The Dubai Future Foundation’s “Accelerator Space” sought to create a holistic brand experience across the Area 2071 technology hub to create a vibrant and productive space. The main purpose of the space is to host emerging technology start-ups that participate in accelerator programs in cooperation with the government and also private sector entities. ATÖLYE’s goal was to design a scenario-based layout system to enable different modes of interactions and different acts of working. Our research showed that, in order to build a holistic experience and establish Area 2071 as a leading innovation platform on a global scale, effective interventions needed to be made. After 80 hours of field research, we set out to design an exploration and production space that is never underutilized. With this in mind, we looked at the existing space and noticed that there were some key challenges such as lack of light in the space and packness of users and functions. We responded to these challenges creatively by developing a design system with multiple attributes—including a clear programmatic division between different acts of working based on routines and journeys in the space. We categorised them as focus, exchange, co-produce, and connect. The spaces aimed to cater to specific needs of these working modes—e.g. acoustic and visual isolation for the focus areas; or easily mountable writing boards and privacy curtains for co-production. We have set up an innovative architectural element that separates and gathers user groups in the space. We created a track system to act as a natural guidance that circulates the space. The space is open from three points and the main corridors have no doors, which makes it an area of free passage for people to traverse freely and thus a large-scale junctor. Understanding the users by passive observation and interviews helped us human-centered design spaces that function according to their diverse daily scenarios and that facilitate interaction and collaboration. We wanted to engage different user groups and make it easier to co-exist together in the space where they can meet their expectations and needs in the same space at the same time. Moreover, the user journey models we created allowed additional moments of surprise and delight for “secondary” users such as visitors, event participants, and VIP guests. The specialist effort that is deployed in the domains of lighting and way-finding served as a supporting secondary subtle element to create a more well-rounded experience.
Dubai Future Foundation Accelerator Space Dubai
Atölye
Bronze

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7
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5.75

Benjamin Kaplan
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6
6
8
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6.5

Karol Suguikawa
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6
7
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Yanfei Li
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5
6
4
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Alberto Martinez
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6
7
6
5
6

Jayati Sinha
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5
5
5
5
5

Ekaterina Elizarova
Founder and Creative Director
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7
8
8
7
7.5

Marjan van Aubel
Solar Designer
at Marjan van Aubel Studio
Nice spatial design...
5
9
7
4
6.25

Alexander Fehre
Founder
at Studio Alexander Fehre
5
5
5
5
5

Julien Sebban
Architect
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3
6
4
5
4.5

Olga Sundukova
Cofounder
at Sundukovy Sisters
5
5
5
5
5

Studio Lotus
Architect and Interior Designer
at Studio Lotus
6
6
7
6
6.25

Andrew Mcmullan
Director
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8
7
5
6
6.5
Designer
Client
Dubai Future Foundation
Floor area
2400 ㎡
Completion
2020
Lead Architect
Nesile Yalçın
Architect
Aydan Serbest
Architect
Begüm Ural
Design Researcher
Deniz Dönmez
Designer
İrem Coşkun
Architect
Engin Ayaz
Architect
Gizem Akın
Graphics Designer
Yusuf Akın Gülsayın
Contractor
Cambridge Contractors
3D Visualization
Ediz Akyalçın
Lighting Consultant
Parça Proje