Architectural Accolades
Identity|March 2017

Janus Rostock, Design Director and Head of Architecture at Atkins shares the architectural secrets behind Dubai Opera, winner of the id Design Awards 2016 Public Building and Design of the Year.

Joanne Molina
Architectural Accolades

Graciously accepting his awards for Best Public Building and Project of the Year, Janus Rostock, the visionary architect behind Dubai Opera was the talk of the evening at the recent id Design Awards. His stunning architecture – one of the city’s most majestic landmarks complemented by an interior designed by WA International, Dubai and Auditorium Arts Architecture, UK – has once again put Dubai on the map for the 21st Century’s most innovative and compelling architecture. Rostock takes us behind the scenes of its creation and reveals how his history of compelling projects prepared him for his recent masterpiece.

“To me, Dubai Opera is my main achievement to date; it has been a fantastic journey. But it is not a journey that I made on my own – it is a journey that has only been made possible because of great clients, great team work [and] great collaboration on all fronts. It has been a great honour to be part of this collaboration,” Rostock explains.

With over 20 years’ experience in architecture, Rostock specialises in the visioning of complex multidisciplinary projects and masterplans across the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

Having received his M. Arch from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture in Copenhagen, and having spent a year at l’École d’Architecture de Paris Belleville, he then worked for multi-award winning Henning Larsen Architects and KHR, two of the most prestigious design offices in Denmark.

Rostock moved to Dubai and joined Atkins in 2006, where he was part of the team delivering the Dubai Promenade and Cape Town Waterfront masterplan. He returned to Denmark in 2008 to launch Atkins’ Architecture & Design department in Copenhagen, before returning to the UAE in 2011.

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