US-based Wilson Associates, a global interior architectural design firm best known for its award-winning work in the hospitality and high-end residential sectors, has opened its Middle East & Africa (MEA) regional office in Dubai.

The Dubai office will become an important addition to the firm’s other key global offices and will support the firm’s existing projects in the Middle East and Africa, while developing new projects in the region.

“The Middle East is leading the global race to design truly outstanding architectural landmarks, and we want to continue to be an important part of that story, just as we have for the past two decades.  We want to continue our legacy of designing tomorrow’s landmarks,” said Wilson Associates’ CEO Olivier Chavy.

“With more than 400 hotels set to be delivered over the next five years, we believe our services – based on both our global and regional reputation of excellence – will be very much in demand.  Wilson Associates has always been one of the industry’s most progressive firms, and now we are working with clients across the region to create new standards of luxury in hospitality,” added Chavy.

Operating in the Middle East for more than 20 years and having completed more than 25 projects in the region, Wilson Associates has designed interiors of some of the most iconic projects in the Gulf, including the One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai; the Shangri-La Hotels in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Oman; The St. Regis in Doha; and the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence.

“In the Gulf region, hospitality is not a mere economic strategy or commercial opportunity, it is a defining attribute and a cherished legacy,” said Firas Alsalih, Wilson Associates’ new managing director for Middle East and Africa.

Alsalih said Wilson Associates intends to work closely with major educational institutes to help mentor students of design, and to help foster emerging regional design talent.

“This mentorship program will not only allow us to support the development of local talent, but will also give our designers unique cultural insights, enabling them to continue creating trendsetting designs with local flair,” he added.

Company executives pointed out the firm’s Singapore office as a model for healthy organic growth, expecting the same success in Dubai. Wilson Associates Singapore opened in 1990 and has since grown to a major center of design excellence with more than 160 professionals. – TradeArabia News Service