Work Culture

- Joanne Molina

While others debate the virtue of open office spaces, Dubai-based interior designer Pallavi Dean has forged her own innovative path with Edelman’s Abu Dhabi office. Vibrant and distinctive, its design is alive with a choreography that fuses individual impact and community cohesion.

Dean’s design concept was modelled on the idea of ‘cultural villages’, the distinct little neighbourhoods that help make up great cities – such as Soho and the Upper West Side in NYC. Each neighbourhood has its own unique personality, people and purpose – yet they’re all linked by a common thread.

This created a framework in which Dean could create a bold, nuanced space and speak to the ethos and practical needs of her client, a firm that also consists of a series of distinct units such as public relations, digital and experiential – each with their own unique characteristics, yet integrated into a greater whole.