< PreviousP WER 50 LIST 2019 40 December 2019 | Commercial Interior Design www.commercialinteriordesign.comwww.commercialinteriordesign.com Helen El Mettouri has led Keane’s Middle East design studio as regional director for eight years, playing a pivotal role in its growth during her 17-year tenure. She assumed more responsibility in 2018 when Africa was added to her hefty remit. Working across food and beverage, hospitality, retail and lifestyle, Keane won praise this year for two award-winning projects at W Dubai – The Palm: Akria Back and SoBe. The latter picked up two highly-commended trophies at the Commercial Interior Design Awards 2019. Following the death of company founder Aidan Keane in 2017, El Mettouri continues to honour his vision and legacy with a strong design philosophy. REGIONAL DIRECTOR, KEANE HELEN EL METTOURI London-educated Sejal Patel is the design director at Gensler, a global architecture and design fi rm with more than 6,000 employees and its head offi ce in San Francisco, California. She has been in her current role for one year, but has been with the US design giant for three years. In the Middle East, Gensler has completed more than 600 projects since the practice was established in 1965. Some of the recent commercial, hospitality and retail designs Patel has delivered include Burj Alshaya Four Seasons Kuwait, The Avenues Kuwait, Nasimi Restaurant at Atlantis the Palm and a Porsche showroom in Abu Dhabi. DESIGN DIRECTOR, GENSLER SEJAL PATELP WER 50 LIST 2019 Commercial Interior Design | December 2019 41 www.commercialinteriordesign.com Ellen Sohoel is the founder of Dubai- and London-based boutique design agency XBD Collective. She established the firm in 2005 and has since worked across hundreds of upscale residential, commercial and hospitality projects in the UAE and UK. Sohoel employs approximately 30 staff who are currently working on nine private villas and mansions in the UK and recently completed a string of retail and office spaces in the UAE. While revenue is expected to remain flat when compared to results from 2018, XBD Collective is investing in software to improve its administration efficiency, as Sohoel develops the company’s presence in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Canadian Abboud Malak established Studio M in Dubai in 2007 to pursue a pure, modernist approach to design that met his needs for perfection. The high-end multidisciplinary practice works across commercial and residential projects, with Malak attracting attention for the Espresso Lab in Dubai Design District and high-end spaces in Dubai International Financial Centre, where he operates out of. To date, his minimalist practice has completed more than 30 projects in the Middle East and Malak, 49, is currently working on a luxury residence for a major celebrity, as well as a gym and a retail project. Having fl own under the radar in recent years, Malak will ramp up Studio M’s digital marketing in 2020 to boost its social media presence. FOUNDER, XBD COLLECTIVE FOUNDER, STUDIO M ELLEN SOHOEL ABBOUD MALAKP WER 50 LIST 2019 42 December 2019 | Commercial Interior Design www.commercialinteriordesign.comwww.commercialinteriordesign.com Carlo Colombo, 52, and Paolo Colombo, 49, are the founders and creative masters behind A++ Human Sustainable Architecture, set up in Switzerland more than a decade ago before arriving in Dubai in 2017. The studio works in more than 30 countries worldwide and the brothers are designing a residential tower in Panama, a hotel in Grand Cayman, private homes in Switzerland and recently completed a mall in China. In the Middle East, the Colombo brothers are working on the luxurious Elie Saab at Emaar Beachfront development and the health and happiness- focused Mag Creek Wellbeing Resort, shortlisted for Interior Design of the Year: Concept at the Commercial Interior Design Awards 2019. FOUNDERS, A++ CARLO & PAOLO COLOMBO Gijo Paul George is the 35-year-old principal architect and partner of Kuwait-based boutique practice Studio Toggle, an experimental fi rm working across commercial, retail, residential and hospitality. The company was established in 2011 and despite challenging economic conditions has continued to expand its team of design professionals with offi ces in Kuwait and Portugal. George has built an award-wining team of designers that picked up two trophies at the Middle East Architect Awards 2019. One year earlier, his Bean To Bar chocolate shop won top honours at the CID Awards 2018. PARTNER, STUDIO TOGGLE GIJO PAUL GEORGECommercial Interior Design | December 2019 43 www.commercialinteriordesign.com Juan Hilderbrand was born in Argentina, educated in Germany and has led Schwitzke Middle East from Dubai since 2017. Amid a challenging economic landscape, Schwitzke’s regional managing director has expanded to India, pushed further into the GCC and plans to dig into food and beverage and hospitality design. In the last 12 months, Schwitzke Middle East has designed shops and commercial spaces in Bahrain, Jordan, India, Saudi Arabia, as well as UAE emirates Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. While the company reduced training and development opportunities this year, Schwitzke Middle East has maintained a stable balance sheet and plans to consolidate regional operations and target neighbouring markets for growth in 2020. REGIONAL MANAGING DIRECTOR, SCHWITZKE MIDDLE EAST JUAN HILDEBRAND Italy-born founder and chief executive offi cer of boutique fi rm MyPickOne Studio Design, Marianna Piccolo, has broken into Commercial Interior Design’s Power 50 List for the fi rst time. The 38-year-old established her practice in 2014 and has completed approximately 50 high-end residential and commercial projects in the Middle East, with revenue rising year-on-year. This looks likely to continue with the business targeting a 33% increase in turnover for 2019. Under Piccolo’s leadership, the three-person business wants to expand to Saudi Arabia and other GCC markets, with rising demand for high-end residential projects in the kingdom. CEO, MYPICKONE STUDIO DESIGN MARIANNA PICCOLO P WER 50 LIST 2019P WER LIST 44 December 2019 | Commercial Interior Design www.commercialinteriordesign.com Fady Chams is the owner and managing director of hospitality- cum residential practice Prospect Design International (PDI), which is expanding its team and exploring strategic partnerships in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Budgets were tightened in 2019, but PDI still hired two designers to increase its team to 12 and expects revenue to increase by up to a fi fth this year when compared to 2018. With some wind in its sails, the company plans to collaborate with fi rms in the Middle East and North Africa in 2020 to capitalise on rising hospitality demand. PDI is also exploring opportunities for hospitality and residential design in Africa, Canada, Portugal and Sweden. And Chams – returning to the Power 50 List for the fi rst time since 2014 – is also in talks with well-known hotel chains to enhance their food and beverage offerings. Under Chams' leadership, PDI has long been a go-to fi rm for a hospitality hotspot. The business has designed projects in France, Spain, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, UAE and the UK, and its recently completed regional projects include Dubai's Cove Beach and Ammos Greek Restaurant. After expanding into master developments, architecture, education and increasing the size of her team, Dina Murali, managing director of DZ Design has had positive impact on Dubai’s creative economy this year. The 38-year-old started her practice in 2015 and has completed close to 30 projects across architecture, corporate interiors, hospitality, food and beverage, education, retail and residential. These include spaces for Nakheel, Radisson Blu, Landmark Group, Maison du Monde and a string of wealthy private clients. To stay at the forefront of the fourth industry revolution, Murali has invested in software like Revit and continues to explore how virtual reality and artificial intelligence can be used in design. The multidisciplinary practice also enjoys strong growth in India and continues to invest in the market with new hires and corporate social responsibility initiatives, including work with the elderly and people with disabilities. With Murali’s design philosophy that intersects architecture and interior design, the young practice is going from strength to strength, year after year. MANAGING DIRECTOR, PROSPECT DESIGN INTERNATIONAL MANAGING DIRECTOR, DZ DESIGN FADY CHAMS DINA MURALI Commercial Interior Design | December 2019 45 www.commercialinteriordesign.com Ayman El Nashar, general manager of Belhasa Interior Design, has had busy a year after restructuring the Dubai-based practice without making a single redundancy. In fact, the Egypt-born architect hired three people to the interiors arm of Saif Belhasa Holding – one UAE’s largest holding companies – increasing its headcount to six. After making signifi cant investments in new technology, software and hardware in conjunction to opening a new offi ce in Al Barsha, El Nashar, 30, expects revenue to increase by 50% this year when compared to 2018. Working across commercial, hospitality and governmental sectors, Belhasa Interior Design diversifi ed in 2019 to include design consultation, branding and fi t-outs with selected partners. GENERAL MANAGER, BELHASA INTERIOR DESIGN AYMAN EL NASHAR Award-winning interior designer Elizabeth Valkovics, 37, started her own practice, Batten Court Design, in the fourth quarter of 2019 – and she has already picked up private residential projects in Abu Dhabi and Los Angeles. Her plans for the Dubai-based practice include growing Batten Court Design’s client base in the Middle East and establishing a second studio in the US. This will support the residential, hospitality, workplace and food & beverage projects Valkovics hopes to pick up. While her new venture is yet to complete a project, she has worked across London, Cape Town, Bangkok, Baku, Dubai and Abu Dhabi with Edge and Design Worldwide Partnership. CREATIVE DIRECTOR, BATTEN COURT DESIGN ELIZABETH VALKOVICS P WER 50 LIST 2019CID QUIZMAS 46 DECEMBER 2019 | Commercial Interior Design www.commercialinteriordesign.comCID QUIZMAS Commercial Interior Design | DECEMBER 2019 47 www.commercialinteriordesign.comSAUDI DESIGN WEEK Commercial Interior Design | DECEMBER 2019 49 www.commercialinteriordesign.com The aesthetics of sliding solutions in wall pockets are a reflection of the spirit of the times of modern interior design. And the HAWA Junior top sliding door fitting makes them easy to implement. With invisible technology, flush door edges and an integrated Push-to-open function which makes handles and door ejectors superfluous. 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