Building Blocks

Every building has a story, says Abdul Senan, co-founder of an architecture and interior design firm called Immigrandesign. That story is what the UAE-born, Florence-based designer looks for when he first enters a house he is set to work on. First, Senan seeks out distinct characteristics; the position of the windows, lighting, the height and depth of the walls and ceilings. All of these elements tell a lot, as well as the collective experiences of the people and buildings surrounding it, he explains. ?When you go to Yemen you will see people living in houses that are centuries old. What I like is that people are living in a modern way but still retain their culture,? he adds.

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Senan remembers his childhood in Abu Dhabi as a city bursting from the desert amidst a clamour of construction, directed by imported architects. But it is the warm memories of childhood trips to the home of his parents in Yemen that he remembers most fondly. ?Yemen is one of the world?s oldest civilisations in terms of architecture and being brought up in a modern city like Abu Dhabi my eyes were always drawn to the amazing colours and shapes of the structures there.?

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Aged 13, Senan made a two day road trip through Yemen?s ancient district of Hadhramaut and from the bus window, he spied something like a mirage on the horizon. It was a city of skyscrapers lost in a parched rocky desert. ?I didn?t have any idea what it was so when I went back home I asked someone who was into history and what they told me fascinated me.? The city was Shibam, noted for its distinctive? ancient limestone block skyscrapers, that are one of the world?s oldest examples of multi-storey architecture. Some blaze 11 storeys into the sky and their urban planning is still an essential lesson for any history-inclined civil servant. ?I was drawn into this architectural style more and more,? explains Senan. ?When I went back to Abu Dhabi I always used to take note of the form and structure of buildings and skyscrapers.?

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Brought up in a mercantile household, where most talk was of business and not art, meant that although not actively discouraged from taking an interest in architecture, his knowledge of the subject was almost completely self-taught. ?Art was missing in our house,? he says, ?but I seemed to have an eye for it.? That?s not to say that there wasn?t inspiration at home; his father?s company traded antique Orientalist furniture and when the house was full of guests, conversation usually turned to the subject of Arabic and Persian design. ?From decorating my own space and having a clear idea of the colours I wanted to have in my room, it drew me closer into interior design,? Senan says.

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His conclusion is that interior design and architecture are an integral part of everyday life and impossible to ignore. ?It?s a way of presenting yourself to outsiders, even the colours we use in our rooms. Each country has a different way of using colour and design styles; you see this in France, in Italy, in England and in Scandinavia,? he elaborates. Although Senan talks about the distinct historical forms architecture have taken in parts of the Middle East, he still has his reservations about some elements of contemporary design in the UAE. ?In some parts, [originality in architecture] is missing.?

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It is one reason that he has spent the past ten years away from his UAE home, in Europe. After completing a Bachelor?s in architectural engineering at Cardiff University ? the influence of which resonates in his slight South Welsh twang ? Senan decided to concentrate his efforts on interior design with a Master?s thesis at the epicentre of Europe?s Renaissance movement in the 15th century. ?I came to Florence thinking I would be the loser one on the course who knew nothing about interior design but the course was interesting because it had people from different backgrounds who were just interested in interior design. I actually had an advantage because of my background in architectural engineering, where a lot of its principles are based on considering interior work.?

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Being the only Arab on his course was another trial for Senan, particularly in a country where interior designers are often only taken seriously if they are aged over 35 and Italian. These prejudices led Senan to form the aptly named architecture and interior design company Immigrandesign with his Kosovan business partner Arion Kabashi. It was a playful swipe at the pair?s immigrant status in the often conservative and rigid Italian interior design industry.

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Senan, still only 27, had already spent a year as an intern with one of Florence?s leading interior design houses before he started the company and now he has the chance to put his theoretical knowhow into practice. His first independent commission was to design a beach house in Abu Dhabi and it was a sharp lesson in the realities of construction. ?It was a big and challenging project,? he says.

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Later he was tasked with renovating a cottage in Scotland for people with special needs. ?The challenge there was that they wanted the home to look modern but at the same time Victorian and also specifically cater to the needs of the disabled people visiting and using the cottage. When it was completed, we presented it to a member of the British Royal Family and he really liked it. That was really encouraging and it made us proud. We then had the confidence to do our own thing,? he says.

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The pair are currently working on one of their most ambitious projects, a lamp that is inspired by the structure of a diamond and that takes on the concept of a rainbow prism. ?We did it in a contemporary way, we put an LED inside the structure and we decided to keep it minimal so you can adjust reflection of the light,? says Senan. The first product is being built and it should be displayed publically for the first time in April at the world?s most competitive interior design exhibitions, Salone Del Mobile in Milan. If all goes well, Senan hopes to market the product in Europe and then elsewhere, including the Middle East. ?Every architect wants to have his own name and make a stand in the interior design world. It?s not easy because there are so many interior designers and only a few stand out,? he says.

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He speaks of the high days of Islamic architecture as the region?s Golden Age and feels that more recent projects lack the verve and prominence of earlier Moorish and Ummayid styles. He even ponders on the idea of blending Yemeni architecture to fit contemporary needs.

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?I would like to bring Arabic architecture more visibility so maybe this could happen by creating a studio starting in Europe and setting one up back home in the Middle East,? he explains. ?But first I still want to learn more, grasp and fully understand design.?

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Determined to make a difference back home from all that he has learnt abroad, Senan concludes: ?It might take about ten years to create my own way in design but hopefully when we grow bigger I will go back to the Middle East.?

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Photographer: Caterina Nasini

Source: http://www.brownbook.me/building-blocks/

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