< PreviousCover feature commercialinteriordesign.com May 2021 20 j u d g e s David Lessard DAVID LESSARD Design director, H+A David Lessard is a partner and design director at H+A; an architecture and interior design studio specialising in healthcare, hospitality and wellness design. He is currently leading a diverse range of projects around the world; all of which explore a unique response to culture, context and environment. He is widely recognised for his contributions to the region as a designer, critic, juror and conference participant – emerging as a thought leader, mentoring students and consulting for clients on all matters related to hospitality and healthcare design alongside H+A partner Stas Louca. David has been a consistent presence on the CID Awards judging panel since 2018, sharing his perspective on the importance of humancentric design and the promotion of well-being in projects. During this tenure he has been an advocate for timeless designs that are thoughtful, relevant, and fi t for their intended purpose – enhancing the communities they occupy while demonstrating an innovative approach to the physical, commercial, and environmental challenges that all project face – promoting balance between form and function. "It's a privilege to judge the CID Awards and I look forward to sharing the responsibility with my esteemed group of colleagues on the panel. This year has presented a new challenge and how the built environment responds will be something unique to this year's submissions, setting a precedent for how we as designers look towards the future of socialising, fl exibility and well-being."Cover feature 21 May 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com j u d g e s Juan Roldan JUAN ROLDAN Associate professor, College of Architecture, Art & Design, American University of Sharjah Juan Roldan is a Spanish architect and educator. He is associate professor of architecture and interior design at the College of Architecture, Art and Design and was appointed Charles Correa Chair 2019- 2020 by the Charles Correa Foundation in Goa (India). Juan has served as curator of the fi rst edition of the d3 Architectural Festival 2020 (Dubai Design District in partnership with RIBA Gulf). With over 20 years of professional experience, his architectural and interior design has been published in magazines like DOMUS, ON Design, Metalocus. His work has been awarded internationally (COAM Award 2013), one of his recent designs (Hamama installation) has been awarded the Harper's Bazaar Award 2020 under the category of Best Collaboration of the Year 2020 (CAAD AUS + Ellington properties). His work as an educator has been showcased at the Milano Triennale (Instant Design, 2011), Sharjah Art Foundation (Opus 6 and Vantage Point), and Alserkal Avenue (Material Pursuits, 2018). His latest research on Outdoor Rooms and Domesticated Landscapes in the UAE is part of the recently published book Interior Provocations (Routledge, 2020), edited by Anca I. Lasc, Deborah Schneiderman, Keena Suh, Karin Tehve, Alexa Griffi th Winton, Karyn Zieve. "It is a privilege to be part of the CID Awards as a jury member. It is a unique opportunity to witness the increasing quality of the interior design industry in the region. The awards offer an excellent opportunity to showcase the excellence and change any misconceptions about interior design in the region."Cover feature commercialinteriordesign.com May 2021 22 j u d g e s Malini Karani DR MALINI KARANI Director of studies for interior design (undergraduate and postgraduate), Heriot-Watt University Dubai In her role at Heriot-Watt University, Malani is responsible for overseeing both under- and post-grad design programmes in Dubai as well as liaising with the university's UK team to ensure their parity across campuses. She is deeply involved in curriculum development, undertakes teaching and is actively engaged in various student activities. Malini obtained her bachelors in interior design at the American University in Dubai and studied further at the Academy of Art, University in San Francisco to obtain her masters in architecture. She has practiced as an architect and interior designer in Dubai for several years and has been involved in academia across the MENA region. Projects she worked on in Dubai include Etihad Mall, Times Square Mall, retail branches of Barclays bank and luxury villas in Emirates Hills. This year she has completed her PhD in Architecture from Cardiff University, UK, in the fi eld of Vastushastra or Indian Architectural Theory. She has successfully published research papers on this subject and constantly aspires to spread the essence of traditional architectural theories whilst continuing to embrace contemporary design. In her free time, Malini enjoys many creative activities such as sketching, painting, solving sudoku, playing games online and jigsaw puzzles. She is very passionate about her Lego collection and enjoys building things with her nieces. "I am honoured to be part of this year's panel. It is an extremely prestigious event for the interior design community in the UAE and is a great opportunity to interact with my peers from the industry. After a challenging year we have forged ahead and adapted to the evolving requirements of the design industry."Cover feature 23 May 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com j u d g e s Rabih Geha RABIH GEHA Founder, RG/ARCHITECTS Rabih Geha is the founder of the award- winning practice Rabih Geha Architects. He holds a BA in architecture from the American University of Beirut and earned his masters degree from l'École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle. In 2006, Rabih launched an experiment- driven and research-oriented workshop at l'Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) where he mentors Lebanon's next generation of architects. Prior to his return to Beirut. He practiced with Rudy Ricciotti in Marseilles and French architect Odile Decq in Paris. Of Lebanese and Croatian descent, Rabih understands all too well the architect's mission to create with purpose and rebuild where others have destroyed. He lives in Beirut with his wife and partner Ghida and their two children. "I am thrilled to be joining a panel of exceptional judges for the CID awards for a second year, and look forward to seeing more of the brilliant work we came across in 2020. Being at the other side of this was a wonderful experience and was very inspiring. I am honoured to celebrate the top creative minds leaving their mark on the interior design industry in the region."Cover feature commercialinteriordesign.com May 2021 24 j u d g e s SAMANTHA COTTERELL Executive director of design for the Royal Commission of Al Ula in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Samantha is a professional architect, urbanist and masterplanner with 25 years' experience on large scale international projects, including 20 years in design leadership roles for the development and delivery of major projects and events worldwide. She received a Bachelor Degree in Architecture with Honours from Melbourne University and moved to Milan to work in the high-profi le architectural practices of Gregotti Associati and subsequently Mario Bellini Associati. In 2001, Samantha relocated to Greece as senior architect for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. In 2005, she was headhunted for the role of head of design for the Doha 2006 Asian Games. She has since been based in the Arabian Gulf from where she has worked on major projects in the MENASAI region, eventually setting up her own sport design consultancy, DESIGNSPORT, which has won major architectural design competitions and contracts in India, Ethiopia, Qatar, Vietnam and the UAE, supporting sport venue development entities including government agencies, architectural design fi rms, organising committees. In 2015 Samantha lead DESIGNSPORT to win the International Architectural Design Competition and project Award for the Qatar 2022 World Cup Stadium in Precinct 5 for and with the Arab Engineering Bureau, In addition to her role as executive director of design for the Royal Commission of Al Ula in the Saudi Arabia, Samantha is currently the elected president of the International Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, a member of the Venice Biennale 2020 Committee for the Australian Pavilion and advisor to the Australian Pavilion for Expo2020. Samantha's experience in designing, developing and delivering major events includes: Expo 2020 Dubai, Expo 2025 Baku Bid File, Expo 1998 Lisbon, Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Doha 2020 Olympic Bid, Doha 2006 Asian Games, Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, Singapore 2009 Asian Youth Games, Qatar 2011 Asian Football Cup, Doha 2011 Pan Arab Games, Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. She is also the founder of the Gulf Women's Architecture Association. "I believe this decade will be a great one for all things design in and for the region. Ideas are fresh, AI and robotics have opened a whole new world of possibilities and the opportunities are immense. I look forward to seeing how designers are taking advantage of and contributing to all this. I’m very much looking forward to working with fellow judges and the team at CID." Cover featurree " ff c I fof f Samantha-CottereLlDOWNLOAD THE ENTRY KIT. PREPARE YOUR NOMINATIONS NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN FOR ATTENDANCE ENQUIRIES, CONTACT : Anthony Chandran Table Sales Executive Tel: +971 4 444 3685 Email: anthony.chandran@itp.com FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT: Rebecca Lockwood Sales Director +971 55 484 8301 Email: rebecca.lockwood@itp.com FOR NOMINATION ENQUIRIES, CONTACT: Jane O’Neill Editor Tel: +971 4 444 3626 Email: jane.oneill@itp.com #CIDAWARDS WWW.COMMERCIALINTERIORDESIGN.COM/AWARDS Scan to download entry kit NOMINATIONS DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY JULY 14, 2021 AWARDS CEREMONY: WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 GOLD SPONSORFIT-OUT PARTNERSOCIAL MEDIA PARTNERCATEGORY SPONSOR SILVER SPONSORSILVER SPONSOR CID Awards'21_House Ad_Nominations Deadline.indd 102/05/2021 12:58:52First look commercialinteriordesign.com May 2021 26 A NEW CH A SHARJAH INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT DESIGNED BY FOSTER + PARTNERS First look 27 May 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com Gerard Evenden, head of studio at Foster + Partners, on how one of the world's earliest scholarly institutions informed the design process of House of Wisdom. Our initial design brief was very simply, to create a library for the future, one that would allow people to gather, learn and exchange ideas. The project was initially referred to as the Digital Library but through our research we found many parallels with the original House of Wisdom, which was set up in Baghdad, as a place for scholars to exchange ideas. We had some great conversations with the client, Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi and her team, about how the aims of the building had many parallels with one of the world's earliest scholarly institutions, which informed the design process. Long considered primarily as repositories for books and periodicals, the role of libraries in the life of contemporary communities has changed dramatically. The team visited libraries around the world to understand best practice. We found that the most successful spaces allowed for people to use the building through an extended period – a 24/7 community space that belonged to them. Alongside the libraries, there were spaces for talks and lectures, larger social areas, cafes for food and drink, child-friendly spaces – all functions that encourage people to come together. The House of Wisdom is meant for everyone. The building is designed to be open and inviting. It has a very simple square plan based around a densely planted and shaded open central courtyard that can be enjoyed at almost all times of the year and allows natural light and ventilation deep into the heart of the building. We planned this by plotting many 'day in the life' scenarios of different target audiences, which include students, children, parents, senior citizens, entrepreneurs, authors, artists and so much more. By evaluating the needs of each target group, we had much deeper insights and clarifi cations about our approach at every step. We wanted to make the House of Wisdom a fl exible place of learning, encouraging people to come together and share ideas. We had several conversations with the client early on about how we could promote community engagement. The cultural and library aspects are House of Wisdom is a cultural centre and library in Sharjah APTER AND DEVELOPED BY AUTHORITY (SHUROOQ)First look commercialinteriordesign.com May 2021 28 integrated to promote communication and cross fertilisation of ideas. In our experience, overlapping uses creates a richer programme that promotes learning. The also creates a certain fl exibility that will allow the building to meet future needs and changing patterns of learning. This is increasingly important from the point of view of sustainability. The shading strategy is a key part in the sustainability story. One of the fi rst questions we asked ourselves was, how do we maintain good natural light and environment without allowing too much sun and heat into the building? We wanted to do this by passive means where possible, which inspired the idea of the large overhanging roof that shelters the building during the hottest parts of the day. Fixed external screens are used to prevent the sun from entering the building in the mornings and evenings with a fi nal layer of internal BMS controlled blinds to prevent any glare. At ground level, manually operated bamboo screens allow the occupiers to personally manage light levels to their comfort. The façade and structure were designed to have a very low thermal mass to allow the building to respond quickly to temperature changes. We also wanted to extend time when we could keep the building cool using natural ventilation. We visited the historic centre of Sharjah and saw how some spaces around the small, shaded courtyards there remained open even as the temperatures rose. Shade and ventilation were crucial to our strategy at the House of Wisdom, where the central courtyard is open to sky and the perimeter doors open, drawing air through the courtyard to cool the entire building. The fl at roof is designed to incorporate the potential for photovoltaic panels to be installed in the future. Another key element of the design is light. Through our previous experience in the region, we have developed several approaches to mitigate the harsh sun and reduce solar gain. We studied the local Barasti architecture, which inspired the design of the screens that allow dappled light into the interior spaces. This light changes throughout the day, giving the spaces a dynamic quality. Although elements of the design are very traditional, we made good use of the latest technology to create the building's interiors. Rapid prototyping is a burgeoning industry that is beginning to have a positive impact on construction industry. Using cutting edge CNC technology, we designed the timber and aluminium screens that provide shade throughout the building. This approach allowed us to use mass production technology to create screens with no waste, which is pivotal in terms of sustainability. We think this is an approach that has great promise for the future. The House of Wisdom also has a 'lab space' that integrates prototyping facilities as well as an 'espresso book machine' that prints and binds books in minutes. The House of Wisdom is meant for everyoneFirst look 29 May 2021 commercialinteriordesign.com Sunlight is controlled by blinds and screens Curl up with a good book The children's library Suppliers at a glance GLAZED FAÇADE: Alico STEEL: Unger Steel ALUMINIUM SCREENS: Alba Tower INTERNAL CEILING: Obaid Al Abd BAMBOO SHUTTERS: Poltrona Frau FF&E: Poltrona Frau LANDSCAPE: Green Concepts EXTERNAL CONCRETE: Paving Lamar Curves represent dunesNext >