Biography American architect Adrian Smith has been involved in several of the region’s most iconic projects, most famously Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, currently the world’s tallest building. He has also worked on the design of Kingdom Tower Jeddah, which is set to take over the title when completed in 2017. Elsewhere in the region, he worked on the design for the Masdar City headquarters, part of Abu Dhabi’s sustainability initiatives, and 1 Dubai, part of Meraas Development’s Jumeirah Garden City scheme. The latter may never be built as the project has been stalled since 2008. Prior to establishing Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture in 2006, Smith had been a design partner at Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill from 1980 to 2003 and a consulting design partner from 2004 to 2006. Projects designed by Smith have won more than 125 architecture awards, including global titles.

Contact Tel: (+1) 312 920 1888

Biography In June, Zaha Hadid Architects was appointed to design one of the stadiums being developed for the Fifa World Cup to be held in Qatar in 2022. Zaha Hadid’s first stadium project was the Al-Wahda sports centre in Abu Dhabi in 1988. The Qatar contract added to a growing list of work in the Middle East for Hadid. She is working on the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre in Riyadh. In 2010, Hadid was commissioned to design the Central Bank of Iraq, her first project in her native country. She  was also involved with Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi and the London Aquatics Centre, which was used as a host venue in the 2012 Olympic Games. She has a degree in mathematics from the American University of Beirut and went on to study architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in the UK, graduating in 1977. 

Contact Tel: (+44) 207 253 5147

Biography With more than 40 years of design experience, James Goettsch has been involved in iconic projects all over the world. His Middle East work includes the 3-million-square-foot Sowwah Square office complex in Abu Dhabi, a five-building development housing the new headquarters of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. He also designed the 900-room Hilton Riyadh hotel and residence, which will be the largest hotel in the Saudi capital when completed. Goettsch was also involved with the new headquarters for the Al-Rajhi Holding Group in Riyadh and other developments in Abu Dhabi and the kingdom. In addition to his current role, Goettsch is also the firm’s design director, leading its design team. He has a degree in architecture from Iowa State University in the US and started his career in New York. He was named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1988.

Contact Tel: (+1) 312 356 0600

Biography Mohamed al-Assam left his native Iraq in 1974 and resettled in Dubai. Since then, he has built Dewan into one of the largest architectural firms in the world. It now has offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, the Philippines and India. His work covers urban masterplans, mixed-use developments, government buildings, residential and commercial towers, and education facilities. Al-Assam continues to be a hands-on manager in the Dewan design process. His recent work includes the Media One hotel in Dubai, the Marina hotel on Yas Island and the Fairmont in Abu Dhabi. He also worked on the Strata Tower at the Al-Raha Beach Development in Abu Dhabi, Ibn Battuta mall in Dubai, and the Yukta islands, part of Dubai’s The World archipelago. He has done extensive work in Iraq, including masterplanning the 1-million-square-metre Najaf city.

Contact Tel: (+971) 4 395 6566

Biography French architect Jean Nouvel began studying at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1966. In 1994, he established his firm Ateliers Jean Nouvel. In 2007, he was chosen as architect for the Abu Dhabi branch of the Louvre museum being developed on Saadiyat Island by the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) . In 2010, he completed designs for the National Museum in Qatar. Nouvel also designed the Doha Tower, known as the Burj Doha, which received the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Skyscraper Award for the Best Tall Building Worldwide in 2012. In 2008, he was awarded the Pritzker Prize, one of the highest awards in architecture. Nouvel also worked on the Dubai Opera building, a venue that was never built, and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the largest mosque in the UAE.

Contact Tel: (+33) 1 4923 8383

Biography Kuwait-based KEO International Consultants is the largest architectural firm in the region, with more than 2,000 staff and architecture fee income in excess of $100m, according to Building Design magazine’s ranking of the 100 largest architecture firms in the world. Donna Sultan has been at the practice for 25 years. Her firm’s design work can be seen around the region, including the UAE’s Emirates Palace hotel, Khalifa City A, Mohammed bin Zayed City, the headquarters of Kuwait Investment Authority, and the Pearl real estate development in Qatar. KEO International is also designing a new university for Kuwait Institute for Science and Technology that will accommodate 1,500 students. In the time that Sultan has been at KEO International, the practice has expanded with offices in the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Contact Tel: (+965) 2 461 6000