Three awards. One remarkable workplace.

Elite Merit’s new Dubai office has won top honours at the 2026 New York Architectural and Interior Design Awards: Gold for Smart and Interactive Spaces, Silver for Well-Being and Biophilic, and Silver for Workplace Design. Designed by Collab and XBD and delivered by KPS, it is a workplace that challenges some of the conventional boundaries between office, hospitality environment and interactive space.

Technology is everywhere in modern workplaces. What is different at Elite Merit is the extent to which it has been integrated into the experience rather than simply added to it. Interactive and data-driven installations are embedded throughout the interior. Some respond to movement and human presence. Others interpret live information or change according to environmental conditions, light and time of day. Rather than constantly demanding attention, technology becomes part of the architecture and atmosphere of the workplace.

The approach to biophilic design goes beyond introducing planting and natural finishes. The concept explores how patterns and behaviours found in nature can influence the experience of a space. Visual environments change and digital artworks respond to natural cycles and environmental conditions, creating a calmer, more intuitive working environment where technology and nature work together.

Perhaps most importantly, Elite Merit was never intended to be an impressive office simply for the sake of being impressive. As a real estate brokerage operating in one of the world’s most competitive property markets, its workplace has a job to do. It needs to attract and retain talented people, create an environment in which employees want to work and give clients an experience that reflects the ambition and quality of the business.

That is where the hospitality influence becomes particularly important. The workplace isn’t simply somewhere employees come to work. It is part of the Elite Merit client experience and, ultimately, part of the brand.

Projects of this complexity also present a significant construction challenge. Integrated technology, specialist installations, detailed interior design and the practical requirements of a functioning workplace all have to come together seamlessly. For KPS, that meant translating the design ambition into a finished environment while coordinating the different disciplines required to make it work as intended. Because however ambitious the concept, a remarkable workplace still has to work. Every day.