Beauty Is In The Details

Winners of multiple awards this year – including an identity Design Award – London- and Dubai-based practice Anarchitect was charged with reimagining a Dubai Hills family villa.

- Penny Mccormick

This 3000-square metre private property is ideally situated in Dubai Hills, overlooking the 18th hole of the golf course and offering panoramic views of Dubai’s skyline. It’s home to a young family who commissioned Anarchitect to modernize and modify the predefined developer shell in keeping with their requirements. Jonathan Ashmore, Anarchitect’s founder, and principal explains: “We were appointed to design a residence in which the family could grow, manage their busy lives and express their individual passions for fashion, art, motorsports and upscale social gatherings. Throughout the design process, we constantly visualized how different members of the family would use each space within the new home. The property had to be comfortable and functional for all the family while providing our discerning client with an aesthetically refined residence. The home also had to facilitate our clients’ every aspect of life – from functional home offices that help their busy professional careers to thrive; through luxurious entertaining spaces; cherishing precious personal life with an open family space and cinema and a stimulating children’s playroom; to aiding our clients’ wellbeing with a home spa and gym; and helping them to indulge their personal interests, with an elegant garage and a fashion collections’ display.”

The project took six months to design and 12 months to construct. Of the process, Ashmore says, “Our focus was to completely rationalize and modify the property to centre on the family’s needs and to maximize natural light penetration. We achieved this in a considered yet playful manner by creating serene indoor-outdoor moments at the heart of the property and introducing discreet pocket wall systems, which allow you to open and close spaces depending on the needs of the family.”