Our Molecule Story

Ansonia Concepts' Amie and Samir came to Nomad Inception with an idea they had been toying with for some time. Despite they didn't have much to show to illustrate their vision it immediately became apparent they knew exactly what they wanted. They communicated passionately and we felt in tune from day one. Our mission: help develop the Molecule concept and turn it into a design icon within Dubai's design hub, D3 (Dubai Design District). There are few things creative minds enjoy more than a great challenge so we jumped on board, eyes closed.

Ansonia Concepts pointed us in a direction and gave us creative freedom within our scope which included the artistic design, design development and fabrication of the three main surfaces: floor, ceiling and the back wall facing the glass entrance façade. Their direction throughout the process was instrumental to achieving the perfect balance between art and function.

Thematic Development

We framed the creative process within the images the name Molecule evokes. We were pretty clear we didn't want to fall into stereotypical or literal interpretations, though. We thought of “molecule” as a reference to a broader theme: matter. A secondary theme in Molecule is geometry. Matter is present in the whole universe and most things are made of it, including us living beings. Geometry is the ideal instrument to represent and describe matter in questions of shape, size, position, and the properties of space in the universe. With this conceptual framework in mind, ideas started flowing and each of the features we developed alludes to these themes from different perspectives.

Design Motifs

In technical terms, the overall design is guided by a non-periodic rhombic tilling that forms a pentagonal grid with a central symmetry (Fig.01-A). The grid – a geometric pattern on its own right – holds a child pattern within each of the rhombuses (Fig.01-B). In colloquial terms, this results in a very complex pattern (Fig.01-C). This complexity is thematically linked to the complexity of matter in all its forms and states. The pentagonal grid is present in all of the three surfaces (floor, ceiling and wall) and constitutes the foundation of Molecule's iconography.

Fig.01-A – Rhombic tilling in pentagonal grid

Fig.01-B – Geometric pattern within the repeating modules

Fig.01-C – Pattern within a pattern

The pentagonal grid is present in all of the three surfaces (floor, ceiling and wall) and constitutes the foundation of Molecule's iconography.