A STATE-OF-THE-ART ‘studio’ for designing educational facilities has been launched in Dubai by an international architecture firm, answering a growing need for high-quality educational buildings across the Middle East and North Africa.

RMJM’s The Global Education Studio aims to design universities, vocational colleges and schools in line with the regional governments’ heavy investments in education to compete in the international market. For example, the UAE devotes 25 per cent of total government spending to education.
Award-winning RMJM has a history of success in designing educational buildings dating back to the 1970s, including projects in Turkey, Nigeria, Yemen, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Doha and Dubai. It is currently working on two universities in Libya, one of which – the Zliten Campus at Al Asmariya University – recently picked up the Cityscape Dubai 2009 Islamic Architecture Award.
However, this is the first time the company has set up a dedicated education studio to serve the Middle East and North African (Mena) region.
The studio comprises a team of experts in education design from different parts of RMJM’s international network and is headed by Luis Vildostegui, formerly based in the company’s Princeton office in New Jersey, US, and Nick Cordingley, from Cambridge, UK. Collectively, the team has worked on some of the most prestigious educational establishments in the world like Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell and Duke Universities as well as leading international and preparatory schools throughout the globe, including The Lawrenceville School, American International School of Doha, Qatar and Bilkent University Prep School in Turkey. It will also draw upon the experience of other education experts from throughout RMJM, which consists of 16 offices worldwide.
The new Dubai studio completes the worldwide presence of The Global Education Studio, which has bases in Princeton serving the Americas; Hong Kong serving Asia; and Cambridge in the UK serving Europe.
 Vildostegui, associate principal, RMJM, and regional director for Global Education, Middle East, North Africa, said: “The design of education facilities has been at the heart of RMJM’s activities since its creation in 1956. RMJM believes in forming collaborative relationships with our clients. RMJM has been delivering great architecture in the Mena region for nearly 40 years and this allows us to expand our role to deliver inspirational learning environments as well.
“Creating the next generation of great academic institutions, Middle East nations must draw inspiration from the local culture, tradition, climate, and landscape, and not rely on the typology or iconography of the world’s renowned universities.”