Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai · Residential mid-rise · 2025 · FACE Architecture + Design

Almaan 101

An approved scheme the client no longer believed in, re-planned for sellable and leasable area and re-clad, with the budget kept under AED 50 million.

Location: Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai
Year: 2025
Sector: Residential and retail
Scope: Façade redesign, layout optimisation, value engineering
Status: Under construction — completion Q3 2026

My contribution

Responsibility: Façade redesign, layout optimisation, value engineering

Key contributions

Redesigned the façade of an already approved scheme
Reviewed and optimised the unit layouts to increase sellable and leasable area
Improved the resident experience and overall design quality
Ran value engineering alongside the design to keep the project under AED 50 million

The project

The client came to us with a building that already had its Nakheel approval, and a design by another consultant that he wasn't happy with. It is a developer's building, built to sell, so the design had to earn its keep: better apartments, more area to sell and lease, and a façade that could carry the brand.

All 101 apartments, from studios to two-bedroom corner units, were reviewed type by type to recover sellable and leasable area and to improve how each one lives, from the entrance to the storage, the outlook and the balconies. The façade was redesigned as a rhythm of deep framed bays around recessed balconies, turning the corner with a curved canopy over the lobby and the retail frontage, and the amenities were gathered into a pool deck with a gym, sauna and steam on the first floor, and a roof with a padel court and jogging track.

Value engineering ran alongside the design rather than after it, so every move was checked against cost and the whole project stayed under AED 50 million.

Almaan 101 — The curved canopy brings the residential entrance and street-facing shops into one continuous frontage. — The curved canopy brings the residential entrance and street-facing shops into one continuous frontage.

Almaan 101 — Shared recreation occupies the roof, extending the programme beyond the apartment floors. — Shared recreation occupies the roof, extending the programme beyond the apartment floors.

Almaan 101 — Padel and a place to sit share the rooftop, making room for spectators as well as players. — Padel and a place to sit share the rooftop, making room for spectators as well as players.

The first-floor pool creates a shared outdoor centre for the surrounding apartments.

Almaan 101 — Seating follows both long edges of the pool, leaving the water as the courtyard's organising element. — Seating follows both long edges of the pool, leaving the water as the courtyard's organising element.

Almaan 101 — Planting and changes in level separate quieter seating from the main pool deck. — Planting and changes in level separate quieter seating from the main pool deck.

Almaan 101 — The gym opens towards the pool, bringing the building's fitness spaces together. — The gym opens towards the pool, bringing the building's fitness spaces together.

Almaan 101 — A stone reception desk anchors the entrance against a patterned timber backdrop. — A stone reception desk anchors the entrance against a patterned timber backdrop.

Almaan 101 — Small seating groups give the lobby a social role beyond arrival and circulation. — Small seating groups give the lobby a social role beyond arrival and circulation.

Almaan 101 — The lift bank remains visible from the lounge, making the next step in the arrival sequence clear. — The lift bank remains visible from the lounge, making the next step in the arrival sequence clear.

Stone surrounds and recessed doors give the lift lobby a quieter rhythm than the reception hall.

“More area to sell, a better building to live in, and the budget held.”

A continuous ceiling light connects the apartment entrances along the corridor.

Almaan 101 — The living area shares daylight with the kitchen, making the most of a compact apartment plan. — The living area shares daylight with the kitchen, making the most of a compact apartment plan.

Almaan 101 — The kitchen counter doubles as a dining surface, avoiding a separate table in the circulation space. — The kitchen counter doubles as a dining surface, avoiding a separate table in the circulation space.

Recessed storage and a continuous vanity bring order to the compact bathroom.

Process

Before and after

The scheme as it arrived — approved by Nakheel, designed by another consultant — and the redesign that replaced its façade.

Before — the previous consultant's approved scheme established the starting point for the redesign.
After — deeper balcony frames and a continuous canopy give the retained programme a different street presence.

The apartments, former and proposed

Every unit type was re-planned against the approved scheme. These four show the changes most clearly; the other types follow the same moves, and two were left as they were.

Studio comparison — the proposed layout reconsiders the balance of living space, services and circulation.
One-bedroom type 01 — the redesign reorganises the internal divisions within the apartment footprint.
One-bedroom type 02 — former and proposed plans test a different arrangement of living and service spaces.
Two-bedroom corner unit — the revised plan coordinates the bedrooms and shared living area within the corner footprint.

The unit mix

101 apartments over five residential floors: 16 studios, 73 one-bedrooms and 12 two-bedrooms, with the larger units and terraces on the stepped upper floors.

Unit matrix — apartment types are tracked across every floor to coordinate the overall mix.

Floor plans

Lobby, retail and parking on the ground and podium levels; the pool deck and indoor amenities on the first floor; the upper floors stepping back for terraces.

Ground floor — the lobby and retail frontage are coordinated with parking access and building services.
Podium — parking circulation is arranged around the cores and service spaces.
First floor — apartments wrap around the shared pool deck and wellness facilities.
Fifth floor — the apartment plan follows the setbacks of the upper façade.

Colophon

Location: Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai
Year: 2025
Sector: Residential and retail
Typology: Residential mid-rise
Scope: Façade redesign, layout optimisation, value engineering
Status: Under construction — completion Q3 2026
Client: MN Vision
Storeys: G + podium + 5 floors
Apartments: 101 — 16 studios, 73 one-bedrooms, 12 two-bedrooms
Budget: Under AED 50 million