American University of Dubai

2015
Dubai United Arab Emirates

D&A Architects - Durban in assoc. NEB - Dubai
Team: Ivor Daniel, Elisa Daniel, Jessica Dyer, J P DeMarigny

The American University of Dubai’s Department of Visual Communications was conceived as an academic and residential extension of the university along Sheikh Zayed Road, one of Dubai’s most prominent urban corridors. The project supports teaching in visual communication, media production, and the role of language—particularly Arabic—in contemporary media and education.

The challenge was to create an integrated academic environment within a dense, high-profile setting while accommodating student and faculty housing. The design also needed to engage the public realm while maintaining clear separation between academic, exhibition, and residential functions.

The architectural response organises the faculty building as a layered media interface, with offices, lecture theatres, laboratories, and workshops arranged around a three-storey illuminated façade conceived as a “media wall.” At ground level, exhibition spaces and a major auditorium connect directly to a 30-storey residential tower, creating a vertical campus that integrates learning and living. The academic podium and residential tower are expressed as distinct yet visually unified elements.

The result is a vertically integrated university precinct that combines education, media production, and residential life within a strong contemporary architectural identity.