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.
Dubai Frame
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.
