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DECEMBER | CONTENTS 

DECEMBER 2012 VOLUME 6 ISSUE 12 

2 

FRONT 

Top stories in the world of 

architecture including BDP’s 

Dubai school 

4 

6 

PROJECTS 

A round up of the latest 

project news from MENA 

and the rest of the world 

14 

REPORT 

The world’s top three 

architects get together for a 

panel at Abu Dhabi Art 

22 

FEATURE 

The 50 most influential 

people on the architecture of 

the Middle East 

60 

THE WORK 

A detailed reference section 

covering all the best projects 

in the world 

64 

LAST WORD 

Pedram Rad, partner at U+A 

Architects, on hopes and 

dreams for 2013 

PEOPLE 

Key regional appointments, 

famous architect news and 

top quotes 

12 

ANALYSIS 

Comments from CW’s 

sustainability conference in 

The Westin Abu Dhabi 

18 

COMMENT 

Georgina Chakar discusses 

what the world thinks of 

regional design 

48 

CASE STUDIES 

A snack bar in Iran, an 

engineering college in Qatar 

and NAGA’s Wasl Square 

62 

CULTURE 

A snapshot of funky furniture, 

books and other accessories 

in the market 

www.designmena.com | 12.12 | MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT 1

FRONT | DECEMBER 

50 

Influential people 

in the architecture 

power list (page 22) 

BDP WINS $45M DUBAI 

SCHOOL PROJECT 

Jumeirah College to be relocated with facilities for 2,300 students 

2,300 

CAPACITY FOR 

STUDENTS 

TOP STORY 

BDP has been commissioned to 

design a $45m new building for the 

relocation of primary and secondary 

school Jumeirah College, Dubai. 

The new 30,000m 2 building on Al 

Khail Road will provide additional 

facilities for 2,300 students and work 

has already started on site. It will be 

a showcase school for the charitable 

organisation GEMS Education. 

The three-storey complex contains 

three main groups: foundations, 

primary and secondary, which are 

The school will 

cover 30,000m 2 

on Al Khail Road. 

designed as schools within schools. 

These groups are set around the 

main shared spaces which comprise 

a 600-seat auditorium, administration 

and a dining area overlooking a 

sports complex. 

Project director Wayne Head 

said: “This commission provides 

an exciting opportunity to create 

fantastic new facilities for this wellestablished 

school. The buildings 

are designed to reduce the solar gain 

of direct midday sunlight which can 

reach 50°C. 

“They each look onto palm filled 

courtyards which bring light, fresh 

air and planting into the core building 

wings. As well as the planting, a series 

of fins set to the front helps to shade 

the buildings and are coloured in the 

seven sands of the Emirates.” 

The design is a close collaboration 

between BDP’s London and Abu 

Dhabi studios, working to a tight programme 

- the first phase of completion, 

consisting of the foundation and 

secondary school stages, is scheduled 

for September 2013. 

2 

MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT | 12.12 | www.designmena.com

DECEMBER | FRONT 

3 

‘Starchitects’ on 

the panel at Abu 

Dhabi Art 

(page 14) 

7M 2 

Area of the tiny 

y 

Circle Snack Bar 

(page 48) 

UAE architect to design 

$10m Dubai facility 

Tarek Qaddumi, an emerging UAEbased 

architect, has been awarded the 

design and project management of a 

AED40m research and production 

facility in the Dubai Biotechnology 

and Research Park (Dubiotech). 

The 8,360m 2 project is expected to 

be completed over the next two years 

The 8,360m 2 project in Dubiotech. 

Madinat Jumeirah set for 

$680m expansion 

Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed 

bin Rashid Al Maktoum has backed 

$680m plans to expand the Madinat 

Jumeirah development, Arabian 

Business reported. 

The fourth phase of expansion, 

which will face the Burj Al Arab, will 

include a luxury five-star hotel, villas 

complex, restaurants, a commercial 

centre featuring retail stores and an 

open walking area. 

Sheikh Mohammed said the project 

was slated to be completed before 

the end of 2015. 

In launching the development, 

Sheikh Mohammed, also vice president 

and prime minister of the UAE, 

and will become the regional headquarters 

for Pharmax, a subsidiary of 

Ittihad Drug Store (IDS). 

Qaddumi added: “ Environmentally, 

the architecture responds to the 

desert plane by juxtaposing it with a 

north facing, translucent glass prism 

which hovers above and in contrast 

with the sand surface below.” 

He continued: “The building aims 

to break from the traditional black 

box of pharmaceutical plants. In 

the case of Pharmax, silhouettes of 

people and goods along the glass wall, 

back lit with 400 lux of production 

level lighting set the scene for the life, 

activity and energy on the inside.” 

Madinat Jumeirah today. 

said that the development of tourism 

infrastructure in Dubai must match 

the UAE’s growing position as an 

international tourist hub. 

The luxury hotel in the project 

will have 420 rooms with sea views 

and will also feature a range of international 

restaurants. 

DESIGNMENA.COM 

• Pictures: Foster, Gehry and Nouvel at Abu 

Dhabi Art 

• Gehry hopes to see Saadiyat museum 

before he dies 

• Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah set for major 

$680m expansion 

• Sleek interiors for HOK’s Marina Mall in 

Qatar revealed 

• Top architects’ designs for Japan stadium 

WEIRD PROJECT OF THE MONTH 

Dutch architecture office MVRDV, alongside 

American architects Jerde and engineers Arup, 

has proposed a bizarre 400-metre skyscraper 

called ‘Peruri 88’ for Jakarta, Indonesia. The 

form is made up of several different components, 

perhaps inspired by a child’s creation with Lego. 

DATASTREAM 

MOST EXPENSIVE BUILDINGS IN ASIA 

(Costs in US$M - Data from Emporis) 

TAIPEI 101 

1,760 

BURJ 

KHALIFA 

1,500 

KYOTO 

STATION 

1,250 MGM 

GRAND 

MACAU 

975 

SHANGHAI 

WORLD 

FINANCIAL 

CENTER 

850 



PEOPLE 

Rod Stewart takes the hot seat. 

Atkins appoints new 

Qatar MD 

Atkins has appointed Rod Stewart as 

the new managing director to head up its 

expanding Qatar operations. 

In the past 18 months, Atkins’ operations 

in Qatar have quadrupled in size, 

growing to approximately 400 employees. 

In January of this year Atkins was 

awarded a three-year contract by the 

country’s Ministry of Municipality and 

Urban Planning, to establish a Central 

Planning Office (CPO) to co-ordinate 

major multi-billion dollar transport and 

infrastructure project. 

Stewart was formerly a group production 

director at Wates Group. 

Commenting on the role, Stewart said 

that he was excited and motivated by the 

opportunity presented by Atkins in Qatar. 

He added: “The business has developed 

an excellent platform for strong and 

sustainable growth in what is undoubtedly 

one of the most vibrant markets in the 

world for our sector.” 

Hadid feels shunned 

by Arab world 

Iraq-born superstar architect Zaha Hadid 

has expressed her disappointment at being 

underutilised by Middle East clients. 

During a RIBA conference in the UK, 

Hadid was quoted as saying: “I think the 

Arab world has not really made use of me 

very much, which is a shame and a great loss 

to me.” 

She stated that, as an Arab, she wants to 

contribute to the societies in the Middle 

East and North Africa. “It’s not for the leadership, 

it’s for the people, and any project in 

that part of the world would be an improvement,” 

she added. 

Hadid’s practice has bid to design a 

45,000-seat stadium for the 2022 World 

Cup in Qatar, with the winner to be announced 

at the end of the year. 

She has also designed the completed 

Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi, as well 

as the Performing Arts Centre on Saadiyat 

Island, Abu Dhabi. 

Dame Zaha feels overlooked in the region. 

60 SECOND INTERVIEW 

MALCOLM MCGOWAN, 

MANAGING PARTNER, 

SHEPPARD ROBSON 

Your Siemens Middle East HQ 

won both Best Sustainable 

and Best Commercial project 

categories at the MEA Awards. 

Why do you think it deserved 

these awards 

All aspects of design have been 

through a rigorous 

inspection from 

the bottom up 

in terms of 

energy and 

making sure 

the solar 

lights are 

efficient. 

The whole 

lighting 

has 

generated 

a really 

sustainable 

building and 

we are incredibly 

proud of it. 

What was one of 

the most challenging 

aspects of the design 

The amount of effort that went 

into the façade design to ensuring 

there was energy going into 

the building was incredible and 

we looked at many different 

variations of how to do it. 

That is one reason why the 

façade looks a little bit odd - it 

has been crafted to make sure 

the solar energy use is at the 

right level. 

We still believe the 

Gulf in particular, and 

the Middle East in 

general, is a growth 

area for AECOM... 

we are here to stay.” 

RIAD NASHIF, 

UAE regional 

director, 

AECOM 

Buildings are like 

cars. There is a price 

associated with the 

quality of the end 

product.” 

KERRY GALBRAITH, 

director of architecture 

and engineering 

services, KEO 

International 

Consultants 

Now Estidama 

applies to the 

project, so we 

have updated it 

to the Pearl rating 

system.” 

DR NATHALIE 

STAELENS, head of 

environmental 

services, TDIC, on 

the Louvre Abu 

Dhabi 

4 


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MENA PROJECT SNAPSHOT 

1 3 

2 

3 

1 

QATAR 

Interiors for HOK’s Marina 

Mall Qatar revealed 

HOK has unveiled interior designs for 

Marina Mall, a 72,000m 2 futuristic 

retail and leisure facility in Lusail. 

Five interconnected retail islands, 

sculptural in shape, will be enclosed 

by a simple transparent membrane 

to create a light, sleek interior. The 

sculptural white fibre-reinforced 

polymer shell and blue tinted glazing 

enclose abstracted spaces featuring 

water, rock and planting. HOK aims 

to achieve a QSA 5 rating for Marina. 

2 

ABU DHABI 

Cleveland Clinic on track 

for 2013 opening 

Abu Dhabi’s Cleveland Clinic, designed 

by HDR and Aedas, is on track 

for its projected completion at the 

end of 2013. Located on Al Maryah 

Island, the 364-bed facility is clustered 

around a central reflecting pool 

with an aquatic feel. Glass walkways 

paired with a warm wood interior and 

a double glass curtain wall connect 

patient spaces and faculty offices. 

Windows reflect out to the on-site 

gardens and views of the sea. 

3 

QATAR 

Aecom and Colab team up 

to design Doha tower 

COLAB Architecture + Urban 

Design, in partnership with AECOM- 

Qatar, announced that it has been 

selected to design a 45-storey 

mixed-use tower in West Bay, Doha. 

‘Milaha Tower’ is situated on the 

Corniche Park Road with retail, office 

and residential, totalling 100,000m 2 . 

The form of the building pays homage 

to ocean vessels with a distinct bow. 

Work is set to begin, with completion 

scheduled in two years. 

6 



4 

5 

6 

6 

4 

DUBAI 

Indian officials criticise 

Dubai’s Taj Arabia 

Dubai’s replica of the Taj Mahal, 

which will be up to four times bigger 

than the original, has been slammed 

by cultural officials in India. Taj 

Arabia is planned for Falconcity and 

will boast a five-star hotel with 300 

rooms. Former Agra legislator Satish 

Chandra Gupta told India’s IANS 

news agency: “It is patently wrong 

and absurd. This kind of distortion 

and in principle duplication of history 

artificially makes no sense.” 

5 

IRAQ 

Dewan to masterplan new 

Iraqi university 

UAE based Dewan has been appointed 

a contract to masterplan and 

design a modern university campus 

in Samarra, Iraq, which will have a 

capacity to house 12,000 students. 

It will be built across 2.6km 2 of land 

over three phases, with the first set to 

complete by 2015. The university will 

include 18 college buildings , a head 

office, conference hall, central library, 

laboratories, student complex and 

other facilities. 

6 

DUBAI 

JLT lake to be converted 

into a park 

Master developer of the Jumeirah 

Lakes Towers (JLT), Dubai Multi 

Commodities Centre (DMCC) 

has announced plans to develop a 

community park. The 55,000m 2 

park will replace Lake ‘C’ within the 

towers. DMCC will also construct 

a new pedestrian bridge to connect 

the southern and northern areas of 

the community. Construction will 

take approximately 18 months and is 

expected to begin in early 2013. 

8 


DECEMBER | FRONT 

GLOBAL PROJECT SNAPSHOT 

5 

1 2 

3 

6 

1 

INDIA 

Broadway Malyan helps 

design new city in India 

A new city spanning 125 acres in 

North Bangalore, India, has been 

launched by real estate and infrastructure 

development company 

Bhartiya Urban with major input 

from Broadway Malyan. It is the 

largest urban development within 

the limits of any Indian metropolitan 

area and will provide a mix of residential, 

retail, hospitality and Special 

Economic Zone uses, as well school, 

healthcare and sports facilities. 

2 

RUSSIA 

Moscow’s Mercury City is 

now Europe’s tallest building 

Mercury City tower has topped out in 

Moscow, pipping Renzo Piano’s Shard 

in London to become Europe’s tallest 

building at 339m. Designed by Mikhail 

Posokhin, Gennadiy Lvovich Sirota and 

the late architect Frank Williams, the 

70-storey tower is due to be completed 

next year. Mercury City is notable for 

its copper-hued glass façade. However, 

it will only briefly hold the title as next 

year it will be trumped by the 506m-high 

Federation Tower, also in Moscow. 

3 

CHINA 

World’s tallest tower going 

ahead in 90 days 

Broad Sustainable Building (BSB) insists 

it will deliver its 220-storey Sky 

City in China, set to be the world’s 

tallest building, within the targeted 

90 days, rather than in 210 days as 

rumoured by the media. Supposedly 

designed by engineers that worked 

on the Burj Khalifa, Sky City is said 

to achieve the target by using BSB’s 

95%-prefabricated modular technology 

at the astonishing construction 

pace of five storeys a day. 



THE BIG PICTURE 

THE SHINING 

During a recent trip to Kuwait, staff 

photographer Lester Ali took time 

out to snap the striking Al Hamra 

Tower, by global titans Skidmore Owings 

and Merrill (SOM). At 413m it is 

the tallest building in Kuwait and the 

tallest ‘sculpted’ tower in the world. 

The shimmering, twisting form certainly 

provides a dramatic contrast to 

the modest low-rise buildings. 

10 


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GREEN DREAMS 

Last month’s Construction Week conference in Abu Dhabi tackled the 

key issues related to sustainability 

ANALYSIS 

The event took 

place in The 

Westin Abu 

Dhabi. 

Sustainability is a word 

that has more buzz than 

a boisterous bumble bee. 

It was therefore a fitting 

subject for last month’s Construction 

Week conference in Abu Dhabi. 

The first panel session ‘Sustainability 

Goals’ was moderated by 

Nicholas Lander, lead consultant, 

sustainable development for Halcro. 

In response to a statement that any 

regular building can attain LEED or 

Estidama, Lander replied: “I agree. 

Rating systems are about raising the 

bar. Environmentally, it is an exercise 

in doing things less badly rather than 

doing it well.” 

Adrian Bliss, Mott MacDonald’s 

environment and sustainability manager 

for the Middle East, said: “Rating 

systems need to be more intelligent. 

“There is a building in Snowdonia 

which is one of the most sustainable 

in the UK yet it struggled to get 

a BREEAM rating. It lost points 

because it didn’t have a bus stop or 

bike racks. There should be a bespoke 

rating system, or systems need to be 

more flexible.” 

However, Bliss stated that rating 

systems can “raise expectations” and 

standards. “[In the future] a one or 

two Pearl rating will be standard and 

the boundaries will be pushed up.” 

Jyoti Sharma, senior architect, facilities 

and infrastructure, Abu Dhabi 

Education Council, commented: 

“A true change won’t happen until 

we get everybody up to speed with 

education. The developer is driven by 

the consumer; the consumer has to 

demand [green buildings].” 

She added: “It’s important that 

technology is made accessible. If you 

have a building management system, 

don’t hide it and make use of it.” 

Panelists were asked to cite the 

most important factor for advancing 

sustainability in the Middle East. 

Phillipe Dessoy, general manager, 

Middle East, Six Construct, said: “In 

the big cities, the main issue is transportation 

– the establishment of mass 

transit systems. Abu Dhabi is later 

down the line, but Qatar is moving 

forward – as is Jeddah and Riyadh. 

“This will be a big boost for cities 

as they will reduce pollution. There 

needs to be discussion between different 

emirates and connecting cities. 

For instance, the metro does not 

reach Sharjah and should be extended 

– the traffic is a nightmare there.” 

12 


SUSTAINABILITY | NEWS ANALYSIS 

The greatest obstacles to sustainable 

buildings were debated in the 

next panel discussion, moderated 

by Kirk Rosenbaum, senior commissioning 

manager, KEO, entitled 

‘Delivering Change – Making Cities 

and Towns Sustainable’. 

Saeed Alabbar, director, AESG, 

stated that the lack of transparent 

data is an obstacle. “LEED [certification 

is not enough] as the building 

may consume more energy than [a 

non-certified building]. The data 

isn’t there. We need consumption per 

square metre and per occupant.” 

Joseph Colagiovanni, partner, 

Fulbright & Jaworski, argued: “A 

large portion are unwilling to share 

the data as it is unflattering.” 

Alabbar replied: “Regulation would 

force people to do it. If a building is 

not on the list then people would challenge 

it.” KEO’s Rosenbaum pointed 

out the opportunity for retrofitting 

existing buildings. “We need to get 

rid of the mentality that buildings are 

dispensable,” he stated. 

On the subject of awareness, Steven 

Velegrinis, urban design practice 

leader, Woods Bagot, said: “I don’t 

think you can educate stakeholders. 

There needs to some kind of financial 

impetus. If you really want to reach 

every user, there has to be a sense of 

accounting for what you do.” 

“Awareness can only go so far”, 

added Alabbar. “Transparent data 

will force developers to build more 

sustainably. All of a sudden, the developer 

gets hit.” 

Alabbar continued: “We also need 

to work at contracts. We are now so 

risk-averse. Everyone is too scared to 

do something differently.” 

Wrapping up the discussion, Chris 

Chi Lon Wan, manager – City Design, 

Masdar City, commented: “Sustainability 

touches everything. There are 

no boundaries.” 

Clockwise: 

Lander; Sharma; 

Alabbar; 

Rosenbaum. 

We also need to work at contracts. We are now so riskaverse. 

Everyone in the industry is too scared to do 

something differently.” 

Saeed Alabbar, director, AESG 


NEWS ANALYSIS | ABU DHABI ART PANEL 

THE 

BIG 

THREE 

Last month’s Abu Dhabi Art featured Foster, Gehry and 

Nouvel on the same panel. Oliver Ephgrave reports 

from the unprecedented event 

ANALYSIS 

14 


ABU DHABI ART PANEL | NEWS ANALYSIS 

If one was to assemble a dream 

architecture panel, the likes of 

Norman Foster, Frank Gehry 

and Jean Nouvel would surely 

be on the list. Quite remarkably, all 

three were brought together - for the 

first time ever - near the site of their 

flagship museum projects on Saadiyat 

Island. In addition to the museum 

developments, the evening’s agenda 

covered the panellists’ portfolios and 

design philosophies. 

The talk took place on 7th November, 

in the Saadiyat Cultural Centre, 

and was open to the public on a firstcome-first-serve 

basis as part of the 

Art Dhabi Art festival. 

As one might expect, the occasion 

sparked a frenzy of interest and 

consequently the small auditorium 

was packed to the rafters. Dozens of 

disappointed punters were turned 

away and told to watch on screens in 

the lobby. Middle East Architect was 

“I’m 83, so I’m worried about if they are going to 

finish on time, so I can see it. 

Frank Gehry, on the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi 

refused entry - despite having a press 

pass - before a sympathetic PR revealed 

a back door via the art gallery. 

Once inside, we stood at the back to 

watch the discussion, moderated by 

HE Saeed Mubarak Al Hajeri, board 

member of Abu Dhabi Investment 

Authority and the executive director 

of its Emerging Markets Department. 

Throughout the talk, the oldest 

member of the group, Frank Gehry, 

was forthright and entertaining. 

When the subject moved to his 

delayed Guggenheim museum, now 

scheduled for 2017, the US-based 

master remarked: “I’m 83, so I’m worried 

about if they are going to finish 

on time, so I can see it.” 

The Guggenheim is pencilled for 

completion a year later than Foster’s 

Zayed National Museum and two 

years after Nouvel’s Louvre. 

Gehry said he was initially wary to 

work on the project and remarked: “I 

was hesitant because it was formidable 

to come over here. Once I came 

Lord Norman 

Foster; Frank 

Gehry; Jean 

Nouvel. 


NEWS ANALYSIS | ABU DHABI ART PANEL 

The panel was 

moderated 

by HE Saeed 

Mubarak Al 

Hajeri. 

I fell in love with the region. It’s my 

only project in the region so I became 

very personally involved. 

“I’ve done museums, I grew up with 

artists and I understood that culture. 

I was trying to understand what it 

meant to build here…Now I feel I have 

only scratched the surface...As this 

moves forward I will spend more time 

here. I think this collaboration with 

the Emiratis has been very meaningful 

and I hope it results in a legacy.” 

Lord Foster, who always spoke with 

conviction, added: “I would agree 

with Frank, it’s a great environment 

here. It’s very progressive, there are 

lots of explorations and in a sense, 

this evening is a celebration of that.” 

Jean Nouvel, whose key built 

project in the region is the Burj Qatar, 

or Doha Tower, spoke in French 

throughout the talk, which was translated 

on headphones. Nouvel was 

similarly gushing in his praise of Abu 

Dhabi, and said: “The capital is on the 

brink of a golden age. Everything is 

happening here [and] I’m very proud 

to participate in the materialisation 

of this golden age, and this pushes us 

to go higher and beyond and further 

because we are doing something that 

the whole world is looking at.” 

Despite the polished feel to many 

of his comments, there were times 

when Foster spoke openly. He stated: 

“In any university, the architects are 

almost, by virtual of their culture, 

anti-social, because they are so 

consumed by the process of design...I 

find that I’m never satisfied. I 

always want to have another 

go. In our practice...we 

are always redesigning 

up to the last possible 

moment.” 

When asked how he 

controls his ‘hunger’ for 

design, Gehry replied: “I 

don’t. I’m very passionate about 

my work. I make places where people 

feel good, where they are excited, 

where it motivates them, where they 

feel love. That’s what’s missing in this 

cold, lifeless world - the lack of passion, 

the lack of feeling, no love.” 

Gehry induced laughter from the 

audience when describing his personal 

project. “Doing a building without 

a client would be the most difficult 

thing - you have to face yourself. I’m 

building a house and I have my son 

designing it, because I can’t possibly 

design a house for myself. I’m very 

young - I’m 83. I should be moving 

2015 

COMPLETION 

DATE OF NOUVEL’S 

LOUVRE 

into one of those 

towers with services, 

but I decided to go the 

other way.” 

The subject moved to computer 

modelling, a tool famously used 

on Gehry’s Guggenheim in Bilbao, 

Spain. Interesting, Gehry admitted 

to being a technophobe. “I can’t turn 

on the computer, although I’ve got a 

computer company. It does amazing 

things and I rely on it but if my kids 

don’t turn on the television for me, I 

don’t know how to turn it on. I think 

we’re going to have to learn to use 

those tools... someone is going to have 

to learn to design on the computer 

like Leonardo Da Vinci could draw.” 

Gehry spoke of the difficulties in 

Architects are...anti-social, because they are so consumed 

by the process of design...I find that I’m never satisfied. I 

always want to have another go. In our practice...we are 

always redesigning up to the last possible moment.” 

Lord Norman Foster 

16 


COMMENT | EDITOR’S LETTER 

POWER LINES 

EDITOR’S LETTER 

What makes an architect influential 

GOT A 

COMMENT 

If you have any 

comments to 

make on this 

month’s issue, 

please e-mail 

oliver. 

ephgrave 

@itp.com 

This month is a special 

‘power list’ issue that 

showcases the most 

influential individuals in 

Middle East architecture. 

It goes without saying that the list 

was extremely challenging to put 

together. Last year’s power list was 

on firms rather than individuals, and 

that was far more straightforward to 

quantify as the rankings were based 

on company size. 

However, this issue’s list on influential 

individuals is less scientific by 

its very nature. For starters, the word 

‘influential’ is a broad term, especially 

when it comes to architecture. 

The fact that we have included bigname 

foreign architects alongside 

prolific and respected local designers 

created many areas of debate. 

For example, who is more ‘influential’, 

the designer of a famous 

building that is appreciated around 

the world, or a local architect that 

has designed dozens of quality lowscale 

buildings 

In other words, should the likes 

of Tom Wright and Adrian Smith 

be placed ahead or behind names 

such as GAJ’s Brian Johnson and 

Dewan’s Mohamed Al Assam 

Similarly, is an academic, who 

tutors hundreds of future architects 

a year, more or less influential than 

Brian Johnson, GAJ, and Atkin’s Tom 

Wright, the designer of the Burj Al Arab. 

the chairman of an industry body, 

or a champion of the green building 

movement Of course, everyone will 

have their own opinions. 

To keep things balanced, we tried 

to include no more than one individual 

per company, yet this created 

headaches. For instance, is it more 

appropriate to include the founder 

or head of a firm, or acknowledge the 

chief designer that is perhaps more 

involved in the day-to-day design 

Another challenge was choosing 

an even spread of individuals from 

across the wider Middle East. The 

fact that design industries are better 

All in all, this month’s task involved an editorial selection 

process which can only be described as migraine inducing.” 

developed in certain corners of the 

Middle East meant that countries 

such as UAE, Qatar, Turkey and 

Lebanon had disproportionately 

large numbers of entrants. 

All in all, this month’s task involved 

an editorial selection process 

which can only be described as 

migraine inducing. 

No doubt there will be debate 

on the positions and the people 

who weren’t included. There are, 

of course, many talented individuals 

that did not feature, including 

MEA’s Architect of the Year Jason 

Burnside, and runner up Joe Tabet 

from Atkins. 

Any list of this nature is hugely 

subjective, but I would be happy to 

hear your comments and suggestions 

for next year’s list. 

18 


COMMENT | GEORGINA CHAKAR 

OUTSIDE IN 

OPINION 

How the world viewed the Middle East 

construction industry in 2012 

Georgina 

Chakar is an 

Australian 

architect and a 

Master of Urban 

Planning. She 

works in Abu 

Dhabi 

Unquestionably, Dubai 

and Abu Dhabi are 

in the global media 

spotlight all year round. 

And while the skeptics believe the 

budgets have run out and new projects 

will not continue as previously, 

here is what the world thinks. 

In November, Bustler.net published 

the results of a competition 

entitled POST+CAPITALIST 

CITY: 2#WORK, won by Latvia’s 

Aumele and Gurecka Dace. 

It is quite shocking to read that the 

winning project contained a description 

that read: “The deconstruction 

of the whole fabrics that were built 

in the city of Dubai would reduce 

its CO2 emissions by half, and recycling 

of its materials and production 

of new nature capital would be able 

not only to make Dubai carbon neutral, 

but also give back extra nature 

capital to the planet.” 

The article continued: “Only 

dismantling of a single Burj Khalifa 

building would save the planet a 

need for 220,620ha of forests and 

reusing its construction materials 

could be recycled into 123 2-MW 

wind turbines, ecological housing 

for almost 6,000 people and 20,000 

solar panels bringing additional 

capital for nature.” 

Is this the only way to reduce 

C02 emission in the world What 

about the latest agreement between 

ADNOC and Masdar for a national 

carbon capture network Meanwhile, 

telegraph.co.uk, in its article 

Aedas’ Al Bahar Towers in Abu Dhabi 

has won international praise. 

The economy in the UAE may not be the same as it was five 

years ago. However, given the current recession it is still a 

better place than many others.” 

‘Are these the ugliest buildings in 

the world’ listed the iconic Aldar 

headquarters building, by MZ Architects. 

One question arises - who 

was on the judging panel 

More positively, Jennifer Polland 

and Melissa Stanger in their article 

“The Twenty Five Coolest Buildings 

in the World’ published on 12th 

of Nov 2012 in the businessinsider. 

com, listed Al Bahar Towers in Abu 

Dhabi. Designed by Aedas Architects, 

it was also named the most 

innovative tall building in the world 

by the Council on Tall Buildings and 

Urban Habitat. Also, 23 Marina by 

KEO in Dubai Marina, currently 

the tallest residential building in the 

world, is in the same listing. 

The real estate industry in the 

Emirates, closely linked with construction, 

will remember 2012 as a 

successful year. 

According to the chicagotribune. 

com, foreign investors bought real 

estate assets worth AED28.3bn in 

the first half of 2012, up 36% over 

last year. 

The economy in the UAE may not 

be the same as it was five years ago. 

However, given the current recession 

it is still a better place than 

many others. In this context nytimes. 

com published an article “UAE 

Attracts Frustrated European Job 

Seekers” on 12 Nov 2012. 

In conclusion, the global economic 

crises affected the entire world, 

including the UAE. And even in 

times of recession the projects and 

the futuristic prosperity of the UAE 

is paving the road to progress. 

20 


ABU DHABI 

 

ETIHAD ROAD, OPPOSITE DUBAI AIRPORT (NEXT TO GARGASH ENTERPRISES) TEL +971 4 2696882

COVER STORY | POWER LIST 

22 



NORMAN FOSTER 

CHAIRMAN 

FOSTER + PARTNERS 

Lord Norman Foster, and his firm Foster + 

Partners, is undoubtedly the most successful 

‘starchitect’ in terms of projects built in the 

Middle East. In Abu Dhabi alone, the British 

master has designed Central Market, the 

twin towers of which are nearing completion 

in the UAE capital, while his Masdar City 

HQ is a triumph of green design and a rare 

success story for the seemingly endlessly delayed 

megaproject. On Saadiyat Island, Lord 

Foster’s Zayed National Museum, has been 

delayed but not shelved, with a provisional 

completion date of 2017. 

In Dubai, Foster’s starkly modernist 

Index tower, an 80-storey monolith in Dubai 

International Finance Centre, has garnered 

much acclaim, winning the Council for Tall 

Buildings and Urban Habitat award for best 

tall building in the Middle East in 2011. In 

Qatar, Foster is behind two of the stadiums 

designed for the 2020 World Cup. And 

it’s not just new projects either, the British 

architect is responsible for Saudi Arabia’s 

iconic Al Faisiliah Tower, completed in 2004 

and one of two – or now three, given the Burj 

Rafal – that defines Riyadh’s skyline. 

Born in Manchester in 1935, Lord Foster 

established Foster Associates – now Foster 

+ Partners in 1967. The firm has offices in 

more than 20 countries, and has designed 

buildings from Vietnam to Japan to Canada. 

24 


POWER LIST | COVER STORY 

ADRIAN SMITH 

CO-FOUNDER 

AS+GG 

The American architect is behind 

a slew of big-ticket projects in the 

region, most famously the 828m-tall 

Burj Khalifa. In 2012 Smith finds 

himself competing largely with 

himself to beat his own record with 

Jeddah’s Kingdom Tower, due to clock 

in at over 1,000m when completed. 

Born in 1944, Smith worked with 

SOM for over 30 years before leaving 

in 2006 to start his own firm Adrian 

Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture, 

AS+GG, based in Chicago. Despite 

significant successes in the Gulf, his 

new firm has not escaped the issues 

of un-built projects in the UAE. The 

perennially delayed Jumeirah Garden 

City, by Meraas, includes 1 Dubai, a 

three-tower, 121ha Smith + Gill project 

close to Safa Park. 

Asking Smith to pick a favourite 

project is likely to be difficult, given 

his record, but in an interview last 

year with his local paper, Smith, 69, 

described the opening of the Burj 

Khalifa as the high point of his career. 

“My intent, ultimately, [with Burj 

Khalifa] was to lift the spirits of a 

nation and a culture, and to bring joy 

and inspiration to its citizens. I think 

that Burj Khalifa has fulfilled that 

mission,” he said. 



JEAN NOUVEL 

FOUNDER 

ATELIERS JEAN NOUVEL 

ZAHA HADID 

FOUNDER 

ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS 

Jean Nouvel’s Doha Tower – known as the Burj Qatar – has 

scooped the French architect a place in the Middle East 

architectural landscape, and his design for the Louvre Abu 

Dhabi, when it is completed, will only serve to cement it. 

The cylindrical tower on Qatar’s waterfront won Middle 

East Architect’s top prize for Best Overall Project this 

year, with judges branding it ‘a symbol for an entire city’. 

A giant in the global architecture scene, Nouvel was 

born in 1945 in France and had founded his own practice 

by the age of 25. 

He won the Agha Khan Award for Architecture for his 

Institut du Monde Arab in its fourth cycle, 1987-89, the 

2005 Wolfe Prize in Arts and the biggest of them all, the 

Pritzker Prize, in 2008. 

In 2012, Nouvel won yet another award for the Doha 

Tower, with the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban 

Habitat crowning it the best tall building in the world. The 

tower was particularly praised for its mashrabiya skin, 

which is inspired by traditional Islamic architecture. 

Meanwhile, Nouvel’s Qatar National Museum, a distinctive 

modern design, is currently under construction at the 

south of Doha Corniche. The Frenchman was also recently 

selected to design the National Museum of China. 

Describing the architect, a close friend, Frank Gehry 

once told the New York Times: “He’s precarious. He tries 

things, and not everything works. But Jean is willing to 

jump in and take on things and try. That’s a great quality.” 

The Iraqi-British architect needs little introduction 

in the region of her birth, even though she reportedly 

feels under-utilised in the Arab world. 

Hadid’s most prominent Middle East work, the 

Sheikh Zayed Bridge, opened in 2010 to much 

aplomb, while over on Saadiyat Island her Performing 

Arts Centre is making as slow progress as the 

three museums that will one day sit alongside it. 

Hadid was commissioned in 2010 to design the 

Central Bank of Iraq, which will be her first project 

in the country where she was born and raised. 

Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker 

Prize in 2004, and in 2010 and 2011 won the Stirling 

Prize, Britain’s highest architectural honour. 

Outside of the Middle East, Hadid designed landmarks 

including the Aquatics Centre in London’s 

Olympic Village and the MAAXI Contemporary 

Art Museum in Rome, which won the Stirling in 

2010. Her Bergisel Ski Jump (2002) in Innsbruck, 

Austria and the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary 

Art in Cincinnati, Ohio (2003), also contributed 

to her Prizker Prize. She was made a dame in 

the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2012. 

In terms of design, Hadid is known for her wacky 

experimentations with modernism, famously saying: 

‘There are 360 degrees, so why stick to one’. 

26 



FRANK GEHRY 

FOUNDER 

GEHRY PARTNERS 

IM PEI 

FOUNDER 

IM PEI 

As controversial as he is outspoken, 

the word prolific hardly comes close 

for 83-year-old Frank Gehry. The 

American turned his attention to the 

Gulf for the first time with his Guggenheim 

Abu Dhabi, which has been 

plagued with delays but now looks 

set for completion in 2017. Gehry, 

who sits firmly among the ranks of 

the modern-day ‘starchitects’, said 

he had been apprehensive about 

taking on the Abu Dhabi project, but 

that he ‘fell in love with the region’. 

A winner of the Pritzker 

Prize back in 1983, 

95-year-old Chinese 

American architect IM 

Pei needs little introduction. 

The designer of some of 

the best-known and controversial 

buildings in the world, in 2008 he 

designed Qatar’s Museum of Islamic 

Art. The then-91-year-old – who 

had to be coaxed out of retirement 

to take on the project – travelled the 

region for six months researching the 

iconic museum. 

RASHAD BUKHASH 

CHAIRMAN 

ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE DEPARTMENT 

As head of Dubai Municipality’s Architectural Heritage Department, Bukhash 

has overseen the restoration of dozens of historic buildings in Dubai, including 

the Bastakiya district, and is an outspoken critic of some modern developments 

in the emirate. The department has restored 150 buildings, including forts and 

houses in the UAE as well as financing projects in Syria and Marrakech. 

ADNAN SHARAFI 

CHAIRMAN 

EMIRATES GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL 

As chairman of Emirates Green 

Building Council (EmiratesGBC), 

Adnan Sharafi works with key agencies 

in the government and private 

sector to further enhance awareness 

on sustainable buildings. Sharafi’s 

passion for sustainable development 

started when he was at college, where 

he designed, built and tested a solar 

collector. He holds an MBA, a degree 

in Civil Engineering and a diploma in 

Engineering Technology. 



MOHAMED AL ASSAM 

MANAGING DIRECTOR 

DEWAN 

ADEC school, 

Abu Dhabi 

(top); ARAC 

Tower, KSA (far 

right); Tower in 

Dammam, KSA 

(right). 

Mohamed Al Assam is the founder 

and managing director at Dewan 

Architects & Engineers, and also 

serves as chairman of the Board 

of Directors. As an experienced 

and veteran architect, he relocated 

from his native Iraq to the UAE in 

1974, building up one of biggest, 

oldest and best-known firms in the 

Middle East. Al Assam continues 

to very much hands-on and actively 

involved in the design process, a 

passion which was the main driver 

in his establishment of Dewan 

more than 30 years ago.Today Dewan 

is staffed with 300 professionals 

(who are affectionately referred 

to as ‘Dewanees’), with 10 active 

offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, 

Iraq, Qatar, Philippines and India. 

Dewan also annually features in 

the Top 200 ENR International 

Design firms survey and in the top 

five of the Middle East Architect 

company rankings, according to 

staff numbers. 

Dewan’s key recent projects 

include Al Bateen Park and Al 

Bateen Secondary School in Abu 

Dhabi, multiple towers in Dammam, 

Saudi Arabia, and the Basra 

Cultural Centre in Iraq. 

28 



BRIAN JOHNSON 

MANAGING PARTNER 

GODWIN AUSTEN JOHNSON (GAJ) 

Principal and managing partner of GAJ, Brian Johnson 

picked up the 2011 MEA Principal of the Year 

Award, and was described by the panel as “an icon of 

the Middle Eastern architectural landscape”. 

The British architect began his career in London in 

1973 before moving to Dubai in 1975 where he began 

working for a small firm. Three months later, when 

the principal announced he was leaving Dubai, Johnson 

asked his old partnership to join him in the establishment 

of a new practice in Dubai to take advantage 

of the exciting opportunities in the region. 

Johnson was managing partner of this practice 

until 1989 when he left to join a long-running UK 

practice and established the GAJ headquarters in 

Dubai in 1991. Fast forward to 2012 the practice has 

over 160 staff with Architectural, Interior Design and 

MEP departments. 

With more than 30 years of regional experience 

to his name, Johnson’s influence on modern Middle 

Eastern architecture is undeniable. His body of work 

comprises some of Dubai’s most recognisable and 

prized buildings. Among them is the Dubai Creek 

Golf Club, widely recognised as one of Dubai’s first 

architectural icons - so much so it features on the 20 

dirham note. 

Johnson is recognised as one of the more distinguished 

architects in the region and is credited with 

orchestrating a countrywide trend to incorporate 

traditional Arabic and Islamic themes into modern 

architecture. He is also known for his distinctive style 

and uncompromising resolve for design excellence. 

Dubai Creek 

Golf Club 

(top); Bab Al 

Shams (above 

left); Arabian 

Court (above 

right). 



GEORGE EFSTATHIOU 

CONSULTING PARTNER 

SOM 

AHMET SAFFARINI 

CEO 

ENG ADNAN SAFFARINI 

Ahmet Saffarini is the CEO of 

one of the UAE’s oldest and largest 

architecture firms. Established in 

1968 in Dubai, Eng Adnan Saffarini 

has built up an impressively large 

portfolio and office, with over 750 

staff in the GCC. Its projects include 

the Princess Tower in Dubai Marina, 

which is now the tallest residential 

building in the world at 414m. 

Although based in Chicago, 

Efstathiou, was lauded as MEA’s 

Architect of the Year 2011, due to 

his work on a trio of Dubai’s best 

high rises – Burj Khalifa, Infinity 

Tower and Rolex Tower. He has been 

at SOM for 39 years, starting off as a 

technical architect, then becoming 

a design architect and a manager of 

the design process. He is the number 

one ranking architect and the client 

liaison, taking care of all the project’s 

business aspects. 

30 



IBRAHIM MOHAMMED AL JAIDAH 

PRINCIPAL 

ARAB ENGINEERING BUREAU 

As director of veteran Arab Engineering 

Bureau (AEB), Ibrahim 

Mohammed Al Jaidah has taken the 

Doha-based firm from half-a-dozen 

architects in a one-room office to 

a regional architecture giant with 

offices in Kuala Lumpur, Manila and 

Abu Dhabi. Al Jaidah is an expert in 

Gulf vernacular, and has published 

a book about Qatar’s architectural 

history, while giving regular lectures 

on the subject to architecture students 

of the region. AEB’s niche is 

in designing embassy buildings, and 

the firm can take credit for Qatar’s 

embassies from Morocco to Havana. 

For all his travelling, however, it 

is of Qatar that Al Jaidah is most 

proud. “In a decade’s time you will 

be able to take students from any 

architecture school in the world and 

show them the most contemporary 

architecture in Doha. Qatar is going 

to become an encyclopaedia of architecture,” 

he says. Meanwhile Stantec 

and Burt Hill, two consultancies 

that were recently in a global merger, 

were reported to be working with 

AEB on a $6.5m drug-rehabilitation 

clinic in Doha. 

WPC protecs primeval forests. Our first 

objective was to develop the technology to 

create a composite wood superior to natural 

wood in order to combat the thoughtless 

lumbering of forest trees 

NEW SHOWROOM, NOW OPEN! 

Come and visit us at our Grand Showroom - 

“WORLD OF FLOORING” 

For the complete display of Natural Wood and 

Composite Flooring - @ The Curve Building., SH-12, 

Sheikh Zayed Road. 



MURAT & MELKAN TABANLIOĞLU 

PARTNERS 

TABANLIOĞLU ARCHITECTS 

Loft Gardens, 

Turkey (left); 

Astana Arena 

(top); Tripoli 

Congress Centre. 

Murat Tabanlıoğlu and his wife 

Melkan are partners at one of the 

most highly rated and prolific firms 

in the Middle East. What’s more, the 

Turkey headquartered practice has 

recently opened a Dubai office, to 

capitalise on the winning of a major 

mixed-used tower complex on JBR. 

With its undeniable design flair, the 

practice has picked up several MEA 

Awards including Architect of the 

Year in 2010. 

In 1990, Tabanlıoğlu Architects 

was formed by Murat, who studied 

architecture at Vienna Technical 

University and graduated in 

1992. Melkan joined Tabanlioğlu 

Architects in 1995 after studying at 

Istanbul Technical University and 

Polytechnic University of Metropolitan 

Catalonia. 

The firm has had the biggest 

impact in Turkey with buildings such 

as Levent Loft & Loft Gardens and 

Kanyon (with Arup & Jerde); Sapphire 

tower, the tallest residential 

building in Europe; contemporary 

urban complex Zorlu Center (with 

EAA); and an urban transformation 

project Istanbul Galataport. 

One of its most impressive buildings 

is the Tripoli Congress Centre 

in Libya, an elegant and intricately 

designed public project. It has also 

highly active in Kazakhstan, having 

designed the Palace of Peace (with 

Foster + Partners), Astana Arena, 

Astana Media Centre and Almaty 

Fitness Centre. 

The opening of the Dubai office 

will surely result in a swathe of GCC 

projects for Tabanlioğlu Architects. 

32 



ALBERT SPEER 

PARTNER 

AS&P 

THIERRY PARET 

PRESIDENT 

AIA MIDDLE EAST 

With its superb stadium concept 

designs, Professor Albert Speer’s 

firm was instrumental in securing 

the World Cup for Qatar in 2022. He 

founded Albert Speer and Partners 

in 1964 in Frankfurt, which has now 

grown to 120 people in German and 

30 in Shanghai. Speer says that he 

wasn’t particularly inspired to be an 

architect, but fell into the profession 

due to family tradition. “It was 

less about inspiration and more of a 

necessity,” he told MEA. 

Paret is president and founder of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 

Middle East, having worked in the USA, Ireland and the UAE over the past 

20 years. Paret was appointed president in 2010, and is responsible for 

championing the organisation in the region. Currently employed by HDR, 

he was previously a senior associate at AECOM, and has worked on several 

large educational and high-end residential projects in Abu Dhabi. 

PETER DI SABATINO 

DEAN OF CAAD 

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF SHARJAH 

Prior to becoming dean of CAAD four 

years ago, Peter Di Sabatino had been 

the chair of the Department of Environmental 

Design at Art Center College 

of Design in Pasadena, California, a 

visiting professor at the Politecnico di 

Milano, Italy, and visiting professor at 

the National Institute of Design (NID), 

India. Dean Di Sabatino is a licensed 

architect in California, and has been 

in private practice in architecture and 

design, as well as speaking worldwide. 



MICHAEL FOWLER 


AEDAS MIDDLE EAST 

RAJ PATEL 

DESIGN DIRECTOR 

KEO INTERNATIONAL 

CONSULTANTS 

In his role as managing director Middle 

East for Aedas, Fowler is responsible 

for the overall administrative management 

and quality assurance of Abu 

Dhabi, Dubai, and Doha offices. Fowler 

is an American architect registered in 

Hong Kong, California and New York, 

with more than 30 years of experience 

including over 12 years working on projects 

in Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, and 

the Middle East. At Aedas, one of the 

world’s largest firms, Fowler has focused 

on large projects, recently serving as 

project director for a six-star healthcare 

project in Abu Dhabi. 

TOM WRIGHT 

HEAD OF ARCHITECTURE 

ATKINS 

British architect Tom Wright’s name will 

always be associated with giving Dubai its 

first landmark, in the form of the Burj Al 

Arab hotel. Wright worked on the project 

from 1993 to 1999, when the world’s first 

seven star hotel – designed to imitate the 

shape of a yacht sail – was opened. Wright 

has since returned to London, where he is 

Head of Architecture at Atkins. 

Based in Abu Dhabi, Raj Patel 

joined KEO International Consultants 

in 2001 after six years with 

firms such as Skidmore Owings & 

Merrill, Perkins & Will, and Charles 

Correa. He obtained a Bachelor of 

Architecture from the University of 

Cincinnati and a Master of Architecture 

from Yale University. Patel’s 

interest in the cultural meaning and 

the spirit of architecture during his 

educational years translated into 

the building of mega scale projects 

throughout the Middle East region. 

With over a dozen buildings built 

or under construction, his portfolio 

includes landmark projects such 

as QP District in Doha, Kuwait 

Investment Authority Headquarters 

and Gulf University for Science and 

Technology in Kuwait. His designs 

are modern yet respectful to traditional 

aspects of Islamic architecture 

and design. 

34 



YAHYA JAN 

VP AND DESIGN DIRECTOR 

NORR GROUP CONSULTANTS 

In 1996, Jan joined NORR’s Dubai 

office as the senior designer on the 

Emirates Towers project, widely 

regarded as one of the best high-rises 

in the entire Middle East. Over the 

past 16 years, Jan has played a lead 

role for NORR, as vice president and 

design director, winning commissions 

throughout the region. Jan’s 

work now includes significant built 

and under construction projects in 

Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Bahrain, 

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. 

He currently holds the title of vice 

president and design director. 

Jan undertook his undergraduate 

and graduate studies at Princeton 

University, receiving an Architecture 

& Engineering degree in 1986 

and a Master of Architecture degree 

in 1989. He has 

taught at Princeton 

University and has served 

on design juries at universities 

in the USA, Middle East, and 

Asia. Upon completing his studies, 

Jan worked for 10 years in the USA 

with design offices in New York and 

Boston. 

Jan believes that future cities 

need to question conventional 

wisdom and the largely formulaic 

approach to vertical development. 

By embracing forces of globalisation 

and utilising technology, architects 

must continue to propose innovative 

solutions for high density living. He 

is also an advocate for a sustained 

effort in research and multidisciplinary 

collaboration. 

Clockwise from 

top left: Al 

Fatan Marine 

Towers, Dubai; 

Al Hitmi complex, 

Doha; The 

Avenues,Kuwait; 

Trade Centre, 

Kuwait. 



HENNING LARSEN 

FOUNDER 

HENNING LARSEN ARCHITECTS 

The founder of the company that bears 

his name, Henning Larsen has been 

well-known in the Middle East since designing 

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

building in Riyadh in 1984. Today, the 

Danish architect’s firm is the masterplanner 

of the King Abdullah Financial 

District (KAFD) just outside Riyadh, 

as well as Wadi Hanifah, a regenerated 

wadi that intersects the Saudi Arabian 

capital city. 

TAREQ ABU SUKHEILA 


GENSLER MIDDLE EAST 

Tareq Abu Sukheila has over 19 

years of architectural experience 

working in the USA, UK, Kuwait, 

KSA, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE. 

He holds Masters in both Architecture 

and Civil Engineering and a BS 

in Architectural Engineering. Abu 

Sukheila has worked at Gensler during 

two stints - the first from 1990 to 

1999, before re-joining in 2008. 

IAN APSLEY 

BOARD DIRECTOR 

BROADWAY MALYAN 

Ian Apsley leads Broadway Malyan’s 

Middle East operations out 

of its long-standing Abu Dhabi 

base, having joined the business 

in 1999 and being appointed to 

its main board in 2007. 

Under Apsley’s leadership in 

2012, the Abu Dhabi-based team 

has supported the business’ wider 

international growth strategy by 

breaking into Qatar, through its 

appointment to design and manage 

the delivery of the headquarters 

and a presentation centre for 

Seef Lusail, a huge waterfront 

district in the north of Doha. 

This year also saw the practice’s 

Middle East team supporting 

clients in the UAE, through the 

delivery of the masterplan for a 

680ha waterfront on Yas Island 

and the planning approval of 

its vision for the 3.5 million m 2 

mixed-used Al Maryah Island, 

as well as the official opening of 

seven ADEC schools. 

36 



COLIN DOYLE 


LWD ARCHITECTS 

Monte Carlo 

Beach Club 

(top); The World 

(left); Khan Villa 

(right). 

A passion for a holistic approach to 

design led Doyle to join RMJM after 

graduating from the University of 

Strathclyde in 1987. After a few years 

of working in Edinburgh he received 

an offer to transfer to RMJM in 

Dubai where he led the architectural 

department until 1999. After 

a short sabbatical from RMJM with 

Broadway Malyan in the UK, Doyle 

was asked to rejoin RMJM in 2001 

to lead the architectural practice in 

Dubai and was instrumental in securing 

and leading many of RMJM’s 

projects during this period, from 

Dubai Convention Centre, H Hotel 

in DIFC. Doyle joined forces with 

LWDesign in late 2003 to create 

architectural practice LWD Architects, 

complementing the growing 

interior design hospitality practice. 

He is intrinsically involved in all 

projects, including the impressive 

Monte Carlo Beach Club. 



ROB WATSON 

FOUNDER 

LEED 

Chicago-born Rob Watson founded 

the LEED green rating system of the 

United States Green Building Council 

in 1993, acting as its founding 

chairman until 2006. Since LEED 

was set up, projects have spread to 

120 countries and amounting to 800 

million square metres of space. Watson 

launched EcoTech International 

Group (ETI) in 2007 to promote 

green technologies and services in 

China, Russia, India and the United 

States of America. 

TONY GEBRAYEL 


MZ ARCHITECTS 

As managing partner at MZ Architects, Tony Gebrayel was behind one of the 

Middle East’s most recognisable buildings - the disc-shaped Aldar HQ in Abu 

Dhabi. Commenting on the building, he said: “I’m convinced that the building 

will remain an achievement for years, without being the tallest, the biggest, the 

most inclined, the most expensive. The building is a phenomenal masterpiece 

for the next generation.” 

DAVID CASH 

CHAIRMAN 

BDP 

Recently promoted to company chairman, 

David Cash was previously BDP’s 

director of international development 

and chair of the MENA region. Cash 

was instrumental in expanding the 

UK-based company into markets such 

as the UAE, India and China. He began 

his BDP career in Preston, UK, in 1980 

and became director for international 

development in 2008. Cash continues 

to develop BDP internationally and 

remains chair of the MENA region. BDP 

opened an Abu Dhabi office in 2010, 

headed by Nadine Nackasha. 

38 MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT | 12.12 | www.designmena.com 

38


DAOUSSER CHENNOUFI, 

GROUP CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER 

DRAW LINK GROUP 

Chennoufi’s design 

philosophy 

is to ‘make less 

to get more’. 

Born in Tunisia and based in Dubai, 

Daousser Chennoufi is the founder, 

CEO and key architect behind 

Draw Link Group, which includes 

Architecture, Interior, Project and 

Technical Works divisions. He is 

behind projects such as Hues Boutique 

Hotel, Radisson Royal Hotel, 

Roberto’s Restaurant and has picked 

up awards on local, regional and 

international level. These include 

prizes from Bloomberg CNBC, 

governmental (Tunisia and Mauretania), 

CID, IIDA, Cityscape and 

many others. Currently DLG has five 

offices in five countries: UAE, Qatar, 

Tunisia, China and Belarus 

Chennoufi holds a Masters degree 

in architecture from the National 

School of Architecture and Urbanism 

(ENAU) in Tunis. He first made 

his debut with a furniture and showroom 

concept from 2003 – 2006. 

His design philosophy is to ‘make 

less to get more’ and keep things as 

simple as possible. He comments: 

“Being an architect is a profession 

for an artist. Success will come to 

someone who knows how to combine 

art and profession.” 



AHMED AL ALI 

CHAIRMAN 

X ARCHITECTS 

SAMI ANGAWI 

FOUNDER 

HAJ RESEARCH CENTRE 

The veteran Mecca-born architect 

Sami Angawi’s most famous 

project is his own house, developed 

in Jeddah over ten years 

and a triumph of contemporary 

Saudi Arabian design. Angawi, 

who worked for decades in Mecca 

researching and cataloguing the 

history of the holy city, is now 

heavily critical of its modern 

development. He also stresses 

the importance of incorporating 

traditional Gulf sustainability 

into contemporary design. 

SHAMS NAGA 

FOUNDER, PRINCIPAL AND MANAGING DIRECTOR 

NAGA ARCHITECTS 

The highly educated Dr Shams 

Eldien Naga was born in Cairo, 

Egypt, 1959 and holds three Master 

degrees in Environmental Design, 

City and Regional Planning, 

Architectural Theory as well as a 

Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, 

USA. Dr Naga has run a 

private architecture practice since 

1992 and held senior positions at 

several architecture offices in the 

US and Egypt. Founded in 2000, 

NAGA architects has offices in 

Dubai, UAE, Cambridge, USA, 

and Riyadh, KSA. 

Ahmed Al Ali set up X Architects in 

2003 following his graduation from 

the American University Of Sharjah. 

The work of his firm has certainly 

won fans, picking up an MEA Award 

for Best Concept Development in 

2009 for its sustainable Xeritown 

scheme, which is currently on hold. 

X-Architects followed up its success 

by winning the prize for Best Boutique 

Firm the following year. 

JOHN HARRIS 

FOUNDER 

JRHP 

BERNARD KHOURY 

FOUNDER 

DW5 

British architect John Harris has 

been working in the Gulf since 1952, 

when he designed Doha’s new state 

hospital before moving to Dubai in 

1959 and becoming an expert adviser 

to Sheikh Rashid on the city’s 

first master plan. He is best known 

for Dubai’s World Trade Centre, the 

first high-rise tower in the Gulf, that 

was completed in 1979 and began 

Dubai’s ascent to global recognition 

in the wake of the discovery of oil. 

Born in Beirut in 1969, Bernard Khoury 

founded his firm DW5 in 1993, but has become 

one of the country’s best known architects 

since the late 1990s when he designed 

Beirut’s infamous B 018 nightclub. Located 

in the city’s Karantina neighborhood, the 

building takes the form of a massive underground 

bomb shelter, with a mechanical roof 

that opens to the sky. It is built on the site of 

a 1976 massacre during the civil war and has 

become a symbol of post-war Beirut. 

40 



MONA SALEM 

VICE PRESIDENT 

RW ARMSTRONG 

STEPHEN ERHLICH 

FOUNDER 

ERHLICH ARCHITECTS 

Mona Salem was appointed VP at 

RW Armstrong after serving many 

years as a senior associate. She runs 

the company’s global building design 

services, and manages the operations 

of its Middle Easte headquarters. 

Salem has 20 years’ experience in 

operations, management, engineering 

consulting and design in public 

and private sectors. She earned a 

BSc in Chemical Engineering from 

Alexandria University in Egypt, and 

returned to the US in 1991 to begin 

her professional career. 

California-based architect Steven 

Ehrlich is best known in the Gulf for 

winning the competition to design 

the UAE Federal National Council 

building in 2011 alongside UAEbased 

firm Godwin Austen Johnson. 

But the award-winning architect is 

by no means new to working outside 

of his native US. Ehrlich spent six 

years as a professor of architecture 

in Nigeria and with the US Peace 

Corps in Morocco. 

RAFAEL MONEO 

FOUNDER 

RAFAEL MONEO 

Spanish architect Rafael Moneo will be well-known to Beirutis as the designer 

behind the regeneration of the Beirut Central District, an area destroyed 

during Lebanon’s civil war and given a new lease of life in 2009. The 75-yearold 

redesigned Souq al-Tawileh and Souq al-Jamil, as well as Souk al-Franj, 

which was the city’s historic flower and fruit market. 

KARIM BENKIRANE 

REGIONAL MANAGING PRINCIPAL 

WOODS BAGOT 

With over 18 years’ of experience, 

Benkirane has worked extensively 

in Australia and Europe. In 2007, 

he was appointed regional managing 

principal for Europe, Woods Bagot. 

Relocating to Dubai in 2011, and appointed 

to regional managing 

principal for Middle East, Benkirane 

oversees the management of 

four studios and projects across the 

MENA region. 



PEDRAM RAD; MARTIN 

DUFRESNE (BOTTOM 

LEFT). 

PEDRAM RAD AND 

MARTIN DUFRESNE 

PARTNERS 

U+A ARCHITECTS 

Rad and Dufresne are the founders and partners 

at U+A Architects, a practice established 

in 2006 with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, 

Doha and Jeddah. The pair met while at 

RMJM, a period in which Dufresne played an 

integral design role on the leaning Capital Gate 

tower in Abu Dhabi. 

Dufresne graduated from the Azrieli School 

of Architecture and Urbanism in Canada in the 

mid 90s before relocating to Hong Kong where 

he acquired large-scale projects design expertise 

with HOK Asia Pacific for seven years. 

He subsequently worked in Singapore for 

three years as senior design architect with 

Kerry Hill Architects before moving to RMJM 

in 2005. The design for Capital Gate was 

conceived after his observations of the tower’s 

future context. 

Rad is more of a Middle East veteran, having 

joined RMJM’s Dubai office in 2000 and 

working on projects such as Emirates Towers 

Expansion, Dubai Convention Centre, DIFC 

and Dubai Tower in Doha. 

In May 2006, Rad’s long awaited ambition 

of establishing his own firm became true 

when he teamed up Dufresne to launch U+A 

Architects Dubai in collaboration with a sister 

company in Toronto, Canada. 

Within the first two years the office grew to 

over 40 architects and technologists and the 

completion of five large scale shopping malls/ 

mixed-use developments in the region led U+A 

to open a new branch office in Abu Dhabi, Doha 

and Jeddah. 

U+A is noted for its contribution to more 

humble projects, such as a clinic for the government-funded 

organisation Dubai Foundation, 

for Women and Children. This simple and 

elegant building will soon house a clinic for 

women and children suffering from abuse. 

42 



MIKE LEWIS 

MIDDLE EAST DIRECTOR 

BENOY 

STEVE NILLES 

PARTNER IN CHARGE 

GP 

Lewis is Middle East director of 

Benoy, a firm famous in the region 

for designing the enormous Ferrari 

World Abu Dhabi. The Ferrarithemed 

project on Yas Island won 

Best Hospitality and Leisure Project 

at the MEA Awards 2011. It contains 

a 200,000m 2 roof, modelled on the 

side profile of a Ferrari GT, making 

it the largest indoor amusement park 

in the world. 

STEVEN HOLL 

FOUNDER 

STEVEN HOLL 

The American architect and 

painter worked with Solidere 

to develop Beirut’s Marina 

and Town Quay, which 

extends the city’s existing 

Corniche in a 20,500m 2 development on 

the Lebanese capital’s waterfront. So far, 

the Beirut project is the only Middle East 

work by the 64-year-old architect, who’s 

other famous work ranges across Europe, 

China and the US. 

Steve Nilles is the partner in charge of GP’s Abu Dhabi office. In 2012, he was 

elected to the distinguished College of Fellows of the American Institute of 

Architects. Nilles switched to Abu Dhabi to lead the huge Sowwah Square 

project for client Mubadala, and set up the design firm’s office within the 

scheme. GP is also working on a tower for Al Hilal Bank, close to the site of 

Sowwah Square. 



AL MANARA 

BUILDING (TOP 

AND LEFT); 

PHARMAX 

R&D FACILITY 

(RIGHT). 

TAREK N QADDUMI 

PRINCIPAL 

TNQ 

Born in 1974 in Peoria, Illinois, to 

Palestinian parents, Tarek N Qaddumi 

moved to Dubai with his family 

in 1976. By age 12, he had decided to 

pursue a career in architecture. 

After obtaining a Master of 

Architecture from the University of 

Michigan, Qaddumi moved to Los 

Angeles and was selected for a much 

coveted internship at Morphosis 

Architects. He was fortunate to work 

directly with principal and 2005 

Pritzker Prize winner Thom Mayne, 

a figure that has inspired his work. 

Qaddumi returned to Dubai in 

2002 and set up his own practice 

TNQ in 2005. His practice’s design 

for Al Manara, home to the flagship 

store of Jones the Grocer and Brookfield 

Multiplex regional offices on 

Sheikh Zayed Road, was nominated 

for MEA’s Best Overall Building of 

the Year for 2011. 

Commenting on the project, Qaddumi, 

said: “In sharp contrast with 

other Sheikh Zayed Road buildings, 

Al Manara was an opportunity to 

design a building in which residents 

may relate to as the copper skin ages 

and marks the passage of time.” 

Other buildings in his portfolio 

include workers’ accommodation in 

Jebel Ali, a residential development 

in Nahda and a mixed-use project in 

Jumeirah Village. TNQ’s completed 

work includes the ERCO Edible Oil 

Refinery in Port Khalid and Gentex 

Headquarters in DIP. 

Most recently he was awarded the 

design and project management of a 

AED40m research and production 

facility for Pharmax at Dubiotech, 

set for completion in two years. 

44 



STEVE KELSHAW 


DSA ARCHITECTS 

Kelshaw joined DSA Architects International 

in February 2008 

and was subsequently 

appointed as Managing 

Director, Middle East in 

December 2008. He has 

over 30 years’ experience 

in construction 

and business management, 

with 15 years at 

senior management 

level. DSA Architects 

International has 

over 100 employees, 

with offices in Africa, 

Europe and the 

Middle East. A key 

recent project by the 

firm is the One & Only 

resort on the Palm 

Jumeirah. 

STEPHAN FRANTZEN 

AND JAMES ABBOTT 

DIRECTORS 

P&T 

Frantzen, a Swedish national, and Englishman Abbott are directors of the 

Dubai office at P&T, a global firm headquartered in Hong Kong. The biggest 

regional project for P&T is the Burj Rafal in Saudi Arabia, which is due for 

completion in June 2013. Burj Rafal will house 440 apartments and one of 

the first Kempinski hotels in Saudi Arabia. 

ABDULLA AL SHAMSI 

FOUNDER 

SHAPE ARCHITECTURE 

Although Al Shamsi set up Shape 

Architecture in Sharjah in 2004, he 

is still under 35. This year he was 

lauded as Young Architect of the 

Year at the MEA Awards. Judges 

noted Al Shamsi as someone who is 

not afraid to be bold and explore the 

boundaries of architectural design. 

He was also described as a talented 

architect with a refined portfolio, 

showing great promise in his work. 

NIGEL ECKERSALL 

GENERAL MANAGER 

TANGRAM QATAR 

Eckersall is a RIBA qualified architect 

with over 15 years as both a site and 

client facing project manager. His recent 

development of sustainable initiatives 

and publications across the Middle 

East focus on vernacular and historical 

understandings of the past. Now general 

manager for Tangram Qatar, his regional 

portfolio includes Dusit Hotel Dubai, 

Intercontinental Doha, Al Raha Beach, 

Abu Dhabi Quays, Pullman Hotel Dubai 

and JW Marriot Doha. 



JOHN LAYLAND 

GENERAL MANAGER MIDDLE EAST 

LEIGH & ORANGE 

Layland has extensive working 

experience in the Middle East. He 

joined Leigh & Orange in 2006 following 

a stint as project manager at 

Saudi’s Dar Al Riyadh Consultants. 

The key regional project for L&O is 

the Al Shaqab Equestrian Academy 

in Qatar, a huge centre of excellence 

designed in the shape of a horseshoe 

for the performance display, training 

and breeding of Arabian horses. 

SHAWN BASLER 

PRINCIPAL AND REGIONAL DIRECTOR 

PERKINS EASTMAN 

Principal and regional director of the MENA region for Perkins Eastman, 

Shawn Basler has been instrumental in the design of internationally 

recognised architecture and planning projects from hotels and 

resorts, office buildings, residential, commercial and mixed-use development 

projects throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and the 

Middle East. Basler is a member of the American Institute of Architects 

and Urban Land Institute. 

RICHARD PHILIPSON 

BOARD DIRECTOR 

STRIDE TREGLOWN 

Richard Philipson is a board director 

with Stride Treglown, responsible 

for production, knowledge 

management and developing the 

strategic direction of the business. 

His primary role currently is the 

establishment of a Stride Treglown 

branch office in Abu Dhabi. He leads 

project teams involved with the design 

and administration of fast track 

retail, commercial and education 

projects. Philipson has extensive 

experience in the primary education 

sector, a key area of focus for Stride 

Treglown. The firm launched an affordable 

school model for the region. 

46 


48/58 

CASE 

STUDIES 

60/61 

THE WORK 

62/63 

CULTURE 


CIRCLE SNACK BAR| CASE STUDY 

CIRCLE 

SNACK BAR 

Architect: : Farshad Mahdizadeh 

Location: Isfahan, Iran 

CASE STUDY 

48 


THE PROJECT 

Designed by Iranian architect 

Farshad Mahdizadeh, this fast food 

store occupies just 7m 2 on a street in 

Isfahan, Iran. The project received 

rave reviews at last month’s Middle 

East Architect Awards, where it was 

highly commended in the category 

of Public Sector, Institutional and 

Cultural Project. 

Judge Bart Leclercq, WSP, commented: 

“This must be the smallest 

architectural project ever but the 

amount of diligence that went into 

the design of this little snack bar is 

remarkable. This project is a real eyecatcher 

and a fabulous example of an 

architect that was thinking 

outside the box.” 

CASE STUDY | CIRCLE SNACK BAR 

7M 2 

AREA OF 

THE PROJECT 

THE SITE 

The project is located next to a historic 

area, formerly the Hezarjerib 

gardens, yet now a modern block on 

Charbagh Street. Isfahan is Iran’s 

third largest city located about 340 

km south of the capital, Tehran. It is 

famous for its impressive and elegant 

mosques and public buildings. 

Since the area for the store is limited, 

the architect decided to design it in a 

way so that the inside was allocated 

to the kitchen, while the dining area 

and lobby was placed outside. Its 

form and layout is said to challenge 

the distinction between public and 

private space. 

www.designmena.com | 12.12 | MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT 

49

CIRCLE SNACK BAR| CASE STUDY 

THE CONCEPT 

The project is based on a 

surface which is capable of 

interacting with people. It is 

folded so that different functions 

are displayed; the façade 

was designed to be connected 

to the walkway and joins the 

private and public functions 

together as one. 

Part of the sidewalk is practically 

part of the store, while 

pedestrians would consider the 

store as a part of public space. 

These two modes of ownership 

are interchanged during the day 

and night. Another interesting 

facet of the project is the use of 

a hard material like stone on the 

folded surface. 

1.6M 

POPULATION OF 

ISFAHAN 

THE DETAILS 

Material played a critical role 

in the project as it needed to be 

installed and utilised both vertically 

and horizontally as walkway, facade 

and ceiling. 

It also needed to be installed on the 

folded surfaces to show the continuity 

and connection between the 

walkway and the façade. 

Travertine stone was chosen to 

cover the surface in different widths 

and colours, with no limit in size, 

and divided into small lengths for 

installing on the folded area. The 

thin ribbons of travertine help users 

to visually follow the movement 

of the surface. 

50 


NEW E 

COLLEGE O L L E G E 

OF ENGINEERING I E 

ER 

N 

- QATAR UNIVERSITY | CASE STUDY 

NEW COLLEGE OF 

ENGINEERING 

QATAR UNIVERSITY 

Architect: Mimar Emirates Engineering Consultants 

Location: Doha, Qatar 

CASE STUDY 

THE SITE 

The college’s location was determined 

by the main campus spine. 

The 56,000m 2 project site was also 

strategically placed to face Lusail 

Zone, with views of the business 

district skyline. The overall impact 

was of a project in line with the 

campus’ profile. The three floor 

facility needed to incorporate all the 

required academic elements: classrooms, 

lecture halls, labs, meeting 

rooms, studios, and administrative 

offices, while still making a strong 

mark on the entire environment. 

Mirmar followed the orientation 

of the university as a whole and 

utilised the natural conditions. 

56,000M 2 

AREA OF SITE 

52 


CASE STUDY | NEW COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING - QATAR UNIVERSITY 

THE PROJECT 

The New College of Engineering is 

intended to be the crowning glory of 

Doha’s Qatar University. Designed 

by Mimar Emirates Engineering 

Consultants, it is intended to house 

six academic departments: Chemical, 

Civil, Architecture, Electrical, 

Mechanical, and Computer Engineering. 

It needed to handle the college’s 

current enrollment of 1,200, 

but grow over the next three years 

to accommodate 2,200 students. 

To maximise space, and link to the 

rest of the campus, it was designed 

as a mass concept that intersects the 

campus axis. 


53

NEW COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING - QATAR UNIVERSITY | CASE STUDY 

THE CONCEPT 

The design philosophy was 

derived from existing environmental 

elements in regards to 

the location, as well as the level 

of education and the needs of 

both students and faculty. The 

college is formed by three parallel 

buildings (or educational 

wings) connected by a spine. 

The wings are oriented along an 

East-West axis that offers larger 

north and south façades. These 

wings house the six departments: 

Electrical and Computer 

Engineering in the first, Architecture 

and Chemical Engineering 

in the second, and Civil 

and Mechanical-Industrial 

Engineering in the third. 

2,200 

PROJECTED 

STUDENTS 

THE DETAILS 

The East-West axis offers 

decreased penetration of the sun, 

while the northern façade provides 

shading elements to the rest of the 

building. New screens were incorporated 

into the southern façades to 

decrease further impact of heating 

and thermal exposure. This is 

echoed in the landscaping around 

the building which mimics the shape 

of intersected circles designed to 

perpetuate the overall theme of connected 

modules. 

The theme is also evident inside 

the building, which is divided into 

sections for male and female students 

and faculty linked by shared 

common areas. This helps to ensure 

that both interior and exterior are 

harmoniously linked. 

54 


WASL SQUARE | CASE STUDY 

WASL 

SQUARE 

Architect: NAGA Architects 

Location: Dubai 

CASE STUDY 

THE PROJECT 

This mixed-use commercial and 

residential project just off Al Safa 

Park in Jumeirah is geared towards 

a design-savvy, middle-income 

clientelle. Designed by NAGA Architects, 

the three-storey property 

is intended to socially integrate its 

community. It incorporates retail 

spaces on the ground floor, to cater to 

pedestrians, and apartments on the 

top two floors, with privacy from the 

two-storey townhouses. Controlled 

access between the commercial 

and apartment buildings is found at 

strategic locations to maximise community 

integration. 

56 


CASE STUDY | WASL SQUARE 

THE SITE 

The site fronts two busy streets, Al 

Hadiqa to the east, which divides the 

complex and the park, and Al Wasl 

to the north. Retail spaces affront 

both Al Hadiqa and Al Wasl, forming 

an enclave. The project was initially 

designed as a cast-in-situ structure 

and block infill yet was changed to 

pre-cast concrete due to the 

fast-track programme. BIM 

(Revit by Autodesk) was 

used to build an intelligent, 

three-dimensional 

site with automatic annotations 

of levels, contours, 

and coordinates. 

270 

TOWNHOUSES AND 

APARTMENTS 

Image © SOM/ L’Autre Image 


57

WASL SQUARE | CASE STUDY 

THE CONCEPT 

The project is designed to provide 

a lifestyle location for Dubai’s 

diverse population. The masterplanned 

140 apartments, 130 

townhouses, and nearly 5,574m 2 of 

retail space is intended to be a hub 

for residents and visitors to live, entertain 

and shop. It contains one 

and two bedroom apartments 

as well as large three and four 

bedroom townhouses. 

The idea proved to be successful 

as, prior to completion, the 

developer reported five times 

more applicants than available 

units were vying for spaces. 

5,574M 2 

AREA OF RETAIL SPACE 

THE DETAILS 

A challenge for NAGA was working 

with the developer to maximise the allowable 

gross floor area of the buildings 

while still catering to residents’ needs 

for open and attractive spaces. This 

resulting in compact structures with 

undulating facades produced by manipulating 

recesses to create the illusion 

of dynamic building forms. The contemporary 

structures are in a neutral white 

and grey colour palette, with a large use 

of glass and steel that complements the 

natural environment. NAGA’s collaboration 

with the developer and designers 

allowed them to fine-tune all aspects of 

the structure’s development right down 

to the finishes. 

58 


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Enter Your Promo Code: ARCHITECT1 to qualify for the draw.

PROJECT UPDATE | THE WORK 

THE 

WORK 

PROJECT UPDATE 

2016 

COMPLETION 

DATE OF SKMC 

SHEIKH KHALIFA 

MEDICAL CITY 

Architect: SOM 

Location: Abu 

Dhabi, United 

Arab Emirates 

Conceived as three hospitals 

under one roof, the new Sheikh 

Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) is a 

300,000m 2 , 838-bed medical complex 

that will combine a general hospital 

and trauma centre with tertiary 

women’s and pediatric hospitals. It 

is a joint venture between ICME, 

Tilke, and SOM. The new complex is 

designed for SEHA, the Abu Dhabi 

Health Services Company, and will 

be the largest hospital in the country. 

SIEMENS 

MIDDLE EAST HQ 

Architect: 

Sheppard Robson 

Location: 

Masdar City, Abu 

Dhabi 

Winning both the Sustainable and 

Commercial categories at this year’s 

MEA Awards, the Siemens Middle 

East Headquarters at Masdar City 

is anticipated to be one of the first 

buildings in the region to achieve 

LEED Platinum. The building was 

designed from the inside out in order 

to achieve maximum efficiency. With 

completion scheduled for 2013, it 

will be the first headquarters building 

at Masdar City. 

100+ 

NUMBER OF SUITES IN 

THE RESORT 

THE CHEDI, 

KHOR FAKKAN 

Architect: GAJ 

Location: Khor 

Fakkan, Sharjah 

Designed by Dubai’s GAJ, this boutique 

hotel resort north of Khor Fakkan 

won the 2012 MEA Award for 

Hospitality & Leisure Project of the 

Year. The design draws inspiration 

from historical references in similar 

settings. The slope and nature of 

the existing mountainside have 

determined the massing of the hotel 

form. It has been sited to reduce the 

cutting of the natural rock as much 

as possible. 

60 


750M 2 

AREA OF PROJECT 

S CUBE CHALET 

Architect: AGi 

Architects 

Location: Kuwait 

City, Kuwait 

Designed by Spain and Kuwaitbased 

architecture studio AGi Architects, 

the S Cube Chalet residential 

space is comprised of three intertwined 

seafront houses developed 

into three levels. Located in Kuwait 

City, each house is complete with 

an outdoor terrace overlooking the 

sea. The plot is divided into two 

units, mirror images of each another, 

separated by a staircase that leads to 

the third house on top. 

THE WORK | PROJECT UPDATE 

AL HILAL BANK 

TOWER 

Architect: 

Goettsch 

Partners 

Location: 

Abu Dhabi 

Goettsch Partners (GP) has designed 

a 24-storey commercial development 

for Al Hilal Bank in the heart 

of Abu Dhabi’s Al Maryah Island. 

Totalling 87,570m 2 overall, the tower 

includes 49,110m 2 of office and retail 

space with 1,000 parking spaces for 

tenants and visitors. The speculative 

office tower is located in the capital’s 

new central business district, next 

to GP’s huge Sowwah Square project 

for Mubadala. 

28,350M 2 

SITE AREA 

KAFD 

CONFERENCE 

CENTRE 

Architect: SOM 

Location: 

King Abdullah 

Financial 

District, Saudi 

Arabia 

This futuristic complex by SOM 

provides a multipurpose event hall 

with operable walls, a 600-seat 

auditorium with full lecture and 

cinema support, and a ‘digital forum’ 

approach that allows all venues to be 

internally and externally networked. 

The conference rooms are clad in 

electrochromic glass which permits 

users to change from clear to opaque 

glass in order to control light levels 

and privacy. 

70,000M 2 

TOTAL 

CONSTRUCTIBLE 

AREA 

JAIDAH SQUARE 

Designers: 

Woods Bagot, MZ 

& Partners and 

United Designers 

Location: Doha, 

Qatar 

This seven-storey commercial 

office building in Doha broke 

ground in 2009. The initial concept 

was given to Woods Bagot to 

create the building’s primary plan. 

MZ & Partners further cultivated 

the building’s aesthetic as consultant 

of record. Finally, United 

Designers of London completed 

the detailed architectural design 

for the colour of the glass, the 

showroom façades and the fit-out 

in the communal areas. 


61

CULTURE | LIKE WANT NEED 

LIKE 

WANT 

NEED 

CULTURE 

BOOK 

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL 

Andrew Skurman 

The award-winning San Francisco– 

based firm Andrew Skurman Architects 

specialises in designing residences inspired 

by the building traditions of French 

châteaux, Mediterranean villas, and 

Georgian country houses. Firm principal, 

Andrew Skurman, an unabashed classicist, 

draws on his extensive knowledge 

of European and American design. 

OFFICE FURNISHING 

LINEA 

Kontainer 

The Linea reception desk by architect Charles Kalpakian 

goes for the ‘less is more’ concept combining clean lines, light 

design as well as the shiny white colour of the Linea itself, which 

is the latest reception desk by MDD. LED lights are installed 

at the bottom of the desk, highlighting the style and adding a 

sophisticated edge. The front and top elements are made of glass 

with corners that are decorated with stainless steel. 

62 

MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT | 12. 12 | www.designmena.com

FLOORING 

AVANT FLOORING 

AVANT 

Avant Flooring, a composite laminate, 

is now available in the Middle East 

following success across 16 countries 

internationally. The flooring, made 

up of tongue and groove panels, was 

researched and developed in Germany, 

and is waterproof, UV and fire resistant, 

as well as being durable and recyclable. 

Its composition allows it to reflect cool 

air, as opposed to absorbing it, meaning 

lower air-conditioning costs for homes 

and businesses. The product offers 15 

grain and stain options for residential 

and commercial settings. 

LIKE WANT NEED | CULTURE 

APP 

AR-MAPS 

Crossfader 

BATHROOM 

PALOMBA 2012 

Laufen 

The new Palomba 2012 furniture modules can be stacked or lined up in a row, 

providing a completely flexible option. Available in cube or horizontal and vertical 

cuboid forms, the furniture can be mixed and matched as required, suiting the 

available space. Open at the front, the modules come in white, putty grey, red 

cranberry and aqua blue while the rear walls are also available in orange, red, light 

pear, dark Vermont cherry or a mirrored version. The drawer units of the Palmomba 

2012 range are illuminated internally, making it simple to find even the smallest of 

toiletry items. 

The ‘AR-MAPS’ application, 

developed by Crossfader, supports 

augmented reality on apple maps, 

responding by displaying real-time 

street view on half of the screen, with 

AR tags attached to previously visited 

destinations, including three different 

configured settings. The program 

makes it easier to visualise streets 

and locations using a map, list and AR 

mode, providing options for search 

results, pins and live-view location 

sharing in case users are lost. 


LAST WORD | PEDRAM RAD 

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PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAE 

Tel: 00 971 4 444 3000 

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Web: www.itp.com 

Offices in Dubai & London 

ITP BUSINESS PUBLISHING 

CEO Walid Akawi 

Managing Director Neil Davies 

Managing Director ITP Business Karam Awad 

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EDITORIAL 

Senior Group Editor Stuart Matthews 

Editor Oliver Ephgrave 

Tel: +971 4 444 3303 email: oliver.ephgrave@itp.com 

Reporter Aidan Imanova 

Tel: +971 4 444 3497 email: aidan.imanova@itp.com 

ADVERTISING 

Sales Manager Alexander James 

Tel: +971 4 444 3393 email: alexander.james@itp.com 

Sales Director, Construction Group Yazan Rahman 

Tel: +971 4 444 3351 email: yazan.rahman@itp.com 

Business Development Manager, Saudi Arabia 

Rabih Naderi 

Tel: +966 1 2068697 email: rabih.naderi@itp.com 

STUDIO 

Group Art Editor Daniel Prescott 

Designer Wasim Akande 

PHOTOGRAPHY 

MOVING FORWARD 

THE LAST WORD 

Pedram Rad, partner at U+A Architects, on his firm’s 

key projects and hopes for 2013 

Chief Photographer Jovana Obradovic 

Senior Photographers Isidora Bojovic, Efraim Evidor 

Staff Photographers George Dipin, Juliet Dunne, Murrindie 

Frew, Verko Ignjatovic, Shruti Jagdeesh, Mosh Lafuente, 

Ruel Pableo, Rajesh Raghav 

PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION 

Group Production & Distribution Director Kyle Smith 

Deputy Production Manager Matthew Grant 

Production Coordinator Nelly Pereira 

Distribution Executive Nada Al Alami 

Managing Picture Editor Patrick Littlejohn 

Image Editor Emmalyn Robles 

CIRCULATION 

Head of Database & Circulation Gaurav Gulati 

MARKETING 

It’s been a very fruitful year for U+A ARCHITECTS - we have delivered 

several projects including shopping malls and residential buildings. 

We are currently working on a five-star hotel in Downtown Dubai, a mixed use 

development in Jeddah, and an 80-storey tower in Dubai Marina, among others. 

Head of Marketing Daniel Fewtrell 

Marketing Manager Michelle Meyrick 

ITP DIGITAL 

Director Peter Conmy 

Internet Applications Manager Mohammed Affan 

Web Designer Meghna Rao 

ITP GROUP 

Our interior design for Hyatt Hotel, Capital Gate Tower, Abu Dhabi has 

received a lot of appreciation. 

It was also highly commended at the 2012 Commercial Interior Design Awards, in 

the Hospitality category. 

As a practice, we always desire to design socially sustainable projects. 

Our renovation/extension of the Dubai Foundation complex for Dubai Government 

is a good example of this type of project. 

Chairman Andrew Neil 

Managing Director Robert Serafin 

Finance Director Toby Jay Spencer-Davies 

Board of Directors K M Jamieson, Mike Bayman, 

Walid Akawi, Neil Davies, Rob Corder, Mary Serafin 

Circulation Customer Service Tel: +971 4 444 3000 

Certain images in this issue are available for purchase. 

Please contact itpimages@itp.com for further details 

or visit www.itpimages.com 

Printed by Atlas Printing Press L.L.C. Dubai 

Subscribe online at www.itp.com/subscriptions 

Audited by: BPA Worldwide 

Average Qualified Circulation 

5,184 (Jan – June 2012) 

Moreover, we have decided to expand our services and cover other areas as 

well, such as healthcare and education developments. 

We are aiming to become a key player in other emerging markets such as Qatar and 

Saudi Arabia, through our strategic partners. 

We strongly believe that there will be a boost in the construction business. 

We kept our faith during the downturn. 

Hopefully we are going to have a very active and productive year ahead. Now is the 

time for which we were waiting for, so therefore we have called 2013 the year of 

‘moving forward’. 

The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions 

contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views 

contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. 

Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information 

contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not 

be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. 

The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No par t of this publication 

or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a 

retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the 

publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used 

for the purpose of fair review. 

Published by and © 2012 ITP Business 

Publishing, a division of the ITP 

Publishing Group Ltd. Registered in the 

B.V.I. under Company number 1402846. 

64 


Concepts 

Products 

Service 

Changing Perspectives by Discovering Innovations. 

Metro Dubai - Red Line 

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Lindner Middle East LLC 

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates 

middleeast@Lindner-Group.com 

www.Lindner-Group.com

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