< PreviousDesign news commercialinteriordesign.com February 2021 10 France opens online showroom aimed at UAE designers A virtual space promoting French design has opened to the Middle East's interiors community. Business France, the national agency supporting the international development of the French economy, launched French Design Corner Middle East, its fi rst ever virtual showroom. It's dedicated exclusively to interior design professionals and architects in the Middle East and aims to show them a portfolio of French brands, designers and the country's luxury industry. Products on show include tableware, furniture, decorative items, accessories and more from leading French brands. Frederic Szabo, managing director of Business France Middle East, said: "While waiting for the much-awaited better days more conducive to in-person meetings, entrepreneurs, architects, decorators and interior design professionals can connect virtually through the French Design Corner Middle East, which aims to offers a space to explore exceptional French designers and know more about the luxury industry." Visit frenchdesigncornerme.com. Interiors of new Hilton pay homage to UAE founder New DoubleTree by Hilton Dubai M Square Hotel & Residences opened on UAE National Day (December 2) with a striking tribute to the country's founding father. Guests entering the fi rst fi ve-star DoubleTree by Hilton in Dubai are greeted with a 15-metre portrait of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Made up of more than 29,000 refl ective discs placed on an artwork surface at varying angles to refl ect light to the viewer, the piece took three weeks to assemble and to fi t all of the discs to the specially engineered backing structure. Standing next to Burjuman Shopping Mall and its Metro station, DoubleTree by Hilton Dubai M Square Hotel & Residences, the 23-storey hotel features 327 "industrial chic" hotel rooms and suites and 131 serviced residences. Its feature wall, the fi rst-of-its-kind in the UAE, was commissioned by London-based Giles Miller Studio by the property owners AWR Rostamani. French atelier Martin Berger at work Thousands of refl ective discs make up the installationBranded content commercialinteriordesign.com Month 2021 11 HOW HAS BRAND CREATIVE EVOLVED? We’ve spent years crafting our own values and finally feel comfortable knowing that they will be forever changing. A keystone for us is our offering; experiential design explored through the combined disciplines of interiors and graphics. Developing brand strategies and identities and then creatively manipulating classic design principles to create dynamic, layered spaces is what we are known for. We don’t believe in owning a style or being ‘trend zombies’ – we design to the relevant audience and do whatever is best to engage and cater to them whilst exploring new technologies and materials. TELL US MORE ABOUT THE CURRENT TEAM We are currently 17 designers with 10 of us in Dubai and 7 of us in our branch office in India. Alex John, our first employee and the genius behind our technical capabilities, sits at the helm of our India team. In Dubai we have Laura Hoarau, who leads the team with innovative strategic thinking and graphics, and Boutros Boutros, our amazingly talented design manager for interiors. We have a truly diverse skill set with backgrounds in architecture, engineering, interiors, branding and business strategy. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN TAKING ON A NEW MEMBER? We’re basically a family of design misfits. If your CV reads “I have an interior design degree but a passion for graphics” or vice versa, and “my parents forced me to take one discipline but I always secretly loved the other” – you’re in! DESCRIBE YOUR OFFICE IN THREE WORDS Progressive. Connected. Curious. 2020 – HOW DID YOU GET THROUGH IT? 2020 was like being on a roller coaster blindfolded whilst working on a laptop and balancing a cup of coffee on your head. My team sacrificed time/money when we needed to but were still blazing through the year with complete optimism and enthusiasm. They gave me the motivation to keep going and for that I am forever grateful. April to June was a complete blur project-wise, but we buckled down, re-branded, refreshed our website and conceptualised new ideas for pandemic friendly wellness spaces. WHAT’S COMING IN 2021? With the success and experience behind the opening of our India office in 2015, we are finally ready to launch our Canada office. Set to open in April 2021 in downtown Toronto, the team there will expand our graphics and UI offering and later take on an interiors team to complement our unique global expansion vision. Projects wise, we have been signed to a shopping mall in Oman, a duty-free project in Africa, hotel concepts and various local and regional beauty and F&B brands. Brand Creative is finally having its cake and eating it too. TELL US HOW BRAND CREATIVE CAME INTO BEING AND WHAT THE EARLY DAYS WERE LIKE I will never forget driving home with a trade licence on Valentine’s Day of 2011. After contemplating a move back to Toronto, during the aftermath of the recession, I took my life savings and invested in myself off of the encouragement of my husband and managing director, Mohammed El Hijazi. I spent 13 years climbing the proverbial ladder for two amazing design agencies – but something told me I had paid enough dues. Choosing to stay in Dubai put my heart in a compromised position, but there was a sense of real purpose in being part of the first boutique agencies who would go on to change the design narrative and reputation Dubai would become known for. The early days were exhausting and exciting. Between every new win, to working all night at my dining room table and literally putting out fires on project sites – it was the purest definition of ‘hustle.’ WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST ‘WIN’ AS A COMPANY? Within one month, we had signed on the interiors of a new cinema in Abu Dhabi, the Al Wahda Mall extension, and a fashion accessories brand. Any thoughts of taking things slow went out the window. I had to pinch myself more than once that first year. AN ANNIVERSARY REFLECTION WITH CARLA CONTE, FOUNDER / CREATIVE DIRECTOR, BRAND CREATIVE www.brandcreative.net Photography: Michael Kruger branded contentTrending commercialinteriordesign.com February 2021 12Trending 13 February 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com About the AuthorIn the studio commercialinteriordesign.com February 2021 14 IN THE STUDIO WITH... Sara Alharbali, a Syrian architect, urban designer, and founder of luxury product brand Tajrid.ae Please introduce yourself and your fi rm I was born and raised in Dubai and have a BA in Architecture from the American University of Sharjah and a Masters of Urban Design degree from University of California Berkeley, USA. I have a diverse experience of architecture and urban design, working on several built projects here in the UAE. My interests of industrial art, material fabrication and passion for cities morphology and the impact of urbanity on civilisations were joint in my brand Tajrid, which I started in 2020. Tajrid is a luxury brand inspired by urbanity and authentic Arabic culture, as well as my passion for abstract art, spirituality and the intangible philosophical dimension. Describe your work space Since I started working on Tajrid during 2019, my studio has been basically digital from my laptop. I tend to work from different places in Dubai to feel inspired and energetic when sitting around creatives and youth. Any place serving coffee and Wi-Fi can be an offi ce for me. Since I started manufacturing, I started frequently visiting the factory where I manufacture my design pieces to check on samples. Also, my parents' garage is my products photoshoot studio. Tajrid is Sara's products brand It celebrates Arabic cultureIn the studio 15 February 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com How does your day at work typically start? I go through the artwork orders that I received and make sure those in process in the factory are on track. As a startup, I spend most of the day reaching out to art related events, and potential commissioners or clients. What are you working on right now? After releasing the fi rst collection, as well as participating in an exhibition at Mandarin Oriental Jumeirah Hotel, I got a lot of positive feedback on my Instagram. However, I am trying to network, research and reach to interested business owners of interior design consultants, high end furniture showrooms, gallery owners, and museum curators. At the same time, I am applying to big art and product design events and exhibitions. So far, I got accepted to two major events where I could meet potential high end clients: World Art Dubai and Artist Avenue section in The Hotel Show. I am also working on the next product design of Tajrid, a sculptural furniture piece. What are the high points and challenges of the day? As a startup owner, working solely on everything needed to enter the market is the hardest thing. I shuffl e between various tasks of marketing, sales, design, networking, material sourcing and fabrication, answering client requests, applying to events. Spending the limited time in hand on the next important task is the most important decision especially that I am learning many things on the go. But it is an enjoyable journey that I am looking forward to live. How and where do you seek inspiration? I fi nd inspiration in spirituality and the intangible philosophical dimension of general matters (such as events, people, societies and designs in particular). My fi rst art collection, Revelation Spectrogram, is an abstract depiction of traditional Arabic calligraphy wall art of Qura'anic verses. This series revives this kind of spiritual art while refl ecting an Arabic-Islamic character, culture and civilization, to export to the world an unconventional way of expressing the blessings in Holy Words, Revelation. I also seek inspiration in every urban context in its various dimensions: the social, environmental, and the physical. As an architect and urban designer, my motivation in design has always been how to make indoor and outdoor spaces serve their end users functionally. In the process, I believe that the aesthetics of spaces are key in creating valuable healthier experiences and lifestyles for end users. My long term goals from my professional practice as well as my art pieces is to inspire civilians to understand and adopt urbanity as a 'mindset and lifestyle' in order to improve the quality of life in their cities. What's on your desk? What are you listening to? I like listening to instrumental music when trying to focus and motivational Arabic music when trying to work on design or on challenging tasks. My desk is usually messy: books, sketchbook, material samples and there's always a cup of coffee there, full or empty. Tell us three bookmarks on your browser Olson & Baker, soundwaves interpreter, my YouTube playlist. What would you change about your offi ce space? I look forward to have a space more like a workshop where I can work by hand, use tools and test materials. Two places that seem enjoyable in this sense are Tashkeel arts organisation, and Colab in Dubai Design District. When does your day end? Everyday is a different day. I do not have a defi ned work schedule. When I feel inspired, I work even after midnight. What's the last thing you do before you call it a day? I pray. Here's Sara The artist at work She's taken part in exhibitionsOpinion commercialinteriordesign.com February 2021 16 Caption here Holistic as it may be, the spa and well- being sector stretched its capabilities to the fullest trying to incorporate alien concepts such as social distancing and PPE gear into the intimate nature of its professional service delivery protocols, as well as its facilities' operation. One of the main components to any customer experience within any beauty and wellbeing facility is its supporting water features. And although it may vary from one to another, showers remained the only constant. Now, how this can be geared into the new COVID-19 world? The benefi ts of a shower before or after treatment can be of a huge value to the desired outcomes, but it has never been an integral component within the experience itself. Right here, spa and well-being facilities saw the ideal moment to deploy their vast knowledge, along concrete commitment to customers' health benefi ts by accommodating the utmost levels of hygiene assurance measures through automatically-activated touchless shower facilities, but also extending its immersive spa approach to engulf it. This is when the 'sensual or experience' showers concept was born. Imagine a spa shower that automatically turns on when you step in it and aligns with your treatment. You get the right water pressure, temperature, direction and movements that assure your muscles, as well as your nerves. are in sync with your main aim of your treatment. This is even Royal Metis Consultancy on changes and challenges in spa design As we step into 2021, we surely and collectively can agree that every living organism has, is and shall remain, in a constant challenging state as we embrace the normality enforced by COVID-19. Yet, with every challenge comes an opportunity. COVID-19 may have redefi ned our 'new normal,' but while doing so achieved what most of the wellness and wellbeing community struggled long enough to convey – the importance of health for our existence on this planet. Regardless of whether you stand as a believer or a denier of the immense individual impact of each global citizen, on our planet's longevity, or the power of collective singular acts of preservation towards our environment, your life in 2021 will be never be easy unless hygiene and self-care are at the top of your priorities. Last year, all businesses had to evolve and rise up to the occasion of coexisting with COVID-19. Spa and wellbeing was no different and, in fact, it found the perfect stage to step-out of the limited cocoon of being considered solely a luxury or pampering element and into a true healing, within the form of physical or mental health regimes, daily routines or even a lifestyle. Hala Abuhmaid The spa shower becomes an experience Lessons learntOpinion 17 February 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com Heritage and history come back to teach us valuable lessons... before your body has touched the spa bed or by the hands of your therapist. A spa experience has always evolved around the fi ve senses and it wouldn't be fair to keep such immersive and transformative components out of 'experience showers.' Let's fall back into the scenario we started earlier. Add lights and sound effects that when tuned properly will transport the customers into the mental dimension we want them to reach. Pulling in essential oil fragrances expands the customers' awareness to where the journey's destination is. Finally, we bring in the nature elements through tropical rain, waterfall or oasis plunging pods. Very often, heritage and history come back to teach us valuable lessons, and the sector found refuge during these tough times in relying on ancient traditional treatments. It seems as if our ancestral wisdoms are designed to be timeless, surpassing time in its solutions or predicting our future needs for Mother Earth's healing power. A great example are salt rooms, where clients are in close proximity to heated or steamed Macedonian salt bricks. The diffusion process activates the salt particles that, once inhaled, are said to not only help in speeding the lung's cell regeneration process but also possesses a cleansing role that extends beyond eliminating toxins, with the salt's antibacterial action said to revitalise circulation, restore energy levels and strengthen the immune system, while helping prevent respiratory diseases. Another impressive adaptation came from Scandinavia, where the art of incorporating medical plants or herbs into hot and cold spa rituals as been mastered. Fady Tawfi kLights help transport customers While facing the pandemic's aftermaths, we at Royal Metis Consultancy can attest that the entire Dubai community, from government to business owners and customers, are united on how hygiene is crucial to the entire sector's survival. In fact, it became the only reassurance given and promised in such delicate partnership. Our responsibility drove us back to the drawing board and we built an entire public or shared spaces new materials portfolio, which have been imprinted on three running projects across the UAE. Surface materials became self-disinfecting or easy to clean and in some cases, our design team brought in anti-bacterial glazing tiles to control the germ-spreading potential. We believe that although it can seem bleak now, the future of spa and wellbeing will rely heavily on its ability to extract wisdom from its past achievements and use it as stepping stone into its phoenix rise. The sector awareness of what's at stake makes a useless endeavour of only embedding retro touches in any facility. But certainly, pulling in nature's healing powers through rituals or protocols adoptions can bring in some certainty to our new and ever-evolving normal. Feature name/subject commercialinteriordesign.com Month 2021 18Feature name/subject 19 Month 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com Next >