Dubai Design Week's annual competition, Urban Commissions, offered the opportunity to develop outdoor infrastructure in the public domain for Dubai Design District.

2025 Theme

Titled 'Courtyard', the theme explored the spatial typology as a communal urban infrastructure across local and global architectural, urban planning and public practices. Designers were invited to reinterpret the courtyard’s historic role as an inclusive gathering space - balancing public and private, intimacy and openness - while blurring the line between communal architecture and public furniture to encourage movement, interaction and a seamless relationship between enclosure and the outdoors.

2025 Winner

This year’s winning proposal, When Does a Threshold Become a Courtyard?, was by UAE-based design and research studio Some Kind of Practice, founded by Omar Darwish and Abdulla Abbas. Operating at the intersection of architecture, spatial design, curation and public programming, their practice is guided by a commitment to uncovering overlooked narratives, undocumented practices and regionally grounded ways of making and living.

Their proposal was informed by the housh (الحوش), the Emirati courtyard, emerging through shifting walls, open thresholds and the transitional presence of the liwan (الليوان). Drawing on fieldwork across the Emirates - from coastal settlements to mountain villages - the project treated the courtyard not as a fixed object but as a space that arises from the interplay of climate, craft, airflow and human movement, extending a practice rooted in observing, assembling and working with what is already present.

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2025 Jury

  • Ahmad Bukhash is an experienced architect who received a Bachelor of Architecture from the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston in 2002 and a Master's degree in Architecture from the Kyoto Institute of Technology in Japan in 2006, where he also interned with Nikken Sekkei, a leading design and build development corporation. He then worked at Dubai Properties Group as Director of Urban Planning and Design from 2007 to 2014 before joining the Dubai Development Authority, where he is currently responsible for regulating and reviewing strategic master plans for prominent private developers such as Dubai Holding, MERAAS, SHAMAL, and EMAAR. Bukhash also established his own architectural design firm, ARCHIDENTITY, in 2009 and has completed several projects across Dubai. He is also heavily engaged in the field of Architectural Education as a member of various advisory committees for the Architectural Program Development at American University of Dubai, Ajman University, Zayed University, and the University of Sharjah.

  • Dr. Alamira Reem Al Hashimi is the General Manager of M_39 in Abu Dhabi, a vibrant hub for start-ups and professionals in the creative and cultural industries. With extensive experience in place-making, cultural strategy, and creative direction, she is the first Emirati woman to earn a PhD in urban planning. Alamira Reem is known for her impactful work, including the acclaimed book “Planning Abu Dhabi: An Urban History.” She has played pivotal roles in managing multimillion-dollar government projects, advising on cultural and urban development, and contributing to initiatives like the UAE Modern Heritage Technical Committee and the National Pavilion of the UAE at the Venice Biennale. Her contributions have been recognised through numerous accolades, including being named one of 150 Inspiring Emirati Women (Zahrat Al Khaleej), 17 Emirati Women You Need to Know About (Emirates Literature Foundation), and among the Five Female Emirati Writers Shaping the Country's Literary Scene (The National).

  • Noura Al-Sayeh Holtrop is an architect and curator with over 15 years of experience in the cultural development, architectural and planning fields. She holds a masters degree in architecture from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne. She has built a number of temporary and permanent architectural installations and interventions and has worked as an architect in Jerusalem, Amsterdam and New York. She is currently advising the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) on cultural and heritage policies and is responsible for overseeing the planning and implementation of cultural institutions and museums as well as urban rehabilitation strategies. She was the co-curator of Reclaim, Bahrain's first participation at the 12th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2010 that was awarded a Golden Lion and the Deputy Commissioner General of the Bahrain Pavilion at the Expo Milan 2015, awarded a silver medal for Best Architecture and Landscape. Since 2015, she heads the Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy UNESCO World Heritage project, which received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture as part of the Muharraq Revitalization project in 2019.

  • Ill Sam Park studied architecture at Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, joining Foster + Partners in 2006. He worked on a variety of award-winning projects across Asia and the Middle East, such as World Trade Centre Souk mixed-use development in Abu Dhabi, The Alif Mobility Pavilion in Dubai Expo 2020, Coral Bloom sustainable hospitality project in KSA, etc. Ill Sam has an interest in innovation, sustainability, and user focused design which is best reflected in his project ICD Brookfield Place project in Dubai, which has received various awards including LEED Platinum. Ill Sam has relocated to Dubai in 2016 to manage projects in the region.

  • Robert Shakespeare is Cracknell's Group Design Director with 33 years of experience as a design professional in the Middle East and Asia. As a Group Design Director, he has a leading role in inspiring and guiding Cracknell’s design strategies and overseeing the design and management of large scale landscape, urban design and masterplanning projects across Cracknell’s global portfolio. Robert is passionate about the creation of site responsive public and private realm landscapes, and sees the role of Landscape Architects as the key to shaping modern cities, and creating high quality integrated sustainable urban spaces that improve the live-ability of our built environment.

  • Cyril Zammit is a Paris-born and Dubai-based design consultant and advisor with over 30 years of experience in the cultural sector. He has worked with various cultural organizations, including the French Embassy, HSBC Private Bank and Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) in Abu Dhabi. He is the founder of Design Days Dubai, the first fair dedicated to collectible and limited edition design in the Middle East and South Asia, and the creator of Dubai Design Week. Cyril has also worked as an expert for the Vice Chairman Board of Directors Office and the International Relations Office at Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, as well as for the Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy at the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation. Currently, Cyril is a strategic consultant for the Uzbekistan Art & Culture Foundation and an invited instructor for the Ithra Academy in Khobar, Saudi Arabia.