The Villa Embraces the Raw and Brutal Reality of Its Tropical Desert Climate.

In a global city known for its flamboyance, abundance, and glitz, where outrageously oversized skyscrapers push upward around the Persian Gulf, where bling and brand names overwhelm as much as the punishing heat and humidity, it’s not surprising that some of its inhabitants would seek relief from the constant grind of construction and never-ending thrust toward the future.

Just outside of the deafening noise of this new world built on sand lies a community known as “an oasis within a desert,” featuring lush green landscaped gardens, water fountains, and cobbled streets, offering its inhabitants a welcome sense of tranquility and peace. It is here where local architect Ana D’Castro and her husband recently purchased a four-bedroom villa to house their baby daughter, their puppy, and D’Castro’s artwork.

But before she installed her pieces, D’Castro, founder of BIA Design, transformed this classical villa into a modern, minimalist space that reflected the clean aesthetic of her art, not to mention her desire to escape the never-ending visual and auditory clamor that is Dubai.