< PreviousP WER 50 LIST 2019 30 December 2019 | Commercial Interior Design www.commercialinteriordesign.comwww.commercialinteriordesign.com Despite not completing a project in 2019, the founder and chief creative offi cer of Nomadk, Kevin McLachlan, returns to the Power 50 List after growing his boutique design team and winning new projects from Egypt to Edinburgh. During the last 12 months, McLachlan has increased the size of his team from two to 12 people to support Nomadk’s raft of hospitality and residential projects. These include resorts in Mykonos and Zimbabwe, luxury hotels in Saudi Arabia and Scotland, as well as residential projects in Riyadh, Ajman and Dubai. Nomadk was established by McLachlan in 2018 and the start-up has expanded by picking up projects in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and is also designing furniture and sanitaryware in Italy and Spain. FOUNDER, NOMADK KEVIN MCLACHLAN Regional managing director of Design Worldwide Partnership in Dubai, Philip Gillard, joined the company in 2019 to create a profi table practice delivering well-designed commercial, hospitality and residential projects. Plans are already in motion to open in offi ce in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia next year, as well as global offi ces in London and Singapore. They will follow the offi ce dwp opened in Manila, the Philippines, earlier this year. The company recently hired a group building information modelling (BIM) and digital business change management specialist to support its use of BIM technologies, as Gillard ramps up digital tech adoption. REGIONAL MANAGING DIRECTOR, DWP PHILIP GILLARDP WER 50 LIST 2019 Commercial Interior Design | December 2019 31 www.commercialinteriordesign.com Owner and lead concept designer of GDS Glintmeijer Design Studio, Gerard Glintmeijer, has been in the Middle East for fi ve years after taking his Netherlands-based business to Dubai in 2014. By the end of 2019, the company hopes to have completed Andaz The Palm Dubai, The Foundry in Bahrain, and a Mandarin Oriental concept design. With a string of hospitality, residential and food and beverage projects in the pipeline, revenue is expected to rise by up to two thirds for GDS Glintmeijer Design Studio between 2018 and 2019. This growth will be driven by a keener focus on GCC and South East Asian markets. Maliha Nishat is the director of interior design at Marriott International’s global design team and oversees projects across the US-headquartered company’s collection of brands for the Middle East and Africa region from concept to completion. Prior to joining Marriott more than two years ago, she worked for companies including Design Worldwide Partnership and Hirsch Bedner Associates on projects in Australia, Asia and the Middle East. With Marriott boasting more than 200 projects in its pipeline across the Middle East, Nishat has her hands full, as the company looks to increase its revenue to approximately $3.95bn for the end of 2019. OWNER, GDS GLINTMEIJER DESIGN STUDIO DIRECTOR OF INTERIOR DESIGN, MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL GERARD GLINTMEIJER MALIHA NISHATP WER 50 LIST 2019 32 December 2019 | Commercial Interior Design www.commercialinteriordesign.comwww.commercialinteriordesign.com The 48-year-old managing director and founder of Allen Architecture Interiors Design (AAID), Stuart Allen, has had a strong year in the Middle East. The company’s workforce has increased by 15% and the business is moving into Saudi Arabia after diversifying its portfolio two years ago to tap into the kingdom’s burgeoning demand for hospitality projects. He has also invested in design technology and expanded AAID’s building information modelling (BIM) capabilities by employing a BIM master to complete all BIM projects. Allen established the business in 2015 and the company has since completed commercial, hospitality and residential projects. Some of the most recent and high-profi le ones include the large Imperial Club Lounge at Atlantis The Palm and the head offi ce of Huda Beauty. Paul McElroy is the 48-year-old partner of Kinnersley Kent Design (KKD) and has been in the Middle East for 16 years, delivering high-end retail, leisure and hospitality projects as well as pro-bono design work for worthy causes. He increased the size of his team by a fi fth in the last 12 months to 38 people, after expanding to the US and Indian markets to work across a variety of sectors including high-end private residential developments. Revenue is expected to rise between 2018 and 2019, with KKD – which has offi ces in Dubai and London – working on projects with Emaar, Nakheel, Virgin and Bateel, among others. MANAGING DIRECTOR,AAID PARTNER, KINNERSLEY KENT DESIGN STUART ALLEN PAUL MCELROYP WER 50 LIST 2019 Commercial Interior Design | December 2019 33 www.commercialinteriordesign.com Mustafa Khamash is the founder and managing director of Dubai-based boutique interior design practice Kart Group, and he has infl uenced the market by funding scholarships for students to train at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation. Khamash and Dubai Holding awarded Fatima Al Busaeedi and Mohammad Bassam scholarships worth $106,195 (AED390,000) to study at the region’s fi rst design-dedicated university in July 2019. He plans to do the same thing next year after unveiling an installation of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, at Downtown Design 2019. Dutch spatial designer Maja Kozel is the owner and founder of her eponymous practice, established more than fi ve years ago, and she has completed 39 projects in the Middle East. Her one-person practice, Maja Kozel Design, is expanding its horizons by working on commercial, hospitality and residential projects in the Middle East and Europe. In addition to projects across two continents, Kozel regularly gives design workshops in Saudi Arabia at the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture, commonly known as Ithra, which was developed by oil giant Saudi Aramco. She has worked across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. After winning Interior Design of the Year: Public Sector with Cinema Akil and Project Chaiwala at the Commercial Interior Design Awards 2019, she demonstrated her ability to compete with the biggest names in the industry and continues to punch above her weight. FOUNDER, KART GROUP FOUNDER, MAJA KOZEL DESIGN MUSTAFA KHAMASH MAJA KOZELP WER 50 LIST 2019 34 December 2019 | Commercial Interior Design www.commercialinteriordesign.comwww.commercialinteriordesign.com Australia-born Jacinda Raniolo is the lead creative designer at Godwin Austen Johnson (GAJ) and has been with the architectural design fi rm for 11 years, in between a two-year stint at boutique Melbourne-based design fi rm BAR Studio. Raniolo re-joined GAJ in 2018 and leads the company’s team of designers in hospitality projects, with unmatched drive, organisation and constant pursuit of perfection. Some of the projects she has helped deliver in the last 12 months include Al Wathba Desert Resort & Spa in Abu Dhabi, Al Seef Hotel in Dubai and heritage-inspired fi ve-star Al Bait Sharjah hotel. GAJ wants to increase its market share in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and Raniolo will play an important role in this. LEAD CREATIVE DESIGNER, GODWIN AUSTEN JOHNSON JACINDA RANIOLO Andrea Sensoli is an Italian-born architect and interior designer fascinated by freedom and eclecticism who founded SuperFutureDesign* in 1998. Operating in the luxury retail and residential space, he has completed more than 150 projects in the Middle East, and close to 30 this year for the likes of Gucci, Tiffany, Burberry and Louboutin. Like many others, the architecture studio has suffered from an economic slowdown in the UAE and has tried to mitigate this by targeting Saudi Arabia through an offi ce in Riyadh, as well as bidding on hospitality projects. FOUNDER, SUPERFUTUREDESIGN* ANDREA SENSOLIP WER 50 LIST 2019 Commercial Interior Design | December 2019 35 www.commercialinteriordesign.com Firas Alsahin is the co-founder and design director of boutique award-wining interior design practice 4Space Design, which operates out of Dubai. For a small practice that is expected to see revenue drop in 2019, Alsahin has continued to invest in the practice by hiring two new staff, increasing training and development opportunities for LEED Green Associate certifi cation, expanding to Saudi Arabia and implementing virtual reality technology for all projects. Moreover, the practice diversifi ed its portfolio to pick up more sustainability-focused projects and secured design jobs in Al Khobar, Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh. Belgian native David T’Kint has produced a stellar portfolio of hospitality projects during his fi ve-year stint in the Middle East as partner of US-based hotel design fi rm Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA). The company has recently completed the Hilton Taizhou in China and Emaar’s The Address Fountain Views and is zeroing in on completions for Four Seasons Riyadh and the eagerly anticipated Great Scotland Yard Hotel in London for Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Under T’Kint’s leadership, the practice has grown to 50 people in Dubai as it pushes into China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Oman. DESIGN DIRECTOR, 4SPACE DESIGN PARTNER, HBA FIRAS ALSAHIN DAVID T’KINTP WER 50 LIST 2019 36 December 2019 | Commercial Interior Design www.commercialinteriordesign.comwww.commercialinteriordesign.com The 34-year-old design director of Say Studio, Laila Al- Yousuf, was a former protégé of design heavyweight Diane Thorsen during their time together at Perkins+Will. But Al-Yousuf is now flying solo after establishing her own practice with Matthew Sexton in June 2018. The company has completed 13 projects in total, including the sustainable head office of Cundall and a corporate space for tech giant HP in Dubai Media City’s Innovation Hub. She has doubled the size of her boutique team from four to eight people and diversified Say Studio’s portfolio by securing projects in retail, food and beverage and five-star hospitality this year. Due to the growth of the company, Al-Yousuf moved Say Studio into a new office in The Onyx that was designed to meet WELL and LEED building standards. India-born Indu Varanasi has been a strong force in the Dubai design industry, having completed more than 150 projects since she established I R Design in 2004. In the last 12 months, she has diversified the studio’s portfolio to include public space design and customisation of furniture, fixtures and equipment, and completed an auditorium for the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. After building stronger strategic relationships with designers and investors, Varanasi has seen the practice move into Saudi Arabia to compliment work in other regions such as Africa, where I R Design is working on an airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. DESIGN DIRECTOR, SAY STUDIO DESIGN DIRECTOR, I R DESIGN LAILA AL-YOUSUF INDU VARANASIPOWERFUL TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE WALL GEBERIT CONCEALED CISTERNS More than 55 years experience with concealed cisterns www.geberit.ae 55 years Geberit has more than 55 years of experience in the field of concealed cisterns 25 years 25 years guarantee for spare parts availability More than 70 million concealed cisterns sold and installed worldwide 70 Mio Geberit is the European leader in sanitary technologyP WER 50 LIST 2019 38 December 2019 | Commercial Interior Design www.commercialinteriordesign.comwww.commercialinteriordesign.com French native Bruno Guelaff returned to the Dubai design industry recently after his niche practice completed the award-winning Villa Lumère in conjunction to four more residential projects including penthouses at Five Palm Jumeirah Hotel. The New York-born designer and executive director of Studio Bruno Guelaff has worked in the Middle East for 11 years and has completed more than 100 commercial, hospitality and residential projects during this time. The studio is currently working on a 7,000m² residential project in Dubai Hills, a villa near Bvlgari Resort Dubai, as well as commercial and offi ce projects. The practice has also redesigned a school in Africa. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STUDIO BRUNO GUELAFF BRUNO GUELAFF Laura Bielecki is the interior design manager at boutique real estate developer Ellington Properties, and has 15 years’ experience having worked for Godwin Austen Johnson and Kasian Architecture. She has overseen the design of more than 25 high-end projects launched by Ellington Properties, led by former Emaar executive Robert Booth, and continues to redefi ne residential design and detailing in the UAE. Bielecki has extensive experience across high-rise residential, government, hospitality, heritage and education projects across North America and the Middle East. She is also involved in pro-bono design and humanitarian work in Kenya and, through her role at Ellington, has created opportunities for local artists through the Ellington Art Foundation. SENIOR MANAGER, INTERIOR DESIGN, ELLINGTON PROPERTIES LAURA BIELECKI P WER 50 LIST 2019 Commercial Interior Design | December 2019 39 www.commercialinteriordesign.com UK-born brothers Hasan and Husain Roomi co-founded their progressive practice H2R design in 2012 and celebrated its fi fth birthday in exceptional style by winning Boutique Firm of the Year at the Commercial Interior Design Awards 2019. They have completed more than 45 projects in the Middle East and North Africa. These include Rove at the Park in the UAE, Jarlicious in Saudi Arabia, and the renovation of Egypt’s famous Al-Alamein Hotel for Emaar Properties. H2R Design created three new jobs this year as the practice worked across hospitality, food and beverage, retail and large-scale residences to create creative and exciting projects that leave an impact and a positive contribution on the environment. Patrick Bean has been with Lacasa iD for more than three years and has also worked in the region for Design Worldwide Partnership and SSH. Bean leads a team of approximately 20 designers, delivering projects that speak the language of volume, space, light and shadow. The interplay of these elements can be seen in the company’s proposed design of Empower’s LEED Gold-certified headquarters. The project features a towering sculptural element and was shortlisted for Concept of the Year at the Commercial Interior Design Awards 2019. The firm’s recent projects include commercial, residential, hospitality and mixed-used developments in the region. CO-FOUNDERS, H2R DESIGN DESIGN DIRECTOR, LACASA HASAN AND HUSAIN ROOMI PATRICK BEANNext >