Insights

Found in various locations around the Arabian Gulf, the wind catcher, wind tower or wind scoop is an indigenous architectural device used to create cross ventilation and passive cooling in buildings...

nicholas are specialists in hotel and resort design, and food and beverage design.‍ Drawing on the special historical character of its neighbourhood, we have conceptualised this 5-star Middle East hotel to be recognisably Arabian as well as contemporary...

We believe that urban space should space people-centric, with people placed at the centre of the design.‍ It should be highly functional, legible and navigable. It should also be “democratic” and safe...

Christopher Alexander and others describe, in their 1977 book A Pattern Language, timeless entities called “patterns” which relate to town planning or architectural problems; and then offer ready-made solutions...

Salmani architecture is, by royal charter, the expression of Saudi Arabian architectural heritage in contemporary form, centred on Riyadh...

We are making great progress in our Middle East cities with useable outdoor space. As with retail and entertainment, so too should shared residential community space liberate the outdoors...

Najdi architecture (العمارة النجدية) is a vernacular style indigenous to the Najd region of modern-day Saudi Arabia which flourished between 13th and 18th centuries...

We are making great progress in our Middle East cities with useable outdoor space.‍ Retail and entertainment functions are exciting when brought into the outdoors...

We are often told that the economic value of design is difficult to quantify – but nothing could be further from the truth.‍ According to Rostow’s economic model, once the conditions for “take-off” are met, the urban base expands, and economies are driven towards maturity...

The term “biomimicry” in architecture refers to the application of principles which are found in nature and translated into the design of sustainable solutions – like the shaded facades of these buildings...

In architectural design, as in urban design, it is the roofs of buildings – “the fifth façade” – which are most often overlooked.‍ In our cities’ high-rise environments, the vertical elevations of buildings are often viewed fleetingly, and sometimes in the context of competing urban “clutter”...

The term “biomimicry” in architecture refers to the application of principles which are found in nature and translated into the design of sustainable solutions – like the folded skin of this building...