UAE · 2009–2018

The Dubai Frame, designed and named by DONIS, has become one of Dubai's most recognizable landmarks. Rather than proposing yet another iconic building, the project frames them all—it frames the city itself. The Dubai Frame is conceived as a timeframe between the city's past and future, an ever-present monument that simultaneously frames Old Dubai and New Dubai from its strategic location between them. It celebrates the city's extraordinary development while also inviting reflection on the cities we are creating in the twenty-first century. To frame something is to observe it consciously, to acknowledge it, question it, and ultimately reinvent it. Conceived as a golden rectangle—the fundamental geometric abstraction and enduring proportion found in nature (1.618)—the structure measures 150 × 93 meters and accommodates cultural facilities, exhibition spaces, and panoramic observation areas.

The Dubai Frame won first prize among 926 international proposals in a competition organized by ThyssenKrupp and Dubai Municipality under the auspices of UNESCO and the International Union of Architects (UIA). Fernando Donis retains all copyrights to the design, name and project, under the competition's intellectual property. It remains a defining project for DONIS Studio, its research and design philosophy.