A.R.M. Majlis Pavilion

Concept

The A.R.M. Majlis Pavilion is MEAN*'s proposal for a temporary majlis for A.R.M. Holding, lead partner of Art Dubai, at the fair's 20th edition in 2026. The site is the waterfront at Madinat Jumeirah, the fair's home in Dubai. The brief called for a pavilion that would represent the sponsor and mark the fair’s 20th anniversary, replacing the standard white tent of previous years.

The design returns to the majlis, a space for hospitality and conversation across the region, and keeps it open to the air. Visitors would enter beneath a shaded colonnade and gather in a sunken seating area at the center, while a spiral stair would lead up to a planted roof.

Form And Arrival
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The massing follows the outline of the site and is cut back to open clear routes for arrival and movement. Rising to 10 meters, the roofline peaks and steps down toward the terrace, so that the pavilion would be visible from across the water.

Reception leads into the 135 m² A.R.M. Majlis and the 90 m² HUNA Lounge. Curtains between the arches allow the two rooms to open into a single space or close for separate events, and visitor and staff circulation are kept apart.

The kitchen, services and a children's program area sit behind the public rooms, on their own service route.

‍Arches And Light
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A colonnade of tensile fabric arches wraps the pavilion. The arches reinterpret the areesh, the Gulf's palm-frond shelter, at a larger scale, and perforated panels between them are designed to cast shifting patterns of shade.

Inside, the arches frame each room, and light strips running up the fabric are designed to give the interior soft, even light.

Shadow and solar radiation studies placed the main gathering areas where sun exposure is lowest.

The Fifth Façade
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A spiral stair rises to the green roof, planted as a stepped hill. The roof becomes a second majlis in the open air, with views over the canals of Madinat Jumeirah, and it is designed to reduce heat gain in the rooms below. The deck is designed as natural turf over infill, a shock pad and a leveling layer, and living walls carry the planting down the sides.

Materials And Reuse

The pavilion was designed to be built from a modular steel frame, drywall with a microcement finish, tensile fabric, perforated metal and custom textiles. The frame, fabric and panels were chosen so the structure could be dismantled after the fair and reused.

The palette pairs powder-coated steel and COR-TEN with walnut, translucent fabric, microcement and self-irrigated turf.
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Client And Status
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MEAN* submitted the design to A.R.M. Holding as an invited proposal in October 2025. It was not built.

The pavilion belongs to the studio's ongoing work on the majlis, which includes the 3D Printed Majlis in Abu Dhabi (2021).