Sumayya Vally to Transform Dubai Villa into Elie Khouri Art Foundation
South African architect Sumayya Vally and her studio Counterspace have been selected to design a permanent home for the Elie Khouri Art Foundation in Dubai. According to reporting from Dezeen, the project involves a dramatic renovation of an existing villa in the Jumeirah 1 development to create a public institution.
Context from Industry Pulse
The announcement of the Elie Khouri Art Foundation facility coincides with a broader regional focus on adaptive reuse and cultural expansion. While projects like the Šmeral art factory utilize exposed steel and industrial envelopes for creative spaces, Vally’s approach in Dubai emphasizes the domestic memory of a site. This project follows her recognition as a leader of the future and emerging architect of the year. It aligns with contemporary architectural shifts, such as those seen in Mexico, where designers are advocating for building less by repurposing existing footprints. The foundation joins a growing list of permanent cultural institutions in the region intended to house private collections for public engagement.
The project centers on the adaptive reuse of a former residence, translating domestic architectural elements into a public-scale institution. As Dezeen reports, the design will retain traces of the original structure, including its specific room configurations, cornices, and balustrades. Vally intends for the new building to serve as an extension of the previous life of the house, shifting intimate domestic geometries toward a more civic presence that faces the city.
Visual representations of the design reveal a three-story structure featuring a textured facade in a light pink hue. These renders suggest that the exterior will be marked by fragments of the former building, such as visible doorway shapes and geometric perforations. These openings are intended to provide glimpses into the activities occurring within the foundation, blending the history of the site with its new function as a cultural hub.
Established by Lebanese-French businessman Elie Khouri, the foundation is scheduled to open its doors in 2028. The facility will house a permanent art collection alongside dedicated spaces for rotating temporary exhibitions. Dezeen notes that the architect envisions the site as a collaborative space where regional researchers and makers can contribute new meanings and creative imaginations to the work over time.
Vally, who achieved international recognition as the designer of the 2021 Serpentine Pavilion, continues to focus on projects that explore the intersections of memory and architecture. This Dubai commission follows her recent work on a wellness center in Kenya and reflects her ongoing interest in how buildings can transition through multiple lives while maintaining the traces of their original purposes.
The Industry Pulse Bottom Line
Sumayya Vally’s conversion of a Dubai villa into an art foundation highlights a growing institutional preference for adaptive reuse, prioritizing the preservation of domestic architectural history over entirely new construction.