Dubai Healthcare City is an excellent example of where high-end style and stringent health standards meet on an international scale.

Several factors come into play when choosing a design firm: experience, reputation, and credentials are just a few. For healthcare environments, there’s another vital consideration: whether the interior design or architectural firm maintains an intrinsic knowledge of healthcare standards and how to design within them while creating warm, welcoming spaces.

Working with a firm known for its expertise and insights in healthcare design offers significant advantages. To find out how firms cultivate substantial intelligence in health industry standards, we met with Karim Khemakhem, founder and CEO of Interior design and architecture firm, Massa, and has more than 15 years of deep healthcare experience. Mr. Khemakhem notes, “Regular interactions with health industry professionals are essential to staying informed about the trends that affect our clients. However, we also take it on ourselves to follow the latest industry studies and online periodicals, and most importantly, keeping updated on the published standards of national and local authorities.”

Experience in action: Designing for Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC)
He continues, ?Dubai Healthcare City is an excellent example of this convergence: where high-end style and stringent health standards meet on an international scale. The resulting designs had to meet rigorous international quality requirements while creating spaces that appeal to major national and international healthcare brands.?

Before joining Massa, some of the firm’s designers were directly involved in the design of University Hospital and City Hospital ? two of over 140 medical facilities located there. At a glance:

University Hospital reflects an intentional combination of contemporary and international styles, reinforcing the sense of world-class care and technology. It was also intentionally designed as a teaching hospital, accommodating instructional and research spaces for students and educators.

City Hospital itself was the first hospital to open in Dubai Healthcare City. This 210-bed facility serves patients with a range of health care needs while reflecting the highest quality care for today and tomorrow. In particular, it represents a blend of healthcare and hospitality features: patients and families have access to luxury-hotel type amenities like heated indoor pool, spa, sauna and gym. Inpatient floors are designed to optimize natural light and views, benefitting patients and staff alike.

These examples are just a glimpse of the intensive research, planning, and design process surrounding Dubai Healthcare City. No matter the project scale, healthcare design must always balance aesthetic appeal with industry requirements. The Massa team’s contribution to DHCC is a significant example of blending global standards and cultures with meaningful and functional design for healthcare environments in this region.