ers, not just the wealthy, need to be developed. Many expats
are unable to buy a home, even though they have lived here
for many years.”
While developers are currently looking at ways to offer
what Dufresne called “highly efficient, smaller sized units”
to compensate for the oversaturated luxury residential of-
fering, many architects are also expecting the market to
witness an upturn following Expo 2020.
NEWS, DATA, ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FOR ARCHITECTS IN THE GCC 91%
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Architect to
make purchasing
decisions“The UAE is building for the future,” said Nellis. “Perhaps
we see the current market as slow, but with Expo 2020 next
year, it has the potential to turn around quickly.”
Dufresne added, “Developers will need to come up with
new typologies because it seems that this is, in terms of the
sales-driven market, just like coming up with a new prod-
uct to sell in a supermarket....And these new developments
will be very much lifestyle-driven. That’s quite the centrePrevious: Private
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Architects28 / SPECIAL REPORT