Kart Group Fuses Emirati Craft with Workplace Design at Al Maktoum Archives in Dubai

Key facts

• Kart Group designed the 8,000-square-foot Al Maktoum Archives interior on Level 2 of Dubai's Emirates Towers.
• Mustafa Khamash led the Kart Group design team, with contractor EMKAY.
• The traditional Emirati majlis informs a central seating suite.
• Mashrabiya motifs from the Al Shindagha Museum were reconstructed and adapted to contemporary surfaces.
• A custom hand-tufted New Zealand wool carpet extends geometric patterns across the floor.
• Al Khoos palm-frond weaving appears through woven fronds, fine metal inlays, and stenciled wall coatings.
• CNC-cut and engraved marble at the principal feature wall brings heritage geometry to architectural scale.
• Contemporary textiles from Romo, Dedar, and Kirkby Design are used alongside traditional materials.
• Furniture includes an AJZAL Burj Rashid coffee table, Herman Miller Aeron task chairs, and Polflex leather armchairs.
• The archive safeguards historical records, private manuscripts, and cultural narratives of the Maktoum family and the emirate's evolution.
• Photography is by Sebastian Böttcher; the project was edited by Christina Vergopoulou for designboom.