MEAL* Design Innovation Campus

Why Dubai?
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Dubai’s 3D Printing Strategy, launched in 2016, aims to make the city a global hub for 3D printing, with 25 percent of its buildings based on the technology by 2030.
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Initiatives like this could attract specialists in additive manufacturing and make construction sites more efficient.
The proposal also looked ahead to Expo 2020 in Dubai as a chance to show the UAE’s ambition in additive manufacturing.

The Campus
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MEAN* (Middle East Architecture Network) proposed the MEAL* Design Innovation Campus for Dubai as an investment pitch. The project draws on research and workshops with MEAN*’s counterpart, MEAL* (Middle East Architecture Lab), among them the AA Visiting School Dubai, which MEAL* ran with the Architectural Association from 2014 to 2018.

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It is proposed as a design and innovation center with large-scale additive manufacturing (3D printing), robotic arms, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) studios and co-working space, where emerging designers could prototype their ideas.
At the time of the proposal, the campus had no client and no site.
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Across 640 sqm, the plan adds a gallery foyer with a coffee shop and a reference library to the studios, the robotics fab lab and the co-working space.
The campus was drawn as a visual proof of concept for investors, alongside a business model and a pitch deck.