallery. Photography by Mattia Iotti.

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oday I see a lot of people trying to do a lot of what I am doing, and this makes me happy because it means that it was right,” says Nina Yashar, founder of Milan’s trailblazing design gallery, Nilufar, which she established in 1979 in via Bigli in the centre of the city. She says this at first apologetically, wary of sounding arrogant, but also as someone who is calmly aware of her influence and proud of her accomplishments. In many ways, Yashar has always been ahead of her time and doesn’t shy away from the fact.

Born in Tehran in 1957 to Iranian parents, Yashar’s family moved to Milan when she was just five years old. Her father, being a successful rug dealer, was her portal into the world of carpets, which she delved into at the young age of 21, working for the family business. But quickly, the even-then assertive and passionate Yashar decided that she “disliked” her father’s taste and felt pulled to carve her own path. “I wanted to deal with only my own point of view,” she shares. With experience in displaying and curating carpets already under her belt, Yashar – with the help of her father – established her own gallery space. “It

was immediately clear that I was surrounded by very important carpet dealers, who were all men,” Yashar recounts. “I was the only woman dealing with carpets at that time in Milan. So, I was obliged to build my credibility through my identity and not [by] following something that was already in the market.”

Her entrepreneurial spirit was visible even then. She decided that the only way to contend with her extremely reputable competition was to move in a different direction and showcase themes that weren’t well known or popular. Nilufar Gallery soon launched a series of pioneering shows, bringing both Oriental and European carpets such as Kilim, Gabbeh and Aubusson into the Italian and later international spotlight. ‘The Rose on the Carpet’ exhibition was received with high acclaim, showcasing a study of the iconography of the rose motifs in rugs the world over.

“I can say that this exhibition was the forerunner that brought the fascination of the Kilim to Europe; at that time it was not very popular. And here, it wasn’t only my passion that guided me – but my intuition. My business model has always been to do something unexpected for people.”

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design

The ‘Stanza Le Salon du Plaisir’ at SPOT 13, a ‘residential gallery’ curated by Nina Yashar, Daniele Balice and Giò Marconi. Photography by Ruy Teixeira.

Wisteria chandelier with 3 branches by Bethan Laura Wood.

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It was while on a trip to Sweden that Yashar discovered design by chance, purchasing important pieces by the likes of Alvar Aalto and Hans Wagner. “In 1998, I created an exhibition along with a catalogue, titled ‘Swedish Rugs and Scandinavian Furniture’, and this was the first time that I decided to show design without knowing anything about it,” she laughs. “I just followed my intuition. And it has been the most important starting point in my business because now I deal 80 per cent in design.”

It was around this time, at the end of the nineties, that Yashar expanded the gallery’s headquarters by moving to a new space in via della Spiga, designed by GianCarlo Motebello. By then, Yashar had ventured into modern and contemporary furniture, showcasing the works of mid-century masters alongside unusual carpets, cutting-edge furniture and pieces by emerging designers. Nilufar Gallery quickly became a reference point, obtaining cult status in the world of design.

Throughout all this, a very vital aspect of all of Yashar’s work was – and remains – her deep dedication to research and her curiosity in discovering new directions. From the silicone carpets by Gaetano Pesce to the rediscovery of Paul Evans’ work and Martino Gamper’s re-appropriation of Gio Ponti’s furniture for the Parco dei Principi Hotel at the 2007 Design Miami/Basel fair, Nilufar Gallery contributed to the series of experimentations that was happening around design at the time, with Yashar at the forefront of propelling forward contemporary designers whose names we know today.

design

The connecting ‘Le Grand Escalier’ corridor at SPOT 13 in Paris. Photography by Ruy Teixeira.

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design

‘Lina Bo Bardi Giancarlo Palanti, Studio d’Arte Palma 1948 - 1951’ exhibition at Nilufar Depot, 2018. Photography by Amendolagine Barracchia.

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design

“I hope to be recognised by the public not only for my commercial role in the sector, but also for my educational role,” she says, referencing exhibitions such as that showing Lina Bo Bardi’s work, as well as Martino Gamper’s ‘100 Chairs’ project, which has travelled to 12 museums around the world.

While in the course of 20 years a lot had already changed for Yashar, it was in 2015 when she founded Nilufar Depot – an immense space of 1500 square metres arranged over three levels with a layout inspired by the Teatro alla Scala – that the biggest shift in her professional life took place. “It gave me enough space to express myself and display my huge stock, and a place [in which] I could host bigger exhibitions,” she shares.

Today, Yashar’s greatest ambition is to make collectible design more accessible. Eight years ago, she had launched an exhibition called ‘Untitled’ to showcase design that would attract a younger demographic. “But it was too early,” she admits, “and it was not at all successful. The perception of Nilufar Gallery was only that of [a place for] important pieces, and people couldn’t understand my purpose.

But now, after eight years, I would like to showcase collectible design that is more open and more feasible for design lovers.”

With this mission comes the birth of her most recent project, ‘Picked by Nina’ – an e-commerce platform that aims to bring a younger audience closer to the world of design through a selection of limited-edition pieces, but at a lower budget. These include pieces from the likes of Andrea Branzi, Sam Baron, Vista Alegre and Gaetano Pesce, all designed exclusively for the gallery.

“I am very happy and enthusiastic in a way to come back to my dream of offering more affordable design for young people,” she says. “It is not easy, because e-commerce is another job completely, but this is my new adventure. Now I have to do research with a different perspective; to sell objects that are easier to buy and transport but also easier to place in your home. [I am trying to] sell more instinctively for the buyer.”

Yashar is at a point of adaptation, which she has time and time again proven to do very well, while never failing to instil her own personal touch. Today, she is focusing on listening to how designers are working and what their values are.

“At the beginning of my career, when I started to deal with contemporary design, I had always looked for unusual pieces, but ones that were easily imaginable in a domestic context, so I always give a lot of importance to the functionality of the piece – more than any other aspect. However, as the world changes very quickly, you also have to change and adapt your point of view. [Now, I am not] only looking at the function, but also at the process in realising the piece,” Yashar explains.

Presenting the work of young designers – including from the likes of Audrey Large and Flavie Audi, whose works focus on expressive craft processes – Yashar is discovering “another kind of eye” in design. “[Through this] I, myself become younger in a way,” she laughs. id

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interview

Lina Ghotmeh © Gilbert Hage.

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BREATHING BUILDINGS

interview

Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh creates buildings that embody the human experience – “living organisms” that react, breathe and ask questions – while in constant dialogue with their surroundings. With works spanning across Japan, France, Estonia and her hometown of Beirut, Ghotmeh speaks to identity about the power of architecture to reflect on the past in order to inform the present.

INTERVIEW BY AIDAN IMANOVA THE POWER ISSUE

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interview

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an you tell us about growing up in Beirut – did your impressions of the city impact the way you approach architecture today? Growing up in Beirut left a great mark on my approach to architecture, but also guided my interest in the field in the first place. Beirut is an open archaeology, layered both horizontally and vertically — layers of history and civilisations are constantly unveiled at the start of many constructions. The urban fabric of the city is a direct expression of its inhabitants’ diverse culture. Spatially, it is the city of possibilities and alternatives. Spaces are in constant negotiation with the environment, always revealing very interesting architectural conditions; diverse architectural identities, expressive in their textures, porous through their envelopes and inhabited by an organically growing nature. There is an intensity of life that transpires out of some of these conditions (human, material and natural), one that I always seek in the designs I create with my atelier.

Stone Garden © Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture © Photo Iwan Baan.

Tell us about your interest in archaeology and how that is reflected in your work. I see the built landscape as a breathing body, one that retains the effects of human activity and reacts to them. Every design or every architecture by my atelier is constructed as an emergence, a discovery, even if built anew. Like a palimpsest, scribbled with many narratives (past, present or future), where nothing exists ex nihilo. Every new project is an original, innovative figure shedding a new perspective on a déjà là. This is what I refer to as the ‘Archaeology of the Future’, a projection of our roots into a desirable yet sustainable future; interventions embark my practice into a thorough research, like a detective’s work. We build what resembles a cabinet of curiosities for every project; we look back at ‘traces’ and ‘clues’, [and] actively channel them into newness.

What is the role of architecture for you and how do you aim to apply this approach within your own projects? [It’s about] elevating the present, making our environment desirable and orchestrating new positive relations. Expressing the essence of what is there, or what precedes, expressing the essence of the materials in use by our designs, engineering the DNA of present ecosystems. Staying in touch and exalting the contexts our architectures live in and, by nature, affect — be it physically, ecologically or anthropologically. In this sense, I see architecture as a living organism, reacting to its surrounding, breathing symbiotically with it, asking questions. Animate rather than inanimate.

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interview

Stone Garden © Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture © Photo Iwan Baan.

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interview

Hermès Workshop © Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture.

How important is context for an architectural project?

Understanding ‘context’ as the environment, the ‘milieu’ — physical or not — that we are integrating and interacting with, is a major aspect of everything I create as an architect. Architecture has a great responsibility towards its context. It is our duty to assess and be aware of the impact of our work on the framework we intervene in. The quality of the spaces we create has a direct impact on people’s wellbeing. On another level, architecture is also the physical expression of humans’ intellectual achievement; it contributes greatly to shaping human culture, serving as an activator of this constant state of evolution.

Every ‘architecture’ is a process that requires time, thought and empathy.

Can you tell us about the significance of Stone Garden – both in terms of its architecture and what is communicates, but also as your first project in the Middle East and your hometown of Beirut? Stone Garden was born out of a need to reconcile the human body, nature and the built scape. It is a project that asks multiple questions. Whether related to memory and identity, or to the place we give nature in our built environment, it takes a particular stake towards contemporary architecture. The setting of the building traces vertically the exact boundaries of its site – it chooses to embrace its neighbours instead of rising as a solo cube. Its shape reflects on the invisible building regulations that influence the built scape of our cities, as its angled geometry manifests various setback lines. Windows of different sizes are 30

drawn in continuity to the organic fenestrations seen within neighbouring buildings. Varying in size, they house gardens, planters, flowerpots, include nature as part of our urban habitat and offer, at every level, an individualisation of the apartments.

In Beirut, the building echoes specific figures that shape the city’s collective memory: the famous Pigeons’ Rock, the many buildings left derelict, the colour of Beirut’s uncovered earth…

Can you talk about the choice of building envelope finish in the project, and the sense of craftsmanship that lends the human touch – what were your intentions here? By having artisans hand-chisel the façade, I wanted to allow this sort of ‘imprint of the hand’, this memory of the human body, to add itself to Beirut’s ‘open archaeology’. Like in the sonnet Ozymandias, architecture is an art that stands the test of time — I wanted it to be permeated by our current history, by the current state of our art and our philosophy. The whole building envelope was combed in an artisanal way, as if combing earth to render it more fertile. The process of making this façade felt like a collective healing process, a kind of construction of a vertical inhabitable archaeology.

We had spoken about this before, but it sadly seems like a kind of déjà vu that your first project in the region survived such a horrible incident with the Beirut blast, while a lot of your architecture reflects on the destruction of the Lebanese civil war. Almost a year later, how do you look back at this?

It was uncanny to experience the devastation caused by the blast almost exactly at the time I had been preparing to deliver Stone

interview

Garden. Strangely enough, the event revealed the inherent tale and structure behind the architecture of this tower. Located just a mile away from the explosion, the building’s architectural essence — the structure, the gardens — stood unshaken while the glass got completely blown away. When I went to see the building the day after the event, it felt like I was experiencing the narrative of the building: the past met the present and rendered the future timeless. There was a strange sense of suspension in time. I strongly felt the sense of the milieu and what architecture could say in such a context.

Can you talk more about creating human-centric architecture? Why is this important to you? I would not call it human-centric architecture exactly, but would rather say I look for a humane architecture, one that is able to render beauty accessible to all: an architecture that invites the hand to touch, the body to wander and the spirit to flee. An architecture that can bring us closer to each other, to remind us of how connected we are to our environments. As humans, we are part of nature, we are constituted by nature.

Thinking of a humane architecture is striving to break the schism between human and nature: aspiring for a more symbiotic, humble way to inhabit our planet.

What are some of the projects that you’re currently working on?

Currently among our projects is our construction of the Hermès Louviers Workshops in Normandy, a project I designed with my atelier, holding very high sustainable ambitions — a low-CO2, passive building. The project is made with handcrafted artisanal bricks and sits calmly in dialogue with its surrounding landscape.

Exploring the dancing body and the city, I am also working on the design of the National Choreographic Centre in Tours, [which is] meant to be completed in the coming couple of years. Worth mentioning lastly is a private museum and a house for an art collector in Europe, among others. id

Estonian National Museum. Lina Ghotmeh with Dorell Ghotmeh and Tane Architects © Photo Takuji Shimmura.

THE POWER ISSUE Palais de Tokyo Restaurant ‘Les Grands Verres’ © Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture © Photo Takuji Shimmura.

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design

Resourceful means Highlighting the possibilities of alternative cement, the National Pavilion of the UAE for the Venice Biennale invites visitors to pause and reflect on current urban challenges WORDS BY RIMA ALSAMMARAE

Kenichi Teramoto and Wael Al Awar. Image courtesy National Pavilion UAE La Biennale Di Venezia.

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Photography by Seeing Things

design

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hen Hashim Sarkis, Lebanese architect and curator of the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, called upon architects to question ‘how will we live together’, he prompted very timely responses that focus on global challenges. One such example comes from the UAE, where architects Wael Al Awar and Kenichi Teramoto are experimenting with an alternative cement for the country’s pavilion.

Founders of waiwai design, a multidisciplinary practice with offices in Dubai and Tokyo, Al Awar and Teramoto have long worked to address the social, environmental, economic and technological aspects of architectural projects, and their exhibition for the UAE’s pavilion, entitled Wetland, is no different. Confronting the harmful effects of traditional cement on the climate (cement generates eight percent of the world’s CO2 emissions), the curators will present a structural prototype inspired by the UAE’s sabkha (salt flats) and built from minerals extracted from the rejected brine of the country’s industrial desalination.

“We were looking for a vernacular architecture that is similar to the region, and what we found was an architecture that used salt in the construction of buildings in Siwa, a region on the border of Egypt and Libya,” says Al Awar. “They extracted blocks from the sabkha itself and used mud as glue.

That was interesting to us because the UAE’s landmass is five percent sabkha, or wetland.”

Although vernacular architecture in the UAE was typically crafted with coral, which Al Awar attributes to the material being easier to work with than the sabkha, the discovery of Siwa engendered a curiosity in the curators, and triggered a years-long research endeavour into building materials that could be made from locally available resources.

“To be clear, we have zero intention of using the sabkhas to build with,” says Al Awar. “They are simply a source of inspiration and something to learn from. In fact, we are fighting for their preservation because they are Material research at the Wetland lab at Alserkal Avenue. carbon sinks – one square metre of Image courtesy National Pavilion. sabkha can absorb more CO2 than one

square metre of rain forest. They are the lungs of the UAE.” Al Awar and Teramoto – who are collaborating with several institutions and agencies including the environmental agency of Abu Dhabi, the American University of Sharjah, NYU Abu Dhabi and Tokyo University – have found a solution in the extracted minerals from the reject brine of desalinated water. With the UAE having the third largest desalination plant on the planet (and en route to having the largest), there are plenty of resources to work with and meet the demands of the country’s development plans. According to Al Awar, the equivalent of nearly 5000 Olympicsized swimming pools of rejected brine is dumped back into the sea on a daily basis once it’s been removed from the sea water during the purification process. This waste product can be recycled for construction, and the UAE’s pavilion will show just that, as the prototype will be built from 3000 units cast in soil and shaped like coral.

And while this is the basis of the pavilion’s exhibition, Wetland also aims to address several other ongoing challenges, including what Al Awar refers to as “issues caused by 20th-century individualism” and the modern architect’s neglect of greater responsibility. While both are dense topics to tackle, the pavilion’s team hopes that visitors pick up on its message of collaboration and each person’s responsibility to build a safer future.

“Hashim asked us how we will live together, and for us, we saw it as how will humans and nature live together,” says Al Awar. “We want people to really think about collaborating and talking to one another.

We could not do what we have done without our partnerships. Through these collaborations, we can live together and develop a better future for ourselves. The 20th century was selfish – it was about the ‘me’, the ‘I’. But now it should be about the ‘we’. It should be about the communal.”

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what is power?

WHAT IS POWER? For ‘The Power Issue’, we asked three designers from across the Middle East to reflect on the concept of ‘power’ in design and architecture and craft a response that best expresses their thoughts through an open medium. The end result is wide-ranging, including illustrations, photographic works and text, by Emirati designer Abdalla Almulla, Kuwaiti multidisciplinary designer Kawther Alsaffar and Lebanese-Polish design duo T SAKHI.

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what is power?

KAWTHER AL SAFFAR

The illustration shows a stream of consciousness relating to my personal experience as a designer and an obsession with the philosophical backbone of storytelling in products. The use of single words provides an untethered flow of thoughts that allows the reader to relate to these experiences in their own way as the words wash over them, sparking moments of personal feeling. This is a reflection of the difficulty of needing to always connect to an internal idea that is personal but also universally desirable. The symbol of the circle shows the continuousness of this lifelong process of creation. We never truly stop. It is not what we do, it’s who we are. Our power is in never giving up through it all.

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what is power?

ABDALLA ALMULLA

Being an architect, felt so until empowered I Being an architect, I never felt Isonever empowered I saw until my designs materialised and was saw my designs materialised and was able to see people able to seeinteracting people interacting with it. with them.

Only then was I able to understand the power of design. A power that affects people’s lives on a physical and emotional level. Forms will affect people’s emotions and function will Only then was I able to understand the power of design. A power that affect their productivity. affects people’s lives on a physical and emotional level. Forms will affect people’s emotions and function will affect their productivity.

Let the users be the frontier of your designs.

Let the users be your designs.

Above is an illustration I created onthe thefrontier power ofofdesign and its ability to control the emotions and feelings of the user by creating different ceiling forms and levels.

Above is an illustration I created on the power of design and its ability to control the emotions and feelings of the user by creating different ceiling forms and levels.

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what is power?

T SAKHI

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id50

id

50 50 The annual list of architects and designers to know across the Middle East

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or its 200th issue, identity celebrated contributions to design and architecture from the Middle East by launching id50 – a list of 50 individuals and companies that have positively impacted the built environment across the MENA region, from design and architecture professionals to members of government initiatives and events. id50 makes a comeback for the ‘Power Issue’ – now an annual list – to highlight the designers and architects that should be on our radar, from up-and-coming talents to long-serving practitioners from the Middle East region – some of whom were on the list last year.

Previous members of the list who had been selected again this year were given the choice of nominating other designers or architects in their place, in order to shed light on new talent, allowing for the list to naturally evolve.

The 50 individuals and companies on the 2021 id50 list hail from across the region, including the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Iran and Turkey. id50 is editorially led and recognises individuals for their contributions to the design and architecture landscape across the region.

ABBOUD MALAK

Dubai-based designer Abboud Malak is the founder of boutique practice Studio M which he established in 2007. Following a 15-year stint in Los Angeles where he designed high-end residences, Malak moved to Dubai to join the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) team, where he led the design for its landmark project, The Gate Tower – praised both locally and internationally for pioneering a fresh approach to corporate design in the region. Malak has since continued to forge a new design language for the UAE, focusing on design integrity and a minimalist approach – both visible across his rich portfolio of work that is both original and enduring. Studio M is currently working with Dubai-based developer Omniyat on a show penthouse for its prestigious One Palm project, as well as designing high-end residences for private clients. Recently, the design studio collaborated with Plus Design Group from Los Angeles for its head offices in DIFC, Dubai, showcasing Malak’s passion for form, space, materiality and a modernist approach to design.

AAU ANASTAS

Bethlehem-based Elias and Yousef Anastas are the founders of architecture firm AAU Anastas, which also houses its research arm, SCALES. The Palestinian architects are also partners and founders of Local Industries, a community of artisans and designers dedicated to industrial furniture-making. These three elements of their work intersect and mutually nourish each other. Through their architecture practice, the brothers tackle topics ranging from material exploration to territorial investigations, proposing new relationships to be established within Palestinian environments, while Local Industries aims to reassert the value of local Palestinian craftsmanship and labour. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the architects also founded a community radio station called Radio Alhara that brought together creatives from across the globe during a time of disconnection. Their main aim within architecture is to trace architectural elements and techniques beyond borders and historical periods into a sphere of universal discourse, which they are continuing to do in their home country and abroad.

ABEER SEIKALY

Jordanian-Palestinian architect and designer Abeer Seikaly’s work is deeply rooted in memory and cultural empowerment, using architecture as a social technology that redefines the way people engage with space. In 2012, Seikaly received the Lexus Design Award for a performative structural system that explores the social implications of creating homes for displaced communities. In 2015, she co-founded and co-directed Amman Design Week, an initiative that seeks to promote and foster a culture of design and collaboration in Jordan, and in 2018 she established ālmamar, a cultural experience and residency programme based in Amman. Her ongoing project, ‘Weaving a Home’, is led in collaboration with Bedouin communities across Jordan, and forms part of her research into structural material systems that use abundant yet underutilised local materials. Seikaly has exhibited regionally and internationally, including the MoMA in New York, the MAK in Vienna, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and, recently, at Lille Métropole, World Design Capital 2020.

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AHMED BUKHASH

Emirati architect Ahmed Bukhash founded Dubai-based architecture practice Archidentity in 2009 with the aim of creating built environments and spaces that reflect their surrounding culture through a modern design language, while reinterpreting traditional archetypes. Archidentity’s body of work embodies regional symbolism and vernacular through a post-modernist approach, and includes residential villas for private clients, mosques and other public buildings.

Archidentity has been awarded the design for the Expo Live Pavilion at Expo 2020, which the firm is currently working on, in addition to a number of high-end private residential villas in Dubai. Bukhash is also heavily involved in the field of architectural education and serves as a member of the Dubai Advisory Committee for Architectural Program Development at the American University in Dubai.

AGI ARCHITECTS

Nasser Abulhasan and Joaquin Pérez-Goicoechea founded AGi Architects in 2006 after meeting at Harvard University, where both architects completed their architectural studies. The multidisciplinary practice is located in Kuwait and Spain, with a strong focus on innovation, ecology, social intervention and research. Set at the crossroads between Europe and the Middle East, the firm’s architectural footprint has left a lasting and pivotal mark on Kuwait’s urban identity.

The firm’s main interest lies in the dialogue between cultural and social behaviours and how architecture in itself can operate as a canvas for forming new human relationships and behaviours. The boutique practice has recently completed various public space and residential projects in Kuwait and is currently working on several projects with Expo 2020 Dubai, including the Opportunity Pavilion, as well as residential and hotel projects and a mall in Kuwait.

ALINE ASMAR D’AMMAN

Photography by Marco Zorzanello

French-Lebanese designer Aline Asmar d’Amman is the founder of Culture in Architecture. With offices in Beirut and Paris, the practice spans architecture, interiors, furniture design and art direction. Culture in Architecture exemplifies the use of hand-crafted materials and embraces heritage and innovation. From projects spanning luxury hospitality to private residential, d’Amman is behind key international projects such as the art direction of Hotel de Crillion’s renovation and the interiors of the new Le Jules Verne restaurant located on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. And while her many notable projects are located in Europe (she is currently working on the Rosewood Hotel in Venice), d’Amman has strong ties to the Middle East, with recent projects including a residential project for a royal ruler in Bahrain and another residence in Riyadh. She is also committed to the reconstruction of Beirut, working with students to create proposals for the redesigning of urban structures and restoration in destructed areas of the city.

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ALJOUD LOOTAH

Aljoud Lootah is an Emirati designer who has gained international acclaim since the establishment of her studio in 2014. The studio has since preserved its distinctive approach by focusing on form and function while reinterpreting Emirati culture and artisanal techniques through contemporary design. Lootah is driven by a passion for detail, and an experimental approach to materiality and aesthetics. This emphasis has resulted in a body of work that is both functional and timeless, yet maintains strong ties to the traditional craftsmanship of the UAE. Two of her designs for the ‘Oru Series’ (2015) were acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, making her the first Emirati designer to have her work acquired by an international gallery. Lootah produces bespoke furniture, objects and collectible designs for governmental and private entities and clients, and has been involved in numerous retail and residential interior projects across the UAE.

AMMAR BASHEIR

Sudanese-born, Bahraini designer Ammar Basheir founded his eponymous practice, Amman Basheir Creative Studio, in Manama in 2009 with the aim of creating atmospheric spaces that elevate Middle Eastern design in its own right. Basheir has since designed over 120 private houses, retail spaces and restaurants, as well as public installations. His notable projects include: the interiors of On Motcomb, an haute couture fashion boutique in London; the Post Museum in Manama; the Nuzul Al Salam Hotel, a restored traditional Bahraini house and the first hotel under the Pearling Path project in Muharraq – a UNESCO World Heritage Site; and, most recently, the interiors of the Green Corner, as part of a collaborative effort between Bahrain’s Shaikh Ebrahim Centre and the UAE’s Ministry of Culture.

He is currently working on the restoration of Bahrain’s oldest hotel.

ARTHI BALASUBRAMANIAN

Born in Chennai, India, Arthi Balasubramanian has 15 years of architectural experience, and has worked for a number of renowned architectural studios in the UK, leading several prestigious and award-winning projects during that time. Shortly after moving to the UAE, she joined Danish architectural practice CEBRA in 2016, and was appointed as Head of the Abu Dhabi office in 2018. In this role, she oversees the design and delivery of all projects from the local office, which works on bridging the cultural heritage of the UAE with contemporary architecture, most notably across projects such as the Jubail Mangrove Park, the Armed Forces Officers’ Club and Hotel, Village Villa and the Green Sports Hub. Balasubramanian was the lead design manager of CEBRA’s complex masterplan and modernisation of the Cultural Foundation Building at Qasr Al Hosn, which was completed in September, and continues to work on heritage projects across the UAE. 42

BAHRAINI-DANISH

Nominated by Anne Holtrop – Studio Anne Holtrop Bahraini—danish is a design collective established in Bahrain in 2016 by Batool Alshaikh, Maitham Almubarak and Christian Vennerstrøm Jensen, and was named after the many historical encounters between Bahrain and Denmark in archaeology and architecture– to name a few. The multicultural design collective unifies its two contrasting design languages in ways that are unexpected and with a distinctive approach, and uses these differences as a means to create a new common order. Together with local artisans and craftspeople, the collective questions better ways to ‘make’. The objects they create are architectural in nature and have been presented around the Middle East and Europe. Almubarak currently also works at Studio Anne Holtrop in Bahrain, and Alshaikh continues her practice while also working for the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities.

BERNARD KHOURY

Lebanese architect Bernard Khoury founded his architecture practice DW5 in 1993, with post-civil war Beirut and its urban landscape becoming his workshop and source of inspiration. Khoury’s work demonstrates exceptional creativity and flexibility and a firm stance against conforming to norms; instead, he focuses on creating his own narrative by producing buildings that reflect the less ‘sugar-coated’ stories of Beirut. Besides DW5, Khoury co-founded the Arab Center for Architecture and has lectured across a number of prestigious academic institutions, from Europe to the US. Over the past 20 years, his office has developed an international reputation and a diverse portfolio of projects, both regionally and in more than 15 countries the world over. He delivered two residential projects in Lebanon in 2020 and is currently working on the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies in Gyumri, Armenia and Paris.

BONE

Founded by Natalie Mahakian and Achraf Mzily in 2018, Bone is a young Dubai-based practice that offers a new contemporary language within the design landscape of the UAE. Coming from the complementary frameworks of architecture and interior design, its work ranges from commercial and residential projects to landscaping, eliciting a dialogue through architectural gestures, sensorial earthy materiality and detailing. By rejecting conventional design stereotypes, Bone freely explores design while still applying methodical theory to its projects, creating novel spaces that can functionally and aesthetically serve different purposes, and reinterpreting the way common spaces are defined.

Having recently completed Terra, a Mediterranean eatery reminiscent of a lush courtyard, Bone is currently working on F&B concepts in Dubai Design District and Alserkal Avenue, in addition working across private residences, hospitality projects and industrial design.

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BRICKLAB

Established in Jeddah in 2015, Bricklab is dedicated to the examination of design as it intersects with the social, political, economic, and cultural networks that form our built environment. It was founded

by Saudi architects Abdulrahman and Turki Gazzaz, and the duo brings together dynamic and diverse backgrounds in architecture and planning, as well as history and theory. These frame the practice, whose aim is to pose research-driven questions to make meaningful contributions within socio-political and economic contexts. Working across multiple scales, the duo has since produced objects, designed coffee shops, redeveloped historic buildings and curated and exhibited across platforms such as the Venice Architecture Biennale, Salone del Mobile in Milan, Art Dubai and Shubbak Festival, in addition to consulting on city-scale masterplan developments. Bricklab was awarded the Art Jameel International Design Award for its proposal for Hayy:Cinema, soon to be the first bespoke home of Saudi and international independent film in the Kingdom.

CHRIS JONES

CARL GERGES

Lebanese architect and musician Carl Gerges founded his architecture studio Carl Gerges Architects through an approach that adopts an authentic manner of work, diligently focusing on preserving each project’s social, environmental and historical conditions. Advocating honest and contextual designs, the studio begins its design process by delving into the client’s stories and identities, basing the scope of work on the project’s core values and DNA. Anchored in a deep respect for sustaining natural resources, the studio avails itself of these earthly fabrics. Additionally, it handles heritage with intimate sensibility, preserving the project’s site and architecture. Gerges has completed a number of residential projects across Lebanon, with others currently under construction, including the historical Villa Nadia in Lebanon, a residential project in Lagos, Nigeria and a cultural project in Paris. His studio is also working on residential projects in New York as well as hospitality, educational and residential projects in Beirut.

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Chris Jones is partner at 10 Design, which has completed a number of landmark projects across the UAE. He has over 20 years of international experience on major projects throughout the Middle East, Asia, the UK and the US, and is currently based in Dubai. Jones has extensive experience on the design, delivery and management of projects across all stages, including mixed-use developments, masterplanning and residential, retail, commercial, education and civic projects. He has worked with a wide variety of clients including international developers, private clients, government bodies, and universities and college trusts. Presently in the region, he has been managing the design and delivery of landmark mixed-use projects with Dubai International Financial Centre, Al Barari, Emaar, DMCC, Meraas, Mirage, Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana, TECOM, and Swiss Property. Having completed projects such as the Bluewaters Residences and Mosque in Dubai and the Al Seef Contemporary Area in Dubai Creek, 10 Design is currently working on La Reserve Residences in Dubai, the Jefeira Seafront Masterplan and Residential Development in Egypt and the Hyatt Centric Yalikavak Bodrum in Turkey.

DANA ALAMRI

Saudi architect Dana AlAmri is the co-founder of Jeddah-based design and architecture firm WATAD Studio. Alongside partner Yahia Kandil, WATAD has worked across a variety of sectors including residential, commercial and hospitality, including the studio’s celebrated Travertine House in Jeddah’s Al Khalidiyyah district. Prior to launching WATAD, AlAmri completed her thesis in social housing and the potential regeneration of the slums in Jeddah. AlAmri’s work has a strong focus on the user experience, space and light, while the studio additionally participates in a number of community initiatives as well as working with the municipality to help improve urban conditions in the city. AlAmri believes that great architecture lies in empowering individuals and building strong and successful communities.

DARA TOWHIDI

Architect Dara Towhidi is a partner at Foster + Partners and currently oversees the UK firm’s Dubai office and several highprofile projects in the Middle East region. A graduate of the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, he joined the practice in 1997 and has since worked on projects across the globe – including Kamakura House in Japan, Bund Finance Centre in Shanghai and Dubai Design District’s Creative Community, as well as The Index tower in Dubai, the House of Wisdom in Sharjah and, most recently, the masterplan for a luxury hospitality resort island in Saudi Arabia. Towhidi also plays an active part in the design community in Dubai, speaking widely at conferences and industry events as well as holding a role on the American University in Dubai’s Advisory Board for Architecture.

Photography by Marco Pinarelli

DAVID/NICOLAS

Lebanese designers David Raffoul and Nicolas Moussallem have established a global presence since setting up their studio, David/ Nicolas, in Beirut in 2011. Through an interdisciplinary approach and retro-futurist design aesthetic, the duo has since staged several exhibitions and collaborated with established international brands like Vista Alegre, CC-Tapis, Moooi, Pierre Frey and de Gournay. The pair work in a salon-style studio environment and have fostered a creative space where their individual ways of creation can flourish. Their Orquestra tableware collection for Vista Alegre was awarded the Red Dot Design Award. Since 2016, they are represented by Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Their solo exhibition, ‘Supernova’, was shown in both Paris and New York and is continuously expanding into a wide range of carefully crafted pieces. David/Nicolas are continuing to work on private and commercial interior projects, as well as furniture pieces for various international brands.

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FADI SARIEDDINE

Lebanese architect Fadi Sarieddine set up his eponymous multidisciplinary atelier in 2013 alongside his wife Lilas Bitar. Fadi Sarieddine Design Studio’s work ranges in scale from architectural projects to interiors for offices and retail, restaurant and residential projects, and also creates furniture designs. Sarieddine’s experimental approach challenges the fundamentals of traditional design; he examines the use of unconventional materials by taking them out of their natural context and applying them as a new medium, thus giving them a new identity, while also designing to allow the user to interfere with the objects by transforming them in accordance with his or her needs. Sarieddine is currently working on The Hive in Dubai, the first co-living community project of its kind in the city.

GREENWOOD BARTON ARCHITECTS

FAYSAL TABBARAH

Nominated by Jonathan Ashmore – Anarchitect Born in Aleppo, Syria, Faysal Tabbarah is Associate Professor of Architecture at the College of Architecture, Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah, and co-founder of the architecture and design studio Architecture + Other Things (A+OT), alongside Nada Taryam. Tabbarah’s teaching, practice and research interrogates the relationships between regional environmental and architectural imaginaries to develop alternative building practices that are rooted in their surrounding material and cultural environments. Tabbarah’s recently completed projects include Drowsy Coffee on the foothills of Al Hajar Mountains in Khorfakkan, in collaboration with The Attic Design Studio, as well as a commission for Kvadrat. Upcoming projects in 2021 include: Water in the Green, the competition-winning entry for Sabeel Water Fountains at Expo 2020; a farmhouse in Ajman, UAE; and a contribution for the Kuwait Pavilion at the 17th Venice Biennial of Architecture.

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Nominated by Sahel Al Hiyari – Sahel Al Hiyari Architects Greenwood Barton Architects is located in Amman, Jordan and led by Matthew Barton, who established the office in 2014, and Somayya Abu Hayeh, who joined in 2017. The work of the office is varied in scale and type and includes new buildings, conservation of historic buildings, interiors and furniture design. Projects are characterised by specific criteria, including the geographical context, available means and materials and the needs of the client.

The practice makes sense of these criteria to produce robust and memorable spaces that are comfortable for people to use. Recently, Greenwood Barton Architects collaborated with AAU Anastas to exhibit the first phase of a project to expand The Mohammad and Mahera Abu Ghazaleh (MMAG) Foundation, a non-profit arts and culture organisation in Jabal Amman. Other current projects include a 5000m2 mixed-use facility in West Amman, as well as a high-end retail outlet and private residences.

HASHIM SARKIS

Photography Jacopo Salvi, Courtesy La Biennale di Venezia

Lebanese architect and educator Hashim Sarkis is the principal of Hashim Sarkis Studios (HSS), established in 1998 with offices in Boston and Beirut. He is also the Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a position he has held since 2015. Before joining MIT, Sarkis was the Aga Khan Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at Harvard University. He is best-known for his contribution to the development and reconstruction of Lebanon, from Beirut’s downtown to the country’s fishing village of Tyre. His projects span affordable housing, residential projects, parks, institutional buildings, urban design and town planning. Sarkis was appointed curator of the Venice Architecture Biennale for 2020, which will be taking place later this year.

JASSIM ALSADDAH

Nominated by Studio Toggle Kuwait-based architect Jassim AlSaddah set up his practice, Babnimnim (BNN) Design Studio, in 2010 after graduating from the Architectural Association (AA) in London. AlSaddah reflects on defining space through function and expressiveness much like his ancestors, creating a sense of ingenuity through intuition which he aims to sustain throughout his body of work. Recently, BNN has completed a proposal for the North Nugra Complex renovation in Kuwait, as well as the Mamluki Lancet Mosque and the Arch Mosque in Kuwait and Bahrain respectively. Other notable projects across the region include AlSaddah Grand Mosque, Loft Restaurant & Ristretto Coffee Bar and Al Tujjar Tower – all in Kuwait – as well as the Aseel Residential Resort in KSA and The International Investor head office in Kuwait, and a variety of private residences.

JENNIE BINCHY

RIBA Chartered British architect Jennie Binchy is the design director of boutique architecture and interior design studio Binchy and Binchy, which she founded in Dubai in 2015 to focus on working with local clients and home-grown brands. With the founding philosophy that design should be ‘of its time and of its place’, Binchy explores the history and aesthetic language of the region, and the studio’s work has become increasingly known for blending contemporary design with local influences. Working across a broad spectrum of typologies, the studio’s recently completed work includes an aviation training centre, a luxury private villa, and a chain of French/Arabic-inspired bistros.

Fascinated by product design, Binchy launched Ten Tables in 2019, and this year is exploring fabrication and cutting techniques using travertine, with the aim of launching a new collection later in the year.

She is also working on several luxury residences in Dubai, a multistorey commercial residence in Sharjah and two urban townhouses in Abu Dhabi.

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JESPER GODSK

Jesper Godsk co-founded LW Design in 1999 with the aim of creating bespoke designs for the Middle East. Over 20 years later, the firm has come to be known as one of the most well-recognised interior design companies in the region, and is highly regarded for its hospitality and dining spaces. Under his leadership, LW has completed projects for some of the world’s most well-known international hotel brands, from Zabeel House to Grosvenor House and Hyatt Regency, with work including the JW Marriott Marquis, Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort and Spa and the Dusit Hotel. Godsk has applied his Scandinavian sensibilities to LW’s portfolio of projects and has expanded the firm from a local company based in Dubai into a multi-national multi-disciplinary firm with offices in Hong Kong, Sao Paolo and London. The company is currently working on an impressive number of F&B and hotel projects such as the Edition Hotel in Dubai, the Waldorf Astoria in Kuwait and the Mandarin Oriental.

KHUAN CHEW

Interior designer Khuan Chew set up her practice, KCA International, in 1998 in London and later expanded into Dubai and Hong Kong, creating projects that span four continents. Chew is behind the interiors of some of the most iconic hospitality projects in Dubai, from the Burj Al Arab to Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Madinat Jumeirah, and has continued to design for major international hospitality clients across the region, including Jumeirah, Westin, St. Regis, Four Seasons, InterContinental, Hyatt, Waldorf Astoria, Mandarin Oriental, Raffles, Caesars Palace, Rixos, Hilton, Millennium, Sofitel, RF, Okura, The Address and Rotana, in addition to exclusive palace commissions for heads of state and royals. Chew’s multicultural approach to design stems from her background and sense of pride in her Chinese heritage, fusing elements from east and west. KCA is currently working on the Leadership Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, as well as a number of hospitality projects across the Middle East.

LARA ZUREIKAT

Lara Zureikat is one of the leading designers in the field of landscape architecture in the Middle East and is the associate director for the Center for the Study of the Built Environment (CSBE) in Amman. Lara’s work at CSBE has focused on the design of native, water-conserving landscapes. She designed the first model water-conserving park for the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts and led an extensive public resource and publication programme promoting the use of drought-tolerant flora in landscape design. Zureikat has also collaborated with local and international architecture firms on notable institutional and urban projects, such as the Palestinian Museum Hub in Bir Zeit, the Amman Master Plan, and the Destination Hotel in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia. Zureikat’s work is rooted in connection to place and in the integration of natural processes to create relevant and sustainable landscapes.

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Photography by Nadia Bseiso

LINA GHOTMEH

Lina Ghotmeh is a French-Lebanese architect and founder of the critically acclaimed international studio Lina Ghotmeh – Architecture.

Ghotmeh was raised in Beirut in the aftermath of the Lebanese civil war and studied at the American University of Beirut, after which she left Beirut to collaborate with Ateliers Jean Nouvel in Paris and with Norman Foster in London. She founded her practice in 2016, bringing together architects, designers and researchers in the pursuit of innovative and cutting‐edge projects. Crossing scales and geographies, from objects to museums and with projects from France and Beirut to Japan, her work draws a historical and sensitive approach to architecture. Ghotmeh’s internationally-recognised projects include the Estonian National Museum, the Stone Garden tower with its handcrafted envelope in Beirut, as well as the Les Grands Verres restaurant in Palais de Tokyo in Paris. She is currently designing a passive building for the new Les Ateliers Hermès in France and will be exhibiting at the upcoming Venice Biennale of Architecture.

LOCI

LOCI is a Dubai-based practice operating in the fields of contemporary architecture, urban planning, interior architecture and product design.

Established by Hani Fallaha and Hamad Khoory in 2012, LOCI is a culture-driven, design-led studio that believes in the importance of context and the power of the locus to inform its design process and architecture. Combining a clear and elegant vision of pure, rational form and spatial quality, LOCI seeks to instil in every aspect of its work an uncompromising dedication to quality. The studio resists trends, employing where possible locally sourced and produced materials. Its projects are timeless, elegant and environmentally sensitive, seeking to increase the quality of life for the occupant and end-user. LOCI is currently working on a diverse range of projects, including urban masterplans, commercial, education, residential, villas, high-end fitouts and product design.

MEISA BATAYNEH

Meisa Batayneh is the founder and principal architect of maisam architects & engineers, which was established in 1986 with offices in Amman and Abu Dhabi. Over her long and distinguished career, Batayneh has led multi-disciplinary teams on large-scale international and regional projects in the USA, Pakistan, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE. In addition to her passion for applying creativity, design and innovation to enhance the built environment, she is actively engaged in social initiatives through national and international commissions and boards. She was selected as a member of the Amman Commission, entrusted with developing the greater Amman Masterplan. She is a founding member of the Jordan Green Building Council and the Middle East Leadership Academy. Batayneh served on the Master Jury for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2019 and is a Steering Committee member for its 2022 cycle.

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MOHAMMADREZA GHODOUSI

Mohammadreza Ghodousi is one of the founders of Iranian architecture practice ZAV Architects, which was established in 2006. The practice is pushing for the notion of ‘form follows public interest’, and is doing its best to implement this approach in all of its urban design and architecture projects. Based in Tehran, ZAV Architects looks at the evolution of the city and the contemporisation of its urban fabric to inform its designs. The firm’s upcoming projects in Tehran includes Charkhooneh, which aims to create public space for collective work and social interaction, focusing on the young generation active in entrepreneurship and the start-up scene. Another upcoming project is the design of the public spaces surrounding the Museum of the Iran-Iraq War in the Abbas Abad hills of Tehran. The practice is also working in the northern part of the country, redesigning a farm for community activities and contemporary agri-production, with a view to creating agritourism.

MONA EL MOUSFY

Mona El-Mousfy is an architect and the founder of SpaceContinuum, a researchbased architecture practice in Sharjah that explores the relationships between space, shared social practices and socio-cultural conditions. El-Mousfy is the Advisor to the Sharjah Architecture Triennial and played a key role in founding the initiative in 2017. She is also the Architecture Consultant for the Sharjah Art Foundation, where she has worked on several projects including successive editions of the Sharjah Biennial since 2005. El-Mousfy is currently engaged in various adaptive reuse projects and has led the design for the SAF Art Spaces in Al Mureijah, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Agha Khan Award for Architecture, and the Rain Room in Sharjah. Her most recent adaptive reuse project is the Flying Saucer, 2020, where she has restored the original mid-‘70s character of the building while introducing a new outdoor public space and a lower-level community space around a sunken courtyard.

Photography by Tarek Moukaddem

NADA DEBS

Nada Debs is a Lebanese designer living and working in Beirut whose work ranges from product and furniture design to craft, art, fashion and interiors.

What ties her work together is her ability to distil culture and craftsmanship to create pieces of emotional resonance. Fascinated by the role of the human hand to tell stories and evoke a sense of belonging, she describes craft as a feeling that goes beyond geography, language and culture, regularly utilising craft traditions and techniques found across the Middle East in her work, presenting them in a contemporary language that often interacts with other global influences. She is currently working on the renovation of the Arab League Hall in Cairo, as well as designing a collection of prayer rugs called Transcendence, her latest collaboration with the Fatma Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative (FMBI), with whom she had previously created the You and I rug collection in collaboration with female carpet weavers in Kabul.

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NUHAYR ZEIN

Nominated by Pallavi Dean – Roar Nuhayr Zein is a young UAE-grown Egyptian architect and researcher whose work spans different disciplines including architecture, product design and material research. She finds inspiration in the surrounding natural context, which is reflected in her work at a material, spatial and formal scale to create culturally relevant and environmentally responsible design and material solutions. In a resource-constrained world and with the aim of creating a symbiosis between nature and design, Zein focuses on expanding the range of sustainable materials in the design industry. Her recent material innovation, a plant-based leather alternative to animal and synthetic leathers, was selected to be exhibited both during Dubai Design Week and Venice Design Week. She is currently further developing this material with scientists, in collaboration with Tashkeel. Her latest furniture collection is also currently represented by a number of galleries, including Galerie Philia.

NOURA AL-SAYEH

Noura Al Sayeh is an architect and curator currently working at the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) as Head of Architectural Affairs, where she is responsible for overseeing the planning and implementation of cultural institutions and museums, as well as the creation of an active agenda of exhibitions and academic exchange initiatives. Since 2015, she has been directing the ‘Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy’ UNESCO World Heritage project, which was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the 2019 cycle and is part of the Muharraq Revitalisation Project. She is currently co-curating and designing Bahrain's participation at the Venice Biennale alongside Ghassan Chemali. She is the deputy general commissioner for Density Weaves Opportunities, Bahrain's Pavilion at the Expo Dubai 2020, and continues to work on the ongoing Pearling Path project.

Photography by Noorhan Ahmed

OMAR ABDELGHAFOUR

Omar Abdelghafour founded L.S. Design (Light Space Design), a multidisciplinary design and architecture practice, in 2004 and has since brought his minimalist approach to design to the Middle East, creating projects that are pared back in their approach yet richly textured in their attention to materiality, spatial design and user experience. Spanning private and commercial architecture and interiors, Abdelghafour has also worked on urban planning projects, product design, furniture, lighting and transport design, displaying his multifaceted approach to design. Abdelghafour has high regard for craftsmanship and refined aesthetics and is a firm believer that design should be passionate, dynamic and contextually relevant for the region in which it is being delivered. L.S. Design is currently working on private residences in Dubai and penthouses in both Dubai and London, as well as hotel in Bali, with future projects including a resort in Oman.

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PAUL BISHOP

OMAR NAKKASH

Dubai-based designer Omar Nakkash founded NAKKASH Design Studio in 2015, creating a multidisciplinary design and architecture practice that focuses on the human element of every project. Running one of the most promising, young practices in Dubai, Nakkash works across residential and commercial interiors, while the design studio also offers graphic design and product design services as well as the curation of furniture collections. Nakkash’s projects showcase a detail-oriented eye and appreciation for materiality and unexpected design solutions. He is currently working on two residential projects in Dubai and office projects for international holding companies, as well as F&B projects.

RABAH SAEID

Dubai-based, Sudanese designer Rabah Saeid began her career in interior design in the US, later moving to the Gulf region where she began working on commercial, retail and hospitality projects.

Saeid’s string of projects spans Houston, Aspen, Marrakech, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. She founded her interior architecture studio, Styled Habitat, in 2016 with a simple maxim: ‘Great design is a luxury for all.’ The studio employs a blend of contemporary, custom and vintage pieces from a variety of periods, creating a layered feel that is rich in texture and influence yet functional and elegantly effortless, helping to foster a lifestyle that is narrative-driven and personal. Saeid also works on enriching the design community through initiatives, as well as championing education and training for young professionals and mentorship to young entrepreneurs. Saeid is currently working on the Jotun HQ and regional office in Dubai, as well as highend residential projects for private clients, a flagship and corporate office for a telecommunication company in Africa and a number of wellness projects.

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UK-born Paul Bishop has worked in the Middle East for over 20 years, with an array of award-winning F&B and hospitality projects under his belt – such as Massimo Bottura’s restaurant, Torno Subito, in the W Dubai – the Palm hotel.

Bishop Design by Paul Bishop, which was founded in 2004 in Dubai, is now an international, multiaward-winning design house with over 90 regional and global awards from projects rolled out across the globe. Bishop has recently completed two F&B venues in Zaha Hadid’s ME Dubai hotel and is currently working on the SLS Hotel & Residences as well as a hotel in Morocco, F&B projects in Saudi Arabia and projects in the Bahamas.

RABIH GEHA

Lebanese-Croatian architect Rabih Geha launched his eponymous multidisciplinary firm Rabih Geha Architects (RG/A) in 2006, representing a generation of young architects in Lebanon that are paving the way for a new approach within the country’s urban landscape and design sphere. Geha has designed Beirut’s popular fitness spaces, nightlife venues and luxury residences, as well as other commercial and retail interiors, with clients including the likes of Aïshti, Addmind Group, A&S Chronora Rolex, Four Seasons Hotel, Images d’Orient, Uberhaus, Patchi and U Energy Health Club. He has since expanded his practice into Nigeria and Saudi Arabia and is currently working on renovating and restoring a traditional Lebanese house in Beirut, F&B projects in Saudi and popular nightclub B 018’s Dubai location, as well as realising projects in Qatar and the US.

SHAUN KILLA

RANIA M HAMED

Interior architect Rania M Hamed is the founder of boutique interior architecture practice VSHD, based in Dubai. Hamed’s work has come to be known for its innovative approach and outstanding quality that is synonymous with timelessness and longevity. Her ability to manipulate material, textures and spatial design while maintaining a strong sense of quality and design integrity has propelled her to complete some of the most successful projects in the city. VSHD has designed over 50 residential and commercial projects, as well as sports facilities, in Dubai, Cairo, London and the US. Recently, VSHD has delivered a number of residential, wellness and F&B projects, all of which embody the firm’s – and Hamed’s own – distinctive approach to design that considers place and user needs while creating spaces that are both extremely refined and unexpected.

SIMON FRASER

Nominated by Peter Jackson – Architect Advisor for HH the Ruler’s Oice in Sharjah Simon Fraser is a British architect and senior partner at Hopkins Architects in London and managing director in Dubai, having joined the company in 1990. Fraser worked for the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, where he led the design of the award-winning Kuala Lumpur International Airport project before returning to Hopkins Architects in 1994. In 2004 he established the Hopkins Dubai office after winning the competition to design the Gate Village precinct at Dubai International Finance Centre. Since then, he and his team have gone on to design and complete a variety of projects at The Dubai World Trade Centre and, recently, the Thematic Districts at Expo 2020. His most recently completed project in the UAE is the Jebel Buhais Geology Museum, a series of naturally lit exhibition and museum spaces sensitively positioned in the Buhais archaeological park in Sharjah. He has also completed a variety of projects in different cities around the world including London, Tokyo, Athens and Istanbul.

Architect Shaun Killa co-founded Killa Design in 2015 in Dubai, creating some of the most well-known architectural projects in the city. Since then, the firm has grown to an 80-strong team over the span of six years. Over his 26-year career, Killa has worked on buildings and masterplans internationally, with a strong focus on innovation.

Having competed against leading global firms, Killa Design has in the last year proposed designs for opera houses, art galleries, art installations and science museums within the region, winning many of them. Its latest projects include the mixed-use 77-storey twin tower, Address Beach Resort, which accommodates a 190-key five-star hotel, 478 residential apartments and 444 serviced branded apartments. Killa’s most iconic project is perhaps Dubai’s Museum of the Future, where the firm worked with advanced composites, engaging with various global leaders in building materials and techniques.

SUMAYA DABBAGH

Saudi architect Sumaya Dabbagh is the founder and principal of Dabbagh Architects, which she founded in 2008 as one of the first RIBA-Chartered practices in the Gulf region. Educated in the UK, Dabbagh’s diverse experience in architecture and interior design spans more than 25 years. Dabbagh Architects has seen the completion of a range of projects in diverse sectors including commercial offices and retail, residential, educational and cultural projects. The Mleiha Archaeological Centre has been globally recognised as a significant example of an emerging approach to architecture in the UAE. Her practice has since completed the design of Al Ain Museum, a recent addition to Dabbagh’s renowned portfolio of contextually sensitive designs. Throughout her work across the Gulf, Dabbagh’s quest to bridge the cultural and gender gaps continues. She has played an instrumental role in setting up the RIBA Gulf Chapter in 2009, with a passion for bringing further awareness to the region on the value of good design. She served as the Chair of the RIBA Gulf Chapter from 2015 to 2019. Dabbagh is currently working across cultural and residential projects in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. THE ART ISSUE

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TARIK ZAHARNA

TABANLIOGLU ARCHITECTS

Founder and director of T.ZED Architects, Tarik Zaharna has positioned himself as a young pioneer in the steadily growing design and architecture scene of the Middle East, promoting a new design language that reflects the birth of a contemporary architectural movement. T.ZED Architect’s timeless and craft-driven approach can be observed throughout its portfolio of projects that includes mixed-use developments such as KOA Canvas and the members-only co-working space Nasab, in addition to retail, hospitality, residential and dining projects across the Middle East and Europe. Zaharna has recently completed residential projects for private clients in Abu Dhabi and France, as well as Storm and the RLab Emirates Towers in Dubai. T.ZED Architects is currently working on a public sector building in Dubai, Sky – two buildings that are set to delicately leave an imprint on a historically relevant quarter of Dubai, paying homage to the history of the city – as well as a number of F&B and commercial projects across the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Istanbul-based architecture firm Tabanlioglu Architects has been operating for more than six decades. The practice was founded by Dr. Hayati Tabanlioglu, and later established by his son, Murat, and later Melkan Gursel, who joined as partner in 1995. The firm is known for developing innovative, efficient and economically viable designs for residential buildings, offices, industrial facilities, shopping malls and regeneration projects, with a strong focus on ‘place’. The practice is currently working on the transformation of the 1960s Atatürk Cultural Center, comprising a cultural centre and opera house, which is set for completion later this year. The firm is also working on the Tersane Istanbul – Halic Port project, which includes the transformation of the old shipyards in Golden Horn. Tabanlioglu also won the competition to design the extension of the Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, in addition to a number of projects in Dubai, Kazakhstan, Russia and the US.

VERA DIECKMANN

Creative director and founder Vera Dieckmann established XO Atelier in December 2018, with 23 years of design experience under her belt. Having worked for practices including David Ling in New York, Gunther Spitzley in Zurich, Matteo Thun Studio in Milan and DWP Malaysia, Vera also honed her skills at global hospitality chains Marriott Holdings and Accor, broadening her knowledge of custom product design: light installations, furniture, textiles and accessories. She launched her debut lighting collection in collaboration with lighting brand Lasvit. Today, her product development collaborations include installations for Preciosa, lighting with Nemo and a modular workspace solution with Tecno Spa. Her body of work, from installations to artworks, is represented

by Galerie Philia in New York and Singapore. Originally based in Hong Kong, Dieckmann opened a second studio in Dubai in 2020, with the completion of her F&B concept Toplum later joined by The Grey café. Dieckmann is now working on a wide range of F&B venues across the UAE and Qatar, as well as private residential projects in Dubai.

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WISSAM MAROUN

WAEL AL AWAR

Nominated by Ghassan Salameh Wissam Maroun is the founder of WM Architects, a multidisciplinary architectural practice with a diverse range of projects across architecture, interior and landscape design. Born and raised in Beirut, Maroun draws inspiration from the wide-ranging culture that his hometown offers, as well as its blend of ceaseless contradictions.

His work juxtaposes elements of art and design, complementing each other across different times and materials. His belief that design, architecture and landscape are interconnected has led him to further strengthen his holistic approach by pursuing new avenues in architecture and landscape design.

“I chose Wissam because – as opposed to many architects – he has a very strong background, education and intellect in the history of art and architecture, which is vital to the development of interior design and architectural projects, especially in cities like Beirut where there are a lot of diverse history, cultural and aesthetic references,” Salameh said of his nomination. Maroun balances working on residential projects across Lebanon with teaching at the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) in Beirut.

Wael Al Awar founded waiwai in 2009 as the principal architect, after moving back to the Middle East from Tokyo. His multidisciplinary approach is to always challenge conventional processes, to push the boundaries of design. By aligning with natural phenomena, Al Awar seeks to create an architecture that is more than man-made fabrication, but instead remains open to adaptation and appropriation. The spaces that emerge from his approach are site-specific provocations that encourage unexpected experiences, activities and behaviours. Al Awar is currently a co-curator of the National Pavilion of the UAE for the Venice Bienalle 2020 & 2021.

Known for addressing the social, environmental, economic and technological aspects of architectural projects, the firm has worked on prominent cultural institutions including Dubai’s Jameel Arts Centre, Jaddaf Waterfront Sculpture Park, Al Warqa’a Mosque, Hai d3 and Jeddah’s Hayy: Creative Hub.

YASAMAN ESMAILI

Iranian architect and educator Yasaman Esmaili founded Studio Chahar in 2017, a researchbased architecture studio formed as a platform for collaborative projects that engage the community at every step of the design process. Studio Chahar’s highly recognised collaborative project, Hikma Religious and Secular Complex in Niger, received the 2018 Global LafargeHolcim Silver Award and the 2017 Regional Gold. Esmaili’s collaborative work in Afghanistan, The Gohar Khatoon Girls’ School, was recognised with a 2018 AIA National Award of Honor. Esmaili is a founding member of united4design, an international design collective formed in 2013 to simulate a dialogue about architecture and intelligent global practice. She is also co-founder of Color My Home, a project focused on finding the meaning of lost homes through architectural thinking by working with recently displaced immigrant and refugee children. She is currently working on an economic housing typology, as well as a rehabilitation and revitalisation project in the village of Gouron on Qeshm island in Iran. id

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MONUMENTAL THINKING Mariam Kamara’s approach to architecture is vigorous, unapologetic, inquisitive and empowering. She is the founder of architecture practice atelier masōmī, based in Niamey, and the studio’s many projects across her home country of Niger offer dignified spaces that benefit and serve local and regional communities. Whether it is a religious school and mosque or a monumental cultural centre, for Kamara, architecture and public space are a basic human right, and one that can be used to instil confidence, dismantle stereotypes and celebrate context, all while allowing people to dream bigger.

INTERVIEW BY AIDAN IMANOVA 56

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The Hikma Religious and Secular Complex. Photo by James Wang.

an you start by telling us about your time growing up in Niger? How did it come to inform your work? I think it has everything to do with my work. The most impactful time of my life, really, was growing up in the north of the country, in the middle of the Sahara Desert – and that is really what informed a lot of what I feel and think and practice in architecture. That is what made me so aware of the environment and my environment in particular, and climate – because it is obviously so much harsher than the climate in Niamey. But for me, living there and growing up there, and being confronted with the harsh climatic conditions, also went hand in hand with growing up in a place that had astonishingly old history and this is something that we are not taught at school anymore or are not necessarily made aware of – but the traces were everywhere. We had Neolithic carvings in the mountains nearby, there were towns from the early 15th century and the architecture was still there; people were still living in them, generations later. So, there was something that it gave me in terms of confidence in the identity that I had and the place I was from. It gave me this incredible luxury and certainty in the fact that we are not ‘less than’. Economic circumstances do not make who you are. African countries or other countries that are so-called ‘developing’ and that are categorised by their access to capital have nothing to do with your identity and your worth, and I was incredibly lucky that I grew up in an environment that instilled that in me since day one. Not because I read it somewhere or someone told me – but because I lived it, and it became unbelievably unshakeable and it made the work that I do today self-evident to myself. It was not something that I struggled to arrive at or something that seemed heroic to do or pursue, it was just natural – I cannot imagine practicing any other way.

Can you talk about why public space plays such a vital role in your approach to architecture, and some aspects that you try to implement within your projects? I think public space is important anywhere. I think turning into a more capitalistic society has made private ownership so key that public space has somewhat receded – but at the end of the day, it was always the life force of a place. It is about spaces where we come together and in the societies I have worked in the most, it is critical to local culture, maintaining a social fabric of solidarity, of neighbourliness which has all but vanished in the Western context and I find it alarming that we are so eager to rush in that direction as well. It is something that I always tried to give place to, even when I am creating a private project; I always try to have some ‘common’ components.

The way much public space is designed now is usually conflated with projects with big budgets, but the smaller or ‘less economically viable’ areas become neglected from this narrative, so people are forced to then create their own sense of public space. And this is what we should be looking at actually, these places that people create for themselves; they are the real sources of inspiration. We shouldn’t be so in love with the power of our own creativity, which [may feel] satisfying, but at end of the day, we are not supposed to make spaces that glorify ourselves. It is about what it’s doing for people who are using them, and I think unfortunately now, public space and public projects have become a lot more about how cities represent themselves and attract attention, which is also understandable and necessary, but it doesn’t have to be one or the other.

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The roof of the Hikma Religious and Secular Complex. The project was designed by Yasaman Esmaili (Studio Chahar) and Mariam Kamara (atelier masōmī). Photo by James Wang.

The fact that atelier masōmī conducts on-ground research is such a refreshing approach for an architecture practice today. Can you tell us more about how you go about this and how it informs your designs? It doesn’t even have to take that long; you just have to be really prepared, know what you are looking for and develop a set of mechanisms to allow people to express themselves – but that’s what’s difficult. [That’s] because often people tell you what they think you want to hear, because they view you as a form of authority – [but] they are not the client who will tell you what they want but the users, who are not used to being empowered. So, we have developed a set of mechanisms depending on who we are talking to, whether they are young people or women or elders – there is a way of getting them to tell you what they really want without asking directly; it is a kind of art form that you have to develop.

What are some of the reactions you see when people finally experience the end results? The project for which I received the strongest response was the Niamey Cultural Centre, which is not even built yet. For that one we had really close dealings with the future users, who were almost exclusively all teenagers. They were the first ones I showed the design to, before I showed it to anyone else. And their reaction really took me by surprise. Because, literally, 58

this is the project for which I took everything they said and turned it into building form. They talked about nature, they talked about shade, they talked about tradition and identity – they were so incredibly smart.

We made a model of the project and they saw some 3D images, and one young man was staring at the model, and he said, “This is going to be here?” and I said, “Yeah, just a five-minute car ride from where we are”, and he asked again, “Here, in Niamey?” and I said, “Yeah”, and then he was quiet and another young lady asked, “When will it be ready? Because we need to go in there.” And there was something both endearing but also heart-breaking about that reaction. They had total disbelief; they were completely sceptical [thinking] that “No, this cannot be for us.” And that is the power of monuments – this is a very monumental project and often people like to say that ‘this is an African country, there are so many problems here, how can you build something like that?’, as if all we are only allowed to have are like, eight clinics, but others can have beautiful buildings.

But I could tell that they were scared to believe it and that was very heart-breaking for me because it really showed how little they thought they should expect and how little they thought they had a right to. That was the one that marked me the most. They were 16; how can you expect so little of the world at

16? If already you feel that ‘none of this can be for me’, that is awful.

But I think it is quite amazing that you are countering that perspective and showing people that no, a building like this does belong here and it is for the people to use. Exactly – and that is incredibly important to me. Even though I don’t speak about aesthetics a lot, I pour a lot of aesthetic intent into all [my] projects. I want to make sure that it comes from the local know-how and the local skills, so it is also something that you recognise. But then we always try to find ways to elevate it and contemporarise it, and serve it back because, again, we are so used to ‘seeing’ that anything that is monumental or that looks amazing should only have a Western aesthetic. And for me, when I started working, I already knew that there was no truth in that. So, what I was really excited about when I started practicing architecture was to create world-class level architecture – but [architecture] that looked just like us. Which, in a way, makes practice incredibly difficult but also exciting because we do not have access to all the technologies, so we try to create that perfection through artisanal means, which is completely counter to what you would imagine but – I think – is also what gives it its soul.

Two girls walking outside the Hikma Religious and Secular Complex.

Photo by James Wang.

Sellers at the market in Dandaji. Photo by Maurice Ascani.

Mariam Kamara at her home.

architecture

Render of the upcoming Niamey Cultural Centre.

And the Niamey Cultural Centre is the one you worked on with David Adjaye? Yes, he guided me as I was designing it – it was more of a mentorship. It was like having someone whose utter mastery you trust, and them helping you actually transcend whatever level you are at. I had never done something so monumental before and even when I looked back at my initial sketches and models, they were just so much more polite.

Yes, so you also needed that push. Yeah, and it was still a departure from what I usually did – I thought I was pushing the envelope, but it was really about having someone you could talk to who would look at what you are doing and say ‘no, you can push this way further, don’t be afraid – let it soar’. It is also about talking to someone who gives you licence. Coming from the context that I come from, your ego is always in check because you are always being told you are ‘not as good as’, and even when you think you are pushing yourself, you actually are not. And from that point of view, I’m not any different from those children I was talking about. The reality is, I didn’t imagine it in [the] beginning myself, not to that level. What I imagined was not as audacious.

How would you say your work in architecture counters the impact of colonisation on Niger’s built environment? The irony of colonisation is that you only freed yourself so that you can follow in the

footsteps of your previous masters. Because it is either that or you don’t really exist in the world, and all of us found ourselves in that trap that there was no way out of. I think a lot about how we could have done it differently, because they leave and you have freedom but they have already put in place institutions and they already put in place a capitalistic economy and governments – and I am trying to figure out why is it that we didn’t go back to the way we used to be; but that is not possible, because you have been forever changed.

And that is what I am confronting in my work. I am not trying to go back 100 years – in a way that is pointless because we have already been forever changed. So, what I am doing is to completely ignore what they did and ask myself, “Who are we now? What are we?” and I design for that.

And [I ask] “What do we want to be?” and I design for that. [Because] now you get to mould your own image, and that is what we failed to do before, because we tried to mould ourselves to show that we are good students rather than thinking about all the wonderful things that we are and how amazing we could be. And for me, [that’s] what’s really exciting and why I will be practicing architecture probably until I am on my deathbed, because architecture is just a tool for me. As much as I love it because I am a creative, I am also putting it in the service of a higher purpose. id

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interiors

A CALMING

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British interior designer Louise Bradley’s latest residential interiors in London’s Mayfair feature Japanese influences

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“I

believe that home should be a place to retreat to at the end of our busy days, enriching our lives through our surroundings. It means that it should reflect our aesthetics, help us achieve the desired mood and atmosphere and also be supremely functional, so that our time spent at home feels effortless,” says British interior design Louise Bradley, who has been running her interior design practice in London for 30 years.

“That belief,” she continues, “is reflected in the design [of the residence] by using classical principles of creating a space, with symmetry as the key principle, as well as opting for balanced compositions.” Bradley’s latest residential interiors in London’s Mayfair for a private client are a reflection of the contemporary classical style that she has been championing for three decades; refined and elegant spaces that are modern and reflect the client's Asian heritage through carefully researched design techniques and spatial references. The residence imbues a muted and monochrome colour palette that is offset with striking contrasts and crafted finishes.

Responding to the brief which called for a classic contemporary space that can be used as a retreat for the whole family, Bradley and her team opted for an interior that provides a backdrop to the client’s lifestyle, while working hand in hand with their needs.

The muted colour palette, standout surface finishes, textures and a careful layering of details together created the desired ambience.

“Once we’d established the desired ambience, it was important to then tailor it to each individual space in the property,” Bradley explains. “For the snug, we have opted for a large bespoke joinery piece to make the space feel more intimate and cinema-like, as the room is chiefly used in the evenings for entertainment. The main drawing room features a light colour palette and was designed to let as much natural light in as possible. As the space is used the most throughout the day, we wanted to ensure that it feels fresh and harmonious. Finally, in the dining room, we wanted to create a sense of intimacy, with carefully layered and harmoniously corresponding pieces of decorative accessories, furnishings and fine art.”

The dark joinery of the snug is juxtaposed with plush upholstery that was designed in-house by the Louise Bradley Design Studio.

The joinery itself has been inspired by the Japanese Shou Sugi Ban charred wood technique, which originated in the 18th century “with cedar as the wood of choice, and was mainly used to make timber weatherproof,” Bradley shares. In this case, the charred wood technique has been executed in timber, with a nibbled edge granite top and a specialist metal finish to the doors.

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“The inspiration led us to the choice of charcoalblack wood for the joinery, matched with black granite for surface detailing, achieving an organic, imperfect look. We were also inspired by the ‘chashitsu’, which is a space used traditionally for tea ceremonies. We translated its remarkable minimalism and beauty of proportions into a triple sequence of repeating shapes with metal woven fabric inlaid into bronze screens, abstract artwork and verre églomisé panels. It’s a contemporary take on the traditional design, which works beautifully within the space,” she adds.

The snug’s dramatic décor is complemented with a carefully chosen selection of crafted objects in deep, dark hues, as well off-white organic sculptures – which contrast with the iconic photography of David Bowie that adds an unexpected contemporary edge to the overall classical space. The dark joinery is matched with the selection of light upholstery to balance the space.

The drawing room is the main living space of the residence that follows the snug, where curtains frame the warm brick architecture of the adjacent buildings, reflecting the neighbourhood in which the residence 66

is set, which has also inspired the design. “Mayfair is London’s centre of elegance and style, with countless art galleries and boutiques. It’s an area steeped in history that has a timeless appeal,” Bradley says.

“That’s why the interiors we created feature a classic colour palette, matched with finishes, upholstery and accessories that are sartorial both in look and feel.”

And although the main living spaces have a different ambience, the way each room flows into the others was a vital consideration in the design process.

“It’s important to maintain a sense of continuity in the spaces, even when particular rooms might require a different ambience,” Bradley shares. “We’ve achieved that by carrying the thread of a muted colour palette throughout each space – whether it’s contrasted with charcoal black in the snug or taking centre stage in the bedrooms. There’s also continuity when it comes to the classic contemporary forms of the furniture that feature throughout the property, and the focus on patterns – you will notice that the veining of the marble coffee table in the drawing room has a counterpart in the texture of the dining room rug. These are subtle connections we’ve built

throughout the interior which create a unified design scheme, without being too obvious. The best of interior design can be found in those subtleties, which might not be consciously perceived but are certainly felt throughout the space.”

Most of the furniture pieces in the property were bespoke-made for the client by Louise Bradley’s in-house Design Studio, and there are pieces such as the Theodore armchair and Hudson swivel chair from the brand. The abstract artwork in the dining room is also available from the Louise Bradley Collection, while the piece in the master bedroom is a layered porcelain design by Fenella Elms. The various accessories featured in the property have been sourced by the design team from various countries in Europe.

“I have been running my design studio for 30 years and over time it became clear to me that the way to create a coherent interior design scheme, and also a space that’s unique to the client, is to design its every element – from interior architecture, throughout interior design, all the way to furniture design,” Bradley says. id

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DESIGN FOCUS

POWER OF LIGHT

From environmental and organic, to smart and efficient, we look at some of the lighting trends that are making waves in today’s design industry WORDS BY JUMANA ABDEL-RAZZAQ

Moonstone collection by Giopato & Coombes.

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T

he way we live and work today is steadily changing, and with that come changes in the way our spaces are designed. Lighting continues to play a crucial role in this rhetoric, as our past perceptions of space have evolved in light of the unprecedented challenges that we face in our world today. As a result, architects and designers have been instrumental in creating concepts that reflect the changing trends of the design industry at present, while simultaneously looking to the future.

Pando by Mullan Lighting.

Organic forms

Lighting designers are tapping into natural materials to create organic designs that are both environmentally friendly and chic. Mullan Lighting has introduced a striking organic ceramic lighting range, produced by a full-time in-house ceramicist and completely hand-made to order.

The Pando stands as the tallest pendant in the collection, boasting a textured, cracked ceramic shade and rugged, aged style. “It truly embraces what clay is,” says ceramicist Stephen Kieran. “We achieve the effect in much the same way the sun dries and crackles earth. The crackle is chaotic.”

Italian brand Giopato & Coombes’ Moonstone collection

of multifaceted pendant lamps are another example of organic shapes taking prominent space in lighting design. Its biomorphic shapes are inspired by organic rock sculptures, evoking primordial talismans that carry positive energy and ancient wisdom. “Like true amulets, they safeguard us from darkness and release our dreams by subtly bringing the ethereal glow of moonlight into our homes,” the brand explains. Moonstone is carved out of handmade fiberglass and infused with marble powder to create a composite stonelike material protecting its surface and of ‘battuto’ Murano glass or linen glazed diffusers, depending on its size.

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Soliscape by UNStudio for Delta Light.

Health and wellbeing

Adaptable

There has also been significant focus on health and wellbeing over the past years, which has intensified due to the global pandemic. As a result, companies have started looking towards more health-driven solutions. Linea Light Group, for instance, has developed an antibacterial light that protects everyday health using high-intensity narrow-spectrum (HINS) light, dubbed Environment Care Lighting.

“The technology is harmless to people, so it can be used continuously in different spaces, thus improving disinfection and preventing the spread of infection,” says Professor Scott MacGregor, Vice-Principal of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, who has helped to develop and patent the technology.

User-centric lighting has been proven to considerably boost productivity and wellbeing, says Peter Ameloot, R&D Manager at Delta Light. The company has collaborated with Dutch architecture firm UNStudio to develop Soliscape, a versatile and responsive lighting system intended to create more humancentric spaces that adapt based on users' immediate behaviour and needs. The system can respond, learn and adjust to people's daily activities – taking smart buildings towards responsive architecture.

"With the Soliscape system, we have combined two of these facets – sound and light – to create sensory 'interior landscapes' that can support people in their daily activities,” says UNStudio founding partner Ben van Berkel.

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3D printing

In recent years, designers have found innovative ways to create durable and functional designs using 3D printing, a sustainable and cost-effective method that marries form, style and practicality. One such concept is Haze, a lanternlike pendant lamp that's wrapped in 3D-printed fabric, conceived by London-based designer Samuel Wilkinson for Swedish brand Zero Lighting. A contemporary take

on traditional Chinese lanterns, it features a central globe that has 3D-printed fabric stretched across its exterior.

“The idea arrived by accident after testing some 3D-knitted fabrics [created] for another project on top of a round form in the studio,” Wilkinson says. “By chance, we noticed this hazing effect that happened as the light faded around the form due to the thickness of the fabric.”

THE POWER ISSUE Haze by Samuel Wilkinson for Zero Lighting.

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design focus

Smart solutions In the face of global challenges like the coronavirus, many designers are looking at smarter and more innovation design solutions that serve a porpose and benefit society as a whole. Urban Sun, a project in development by Studio Roosegaarde, has been designed to disinfect public spaces by shining a large circle of a far-UVC light, removing nearly 99.9% of the coronavirus.

“The power of light can help. Not as a solution to all our problems, but as a first proposal to design our way out of it, to create new, and safer places where we can meet each other,” says Daan Roosegaarde, Founder of Studio Roosegaarde. “If we are not the creators of our future, we are its victims.“

Urban Sun by Studio Roosegaarde.

Digital designs The advancement of modern fabrication methods has been a leading force in the development of some of the most interesting design concepts around the world today. Designer Karim Rashid's Cyborg table lamp for Italian lighting brand Martinelli Luce is one such concept. A smart lamp with a sinuous silhouette that is said to resemble “a friendly extraterrestrial”, Cyborg responds to human contact through touch-sensitive controls, and comes in both indoor and outdoor versions.

“Only in the digital age do we have new technologies, production processes, materials, software and tools [that allow me to] create sensual and organic shapes, like Cyborg,” says Rashid. id

Cyborg lamp by Karim Rashid for Martinelli Luce.

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sponsored feature

A new vision The quintessential Al Huzaifa Furniture explores new horizons of living with the revamp of its Dubai showroom

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or five decades, Al Huzaifa has strived to create aspirational living experiences by consistently reframing, redefining and reimagining the way people interact with their homes. Its approach has always prioritised the observation of people's behaviours and emotions to shape its styles and products.

Its recent recalibration is inspired by the deep shifts in the ways people now live, work, play and relax. Al Huzaifa’s belief is that homes must be stimulating yet soothing; energising yet relaxing; familiar and fascinating, all at the same time. Its restaged Umm Hurair showroom responds to just that: juxtaposing styles that play with opposites and effortless elan. The revamped show space provides an immersive experience, where living

environments are created with vibrant energy, showcasing a myriad of possibilities and compositions. Featuring the brand’s diverse array of furniture, accessories, lighting, floor coverings, artworks and wallpapers as well as custom fabrication and panelling, the showroom allows visitors to discover the latest collections in an entirely new setting, which is unified in Al Huzaifa’s signature ribbed panelling.

Incorporating muted greys, soft cream and taupe, the collections offer gentle contours and textures across living, dining and bedroom concepts that segue effortlessly from one to the other. The new Al Huzaifa experience is designed to be more than just showroom sets - these are concepts you can take home with you.

You can visit www.alhuzaifa.com or visit the showroom located at Umm Hurair (04 336 6646) | Al Wasl Road (04 332 2220) | Abu Dhabi (02 644 4674) | Sharjah (06 559 0158)

art

BRIGHT LIGHTS

Presented by Riyadh Art and Royal Commission for Riyadh City, Noor Riyadh – the inaugural edition of the annual festival of art and light – is presenting some 60 artworks, including largescale public installations and an exhibition entitled Light Upon Light: Light Art since the 1960s, with the overarching theme of ‘Under One Sky’ WORDS BY RUBA AL-SWEEL

Amigo&Amigo. Parabolic Lightcloud, 1082 .2018 light pixels, 800 m recycled rope, 9m diameter. Courtesy the artists and Light Art Collection. Photo © Riyadh Art

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BIG CITY

T

he sun is not the only source of light illuminating Riyadh’s sky.

In the Saudi capital, Noor Riyadh punctuates the ever-sprawling metropolis. The pilot festival is just one of four major projects under the mandate of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City to transform the capital into one of the world’s most liveable, vibrant and sustainable global cities. “Our development plans respect our history and heritage but also look forward to embracing new ideas. It’s the largest investment in public art ever seen,” says architect Khalid Al-Hazzani, Director of Riyadh Art Project.

With this perspective in mind, it’s no wonder that sites like the Al-Turaif historical district – the birthplace of the Kingdom and a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and King Abdulaziz Historical Centre were activated with

electrifying large-scale light and music installations that blended seamlessly with the surviving architecture of bygone eras. Atop the National Museum of Saudi Arabia, established in 1999 and designed by Moriyama & Teshima Architects, sits artist Marwah AlMugait’s May We Meet Again (2021), an intimate portrait of people who inhabit this space – mostly migrant workers who frequent the nearby park. The multilingual audio-visual compilation is projected against cascading water in captivating poeticism. Competing for attention is The Cupola (2003) by artists Ilya & Emilia Kabakov. Integrating sculpture, music and colour, the mammoth installation takes inspiration from the cupola of Paris’ Grand-Palais, standing in ceremonial regality in the heart of Riyadh.

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Robert Wilson PALACE OF LIGHT, 2021. Aluminium, copper disc, lights, video projection and music. 10000 x 2500 cm. Courtesy the artist. Photo © Riyadh Art.

Ahmad Angawi, ‘Proportion of Light’, 2021. Wood and engraved glass. 230 x 80 cm. Courtesy of the artist. Photo © Riyadh Art 2021.

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In another part of town, specifically the massive unfurling grounds of the King Abdullah Financial District, artist Daniel Buren has wrapped the ceiling of the Conference Centre with Coloured Triangles by Myriad, for Riyadh (2020-21) and Daniel Canogar jolts the city with electric-like bolts of light zigzagging up and down the Zebra Building. Equally playful with lightning is Saudi artist Ahmed Mater’s Mitochondria: Powerhouses (2021), a collaboration with Madrid-based Factum Arte. A high-voltage Tesla coil sits in a cordoned-off sandpit where flashes of lightning hit the ground in a metaphorical gesture to unearth the forces shaping radical social and urban transformations that define the country.

While dispersed in the urban expanse of the city, the meandering festival is anchored in the landmark retrospective Light Upon Light: Light Art since the 1960s, co-curated by Raneem Farsi and Susan Davidson. “This exhibition gives a historical context to everything you’ll see around Riyadh during the festival.

It lays the foundation to the understanding of the Light Art movement and the artists who started it in the ‘60s,” explains Farsi. Taking place at the especially reconstructed King Abdullah Financial District Conference Centre – designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill – some works outshine others. In an ode to the sun, Mohammed Al Faraj’s video installation The Sun, Again (2017) imagines a world in which the sun starts faltering. While the reasons are vaguely communicated,

the heavy-duty gas masks and the doomsday ethos indicate a crisis of ecological proportions. In the context of today, perhaps it’s a fable for the accelerationism that blocked the sun. “I’m interested in green architecture and I look at today’s cities with some measure of criticism. It does not take into account natural light as much – I don’t like describing our sun as brutal, it’s generous!” says Al Faraj.

Likewise incorporating architectural elements is Ahmad Angawi, who brings to the fore traditional elements of Hejazi design. In Proportion of Light (2021), he uses 30 sheets of glass on which the pattern developments of the mangour, traditional screens made of wood and prevalent in old Jeddah façades, are engraved. Sitting atop programmed LED lights, the movement alludes to the duality of concealing and revealing as daylight spills into space in varying proportions. “These elements are innovative in how they let light and air into interior spaces. I’m fascinated by how it functions like exhaling and inhaling,” says Angawi. Meanwhile, Manal Al Dowayan lights up a poetic verse by Saudi poet Ghazi Al Gosaibi. Nostalgia Takes Us to Sea but Desire Keeps Us from the Shore (2010) expresses a tension in yearning.

“I made this at a time when I was grappling with ideas of belonging – I had just left home and was happy about it but also hated the new place. At the backdrop of all of this is my experiences as a woman, of course,” she tells me. Whether light is used as a material or source of inspiration, it’s clear as broad daylight that Riyadh is having its moment in the sun. id

POWER ISSUE Nancy Holt, Holes of Light, 1973. Partition wall perforated with circles. Dimensions variable. Courtesy Dia Art Foundation with support from Holt-Smithson Foundation. Photo THE © Riyadh Art 2021.

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products

Gentle gestures A round-up of the latest objects, lighting pieces and accessories we love - from Aljoud Lootah's crystal diffusers to Sabine Marcelis”s mirror decorated by a swirl of pastel pink paint

Photography by Elias Hassos.

Plissée floor lamp Sebastian Herkner for ClassiCon Available at superstudio.me

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1. Fan Mirror by Ghidini 1961. Available at modaoperandi.com 2. Glaze Splash mirror by Sabine Marcelis. Available at matchesfashion.com 3. Le Sirenuse, Positano and Luke Edward Hall bone china charger plate. Available at matchesfashion.com 4. Medkheneh Crystal Diffuser by Aljoud Lootah. 5. Planet chair by Jean-Baptiste Souletie for La Chance. Available at superstudio.me 6. Abstract grey cushion by Tom Dixon. Available at modaoperandi.com 7. Red Blossom stoneware mug by Bernadette. Available at matchesfashion.com

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sponsored feature

Gazing into the future Reflections on interior design by Vanessa Northway

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s the world continues to come to terms with spending most of its time indoors, interior design has gained more prominence than ever before. Although restrictions are gradually lifting, concerns stemming from a pandemic-driven 2020 could well last into the foreseeable future.

Homes were places of refuge and sanctuary; offices were places of productivity and creativity. However, 2020 has changed the way we look at our interiors, with people working from home rather than their workplaces for extended periods of time. Therefore, there are many lessons that we can learn and implement while designing spaces for homes and offices. The focus has shifted towards wellness, sustainability and the use of technology, all of which may not have been a priority when creating spaces a few years ago.

Today, wellness and sustainability are two critical pillars to focus on while designing spaces. Wellness refers to a balanced living area that addresses air and water quality, lighting, comfort and clutterfree space while also bringing out the best in you, emotionally and productively. Sustainability ensures the use of products and materials that are suitable for your living space and do not adversely affect the outside environment. Wellness and sustainability can be achieved by using the right amount of lighting for your room, decluttering, using air-purifiers or dehumidifiers, incorporating indoor plants, using products made from recycled or reclaimed materials, and using nontoxic and non-polluting products that are organic and not treated with pesticides. Organic cotton, bamboo, jute, cork and felt are some environmentally conscious alternatives to traditional materials.

Bamboo, for example, is 100 per cent biodegradable, antibacterial and eco-friendly, if not chemically processed. User well-being and sustainability should not only be restricted to gyms, gardens or yoga centres, but also incorporated while designing homes and offices.

Keeping customers' well-being at the heart of each design project should be at every interior designer's core.

The next key element will be the incorporation of innovative digital solutions in homes and office spaces. Technologically empowered fixtures such as intelligent lighting, low-flow taps, smart fridges or even solar-powered lights and doorbells can significantly contribute towards energy, water and monetary savings. In fact, LED light fixtures use at least 25 per cent less energy and last longer than traditional bulbs.

Finally, interior design professionals will need to be futuristic in their design approach to keep pace with global technological advancements. Virtual reality and 3D printing have already been introduced in architecture, and these technologies are here to stay.

Understanding the fundamental requirements of working with technology to support industry demands is the need of the hour, to safeguard the future of interior designing.

At Heriot-Watt University, our interior design courses focus on equipping students with proper knowledge while also addressing current design and technology trends. By helping future interior design professionals concentrate on sustainable and technologicallydriven solutions through our courses, we hope to continue contributing positively to the industry in the UAE and the region.

Vanessa Northway is the Associate Head of School, Associate Professor, School of Textiles & Design, and Senior Teaching Fellow at Heriot-Watt University Dubai.

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library

Building harmony Kengo Kuma's latest book Topography showcases the renown architect's harmonious balance between building and landscape

“M

y key focus throughout the 1990s was on making architecture disappear,” begins globally acclaimed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma in the introduction of his latest book, titled Topography.

Having worked on what he describes as “conspicuous architecture” during the 1980s boom in Japan, Kuma shares how it was the years following that period that gave him a new perspective on architecture – one that didn’t try to stand out, was less celebratory and could ‘disappear’ into its surroundings. During that time, and while in the process of designing an observatory, Kuma shares how he had come to the vital realisation that has since shaped his work and approach to building. “Even though I thought I had made the architecture disappear, new topography appeared in that location,” he says of the model he designed for the project. “I had created topography instead of architecture.”

In the pages that follow, Kuma divides the concept of creating topography into five categories which are converted into chapters. These include Particle, Oblique, Membrane, Perforation and Time. Under each of these themes are some

of the architect’s most ground-breaking and notable works in which he showcases how various applications in creating topography have been used. The book explores in detail close to 40 high-profile projects, including his work on Tokyo’s main stadium for the 2021 Olympic Games, the design of the V&A Dundee museum in Scotland and Tokyo’s newest train station, as well as more human-scaled works, such as Jeju Ball resort in South Korea, where the roofs are layered with a blanket of porous volcanic rock, and the Wood / Pile meditation house with its intricate wooden roofing and façade – designed to allow patrons to experience the theatrical play of light among the trees of its dense German forest setting.

The rich illustrations and informative discussions in Topography highlight how Kuma’s architecture naturally merges with its cultural and environmental surroundings, paying close examination to the experimentation and use of natural materials and light, and how buildings meet with their natural settings.

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id most wanted

The iconic Camaleonda sofa by Mario Bellini has made its comeback fifty years after its debut, preserving the elements that have made it the contemporary classic we know today. Its unlimited modularity allows each element to be hooked and unhooked, moving and redesigning the space. In its reissue, the padding has been thoroughly updated, making it more comfortable than the original version, with an option to be customised using B&B Italia’s entire textile and leather collection.

Camaleonda by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia 82

Berlin apartment by Dimorestudio Photography by Beppe Brancanto

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