Construction
Building for a fifty-year climate.
Waterproofing, thermal envelopes and salt-tolerant assemblies, how a coastal desert climate rewrites every construction detail from the foundation up.
6 minRead
Journal
Notes on building, quietly.
A slow-read journal from the studio floor, architecture, construction, materials and the shifting shape of the UAE building industry.
Feature, 07 / 2026
Villa renovation, and the quiet migration of families to the UAE.
A new wave of families, from Europe, the Levant and beyond, are settling in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and reshaping older villas into homes built to stay in. Notes from the studio on renovating and fitting-out family homes: from structural interventions and MEP upgrades to bespoke kitchens, wardrobes and the small daily rituals that decide whether a house becomes a home.
9 min readRead
the piece
AllConstructionMaterialsCraftIndustryInteriorsProcess
Materials
A palette that ages well.
Travertine, oiled oak, patinated bronze, calacatta. Why a restrained material library outlasts the trend cycle, and why we source most of ours in Italy.
5 minRead
Craft
The joinery is the architecture.
Doors, wardrobes, kitchens, staircases, the millimetre-level work that decides whether a house feels custom or catalogue.
4 minRead
UAE Industry
RERA, Golden Visa & the new investor.
A short guide to the regulatory framework that made Dubai one of the most predictable places in the world to commission a private build.
7 minRead
Interiors
Interiors, built not decorated.
A house is finished the day the joiner leaves, not the day the stylist arrives. Notes on integrated interior architecture.
5 minRead
Process
One drawing, one team, one contract.
How a single accountable studio removes the handover losses between designer, contractor and craftsman.
6 minRead
UAE Focus
The market, quietly explained.
The UAE construction sector is projected to grow past USD 100 billion by the end of the decade, driven not by speculation, but by long-horizon residential, hospitality and cultural commissions. Dubai alone accounts for roughly half of that activity.
Regulation has matured in parallel. RERA, the Dubai Land Department and the Emirates Green Building Council have moved the industry from a permissive frontier into one of the more predictable places in the world to commission a private build. Escrow accounts, Golden Visas tied to long-term investment, and Al Sa'fat sustainability ratings shape almost every serious project.
For a design-build studio, this is quietly transformative. It rewards the slow, integrated approach, one accountable team, one contract, one drawing set, over the fragmented model that dominated the previous cycle.
Correspondence
A short letter, quarterly.
New writing, one built project, and a short reading list from the studio. No newsletter template, no marketing calendar, just a quiet dispatch.