Dubai-based Summertown Interiors has completed fit out work for Smart Dubai Office, tasked with managing the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, which is expected to reach Gold level.
Photography by Yasser Ibrahim; Yasser Photography.
The 1,850m2 office project, which was designed by Design World Partnership (dwp), is located in Dubai Design District (d3). The Smart Dubai Office is the technology arm of ‘Smart Dubai’, an initiative to transform the region into the world’s smartest city by 2021.
DWP’s design took inspiration from Dubai’s shifting sand dunes and Creek to create organic structures while emphasising movement and fluidity throughout the office space. Summertown brought this design to life by installing curved wooden ceiling panels, wooden oak floors, landscaped gardens and roped partitions. All joinery items were custom-built by Summertown. To read full design case study click here.
To deliver the sustainability-related ambitions of the client, Summertown adopted several key processes including green waste strategies to minimise the environmental impact during build. As a result, approximately 50% of waste was recycled and sold to scrap dealers.
Photo by Jim Jumawan.
According to a release by the fit-out firm, an estimated 31% of project purchases met sustainable criteria, while the daily tracking and monitoring of energy and water consumption enabled Summertown to implement necessary measures for any unexpected issues during the fit out.
To ensure functional high level technology which was installed in the office, Summertown hosted regular onsite client workshops as part of its progress reporting.
Virtual Receptionist was one of the technologies installed – an unmanned reception area that allows guests to send an SMS and email to the person they are meeting, while also acting as a dashboard for the power and water consumption in the office.
Another feature is the all-in-one meeting room control pad for presentation display, lights and blinds, which also connects wirelessly to different devices like laptops, tablets and smartphones. This smart solution allows for easy meeting room management and collaboration with colleagues inside and outside the organisation.
The office was also designed to encourage collaboration via cleverly integrated shareable ‘digital spaces’. Meeting rooms feature writable walls to help foster creativity and productivity within the workplace.
Other elements include a café with a curved LED screen to broadcast live feeds of social media and events, an auditorium with flexible seating and quiet zones where Smart Dubai employees can choose to work due to the 24/7 wireless connectivity.
Photography by Yasser Ibrahim; Yasser Photography.