This year, we celebrate the interior designers, architects and product designers from the region on our radar.
By Aneesha Rai | February 2025
Shaun Killa, Founder of Killa Design
As a pioneer in architecture who blends sustainability, innovation and artistic vision, Shaun Killa is known for his deep respect for cultural and environmental contexts. Killa’s designs honour heritage while pushing the boundaries of contemporary architecture, and the firm’s projects are often inspired by fluid geometry and organic forms, creating spaces that seamlessly connect with nature and inspire future generations.
Killa Design’s portfolio is exciting as it is striking. The Museum of the Future, with its torus-shaped form adorned with Arabic calligraphy, stands as one of the firm’s latest highlights, along with the Address Beach Resort, whose twin towers are connected by the world’s tallest occupied skybridge. The off-grid Shebara Resort in Saudi Arabia looks like an otherworldly experience, powered by renewable energy and setting a global standard for sustainable luxury.
Currently, Killa Design is working on several ground-breaking projects, including One Central in Dubai, an avant-garde hyper-luxury development featuring branded towers and luxury hotels. In Saudi Arabia, the firm is crafting Leyja, a tranquil tourism destination framed by dramatic mountains, while further afield, Killa Design is creating Zamani Islands, a 100% renewable energy-powered eco-luxury development in the Maldives, and a signature tower in Baku, Azerbaijan. Their upcoming projects also span museums, educational centres and masterplans across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and beyond.
Killa aspires to design hyper-sustainable projects that challenge convention and leave a meaningful impact. “A dream project would be a hyper-luxury eco-safari lodge. We’d also love to design waterfront masterplans that harmonise leisure, yachting, marinas and biophilia. Another exciting project would be designing a superyacht,” he shares.Killa’s commitment to sustainability and bold design is fuelled by the diversity and creativity of his team. “Competing on a global stage and winning against some of the world’s leading firms is both humbling and empowering,” he shares. For Killa, the future is about designing extraordinary spaces that resonate emotionally, touch lives and inspire wonder.
