< PreviousITP MEDIA GROUP PO BOX 500024, DUBAI, UAE TEL +971 444 43000 WWW.ITP.COM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Talib Choudhry ART DIRECTO R Leanne Botha CONTRIBUTORS Amy Bradford, Stephen Doig, Jessica Doyle, Mark C. O’Flaherty, Stephan Julliard, Karine Monié. Ian Phillips, Ingrid Rasmussen, Pratyush Sarup ADVERTISING COMMERCIAL DIRECTO R Salma Eddinari salma.eddinari@itp.com ITALY REPRESENTATIVE Paola Careddu +39 02 87 45 43; pcareddu@oberonmedia.com PHOTOGRAPHY Senior Photographers Efraim Evidor, Adel Rashid Staff Photographers Aasiya Jagadeesh, Fritz Asuro, Ajith Narendra PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION Group Production and Distribution Director Kyle Smith Production Manager Denny kollannoor Production Coordinator Gijo Thomas Image Editor Muhammed Akbar MARKETING AND CIRCULATION Retail Manager Praveen Nair ITP GROUP CEO Ali Akawi Managing director Alex Reeve Deputy Managing Director Martin Chambers CFO Toby Jay Spencer-Davies Architectural Digest Middle East is a registered trademark in all the countries of the GCC and is published under licence from Condé Nast by ITP Media Group. 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For this issue of AD she gave looks from Chanel’s 2020 ⁄ 21 resort collection a sassy spin (p.98). Most prized possession? My phone, because I fully depend on it for pretty much everything, and my Celine Edge sunnies as they’re the perfect pair of sunglasses and they’ve gone out of production. Dream destination post- pandemic? A road trip across the Northern Territories in Canada. Wide open spaces and nature for days. Heaven. Your style icons? Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Francois Hardy, Phoebe Philo and Princess Diana – all masters of minimalism. PRATYUSH SARUP The writer and the head of programming at Downtown Design is an eff usive connector of people. He profi led the nominees for the 2020 Designer of the Year award (special section, p.20) by asking some typically thoughtful questions about the Middle Eastern design landscape. The best thing about being part of Dubai’s design community? Its cosmopolitan spirit, can-do attitude and genuine embrace of innovation in design and construction. But more than that, this is a unique time; the region’s design scene is discarding outdated notions of echoing western trends and embracing the challenges and opportunities our unique context lends us. How would you describe your interiors style? Clean, contemporary and personal. It’s tied together with sentimental mid-century pieces, furniture I’ve designed in collaboration with local workshops and my photography. ALEX WOLFE A creative free spirit, Wolfe has spent time living in cities as diverse as Beirut, Copenhagen and Cape Town, taking photographs along the way. Pre-pandemic he was based in Dubai and now divides his time between the emirate and the UK, where he lives on a houseboat. The portraits of our Designer of the Year nominees (special section, p.20) typify his poetic but impactful style. Most prized possession? Earlier this year I lost all my possessions in a storage unit fi re, which meant starting from scratch and doing something I never even considered before – buying a narrowboat. My boat, Wicked Lady, is my unexpected pride and joy. She brings me adventure, challenges and a familiar home no matter where I am on the British canals. Dream destination post- pandemic? Like many, Tokyo has been top of my wanderlust list for years. Once the city becomes bustling again for the upcoming Olympics, I hope to be queuing up for some tasty Takoyaki. Your design hero? The Indian architect Bijoy Jain, who’s known for combining a modern aesthetic with natural materials. I was lucky to visit his studio in Mumbai where I was mesmerised by the many craftsmen and women who were experimenting with local techniques on a variety of wood, stone and clay. SAM RAWADI Talented Lebanese fashion photographer Sam Rawadi has shot for many of the region’s top-tier publications and adds AD to the list this month (Voyage of Discovery, p98). The stunning location for the shoot – Buhais Geology Park in the Sharjah desert – is among his favourites so far, although he’s hankering after a trip to the other-worldly terrain of Iceland next. Your Design heroes? The fashion designers Rick Owens and Yohji Yamamoto because their work and creative universes are unexpected and diff erent. Their silhouettes and layering are light years ahead of most designers. Dream destination post- pandemic? Iceland because the landscape begs to be photographed. The land of fi re and ice, its topology is still being born and formed. AD_036_11_Contributors_11468035.indd 1113/12/2020 04:04:45 PMP HOTO: A A SI YA H JAGA DEESH EDITOR'S LET TER 12 Bright Future THERE ARE SO MANY BEA UTIFUL, BRILLIANT THINGS waiting to be discovered on the pages of this issue and that’s how I’m approaching 2021 – by focusing on the positives in the world, and celebrating and nurturing the important people in my life. One of the things I’m most excited about is fi nally being able to reveal the winners of the debut AD Middle East Design Awards, which have been delayed and debated for many months. During that time the various nominees have continued to innovate and produce best-in-class work, despite the pandemic. In fact, our Designer of the Year, Pallavi Dean, unveiled project after dazzling project in 2020, defying the odds. The jovial, upbeat creative director of Dubai- based studio Roar makes it all look eff ortless, but hers is no overnight success – it’s the fruit of over a decade of hard work. The adage ‘work hard and be nice to people’ came to mind when I spent time with Dean and the Roar team at their studio in Dubai Design District, while skilled lensman Alexander Wolfe captured her portrait for AD. The other nominees in the category are eminently talented, too: Aljoud Lootah is deservedly renowned as one the best designers in the Middle East; Beiruti duo David ⁄ Nicolas have risen above the many challenges facing Lebanon to unveil several global collaborations; and Riyad Jouka of MEAN has won the award for Innovation & Sustainability for a 3D printed pavilion made using 30,000 recycled plastic water bottles. There’s much more besides the AD Design Awards is the issue, including an interview with our talented-yet-humble cover star, HRH Anoud Khalid Mishaal bin Saud. The Riyadh-based princess and interior designer is bringing a refi ned, fresh aesthetic to Saudi Arabian interiors, but one that’s very much rooted in the Kingdom. Enjoy the issue! A digitally printed bull hide featuring a design by Solange Azagury- Partridge for Bill Amberg Print. Talib Choudhry EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AD_036_12_Eds Letter_11457733.indd 1213/12/2020 09:32:28 AMBY M-GROUP SAL ACHRAFIEH, ACCAOUI STREET, IVORY BUILDING, BEIRUT - LEBANON T. +961 1 333767 - INFO@MGROUPME.COM /MINOTTIBEIRUT DISCOVER MORE AT MINOTTI.COM/DANIELS BEIRUT DANIELS SEATING SYSTEM | CHRISTOPHE DELCOURT DESIGN LAWSON ARMCHAIRS | RODOLFO DORDONI DESIGNADMIDDLEEASTADMIDDLEEASTADMIDDLEEASTARCHITECTURAL DIGEST MIDDLE EAST AD Middle East magazine issues are available at the Apple and Google Play App stores THE PREMIER DESTINATION FOR DESIGN INSPIRATION admiddleeast.com15 “THE LARGEST AND MOST WELL-PRESERVED PALACE COMPLEX IN THE WORLD, IT’S MORE CITADEL THAN MERE ROYAL RESIDENCE” Radar 24 YA NC A I RE T ICUL A T ED V A SE, QI NG D Y N A S T Y, QI A N LONG PERIOD , C A . 17 42. S O T H EBY ’S HONG K ONG . AD_036_15_Radar_Opener_11456463.indd 1513/12/2020 09:33:52 AM16 - WISH LIST - TIME CAPSULE Nespresso’s sleek, smart Vertuo machine should have baristas feeling worried – press one button and it cleverly adjusts to the capsule to deliver a delicious coff ee of your choice. buynespresso.com PRECIOUS PIECE Slovenian designer Nika Zupanc’s designs often have a jewel-like quality like this natty Wave Pouf for Natuzzi. natuzzi.com RIGHT PRICE Artist Ken Price’s optimistic ceramics have inspired Loewe’s Happy Holiday Collection. Joyful designs are splashed across bags and clothes. loewe.com JUST IN CASE This is a table clock which comes in its own Louis Vuitton trunk. Not at all necessary in the digital age, but that makes it all the more desirable. me.louisvuitton.com SLEEPING BEAUTY Beirut now has a two-fl oor store dedicated to the Etro Home collections. Opened with local partner AD Collection (no relation!), the chic boutique is on Francois El Hajj St. A selection of fine finds to complement a design-led lifestyle (or lots of lovely things we really, really want) Get Happy LIGHT SHOW Formed from a single sheet of stainless steel, Mario Bellini’s 1964 Chiara fl oor lamp for Flos is back in production. Updates include a new LED light source and these table top versions. fl os.com AD_036_16_Radar_Wishlist_11457717.indd 1613/12/2020 09:34:33 AMRimadesio rimadesio .c om Modulor wall panelling system, Alambra cabinets. Design Giuseppe Bavuso AD Middle East - Modulor gres - S - dec2020.indd 103/11/20 10:16W hen Marie France Van Damme reinvents a classic, she doesn’t do it by halves. Among the luxurious fi nds in her online boutique are vintage Hermès Birkin bags, lavishly embroidered with designs by artist Jay Ahr, and traditional Moroccan babouche slippers, which she’s elevated by having them handmade in silk chiff on fabrics from Lyon. Her silk pajamas and Boubou caftans, in a restrained palette of ivory, black, silver and gold, are modern twists on Middle Eastern essentials. Now, the Canadian-born, Hong Kong-based fashion designer – a pioneer of mod- ern-oriental style in the 1980s – is adding another string to her bow with Curated by MF, an online platform that champions small craft makers from around the world. Featuring one-of-a- kind collectibles for the home, as well as jewellery and fashion, it will be refreshed every fortnight with the introduction of a new designer, and will also include an edit of Van Damme’s own “private label” discoveries. The debut collection spotlights precious metallic leather trays, handmade by a small factory in Genoa. “I fi nd pieces all over the world, from the souks of Marrakech to the streets of Italy,” she says. “They’re all made by people who are passionate about their art.” For a more immersive experience of Van Damme’s universe, there’s her debut Middle Eastern store in the Fashion Avenue at Dubai Mall. The opulent fi nishes – among them marble, teak, bronze and embossed crocodile leathers – refl ect those used in her own home and are a wealth of inspiration. mariefrancevan- damme.com – AMY BRADFORD Designer Marie France Van Damme’s latest online venture brings luxurious global crafts to your doorstep Treasure Chest 18 - IN STOR E - Marie France Van Damme at home. ABOVE: a silk boubou; Fortuny Ashanti Platter by L'Objet. Moon bowls in brass BY XLBOOM. LEFT: Babouche slippers. AD_036_18_Radar_InStoreMF_11448740.indd 1813/12/2020 09:35:25 AMMILANO via Borgospesso, 11 Ph +39 338 6127000 meduri.luca@turri.it | www.turri.it DUBAI CasaMia - Showroom Shaikh Zayed Road, Street 2A, Al Quoz 1, Near Noor Bank Metro, Dubai, UAE Ph +971 4 258 7777 - rehan@casamiauae.comNext >