Three Gardens and a Room: Inside this year's Urban Commissions
Dubai based architect Reem Nassour takes this year's Urban Commissions in a greener direction with Three Gardens and a Room, an installation exploring the role of nature and architecture in shaping shared spaces at Dubai Design Week 2026.
Image courtesy of Dubai Design Week, Urban Commissions
What happens when a garden becomes a space for connection?
At this year's Dubai Design Week, Urban Commissions invites visitors to consider how thoughtful design can shape the way we interact with our surroundings. The 2026 winning proposal, Three Gardens and a Room, by Dubai-based NAO Architects, explores the relationship between architecture, nature and the everyday experience of public space through a considered arrangement of planting, shade, colour and light.
Who designed Three Gardens and a Room?
Designed by architect Reem Nassour, Three Gardens and a Room is the winning proposal by her Dubai-based practice, NAO Architects, established in 2023.
Working across architecture, research and urban design, the studio explores the relationship between people and place, considering how context, climate and materiality shape the way we experience our surroundings. For Three Gardens and a Room, the garden becomes more than a green addition to the urban landscape. Instead, it is explored as a series of interconnected spatial experiences, bringing together four fundamental architectural elements: the roof, mound, hearth, and enclosure. Each plays a role in shaping how visitors move through, experience, and engage with the installation.
How planting and light shape public spaces
Arranged around a shared central space, the three gardens create distinct environments through foliage, colour, shade, filtered light, and materiality. Each offers a different atmosphere, encouraging visitors to move between the spaces and experience the subtle ways in which their surroundings can influence how they feel and interact.
At the heart of the composition is an enclosed room, formed by the relationship between the three gardens. Designed as a place to pause, gather, observe, and connect, it brings the different elements together while offering a moment of respite from the surrounding urban environment.
The installation considers how relatively simple architectural interventions can have a meaningful impact on public space. Walls, thresholds, vegetation and carefully considered areas of shade become tools for creating different experiences, from moments of quiet reflection to opportunities for gathering and conversation.
In a city where climate plays an important role in how outdoor spaces are used, the relationship between planting and thermal comfort is particularly relevant. Three Gardens and a Room considers these elements not simply as practical requirements but as integral parts of the architectural experience.
Through the interplay of natural elements and built forms, NAO Architects explores how public spaces can become more welcoming and responsive to the people who use them. Rather than treating a garden as a purely decorative feature, the proposal places it at the centre of a wider conversation about how cities can create opportunities for connection.
As part of Dubai Design Week, Urban Commissions continues to provide a platform for architectural experimentation, inviting designers to consider how temporary installations can contribute to conversations about the future of our built environment.
With Three Gardens and a Room, NAO Architects offers a timely reminder that good public spaces are not only about how they look, but also how they make people feel, encouraging us to slow down, spend time together and reconnect with the spaces around us.
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