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DESIGNER Q&AOut of the blueBLUE CAMEL DESIGN OFFERS TURNKEY INTERIOR SOLUTIONS FOR COMMERCIALAND RESIDENTIAL CLIENTS INCLUDING INTERIOR DESIGN CONSULTANCY, CONCEPTDEVELOPMENT AND CUSTOM MADE FURNITUREPatrick Daniel is an engineerby profession having studiedcivil engineering with a focuson environmental studies, atConcordia University, Montreal, Canada.He started his career working in theUS, then moved back to Dubai in 2000and worked for IT company Mindware,in Internet City before setting up BlueCamel Design with his partner, BrunoNakad in 2004.Nakad is an interior designer by professionand was doing a lot of freelancework at the time when Daniel suggestedthey set up a company together. Nakadand Daniel, currently managing director,are jointly responsible for all the businessmanagement and operations of thecompany, whereby Nakad focuses onthe creative aspect of the rm.The two grew up together in theirhometown of Dubai and have knowneach other for over 33 years. Blue Camelhas a team of architects, interior designers,quantity surveyors and projectmanagers who have been in the industryfor over 12 years.The company has since expanded intove other divisions by setting up sistercompanies: Pink Rain, a visual effectsand animation studio; Bulb GeneralTrading, which deals in light ttings,xtures, switches, and sockets; CUBE,a joinery/wood workshop and a glassfactory called Italy Glass Industries.Daniel said the services all complementone another as the rm offers turnkeyinterior solutions. Most companiesfocus on interior design or t out. BlueCamel offers both to the client, takinga project from interior concept designthrough to handover of site.It employs a team of 35 at the designand project management ofce, 130-140 staff at CUBE in Al Quoz, and 50staff at the Italy Glass factory in Sharjah.The company aims to be LEED certi-ed (Leadership in Energy & EnvironmentalDesign), by having LEED certiedstaff members and applying designand t out concepts to improve energysavings, use of green raw and nishingmaterial, and overall improved indoorenvironmental quality.What commercial projects are youworking on?We have just nished the refurbishmentof the First and Business Class receptionlounge (designed by LUSSO) of Emiratesairline at Dubai Airport, Terminal 3. Wehave also just completed the designand t-out for the ofces of I2BF (aninternational clean technology assetmanagement group with a global investmentmandate) at the DIFC, Dubai.We recently completed Sumo Sushi& Bento, Masdar City, Abu Dhabi,where we had to supply green efcientmaterials in line with MASDAR designand t out requirements. We are alsoworking on some F&B outlets includinga Jordanian shisha restaurant, TCHETCHE at the Burj Boulevard, and a startup concept restaurant/coffee shopcalled Nolu’s Cafe, in Abu Dhabi. Ourworkshop, CUBE, is executing the t outfor the upcoming, renowned Royal Chinarestaurant at the DIFC.We are one of the few internationallyappointed workshops that areauthorised to manufacture and produceshop xtures for Juicy Couture and subsequentlyhave worked on Juicy Coutureat Emirates Towers, Marina Mall, Mallof Emirates, Abu Dhabi Marina Mall,Al Faisaliah and Kingdom Mall Riyadh,KSA, Juicy Bahrain City Center and AlAali Mall, Juicy 360 Kuwait, and JuicyCouture Lebanon. That said, in terms ofvalue, our projects are not consideredhuge on the scale of a hotel or shoppingmall, however, they are the right sizeand t for our operations and targetmarket. Furthermore, we do not employa sales person; rather, most of our workis done via word of mouth or through ournetwork of friends in the UAE.What kind of impact did the recessionhave on your business?The recession did affect us, much likeeveryone else in our industry, in thesense that projects and nancial resourcesare limited, businesses are notwilling to invest as much on the designand t out of their spaces, and overall,everything is now done at a lower cost.We have also seen a drop in protmargins, as smaller companies with verylimited projects offer cheaper pricessimply to win contracts; at times evenoffering clients cost price, or even belowcost prices. Having said that, we have toreduce our prot and cost margins to beable to compete with such companies.Unfortunately, the practice of not knowingyour cost, and offering cut-throatprices is not a healthy way to work andin the long run will result in the closureof such rms since any sustainable businessrequires prot for maintaining andsurviving this downturn.The construction boom kept us sobusy designing and tting out ofcesas existing companies were growingin size and wanted to expand into newofce spaces, let alone the inux ofbusinesses that wanted to set up inDubai and set up fast. Now, t out forofce/commercial space has decreasedsignicantly; this is further supportedby the abundance of free ofce spacethroughout Dubai. F&B and retail projectsare alright since clients get betterprices now for rent from the big RealEstate players and malls and it is alwaysabout location, location, location.www.constructionweekonline.comCommercial Interior Design | MAY 2011 39