Introduction
The Members Club & Fashion Incubator, MEAN*’s proposal for Dubai, combines brutalist concrete with modular precast construction, arranged around a central pool as a retreat. The project aims to give people in the fashion industry a calm place to meet and work together.
Three Modules
The design is built from three precast modules: a half arch module, a solid block module, and a column module.
A bridge across the rooftops would give shade to those walking beneath it and views to those walking along it.
Brutalism
The clubhouse takes its language from brutalism. The precast modules are left exposed, and the same shapes recur across the five buildings.
The exterior is textured concrete.
The three modules are the building blocks of both the interior and the exterior. Precasting the modules is meant to make construction faster.
Five Buildings
The clubhouse has five buildings. The reception & retail, food & beverage, and gym spaces are designed as single-story structures with accessible roofs for seating and greenery. The boutique hotel has four floors, with a ground-floor mezzanine for its own restaurant, and connects to the other rooftops. Finally, the fashion incubator is designed as a high-ceiling space with a mezzanine floor that can serve as a runway for the designs made there.
The five buildings are arranged around a central pool, the quiet center of the club. The rooftop bridge connects all five.