Kettal Partners With Atelio for Its First Monobrand Showroom in Dubai

In a conversation between the sun-drenched, relaxed rationality of Mediterranean design and the bold, future-focused dynamism of the Gulf; Kettal, the venerable Spanish design house, and Atelio, the region’s preeminent curator of design excellence are conducting a new dialogue. Their opening volley is a serene yet significant 815-square-meter flagship on Jumeirah Street—Kettal’s first monobrand showroom in the Middle East.

In a considered architectural statement, the space is a physical manifesto of indoor-outdoor living tailored for a climate and culture that intrinsically understands the value of transitional space. Rather than importing a carbon copy of its Barcelona home, Kettal, in collaboration with UAE-based designer Kevin McLachlan of NOMADK Studio, has orchestrated a site-specific response. The architecture itself performs: a porcelain veil façade acts as a delicate filter to the intense Gulf light, while an elongated skylight charts the sun’s passage, casting evolving patterns across the interior volume. Within, the centrepiece is a sculptural staircase, clad in the tactile, earthy texture of Mutina’s ‘Chamotte’ ceramics by Patricia Urquiola, rooting the space in material craft.

The curation within this luminous shell is a roll call of contemporary design aristocracy. The rigorous geometry of Antonio Citterio’s Tilos collection converses with the organic, agate-stone finishes of Urquiola’s Insula tables. Ronan Bouroullec’s precisely welded Passage seating exemplifies the seamless indoor-outdoor transition, while Konstantin Grcic’s sculptural Kari tables assert a playful functionality. This assemblage is an experiential portfolio of living scenarios, demonstrating how exterior spaces can be furnished with the same intellectual and aesthetic rigour as their interior counterparts.