GM Architects has received the CNBC Best Design award 2008 for the following projects: Amber Urban Retreat . Amber Valley . O Beach . Edde Sands. We invite you to browse our in focus projects.
Known for the creation of integrated, culturally-sensitive spaces that are vibrant, welcoming additions to their surroundings, Galal Mahmoud Architects is driven by a deep belief in the power of design and architecture to positively affect the wellbeing of society.
List of publications:
Description coming soon...
This luxury business hotel on a prime site in central Amman is the first collaboration between GMA and Fosters and Partners. The futuristic, sculpted exterior conceals a warm, intimate interior that deftly melds functional sobriety and high-tech detailing with bold, flowing colours, a plethora of textures and elements of theatre to create an environment suitable both to business and leisure.
A total design project GMA is responsible for every aspect of the site from architecture and interior design, to landscaping and concept. Laid out as an architectural journey through Jordan’s past, the resort incorporates a wide variety of historical elements creating lushly landscaped and well-watered oasis between the Jordanian desert and the Dead Sea.
A deft mix of yesterday and tomorrow, the Radisson adds elements of traditional Middle Eastern design like water features, diwan-like seating and carved wooden sunscreens to a spacious, contemporary design that maximises enjoyment of the resort’s beachside location.
A business hotel that is part of an urban development project, the sophisticated and highly luxurious design combines the warmth of wood with the chill of glass and uses bold splashes of colour, modern furniture and elements of Islamic art to create an ultra-contemporary feel.
Modernism meets Colonialism, this airy day resort on the shores of the Dead Sea mimics the contours of the land so closely, it almost appears an organic outgrowth. Set in lush landscaping amid a multitude of water features, the low-slung design of individual chalets and the main buildings housing spa and restaurant facilities also ensures that panoramic views over the Sea are not sacrificed.
A contemporary family home, basically a series of interlinked cubes arranged around a garden pool, GMA softened the edges of the building by introducing warm woods and calm colours and created intimacy by physically partitioning spaces or by introducing a series of different levels to the larger spaces, to lend them more human dimensions.
With its rich ornamentation, floral tapestries and updates of traditional architectural features, the hotel is decidedly Omani in style and feel and yet at the same time, the subtle use of natural lighting, contemporary touches and cool ambiance indicate it is also conceived of as an international destination in its own right.
An emerging destination thanks to the recent discovery of 2000 year old ruins. Al Ein is blessed with water and lush surroundings. The hotel’s design draws on the site’s historical and environmental bounty.
A business hotel that is part of an urban development project, the sophisticated and highly luxurious design combines the warmth of wood with the chill of glass and uses bold splashes of color, modern furniture and elements of Islamic art to create an ultra-contemporary feel.
A deft mix of yesterday and tomorrow, the Radisson adds elements of traditional Middle Eastern design like water features, diwan-like seating and carved wooden sunscreens to a spacious, contemporary design that maximizes enjoyment of the resort’s beach side location.
Mixing Ottoman Turkish architecture with modern elements – the box-like glass lobby, the oversize candelabras - the soaring ceilings and massive volumes of this upscale club are kept human through the use of artfully aged materials and a clever design that creates a multitude of intimate nooks and conversation areas.
This luxury business hotel on a prime site in central Amman is the first collaboration between GMA and Norman Fosters and Partners. The futuristic, sculpted exterior conceals a warm, intimate interior that deftly melds functional sobriety and high-tech detailing with bold, flowing colors, a plethora of textures and elements of theater to create an environment suitable both to business and leisure.
A luxurious spa hotel in the hills on the Jordanian coast of the Dead Sea, Amber Valley has been designed to reflect its surroundings, both historically and environmentally and to heighten the sensation of luxury, pampering and seclusion projected by the resort.
A business hotel located in an industrial park on the edge of the city, this large size multi-faceted hotel presented a challenge both in terms of space and mood. The final result merges history and modernity and creates a space independent of its surroundings.
Creating the feel of a 5-star hotel on the budget of a 4-star hotel, the Sheraton project shows how a clever, well-researched mix of colors, textiles and materials can create a heightened impression of luxury.
Painted in the colors of the surrounding environment – the desert, mountains and sea of the Sinai Peninsula– the hotel combines elements of Islamic and Pharaonic art with contemporary touches to create an ambiance that is independent of its time.
The award winning ultra-modern building, designed by AEDAS International, is complemented by GMA’s warm modern friendly interior, awash in soothing colours, resulting in the kind of hotel ideal for two nights on business to Bahrain.
Colorful and decidedly ‘Oriental’ in feel, La Mounia would be as much at home in Turkey or Morocco as it is in Lebanon. Conceived as a modest weekend getaway, an intimate retreat from the world, the project presented GMA with the intellectual challenge of extracting maximum value from a minimal budget.
Mahmoud’s first major project in Lebanon paved his way into the hotel industry and opened the door to experimentation. An urban escape with strong Phoenician and maritime motifs, the hotel is strongly colored to counteract the gray reality of the cityscape.
A high end low density resort hotel on a 200000sqm land on the sea shores of southern Beirut, managed by famed hotel operator Cambell Grey Hotels.
The brand image was built around clean spaces, high-end finishes and a warm welcome. The aim was to move away from the traditional image of banking and yet reassure the client that banking was still very much BLOM’s business.
The brief for the headquarters of this multi-disciplinary company emphasised both a contemporary feel and the use of plants and water to create a relaxing space where employees would feel able to work to their best ability.
The tension and lack of ease one feels at a hospital is generally why they are so feared by the public. Here, the public and private spaces have been worked to minimize inherent stress and through the use of color, focus on better circulation and creation of welcoming waiting rooms, which resemble sitting rooms, the design for the hospital attains a Zen-like calm.
The siege of the whole army, the branding was key to success in this image. With its chrome and gun-metal finishes, green granite floors, the sword design duplicated on its walls, this project was as much about reflecting the might of Jordanian Army as it was about providing them with a contemporary place to relax.
This Lebanese bank sought introduce the country to fully-automated banking. The design emphasised a ‘homey’ feel because Arab clients prefer dealing with people for their business dealings. The extra feeling of comfort was believed to offer sufficient enticement. This has subsequently not proven to be the case.
The brief was to create a sleek, contemporary environment with clean lines that would retain a certain elegance.
A corporate image for a corporate company which nevertheless allowed for some playfulness with company colours.
With its wide open spaces, tile flooring and severe furnishings, the design for Sony’s Middle Eastern headquarters had more than a touch of the monastic about it, and yet amazingly, cultivated a Bohemian feel.
The design for this commodities trading company grew out of a generational clash. Older executives sought a traditional image, the younger ones wanted something slick and innovative. The solution was to compromise by using traditional materials, presented in new and innovative ways.
A total job, encompassing both interior and furniture design, this was a corporate project focused on promoting the High-Tech face of this private banking outfit, designed to emphasise FFA’s ability to compete with giant multinationals.
Designed in association with Kamel Abboud, this project, essentially grew out of a renovation project and had to meld the interior, all concrete and modernity, to the facade of one of Beirut’s historic buildings.
A Saudi company that wanted its offices in Paris to express a decidedly French cachet.
The 2008 redesign took into consideration the psychology of the patient and reflected the dentist’s rising appeal to a more exclusive clientele with a Zen, almost Spa-like entrance and waiting room and by cleverly concealing most of the intimidating tools of the trade.
Description coming soon ...
Developed on a cliff top plot with panoramic views over the Mediterranean, this airy blue and white-painted family home features a harmonious combination of Greek and Arabic decorative features. The layout ensures that the surrounding sea and gardens are visible from every room of the house, softening the lines between what constitutes inside and out.
A contemporary family home, basically a series of interlinked cubes arranged around a garden pool, GMA softened the edges of the building by introducing warm woods and calm colors and created intimacy by physically partitioning spaces or by introducing a series of different levels to the larger spaces, to lend them more human dimensions.
A simple, almost sober interior located in a modern glass tower on Beirut’s seafront, the apartment relies on rich fabrics, marble flooring and a palette of reds, yellows, warm wood tones and mellow lighting to achieve an almost classical effect.
This commission for a childhood friend is designed to showcase the family’s large art and archaeological collection and off-sets the overwhelmingly classical feel through the addition of rich swatches of fabric, Asian-inspired furnishings and the contemporary treatment of space.
The home of one of the heirs of the Chiquita banana fortune, the brief called for a European-style home to be built high in the mountains above the capital of Ecuador. The final result, a mix of high-tech features, French antiques and some carefully-integrated modern furnishings exceeded the client’s expectations.
An exuberant project that combines elements of the Spanish hacienda – decorative metalwork, rustic wall treatments - with European antiques and more contemporary furnishings, this home was one of Mahmoud’s first experiments with combining different historical periods and traditions.
Another division of the Amber Hospitality group, is a concept based on the traditional and fine North African Moorish Hammam model. Designed like a sanctuary, each Moorish Spa is a total immersion into the intimate world of Moorish sensibility with “Riads” (courtyards), water features, beautifully cultivated gardens and the ultimate Hammam experience. The first outlet is due to open in Amber Valley Dead Sea by the year 2010.
Taking maximum advantage of the elongated space to introduce structural elements that create volumes within volumes, the salon maximizes privacy and intimacy, lending a sense of glamor to the contemporary design.
Given that billiard clubs and amusement centres generally enjoy a reputation for being lower end and dirty, the aim of this project was simply to create a sophisticated, clean environment for where Jordan’s middle class would feel happy to leave their kids.
This project was part of a larger design in a complex where other venues had already been taken care of.
Influenced by Mahmoud’s memories of childhood in Lebanon, the color scheme and design concept for this huge project was versatile enough to imbue the site with a clear, fresh new identity that simultaneously respected the club’s historic reputation.
A club and spa destination on a private island, the concept was developed in the form of a ‘ride’ which takes the visitor to this nautical getaway from the dock to the pool to the beach to the restaurant to the bungalow for a massage to relaxing at the bar to having dinner in a restaurant and then back to the boat to (reluctantly) leave.
With its lush landscaping, greenery, narrow walkways, stone walls and updated references to Lebanese traditions and handicrafts, Bamboo Bay proved a landmark development in Lebanon’s beach club scene and the village-like, promenade feel of the project has subsequently been repeatedly copied.
Inspired by historic Byblos and Lebanon’s natural environment, the Edde Sands project changed the face of beach clubs in the country. Simple design, sumptuous materials and lush landscaping resulted in a final product that integrates humbly with its surroundings but manages at the same time to project both glamour and sophistication.
Designed along the lines of a Lebanese Mediterranean village, Bamboo Bay relies on colour, local crafts, natural materials and greenery to create an experience that is as much a promenade as it is a beach club. Sustainable design and ecologically-friendly elements were introduced here for the first time.
This elegant Lebanese dining experience created using very few Lebanese design elements takes tradition to new level.
A restaurant/Lounge with a Levantine theme.
In a prime location in central Beirut, Da Giovani is built around its talented Neapolitan chef. The design reflects the refined, passionate food this eccentric man serves; fireman red walls, luxurious furnishings, chandeliers and lush garden surroundings.
The original design for this floating restaurant on the Nile in central Cairo, which was subsequently changed, envisaged the use of warm woods and rich fabrics and an uncluttered layout to create an international yet informal feel.
An Asian fusion restaurant on a boat on the Nile, this romantic dining experience was aimed very much at the nightlife crowd. Design allowed for flexible partitioning, to accommodate multiple events and private rooms for more intense experiences.
As befits a high-end restaurant in an upscale neighborhood in Paris, Noura was designed with glamor in mind. Rich reds and purples, the Arabesque lamp shades and blown-glass light fixtures combine with elements of a French brasserie to create a truly Levantine experience.
Armed with his own concept of design and wanting to promote a new form of Lebanese cuisine, the client sought to mix both modern and traditional. The solution was found in the balance between materials and colour.
An astonishing variety of dining areas that range from the open-plan to the intimate, combined with well-planned lighting and occasional theatrical flourishes such as the illuminated glass staircase, the highly textured red walls and the occasional Arabian touch, combine to create an environment that truly lives up to its name.
A new take on a well-known brand, GMA’s design retains the playful elements associated with the chain - the bright colors, the cafeteria-style layout - but presents them in a more sophisticated fashion that visually places the franchise closer to a restaurant than a fast food chain.
Based on a concept of water and fire, this huge space in Jeddah introduced Lounge culture to a society that is only just now becoming used to the idea of nightlife. Designed in a way that it could be redone quickly if the concept did not catch on, the idea proved so popular that others followed suit.
A vodka bar below Noodle, Pravda was all silver and metal where Noodle was warm earth colors and woods. Optical fibers, molded glass features, metal details, the concept took modern materials and pushed to their limits.
The stripped-down, contemporary Asian architectural feel brought a breath of fresh air and one of the first touches of modern glamour to post-war Beirut’s restaurant scene.
This purely stylistic exercise of designing another Italian restaurant without falling into the trap of cliché, the customer had to feel they were immersed in an Italian ambiance which through a play on volumes would still allow it to relate to the Lebanese. Based on the small, hidden places only discovered by venturing into Italy’s side streets, the restaurant has a multi-purpose, souk-like feel, part wine bar, part restaurant, part café.
Originally a J. Paul’s, the location was utterly transformed and on the tightest of budgets. The location’s steak house associations were overcome through the theatrical choreography of shapes and colours, with red lights, bamboo details and wide verandas to welcome the crowds in. AJA barely survived its opening, as the chef behind the concept left almost immediately.
For a modern French Bistrot to work in Beirut required a subtle reworking of traditional design. The mood remains intensely French without veering into cliché.
The goal was to change the brand’s image from traditional Lebanese delicatessen, with products stacked on shelves to gourmet caterer, with products displayed as objects of desire. The use of earthy tones and wood lends the space an appetising appeal.
A stripped-down, effective design approach that avoided any unnecessary flourishes, Kababji’s glass walls and brick chimneys gave the fast food chain an instantly recognizable identity.
Through its bold and playful combination of colors, shapes and textiles, Circus became both restaurant/bar and art installation. Definitely theatrical, it was in some ways a stage, encouraging an atmosphere of exuberance amongst diners and inspired a host of imitators.
New concept for a gourmet café restaurant in the new souks, currently being developed by Solidere in downtown Beirut
A refreshingly comfortable and charming environment, yet unusually contemporary restaurant, located in the Living Wall project with a panoramic rooftop view over the Capital Amman.
An off-shoot of the restaurant, this deli combines the best of Italian produce with the best of Beirut’s café culture, allowing shoppers to make purchases and socialize at the same time.
A concept of clean lines and the blue and red colours of the brand, the design of this challenging space was a question of balancing simplicity with the luxurious associations of the Maserati image.
An Haute Couture designer, Roland was looking for a flexible design for his first Prêt a Porter boutique, one which he would be able to customize and change with each season.
A project that required the creation of a corporate identity and shop design to fit that identity, Ichtys allowed Mahmoud full freedom of expression.
Selling prêt-a-porter and high-end clothing for children, the concept for Little Me is based on a sophisticated take on the famous French puppet show, the Grand Guignol.
The pilot project for this French Cordon Blue cookery school seeking to open schools and boutiques at select destinations in the United States, lent the eclectic brand a strong identity.
Rigorous and demanding, Lancel was Mahmoud’s introduction to the world of retail design and the experience he gained through the experience has influenced all subsequent projects.
This historic location, site of a royal palace and for centuries attracting travellers in search of cures at the hot springs, is being upgraded to include several 4 star hotels, a 5 star hotel, a mosque, a promenade, new public baths, international quality spas and souks, refurbished to appeal to an anticipated influx of health tourists. The massive project, which comprises interior design, architecture and urban planning, is based on the site’s total integration into its environment. Green features and contextual design elements should help ensure it continues to be a unique experience.