Citrus Cafe | Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ibtikari Architecture + Interior Design




Citrus is a café located in the Deira neighborhood of Dubai, UAE. I was approached with the opportunity to design a feature wall within the space, which was to house the control panels for required services. The clients initially had the desire to put up a sliding brick wall. This would become the point of departure for the design, identifying the inherent difficulties in such a solution, mainly structural and spatial requirements, as well as cost. With local digital fabricators, Signtec, already a part of the construction team, it was feasible to produce a customized piece of geometry for the space. Experimenting with the notion of a brick, a custom undulating block was parametrically designed and iterated, using the Generative Components software, to produce a landscape with 3 axis’ of motion; The third being the diagonal motion of the undulation, also producing shadows at varying depths. The wall is made from a series of CNC milled laminated MDF panels.

Note: As this was one of my earliest fabrication and coordination experiences in Dubai, very valuable lessons in communication were learned. The wall was designed to run horizontally, and with custom milled pieces, and all necessary drawings, I arrived at the café to find the panels installed in the opposite orientation.




Disclaimer: All images and models are the property of Ibtikari Architecture + Interior Design.
Michael Caton, RA, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CDTP