Mihir Sanganee is co-founder and creative director of Designsmith, and was listed on the CID Power 50 for 2023. Here, Commercial Interior Design invited Sanganee to reflect on the year that was and to share his views on what’s ahead for the industry in 2024.
Looking back at 2023, I guess you could say Saudi Arabia really stepped up its game in the GCC region. We’ve also seen the real estate market in the UAE on an exponential rise, with projects popping up every quarter – definitely a good indicator for the design industry’s growth.
In terms of design styles, there has been a shift towards earthy concepts and over-the-top/extravagant designs. Two ends of a spectrum, I would say. AI has taken up a prominent role in our lives, broadening our horizons, helping us ideate better, and allowing us to be more aligned with our end goals. So yes, a year of immense change.
Reflecting on 2023
In terms of milestones, we expanded to India and Kenya, and have successfully established partnerships in the US and Saudi, which we look forward to developing in the coming year. Awards seasons were kind to us. Designsmith clinched notable honours at CID, Surge, and more this year. We won the Best Restaurant Design awards for our work on Atrangi and Bordomavi. A bigger win, in my opinion, would be the fact that we are seeing a lot of returning clients. That certainly points to an increase in client satisfaction.
We’ve done some really amazing projects like the DFSA office in DIFC, the fine-dining restaurant Atrangi by Rita Dalmia in Jumeirah Al Qasr, and the female-focussed coworking space The Bureau in Gold & Diamond Park. All these projects stand as a testament to our ability to constantly innovate, and boldly create.
In my opinion, we’re witnessing a massive shift towards experiential design, especially in the hospitality and F&B space. Which is good, because it does boil down to the experience at the end of the day. However, I’m a bit sceptical about the sustainability of over-the-top projects (the far end of the spectrum).
Looking ahead
Saudi Arabia will continue to be big. Another likely thing is multi-studio collaborations to handle the scale of work that is coming up. I sense big hotel chains will come down to their roots to offer more boutique and personalised experiences.
My goals for next year involve growth, of course. I wish to see Designsmith expanding our footprint globally. I also have this idea to set up a multi-studio internship in order to give back to the design community.
Looking even further, we’re aiming to imbibe sustainable practices in the way we operate as a studio, and to streamline the way we work across teams. We’re also aiming to break into the hospitality sector and essentially shake up our design language. Because for us, it’s not just about size; it’s about purposeful creativity.