ISTO: Creating an Elegant and Bionic Private Villa Design

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features an elegant and bionic villa design by 2023 SBID Awards Finalist, ISTO.

ISTO Architecture and Design Studio, originating from Ukraine, has crafted a private villa in Dubai spanning an area of 1210 sq. m. on Pearl Jumeira Island. The client of the private villa is an elegant woman. She traveled a lot and lived in Europe for a long time with her family. Inspired by the elegance and aristocracy of European lands, she wanted to strive to convey this atmosphere in her personal villa. The interior is dominated by voluminous, non-standard decorative elements, dynamic bionic forms, curvilinear shapes, and natural materials. Designers landscaped the house and created a spacious villa.

What was the client’s brief? 

The client of the private villa is an elegant woman. She traveled a lot and lived in Europe for a long time with her family. Inspired by the elegance and aristocracy of European lands, she strived to convey the atmosphere in her villa on Pearl Jumeirah Island in Dubai. One of the woman’s key requests was to create a home that is comfortable to live in, but where you can invite friends and organise parties at the same time. “There should be a luxury hotel lobby feel on the ground floor.” The ground floor is divided into two zones. The first zone is for family, and the second zone, which occupies most of the floor, is designed for a pleasant time spent with friends. The customer is also a connoisseur of bionic, curvilinear forms and materials. She strived to green her home and fulfill it with furniture and textures that would resemble natural figures. In addition, she has a passion for volumetric decorative installations of non-standard shapes and water, so the entrance area of the house is surrounded by water.

What inspired the design of the project?

We approached the project as the development of a new clothing collection. Our team was inspired by the best examples of world-famous fashion houses: Dior, Chanel, Hermes, Givenchy. Therefore, I can safely call this interior “haute couture”. All of the above listed luxury brands are of French origin. It was not for nothing that we pushed away from them, because our clients are tightly connected to this European country. But the phenomenon is that the villa itself will be located in the Middle East, as an elegant pearl on the Pearl Jumeirah Island, Dubai.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

We never set ourselves easy tasks. Each of our projects is a manifestation of unique personalities (our clients). And the Monsella project was no exception. Therefore, in some sense, we were an obstacle to ourselves. Plenty of non-standard solutions, custom finishing materials, furniture and lighting. All these positions required meticulous work, time and effort from the team in order to get an impressive result.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

All conceptual and creative solutions must be developed as organically as possible so that the design project can be implemented later. We do not only create concepts, we also calculate and consider the possibility of realisation to all the ideas. I guess that this moment was crucial.

Why did you enter the SBID Awards?

The international SBID Awards attracts with its prestige, status and main mission of researching new ideas and manifestations in design industry. It seemed that it was a great opportunity to showcase the Monsella project. This was the main driving force that motivated to apply for the competition. In addition, the participation was due to the desire to depict a subtle approach to the client. We at the ISTO studio pay special attention to personalised communication. It is like a session with a psychologist, where the client immerses you in his/her life, tells you what is important to him/her, and the design team listens to the subtleties and relays everything in every square meter.

What has being an Award Finalist meant to you and your business?

The moment of realisation that your efforts are appreciated on the international stage by judges from all over the world. This is recognition, confirmation of your importance and expertise. Of course, you should not become conceited, but simply continue to work: improve your professional skills, meet new obstacles, overcome them, learn new things and reach new heights of design development.

Questions answered by Oles Honcharenko, Lead Designer at ISTO.