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Haitham Abdelrehim

Architecture—12 / 24

Mercedes-Maybach Villas

Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, UAE/Branded villas/2024 — 2025/FACE Architecture + Design

Two large and six small villas on a long landscaped strip: curved, cantilevered decks, a car court that doubles as a showroom, a public ground floor over a private first floor.

01The villa turns towards its own planted court, placing outdoor life within a more private centre.
Location
Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, UAE
Year
2024 — 2025
Sector
Residential — Branded Villas
Status
Pre-concept submitted, January 2025

My contribution

My role
Design Lead — under the Design Director

Key contributions

  • Led the pre-concept design under the design director
  • Read the 366-metre site against its roads and neighbours and set the plot division
  • Developed the three massing moves and two site-plan options
  • Drew each villa type with its area statement
  • Translated the Maybach brand values into a material and spatial language

The project

Maybach's identity — understated luxury, comfort and privacy, customisation, craftsmanship — was the brief. The pre-concept translated it into space: a restrained palette of stone, wood and metal; plots buffered and turned inward so that privacy comes from the plan rather than from walls; bespoke options in materials, colour and spatial use; and a level of detail that treats the villa like the car.

The work ran as one continuous argument from the plot to the plan. The 366-metre site was read against its roads and neighbours and divided into two large and six small plots; the mass was formed in three moves — the permitted volume, an internalised community around shared landscape, a private/public split — and two site-plan options tested the row before each villa type was drawn with its area statement.

02Rounded terraces and deep soffits translate the brief's emphasis on comfort into the building's section.
03A screened boundary filters the arrival before the villa's open terraces come into view.
04The car court is integrated into the entrance composition, giving the vehicle a deliberate place in the home.
05The entrance sits between two wings, drawing arrival towards the centre of the plan.
06Overlapping terraces make the private courtyard a shared outlook across the villa's levels.
07Planting separates the approach, car court and garden without relying on continuous solid walls.
08The rear court brings lounging, planting and water into one sheltered outdoor setting.
09The pool connects the separate wings while preserving open space between them.
10Stepping platforms create several ways to reach and occupy the water's edge.
11A rounded upper terrace shelters the glazing and seating below.

“Understated luxury: a restrained palette of stone, wood and metal.”

12Outdoor dining sits under a separate roof, allowing it to work as a garden room.
13An open-sided lounge borrows enclosure from planting and shade from the slatted roof.
14A more secluded seating area occupies the narrow garden edge beside the house.
15Planted terraces soften the boundary between the villa and its neighbours.

Process

The pre-concept ran as one continuous argument, from the plot to the plan: read the site, form the mass, set the public and private floors, then draw each villa type.

Site

A 119,000 sq ft strip in Nad Al Sheba — 366 m long and 30 m deep — read against its roads and neighbours, then divided into two large and six small plots.

  • DWG 01Location study — the site is placed within the surrounding road network and residential districts.

  • DWG 02Access study — the surrounding streets establish the points of entry to the development.

  • DWG 03Plot study — the elongated site is divided into a series of individual villa parcels.

  • DWG 04Site survey — photographs record the existing ground and neighbouring development before design.

Concept

Mass formation in three moves: the permitted built mass, an internalised community turned in on shared landscape, and a private/public split across each plot. Two site-plan options tested the row, and bubble diagrams fixed a public ground floor under a private first floor.

  • DWG 05Massing sequence — the villas turn towards an internal landscape, with public and private edges distinguished.

  • DWG 06Site option one — repeated villa wings frame a continuous interior garden.

  • DWG 07Site option two — an alternative arrangement tests the relationship between houses and the shared landscape.

  • DWG 08Ground-floor adjacencies — formal reception and family living connect through a central circulation zone.

  • DWG 09First-floor adjacencies — bedroom suites surround a shared lobby and family living area.

Large villa

2,205 m² total built-up area, 1,345 m² above ground: formal and family wings around the pool, a basement with garage, and a roof lounge. The ground floor was drawn with and without a car lift.

  • DWG 10Ground floor without car lift — the arrival sequence leads between reception, family rooms and the garden.

  • DWG 11Ground floor with car lift — vehicle access is incorporated alongside the principal domestic spaces.

  • DWG 12First floor — bedroom wings are separated by open space over the garden below.

  • DWG 13Roof level — enclosed rooms give way to a larger outdoor terrace.

  • DWG 14Basement — parking and support rooms occupy the lower footprint of the villa.

Small villa

921 m² total built-up area across ground, first, basement and a roof gym, on the 12,000 sq ft plots.

  • DWG 15Compact villa ground floor — angled wings separate entertaining from the more private rooms.

  • DWG 16Compact villa first floor — bedrooms follow the branching geometry around the central landing.

  • DWG 17Compact villa roof — a small enclosed area leaves most of the upper footprint open.

  • DWG 18Compact villa basement — service spaces are consolidated beneath one wing.

Colophon

Location
Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, UAE
Year
2024 — 2025
Sector
Residential — Branded Villas
Typology
Branded villas
Status
Pre-concept submitted, January 2025
Role
Design Lead — under the Design Director
Client
Gargash Group · Mercedes-Maybach
Site Area
119,382 sq ft (≈ 11,090 m²)
Storeys
B + G + 1 + Roof
Programme
2 large villas (2,205 m² BUA) and 6 small villas (921 m² BUA)