Pallavi Dean’s Roar Studio unveils Niche: A versatile cultural hub in Dubai.

Roar Studio was commissioned by Dubai’s state-of-the-art office development, ICD Brookfield Place, to create the interior of Niche – a flexible event space for people to gather, relax and connect.

Hosting an array of different functions, from expert workshops to art pop-ups and wellness sessions, Niche features an open-plan co-working area alongside individual bar-style seating as well as a private boardroom and a custom-made foldaway amphitheatre for talks and lectures.

Pallavi Dean, Founder and Creative Director of Roar, explains: “The brief was to create a space that would be a magnet for a diverse group of people and where professionals from the offices would interact with artists, musicians, yogis and psychology professors.

“To achieve this, we created a flexible space that could morph to suit the activity, easily converting from a co-working space with shared long tables to individual work on stand-up desks, from a closed meeting room to a group collaboration.

"But as soon as you clear away the tables, you have an open space for a meditation class, yoga workshop or social activity – promoting wellness was a key part of the brief. And to accommodate talks and presentations, we designed a fold-out amphitheatre where people can watch and learn.”

Niche is located on the ground floor of ICD Brookfield Place in Dubai’s International Financial Centre, between the entrance of new The Arts Club and the Gate Avenue retail zone.

Ben McGregor, Investment Director at ICD Brookfield Place, comments: “We want ICD Brookfield Place to be much more than just another office block – we also want it to be a vibrant social and cultural hub. The magic happens when the creative and corporate worlds collide, and Niche is an important part of that.”

He added: “Not only do we love the look and feel of Niche, the team at Roar have managed to cram so much functionality into a relatively compact space. Even with all the COVID protocols in place, it’s quickly become a magnet for talent.”