POP UP Desert Dubai

Task

Pop Up Desert Dubai is a mobile space in the UAE, designed for a brand producing organic food. It is built to be assembled in the desert and taken down again.

The team had to create an object in desert conditions that does not compete with the natural surroundings but sits inside them.

A second task was to rethink traditional Russian decorative language in a new context: the ornament had to read as contemporary rather than as a museum piece.

In the middle of the Arabian desert the concept of a new pop-up space was born. People in the Gulf respect and love authenticity. The most important thing is the atmosphere of the real Emirates landscape together with gzhel, samovars and birch stumps.

Irina Filippova, project architect

Solution

The space is built around a food-truck zone, a fire circle and shaded pavilions, grouped around a central point.

White and blue facades of perforated panels carrying gzhel patterns are lit from inside, so the structure reads clearly after dark.

The space works on the contrast between natural textures and a recognisable ornament. Light surfaces carry the pattern without crowding it.

Structurally it uses light white arches, semi-transparent partitions and a metal frame that carries the whole assembly.

What we did

One of the key stages of our work is the preliminary cost estimate, which lets us find places to optimise the budget at the earliest stage.

Working this way keeps the process under control and lets us react quickly to the market without losing the look or the function of the project.

Result

Area: . Year: 2023. Status: Concept.