Imagine stepping into a room where time slows to the pace of honey dripping from a spoon. That’s the alchemy Ranjit Prasad and Christy Cheriyan have conjured at SOLEIL—a 7,000-square-foot ode to Mediterranean sunsets filtered through Parisian ateliers. Their Dubai-based firm, with fingerprints on over 250 projects across eight countries, treats architecture like a bespoke suit: tailored to hug the soul.
The venue is a symphony in three movements: emerald velvets that swallow light like thirsty orchids, fluted columns standing sentinel like frozen cello notes, and chandeliers that scatter prismatic confetti across coffered ceilings. It’s maximalism wearing minimalist’s clothing—a paradox that works like champagne bubbles in still water.
"We don’t design spaces; we design emotional weather systems," Prasad remarked when collecting the award. The team’s secret sauce? Treating 3D visualization software like a Ouija board—channeling client desires into tangible forms before laying a single brick. One judge described the result as "a sonnet written in marble and shadow."
As Dubai’s skyline races upward like overeager sunflowers, SOLEIL stands apart—a reminder that true sophistication isn’t measured in square footage, but in how a space makes you forget your watch exists. The firm’s next project? Rumor suggests an Abu Dhabi concept where walls breathe like living organisms. But for now, let’s savor this victory lap—one where European elegance learned to waltz with Arabian heat.
