Dubai Properties and Rem Koolhaas architects now partners

Porsche Design plans interior of building projects

The Porsche Lizenz- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (Porsche Design Group), Bietigheim-Bissingen, and Dubai Properties real estate of Dubai have signed a long-term cooperation contract involving the provision of design services by the Porsche Design Studio based in Zell am See/Austria, for future construction projects of Dubai Properties in the region of the Middle East.

The first joint project comes in the form of two buildings centrally located in the `Dubai Business Bay´ and envisages an 80-metre tall, cylindrically shaped residential building with a floor space of 30,000 square metres. In addition to apartments, underground parking and a spa area, the building will also house a variety of shops on the lobby level. The second building, a futuristic glass cube of 20 floors with a floor space of 85,000 square metres in total, will be sitting next to it and accommodate office rooms.

While Rem Koolhaas and Fernando Donis of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) will be responsible for the design of both buildings, the Porsche Design Studio will play a consulting role for the outdoor architecture. Furthermore, the Studio will be in charge of designing public areas such as the lobby, restaurants and passenger lifts. Upon residents´ request, apartments may be equipped with furniture, lighting units and kitchens by Porsche Design. At the beginning of 2007, the German real estate agents Engel & Völkers of Hamburg will start to market both the apartments and office rooms. Both buildings are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009.

`The two construction projects emphasise the great trust placed by the international finance community into Dubai as an innovative metropolis´, says Hashim Al Dabal, CEO of Dubai Properties. ´While the architecture and interior design of these two buildings will definitely attract a lot of attention, they will also contribute a valuable added bonus to Dubai Business Bay.´

Roland Heiler, Managing director of the Porsche Design Studio in Zell am See: ‘We are delighted to be able to work on this project with internationally acclaimed partners like Dubai Properties and Rem Koolhaas. What is more, the new buildings provide an ideal platform from which we can further expand the presence of our brand in this important region.´

Dubai Properties LLC is one of the three major real estate development companies of Dubai and a member of the publicly-owned Dubai Holding. Among other things, the company is the building contractor in charge of the ´Jumeirah Beach Residence’ real estate project, which includes apartments, villas and hotels but also leisure facilities such as shopping centres, sport and fitness clubs, and office rooms. Furthermore, Dubai Properties developed the Business Bay area, a property of 6.4 million square metres where both residential and commercial buildings are planned.

Porsche Design is a global luxury men´s brand and is hallmarked by engineered products. Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche established the Porsche Design brand in 1972 and the products attract consumers with their technical innovation and represent functionality and timelessness in its purest form. Porsche Design products are sold in exclusively owned retail and franchise stores, shop-in-shops, upscale department stores, and specialty stores.

The Porsche Design Studio is located in Zell am See, Austria, and symbolises the distinctive, classic styling typical of all products of the Porsche Design Group. The Studio also works for third parties active in the fields of industrial and product styling. It is one of the most renowned design studios of Europe.

About Rem Koolhaas and OMA

Rem Koolhaas was born in Rotterdam in 1944 and is one of the most famous internationally acclaimed architects of our time. The best-known projects created by the architects´ office OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), which was founded in 1975, include the Dutch Embassy in Berlin, the concert hall ‘Casa da Musica’ in Porto, and the Public Library in Seattle. On top of numerous other awards, Koolhaas received the Pritzker Award, which is generally held to be the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in architecture.

- Nina Hallwachs, Porsche Design -