The United Arab Emirates is a zone of great strategic importance on the international real estate scene, towards the top of the luxury development rankings. This translates into remarkable power of attraction in relation to the protagonists of the world of décor, as logical counterparts to the real estate sector.
Visionnaire, which in the fall of 2021 opened Visionnaire Dubai as a direct investment of totally Italian capital (hence without the need for a local partner), has just signed two important agreements in the Emirates area, for an overall value of 32 million euros.
The first pact – with the developer Volare, located in Dubai – calls for an exclusive multi-year license on the Visionnaire brand in relation to the real estate market, and already in May 2023 permits use of the brand “Volare by Visionnaire” for ultra-luxury real estate projects in the Emirates. The first operation, a villa of 1650 sqm and 3500 sqm of land on Jumeirah Bay Island, facing the Bulgari Compound, is presently in the construction phase, with completion slated for the fall of 2024.
Thanks to this collaboration, Visionnaire will be called on to apply its design abilities and creative DNA inside the real estate sector, placing its signature on projects of forceful aesthetic identity, in line with the spirit of the brand. The company thus becomes a case of coveted added value in the luxury real estate sector.
“I met Volare at the end of 2021,” says Leopoldo Cavalli, CEO and co-founder of Visionnaire. “They are a young couple, in a second generation of real estate developers. During 2022 there were various projects, always in the neighborhood of 400,000 to 500,000 euros in sales. As a result of this positive experience, Volare decided to involve us in its most ambitious project: they purchased a plot of land in the Bulgari compound at Jumeirah Beach, and they asked us to work on the concept of the façade, all the way to all the interiors. A total Visionnaire project. They also asked us if we would be interested in approaching the market together: Volare powered by Visionnaire.”
“I found all this very stimulating, since we are talking about one of the most costly properties of Dubai, and even of the whole planet,” Cavalli goes on. “The objective is truly ambitious, and that fills us with enthusiasm. This opportunity has triggered awareness, namely of the fact that the value of our furniture collections can be incorporated inside a real estate project: a perspective of investment, rather than a simple acknowledgment of beauty, the richness of materials, the energy conveyed to clients by our creations.”
Dubai is also the setting for the second agreement, with a value of 8 million euros, for the creation of a villa of 2000 sqm in the center of Al Maktoum City (MBR City). In this case, Visionnaire will be in charge of all the interior design, from the formulation of the concept to every décor detail, all the way to the accessories and the selection of works of art.
These are two important collaborations – the first of which is slated to develop in multiple episodes – with which the company is moving forward, following a profound line of thought: to work in harmony with the site that hosts the project. Eleonore Cavalli, artistic director of Visionnaire, makes us of the Japanese term “yugen”: “It can be translated as ‘deep mystery’ and it refers to the beauty that is hiding in darkness, in the invisible and the indeterminate. Beauty that can only be perceived through the intuition and imagination of its inhabitants. The Genius Loci is the essence that permeates a place, its identity and its spirit, manifested through the history, culture and nature of the host territory. Volare Dubai, which we have developed together with Alessandro La Spada, sets out to enhance this beauty, through the use of natural materials and the creation of spaces that respect the topography and climate conditions of the location.”
“Water, sand and light have been our drivers,” she continues. “The passage of perception between the luminosity of the exteriors and that of the interiors; the organic shapes taken on by sand, shifting in the breeze; the energy of the sea. These are all elements that captivate you. The interior design and the external architecture will be marked by rational but organic forms, in which light and shadow, reflections and transparencies will be utilized to create effects of depth and mystery. A building of contemporary design that fits perfectly into the surrounding landscape, taking best advantage of these three drivers. The interiors will be maximized in terms of functional quality and comfort, without overlooking aesthetics or a forceful emotional component.”
