Harry Dobbs Design
Company Biography
Harry Dobbs Design bring a unique integrated approach to Urban Design, Architecture, Product Design and Urban UX- where the challenges and opportunities of a project are holistically evaluated from the perspective of user, operator, community, manufacturer and wider environment impact from the start.
Over 20 years of project experience, across Europe. Middle East, North America and Asia, HDD have evolved a ‘Culturally Smart’ design methodology: Where cultural insights and behavioural focused design innovation are applied to better meet the challenges of contemporary urban life: from city destinations, transport hubs and urban neighbourhoods to mixed use hospitality, retail, and shared workplace environments.
This design ethos has provided a compass for the practice’s work across wide range of project scales and cultural contexts, from Post Covid resilience strategy and Passenger UX design for Taiwan Civil Aviation Authority and Smart Urban Strategies and Designs for Europe’s premier financial and retail districts, to bespoke public furniture ranges, destination pavilions and wayfinding strategies for Doha City Centre, Qatar National Transport Authority, New York City Transport Authority, Riyadh Development Authority and the London Olympics.
With a broad experience of working within complex metropolitan, heritage, high traffic destinations the HDD team is fully accustomed to ensuring their designs successfully respond to the requirements of modern infrastructural and management systems and smart technology integrations, whilst retaining a human centred and inclusive experience with a robust and sustainable sense of delight.
HDD work collaboratively and are used to pulling together and co-ordinating with multi-disciplinary teams including leaders from the fields of design, engineering, construction, enterprise, technology, city operations, academia and manufacturing to meet project requirements across a wide range of contexts. Harry Dobbs Design is a Chartered Practice with the Royal Institute of British Architects (UK), Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (EU).
Discipline
Architecture, Furniture, Interiors
Location
Greater London
Employees
5-10
Work showcase
Doha 'Urban Majlis' City Centre furniture range
Following an international competition win, HDD were asked to develop an identity strategy and bespoke family of urban furniture for the 31 hectare regeneration of Downtown Doha. The scheme has been at the heart of Doha's strategic transformation into a memorable and culturally distinct international destination, and has won multiple international design awards.Over 16 different furniture typologies and 3800 pieces were designed and installed across the site, including: Road & Pedestrian Lighting, 22m Ceremonial light masts, Benches, Tram Shelters, Cycle Racks, Kiosks, Drinking Fountains, Litter Bins & Bollards. The furniture range formed an integral part of a pedestrian orientated urban and public realm strategy, where public spaces were culturally curated and environmentally controlled to provide an extended 'Urban Majlis' designed to both host national civic functions and stimulate daily interactions.
While each element is designed to have its own distinct contemporary character, this richly varied family of pieces is powerfully united through a shared design DNA evolved from Qatar’s unique heritage and its expressed cultural ambition. The HDD team led the project through research, concept development, tender, industrial development and product prototyping stages. On recommendation of the client HDD were asked to design a further national range of street furniture for roll out across the state of Qatar.
“The HHD Group team provided unique, contemporary and world-class designs that reinforced the values and cultural identity of the Qatari nation with a distinctive language and particular sensitivity for the subtleties of form, texture, pattern and materiality.
Key urban design agendas within the project were successfully embedded into the designs at a detailed level and their experience in foreseeing use, systemisation & practicality proved vital to supplying MDD with optimal equipment.”
Jonathan Rose. Director of Development | Msheireb, Qatar