Architects Directory alumni: Residence 22 by Dxb.lab

The white, clean, structured minimalism of the newly completed Residence 22 in Dubai makes it stand out clearly within its context of glass-clad office towers. Located in Business Bay, adjacent to the Business canal, this 20 storey residential structure is the work of UAE architecture studio dxb.lab. 

The architects, headed by founder and principle director Khalid Al Najjar, were a fairly young, dynamic studio out of Dubai when we first covered their work, over 13 years ago, in the 2007 Architects Directory. Now, the firm is prolific, producing from houses to large scale commercial work, skyscrapers and cultural projects. Residence 22 is just one of several recent completions, which include a farm villa in the region and the Al Hamriyah Studios for the renowned Sharjah Art Foundation. 

For this housing scheme, Al Najjar and his team wanted to create something different for their client, who had requested a design that ‘has not been done' before, offering something new to the local market. The architects' response was to start by asking themselves ‘how a residential building can have its own identity' that is different to its surroundings or the wider typology, and ‘how can we make a timeless yet contemporary piece of architecture.'

The solution presented itself through a clean, deceptively simple design with a fairly austere facade that is based on a slim grid of columns and rectangular openings. This lattice structure, as well as the design's purity in shapes and materials (the exterior is simple painted plaster over cast in-situ concrete), defines the project's striking aesthetics. 

Recessed glazing provides a degree of natural shading in a region where the heat can be intense. The ground floor lobby leads to a private plaza finished in travertine stone cladding. Inside, out of the 22 apartments, 19 occupy a whole floor, allowing ample living space for residents and a rare penthouse-feel in almost every unit.

Housing plays a key part in the studio's growing portfolio. ‘We have recently done several other residential buildings,' the architects explain. ‘Another one of them is currently under construction and shall be completed by end of the year. Each of them is different but yet they all share certain references, and draw on our past work as well as other architecture.'

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