Keeping it simple

The new Mirdif City Centre is noteworthy for many reasons – not least because it could be the last big retail project to open in Dubai for some time to come.

According to a recent Jones Lang La Salle report, Dubai Retail: A Market in Transition, the opening of the new mall on March 16 “marks the end of an era of wide-scale development of super regional malls in Dubai. Mirdif City Centre is likely to be the last of its kind, at least in the short to medium term, as this sector of the market approaches saturation”.

Going for gold

The mall is very much of its time, and acts as a clear indicator of how Dubai’s retail industry is evolving. For a start, it is one of the first retail developments in the UAE to be built with a LEED Gold rating in mind. “We decided that we wanted to be the first of a new generation of sustainable malls, and not the last dinosaur.

“So we went and set ourselves a target of LEED Gold, which is the highest standard that we felt was in our reach, to set a new benchmark and test ourselves,” explained Jonathan Emery, senior vice president, project management, of mall operator, Majid Al Futtaim.

This was something that guided the design from the very offset, explained Ken Christian, director of RTKL UK, the architecture and design firm responsible for the master planning, concept and interior design of Mirdif City Centre.

“A lot of a LEED Gold rating has to do with getting the planning done correctly and understanding the relationship between building configuration and energy modelling,” Christian commented.

“The other part has to do with the team’s level of commitment, from design to construction to operations. From the start, the entire team was committed to the LEED protocols, and it was extremely rewarding to be involved in one of the first retail centres in the region to have such a distinction,” he continued.

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A defining characteristic of the new mall is a distinct lack of gimmicks and over-the-top attractions. Instead, the emphasis was on creating a simple, straightforward, comfortable shopping experience. “While our aspirations for the design were high, we also knew that we had to create a space that was warm and welcoming rather than super glossy,” Christian noted.

The design scheme is based on the idea of a ‘desert villa’ which features a collection of enclosed and semi-enclosed spaces connected by a series of ‘streets’ and passageways. A simple racetrack layout, bisected by a central street, makes the space straightforward and easy to navigate.

“The scheme was designed as a series of interconnected rooms, each with its own personality, which creates an overall sequence of experiences or events. The reason for this was not only to inform the design of the spaces but also to help shoppers orientate to the scale. Each room has a different mood or atmosphere. Some are seen as main events while some are seen as transitions,” said Christian.

In keeping with the desert villa theme, the food court area draws inspiration from the patios and courtyards commonly found in local architecture. Food stalls are set around the perimeter, beneath vaulted ceilings, while the central space is heavily landscaped to mimic an outdoor dining terrace.

Interior landscaping plays a significant role in the overall design of the mall, and supports its ‘green’ approach. Water features and soaring palms form part of the interior, creating an indoor oasis. Indigenous plants, which are better suited to the climate and easier to maintain, were used wherever possible.

This is complemented by an abundance of natural light, which is filtered through intricate ceiling and wall finishes. “We emphasised natural light as much as possible but used creative ways of diffusing that light so it was not overwhelming, so patterns and fretwork play a large role,” said Christian.

Local flavour

Throughout the mall, preference has been give to high-quality materials, which ties into the fact that Mirdif City Centre is predominantly targetting residents, rather than visitors to Dubai.

While this is in keeping with the more residential locality of the project, it is also reflective of a key trend currently shaping the emirate’s retail landscape, as highlighted by the Jones Lang La Salle report.

“Much of Dubai’s retail offer has been targeted at attracting tourist spending. The market is now adjusting to address the resident population. Industry players are increasingly focusing on demand from those living within the city and how to capitalise on its potential in generating retail sales,” the report pointed out.

This is something that UK-based creative agency Caulder Moore was acutely aware of when it came to design a Boutique 1 store for the new mall. “Because of the location, there are a lot more local people around there, so we thought there would probably be less tourists coming in.

“We wanted to keep the ethos of Boutique 1 – which is the discerning provider of premium, contemporary fashion and lifestyle design – but we also wanted to move on a bit from that,” explained Ian Caulder, creative director at Caulder Moore.

“In Mirdif we really wanted to add a sense of energy to the store and because it was focusing more on locals, I wanted them to feel like they could frequent the store more often, and that they’d see something different all the time,” he continued.

“That’s obviously different than when you are dealing with a tourist who will come in just once. As a local you might go in there every week, so we designed the store with elements that would feel like they were constantly changing.”