About
DONIS is an international studio of architecture, urbanism, research, industrial design, and art. The studio has won several international prizes, including the Dubai Frame, selected as the first-prize winner from 926 proposals in an international competition regulated by UNESCO-UIA; the first prize for the National Palace of Justice in Paris; and the winning design for a new landmark for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games at the City of London. DONIS designs, develops, and builds projects across a wide range of scales and programs, consistently pursuing innovative, sustainable, and socially engaged architecture. DONIS was founded by Fernando Donis, Mexican Dutch architect who received his Master’s degree from the Architectural Association in London through the Design Research Laboratory (DRL), where he studied under Patrik Schumacher and Brett Steele. He also received a PhD in Architecture from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), through the doctoral research program The City as a Project, led by with Pier Vittorio Aureli. His doctoral research, FRAME, is a five-chapter study of the archetype of the frame and its role in the architectural and urban history and culture of Mexico. Following his studies at the Architectural Association, Fernando Donis worked closely with Rem Koolhaas as an Associate at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) for nine years, from 2001 to 2009. During this period, he was the main designer of the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing, among numerous other architectural projects and masterplans. He also collaborated with AMO, OMA’s research and design branch, contributing to research projects concerning the European Union. Fernando Donis has taught at the Berlage Institute and the Academy of Architecture in Rotterdam, as well as at Universidad Iberoamericana and Universidad Anáhuac in Mexico, integrating architectural research, design, and urbanism across multiple scales. His work and career have received international recognition. In 2011, CNN Expansión selected him as one of the 30 most promising and influential people in Mexico. In 2015, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs selected him as one of the country’s most creative Mexicans living abroad.
Airport Frame
New Jeddah International Airport — Saudi Arabia · 2004–2007
Fernando Donis designed and led the New Jeddah International Airport project while at OMA. Conceived as the new Hajj airport, the proposal brings together cultural symbolism, landscape, and infrastructure into a single architectural vision.
The complexity of the project—including its design development, presentations, and negotiations with members of the Saudi Royal Family—provided an invaluable professional experience. Beyond the architectural challenge of designing a project of this scale, it offered profound insight into the political, cultural, and logistical processes required to realize major international infrastructure.
Inspired by the geometry of the Islamic crescent, the airport is organized around a crescent-shaped frame enclosing a vast circular central park. This shaded landscape provides pilgrims with a place to rest, gather, and reflect while awaiting their journey to Mecca or returning from the pilgrimage. At the same time, the park creates a protected microclimate that mitigates the region's extreme desert conditions, an increasingly important challenge in the face of climate change.
Unlike conventional airports, where departure halls dominate the spatial experience, the proposal gives equal architectural importance to arrival. For millions of pilgrims, the journey to Mecca represents the most significant procession of their lives, and the airport is conceived to honor that profound spiritual experience from the very moment of arrival.
