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Principal and Creative Director of KAKS LLC, architect, Aley/Lebanon  KAKS Lifestyle |
Only 38 years old, the Lebanese architect is considered one of the most influential Arab women and has made a name for herself with her criticism of faceless urban development in the Arab world. She has been known to say: "Arabs view conceptual architecture as more expensive, but in fact they are only too lazy to think." For one of her projects (The Golf Walk), she accordingly designed an interactive sales brochure made up of pop-outs, envelopes and maps which investors and end-users can interact with to gain an understanding of scales, proportions and distances. As she explains: "It’s no longer enough to provide brochures filled with pictures of happy families standing on palm tree-lined streets. More detailed information is needed to make an informed decision. Frankly speaking, I don’t think the current property brochures here really provide any substantial information and that’s why a lot of clients are disappointed when the projects are finished and handed over."
Upon graduating from the ENSAD in Paris in 1993, Zena Malek established Villa22, an architectural consultancy office, in Kuwait. Over a ten-year span, the company executed many projects, amongst others over 200 residential villas; office buildings for financial institutions in Kuwait (located in the Shuwaikh zone); the Kuwait free zone offices (located in the free zone area); offices for an investment firm (located in the AlSafat mall); AlSaleh offices (located in the AlSaleh building); Red Shoes shops (located in the AlFanar shopping mall); as well as many showrooms. She is also the brain behind the revolutionary Sakani software, a totally new architectural style of design which allows different configurations of houses, buildings, restaurants and facilities to be built using mass production methods. This means that an entire housing development can be designed with each unit receiving an individual configuration. The software has been a huge hit in the Middle East.
In 2004, Zena Malek moved to Dubai/UAE to establish Arabian Concept Development and has since been writing one of the industry’s success stories. She has won several lucrative contracts from big-name developers – beating off much better known architects and having to overcome scepticism in a male-dominated field. She has handled what are regarded as vanguard projects for the Gulf region, including amongst others: the Wadi AlDyam project located in AlSuyouh, Sharjah (a mixed-use development consisting of a shopping mall, a hotel, residential buildings and water parks); the Lua Office towers (located in Jumairah, Dubai); the Hydra office towers and hotel in Business Bay, Dubai; the Golf Walk project in Abu Dhabi (a mixed-use development consisting of a shopping mall, a hotel, residential buildings and offices).
In 2007, Zena Malek founded KAKS LLC together with her husband Andrew Riad Andari. They believe that only quality design and individuality can reverse the negative impacts of mass architecture and thus consequently improve people’s lives. As Creative Director at KAKS, she is currently working on a residential compound and a hotel in Mount Lebanon. She is also developing a furniture and accessories line, to be launched in 2008/2009 in the Gulf region. At the upcoming Architecture Talks Lucerne, she will present a new project (residential/branding) which KAKS LLC will be launching in February 2008.
She has been featured in Arabian Business Magazine as one of the 50 Most Powerful Arabs for three consecutive years (2005, 2006 and 2007) and is a regular guest on the lecture circuit: Dubai and Abu Dhabi municipalities (2005 and 2006), Architecture World in Münster/Germany (2007), Leader Day in Dubai (June 2007). Her work, thoughts and vision have been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers, including: Al-Bayan, Paris Match, Forum German, Jumairah Beach Magazine, OK Magazine, SMB Adviser Magazine etc.
Valid as of: 27.5.2008