Services

MEAN* is an architecture and interior design practice in Dubai, founded in 2016. Clients appoint us directly or as design subconsultant to a larger team.

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The Five Stages

  1. Site Analysis And Brief

    The octagonal seating platform at the center of the Send Location store: a bench around a patterned carpet, a step up to it, a line of light under the seat and a metal mesh screen behind.
    Two views from the Octagon Seating And Shelves Details sheet for Send Location: a section through the display shelves and the sofa seating at 1 to 10, and the detail of the cove light under the seat at 1 to 5, with dimensions and material notes.

    We study the site and what must be kept. You receive a written brief.

    Send Location · Octagon Seating And Shelves Details · Completed Interior

    The Octagonal Majlis As Built · Built By Alpha Nero · Photograph: Aylul Studio

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  2. Concept And Design Development

    The Migrant Kitchen at 157 Columbus Avenue, looking down the room to the street window: birch plywood ribs arch overhead and step down the left wall with shelves between them, and plants grow from a planter at their foot.
    Two sections at 3 inches to the foot through a birch plywood rib fixed to the wall at The Migrant Kitchen, 157 Columbus Avenue: rounded 2 inch corners, a support bracket, toggle bolts, hex bolts and a steel channel; the second section has a planter set into the rib.

    We develop layout, form and material direction as options, then refine the chosen one with the engineers and fabricators. You receive a drawing set to coordinate against.

    The Migrant Kitchen, 157 Columbus Avenue · Millwork Fixing Details · Completed Interior

    The Birch Ribs As Built · With JBA Collective, Architect Of Record

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  3. Construction Drawings And Details

    The Deciduous pavilion seen from the side in a DIFC plaza: white 3D printed ribs with orange tips rising from a printed concrete base, with visitors around it.
    Fabrication sheet for the Deciduous pavilion at 1 to 25, titled L Polymers Side View: the 3D printed polymer parts drawn one by one in side view with their tags, and their lengths in millimeters from 675 to 1,503.

    We prepare dimensioned plans, sections, elevations and custom details. A local architect of record holds the legal role.

    Deciduous · Printed Polymer Parts, Side View · Completed Installation

    The Pavilion As Built · Design Subconsultant To AECOM · Photograph: NAARO

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  4. Consultant And Contractor Coordination

    The steel pipe frame of the Audi Innovation Hub seen end on, between two glass buildings.
    South elevation of the Audi Innovation Hub at 1 to 50: bent steel pipes, cable rope and frame columns, 8,400 mm wide and 5,500 mm high.

    We coordinate our design with the architect of record, engineers, contractor and suppliers. Site visits are by agreement.

    Audi Innovation Hub · South Elevation · Completed Installation

    The Structure As Built · Photograph: Dennis Wierenga

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  5. Bespoke Design And Fabrication

    The orange kiosk in Dubai Design District seen square on to its counter, with magazines on display and people around it.
    Elevation A of the Le Monde d’Hermès Kiosk at 1 to 20: roof, printed panels and posts, with its dimensions.

    We design custom joinery, fixtures and furniture and develop them with the makers in timber, steel, ceramic and 3D printing.

    Le Monde d’Hermès Kiosk · Counter Elevation · Completed Installation

    The Kiosk As Built, Its Roof Lower Than Drawn · Built By Alpha Nero · Photograph: Remi Abouchakra

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What We Do

Our work runs from site analysis and concept design to construction drawings and fabrication details.

Our completed work is interiors, installations, prototypes and objects, with spaces in Dubai, Barcelona and New York. Our houses and larger buildings are design proposals, for clients that include the Royal Commission for AlUla, the University of Sharjah, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment and Barjeel Art Foundation. We have also made design proposals for NEOM and A.R.M. Holding.

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MEAN* In Numbers

  • 13 Completed Works
  • 24 Design Proposals
  • 8 Countries, Built And Proposed
  • 10 Years Of Practice

Counted from the project pages of this site and the PUFF Marbella Kiosk, 2016 to 2026. Completed works are interiors, installations, prototypes and objects.

From Drawing To Built

These sheets come from our drawing sets, sorted by project type. Every project here was built, and each is shown with a photograph of the result.

F&B And Retail

Completed Interior · 2 Projects · 4 Drawings

Send Location, Dubai

Khabib Nurmagomedov · 2025 · 300 sqm · Completed Interior · Built By Alpha Nero

The octagonal display and seating platform at the center of the store is drawn at 1 to 10 in plan, elevation and section. A second sheet sets out the water-jet-cut metal mesh around it: the pattern module and five frame types, the largest 3,500 by 850 mm.

  • Detail sheet of the octagonal display and seating platform at Send Location at 1 to 10: plan, elevation, section and isometric, with the metal mesh, the carpet, brass nosing and shelves.
    Send Location · Octagon Display Detail · MEAN* Design · Built By Alpha NeroView Larger
  • Detail sheet of the water-jet-cut metal mesh at Send Location: the octagon in plan, the dimensioned pattern module, five frame types up to 3,500 by 850 mm and an isometric.
    Send Location · Metal Mesh Detail · MEAN* Design · Built By Alpha NeroView Larger
  • The octagonal majlis at the center of the Send Location store, under an octagonal ring of light.
    As Built · Photograph: Aylul Studio

See The Full Drawings In The Archive

The Migrant Kitchen, New York

The Migrant Kitchen · 2022 · Completed Interior · With JBA Collective, Architect Of Record

At the 157 Columbus Avenue restaurant, birch plywood ribs line the wall, arch around a column and cross the ceiling. The axonometric draws every group of ribs and shelves apart, each with its tag. The sequence shows them going up in fourteen steps.

  • Exploded axonometric of the birch plywood millwork at The Migrant Kitchen, 157 Columbus Avenue: nine tagged groups of ribs and shelves drawn apart around a wall and a column.
    The Migrant Kitchen, 157 Columbus Avenue · Millwork Axonometric · MEAN* Design · With JBA Collective, Architect Of RecordView Larger
  • Fourteen numbered isometric frames showing the birch ribs of The Migrant Kitchen at 157 Columbus Avenue going up around a column, along the wall and under the ceiling.
    The Migrant Kitchen, 157 Columbus Avenue · Construction Sequence · MEAN* Design · Built By Giovanni MartiniView Larger
  • The Migrant Kitchen at 157 Columbus Avenue, New York: birch plywood ribs along the wall and across the ceiling, beside a white counter.
    As Built

See The Full Drawings In The Archive

Wellness And Hospitality

Completed Interior · 1 Project · 4 Drawings

Repeat Wellness Club, Barcelona

Repeat · 2026 · 336 sqm · Completed Interior · With AK Studio, Architect Of Record

The ceramic wall of the reformer studio is drawn at 1 to 20, 10.27 m long and 3.12 m high, in eight panels each 1,284 mm wide, every ceramic piece shown. The ceramics were made by Ceràmica Cumella. The Stairs Details sheet draws the powder coated steel stair to the mezzanine at 1 to 8 and 1 to 10, with rounded treads in 5 mm metal sheet and 15 mm vertical rails. A third sheet, the Clay Wall Detail, sets the corrugation of the clay wall by the stair at a 75 mm pitch.

  • Detail sheet of the ceramic feature wall at Repeat Wellness Club at 1 to 20: the wall 10,271 mm long and 3,120 mm high, and below it its eight panels of 1,284 mm, each drawn piece by piece.
    Repeat Wellness Club · Ceramic Wall Detail · MEAN* Design · Ceramics By Ceràmica CumellaView Larger
  • Stairs details sheet of Repeat Wellness Club: the stair plan at 1 to 30, a section at 1 to 40 with the levels of the landing and the mezzanine, and two details of the steel stair with its rounded treads, vertical rails and posts.
    Repeat Wellness Club · Stairs Details · MEAN* DesignView Larger
  • Plan of the corrugated clay wall at Repeat Wellness Club at 1 to 50, with an enlarged detail of the corrugation and its dimensions.
    Repeat Wellness Club · Clay Wall Detail · MEAN* Design · With AK Studio, Architect Of RecordView Larger
  • Long section of Repeat Wellness Club with the ceiling, the stair, the relief wall and the wall build-ups.
    Repeat Wellness Club · Long Section · MEAN* Design · Built By ArqfaiView Larger
  • Repeat Wellness Club, Barcelona: the reformer studio, with a relief wall along one side.
    As Built · Photograph: Salva López

See The Full Drawings In The Archive

Pavilions And Installations

Completed Installations · 3 Projects · 6 Drawings

Deciduous, Dubai

DIFC · 2019 · 48 sqm · Completed Installation · Design Subconsultant To AECOM

The footing detail shows how a printed polymer rib seats in the printed concrete base. The parts plan draws the twenty-two plywood pieces of the base, each with its tag and size.

  • Footing detail of the Deciduous pavilion: a 3D printed polymer rib seated in concrete infill inside a stepped 3D printed concrete base, with layers of 9 mm CNC cut plywood beside it, and dimensions.
    Deciduous · Footing Detail · MEAN* Design · Concrete Printed By besix3DView Larger
  • Plywood parts plan for the Deciduous pavilion at 1 to 30: twenty-two pieces of the base drawn flat, each with its tag, width and length.
    Deciduous · Plywood Parts Plan · MEAN* Design · Plywood By Lobo & ListoneView Larger
  • The Deciduous pavilion seen from above: a curved walkway between two scalloped white benches with printed ribs, and three visitors.
    As Built · Photograph: NAARO

See The Full Drawings In The Archive

Audi Innovation Hub, Dubai

Audi Middle East · 2018 · 165 sqm · Completed Installation

The roof plan shows the bent steel pipes and the cables between them, with dimensions. The elevations give the two long sides.

  • Dimensioned plan of the bent steel pipe and cable roof structure of the Audi Innovation Hub.
    Audi Innovation Hub · Roof Structure Plan · MEAN* DesignView Larger
  • East and west elevations of the Audi Innovation Hub with the steel pipe arches, the cable mesh, overall dimensions and material notes.
    Audi Innovation Hub · East And West Elevations · MEAN* DesignView Larger
  • The steel pipe frame of the Audi Innovation Hub seen end on, between two glass buildings.
    As Built · Photograph: Dennis Wierenga

See The Full Drawings In The Archive

Le Monde d’Hermès Kiosk, Dubai

Hermès · 2022 · Completed Installation · Built By Alpha Nero

The wall panels were robotically 3D printed from recycled plastic. The fixing details show them in plan, in section and at the corners. A second sheet draws the DJ counter, with a fixed top and a folding one, in plan, elevation and section.

  • Panel fixing details: upper and lower panel plans, a vertical panel section and corner details with callouts.
    Le Monde d’Hermès Kiosk · Panel Fixing Details · MEAN* Design · Built By Alpha NeroView Larger
  • Detail sheet of the kiosk's DJ counter: a fixed countertop and a foldable one on folding brackets, in plan, elevation, section and folded section.
    Le Monde d’Hermès Kiosk · DJ Counter Detail · MEAN* Design · Built By Alpha NeroView Larger
  • The orange Hermès kiosk seen from above in a paved plaza, with orange tables, chairs and parasols around it.
    As Built · Photograph: Keir Harris

See The Full Drawings In The Archive

How We Work

We begin with the place and the brief: who will use it, what it needs to do and what must be kept. The design develops through drawings, material studies and conversations with the people who will build it.

Each appointment starts from a written scope: the stages, the deliverables, the review points and a responsibility matrix that sets out who does what among the client, the architect of record, the engineers, the contractor and MEAN*. The architect of record is the locally licensed architect who carries the legal responsibility for the permit drawings. When a lead consultant runs the team, we work as its design subconsultant.

Engineering design, permit submissions, contract administration and site supervision are outside our standard scope. Where a project needs them, they are appointed separately or added by agreement. The architect of record was AK Studio at Repeat and JBA Collective at The Migrant Kitchen.

Completed Spaces

  • Repeat Wellness Club, Barcelona: the reformer studio, with a relief wall along one side.

    Repeat Wellness Club, Barcelona

    Barcelona · 2026 · 336 sqm · Completed Interior · Photograph: Salva López

    An interior in a protected 1895 building. The façade and Catalan vaults are kept, and the new rooms have custom joinery, a folded-steel stair and handcrafted ceramics.

    Architect Of Record: AK Studio · Contractor: Arqfai

    Published In: Elle Decor Italia · AD España · FRAME · ArchDaily

  • Send Location, Dubai: a black counter under a lit calligraphy sign.

    Send Location, Dubai

    Dubai · 2025 · 300 sqm · Completed Interior · Photograph: Aylul Studio

    A flagship store for Khabib Nurmagomedov, organized around an octagonal majlis for retail, gatherings and conversation, in marmorino and sintered stone with adaptable fixtures.

    Contractor: Alpha Nero

    Published In: FRAME · ArchDaily · Commercial Interior Design

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Spatial Branding

We translate a brand’s visual identity into physical space. Its geometry, graphics, colors and story become plan, structure, material and detail.

  • The orange hexagonal kiosk with patterned printed panels in a plaza, people seated around it.

    Le Monde d’Hermès Kiosk, Dubai

    Hermès · 2022 · Completed Installation · Photograph: Remi Abouchakra

    The pattern of the printed panels is a swirling H tessellation drawn from prints found on Hermès objects.

    Published In: Parametric Architecture

  • The Audi Innovation Hub at dusk, a faceted white and black structure carrying the four rings.

    Audi Innovation Hub, Dubai

    Audi Middle East · 2018 · 165 sqm · Completed Installation · Photograph: Dennis Wierenga

    The structure starts from a line, the simplest geometry that connects two bodies, after Connections, the theme of that year’s Audi Innovation Award. It is symmetrical about its center line, as a car is.

  • The octagonal majlis at the center of the Send Location store, under an octagonal ring of light.

    Send Location, Dubai

    Khabib Nurmagomedov · 2025 · 300 sqm · Completed Interior · Photograph: Aylul Studio

    A mashrabiya screen takes the brand’s logo as its repeating module, and its geometry recalls the octagon of the UFC cage. The octagonal majlis at the center gives the store its plan.

Selected Clients And Collaborations

We work for private clients, cultural institutions, global brands and major organizations. Every name below carries its project and its status. On Deciduous, completed for DIFC in 2019, we were design subconsultant to AECOM.

Houses

The houses below are design proposals, shown through their drawings and details.

Cosmos House, for the Royal Commission for AlUla, is drawn down to the wall section: earth walls designed for 3D printing, a courtyard and a windcatcher stair. Meta-Modular, for the Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment, is an adaptable courtyard house on a modular grid.

House 00 and the 3D Printed Majlis are design proposals too. We have not yet completed a house. A house commission follows the same stages: you appoint us for the design, and a local architect of record and the engineers are appointed alongside us.

Plans And Details

Design Proposals · 3 Projects · 6 Drawings

Cosmos House

Royal Commission for AlUla · 707 sqm · Design Proposal

  • Ground floor plan of the circular earth-walled house, with room layout and 1:100 scale.
    Cosmos House · Ground Floor Plan · Design Proposal · 707 sqmView Larger
  • Roof plan of the circular house showing the central stair and the roof terraces.
    Cosmos House · Roof Plan · Design ProposalView Larger
  • Construction detail section through the windcatcher staircase, with wall build-up, foundation and annotated layers.
    Cosmos House · Wall Section Detail · Design ProposalView Larger
  • Detail section through the windcatcher staircase wall with slab, insulation and foundation callouts.
    Cosmos House · Wall Build-Up Detail · Design ProposalView Larger

See The Full Drawings In The Archive

Meta-Modular

Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment · Design Proposal

  • Ground floor plan of the Meta-Modular courtyard house with its modular grid.
    Meta-Modular · Ground Floor Plan · Design ProposalView Larger

See The Full Drawings In The Archive

House 00

2,000 sqm · Design Proposal, Schematic Design

  • Ground floor plan of House 00: dark walls, room names with their areas, floor levels, and the paving and planting of the garden, with north arrow and scale bar.
    House 00 · Ground Floor Plan · Design Proposal, Schematic Design · 2,000 sqmView Larger

See The Full Drawings In The Archive

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Fabrication And Delivery Collaborators

We develop bespoke pieces with the craftsmen who make them, in ceramic, timber and steel. For 3D printed work we collaborate with specialist fabricators, among them Nagami, who fabricated the Mawj Chair and the LATE Floor Lamp, and La Máquina, who printed the polymer parts of the PUFF Marbella Kiosk. The makers and delivery teams on our projects are listed below by role, each with its projects.

Architects Of Record

Project Collaborators

  • Metal FabrikAudi Innovation Hub · Collaborator
  • Debbas GroupAudi Innovation Hub · Collaborator
  • BEEAHAudi Innovation Hub · Collaborator
  • Capital D StudioSadaf · Collaborator · Design Proposal
  • KYMYAThe UN Square Murals · Collaborator · Design Proposal
  • DezignTechnicWormhole · Collaborator · Design Proposal
  • Ibbini StudioCosmos House · Artists · Design Proposal
  • bragDeciduous · Event Coordination

Contractors

  • Alpha NeroLe Monde d’Hermès Kiosk, Send Location · Contractor
  • ArqfaiRepeat Wellness Club · Contractor
  • Giovanni MartiniThe Migrant Kitchen · Contractor
  • ConcreativeModulus · Contractor
  • 3D-VinciDeciduous · 3D Printing Contractor
  • ReversoLabPUFF Marbella Kiosk · Construction And Installation
  • Grupo BorondongoPUFF Marbella Kiosk · Timber Structure And Assembly

Engineering, Lighting And Craft

  • MetricoRepeat Wellness Club · MEP Engineering
  • Sharjah Engineering ConsultantsUniversity of Sharjah Innovation Hub · Engineering · Design Proposal
  • Leika LightRepeat Wellness Club · Lighting Design
  • Benoît DuchesneRepeat Wellness Club · Custom Joinery
  • Ceràmica CumellaRepeat Wellness Club · Handcrafted Ceramic Wall
  • A4 Design HouseRepeat Wellness Club · Brand Identity And Signage Design

Fabrication And 3D Printing

  • NagamiMawj Chair, LATE Floor Lamp · Fabrication
  • La MáquinaPUFF Marbella Kiosk · Polymer 3D Printing
  • besix3DDeciduous · Concrete 3D Printing
  • Ai BuildDeciduous · Polymer 3D Printing
  • Iris 3D SolutionsTutuncka Lamp · Fabrication
  • Lesly LoboDeciduous · CNC Plywood Fabricator
  • WASPCosmos House · 3D Printing Consultant · Design Proposal

Suppliers And Industrial Partners

Testimonials

What our clients and community say about working with the studio.

  • “Working with Mean Architecture was far from a typical project.
    Riyad has a rare ability to truly understand people and translate that into spaces with real identity. He challenges you, sharpens your vision, and never settles for anything generic, which makes the whole process both exciting and deeply collaborative. What started as work naturally turned into a genuine friendship, and that says everything about the kind of person he is. If you want more than just a finished project, if you want something thoughtful, bold, and truly yours , this is the team to trust.”

    Mehrazin Davanipour

  • “We are beyond happy with the consulting work our restaurant chain did with MEAN. The team is very professional and savvy about incorporating our mission and message in the design plans”

    Nasser Jaber

  • “Absolutely insane!
    I went to MEAN* almost randomly, and I was curious to see what they are actually capable of. Well..saying that I was pleasantly surprise is reductive. The works they do and the creativity they display in every aspect, is just something else. Highly suggested”

    Michael Frassine (Conceptual Plus)

  • “World class team right in the heart of Dubai.”

    Jamal Khayyat

  • “Innovative and inspiring. …”

    Jeffrey Ch

  • “MEAN brought our vision for Repeat to life with so much care, creativity, and sensitivity. Every detail feels thoughtful and deeply aligned with our brand. …”

    Nilou

  • “I am continuously impressed by the work carried out by MEAN* Middle East Architecture Network and especially the proposal for the Barjeel Museum of Modern Arab Art in 2019. I have seen several of their built projects such as pavilions, their fair participation as well as a number of conceptual projects and encountered consistency in the quality of design and delivery. MEAN* is certainly at the forefront of design in the region and I can safely recommend them to anyone interested in a unique and reliable take on projects.”

    Sultan Al Qassemi

  • “Very supportive and talented group of people.”

    Jitendra Singh

  • “A truly inspiring and talented studio”

    Corine El Riachi

  • “futuristic and innovative”

    Basil AlHadi

Discuss A Project

Tell us about the site or the space, the brief as it stands and your timing. The first conversation covers the scope, the stages and the team the project needs.

Discuss A Project

Or write to info@m-e-a-n.design.

Contact
info@m-e-a-n.design
Studio

Dubai Design District (d3)
Building 6, Office 105 A
Dubai, UAE

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