Drew Gilbert is a design manager at OBMI. Gil bert is an archi tect, artist, and educator. From masterplans to refined private villas— his macro-to-micro expertise has led him to become a well-balanced designer with an eye for context, culture, and climate with an emphasis on producing sustainable solutions, profoundly relevant to place and purpose.

Gilbert was awarded the AIA Henry Adams award, Middle East Rising Star, and the Design Middle East Young Talent RU. He was selected as Top 30 Architects Powerlist in the MENA region 2021. In 2020, Gilbert was a finalist for the World Architecture festival “Isolation Transformed”, along with winning the Golden Russian Architecture award Honorable mention for the Best public Building for Dubai Creek Mosque.

His project Gardens of Samarra went on to win the Project of future in 2020 and was selected by UNESCO to be established as an Archeological landmark. He is a finalist this year for Sustainability Champion of the year, and two projects at the World Architecture Festival, Gardens of Samarra (for Commercial-Mixed Use Category) and Gwangju City Main Library (for the Cultural Future Projects Category).

His projects under construction include Shams Reflection G+22 Residential tower in Abu Dhabi, Al Khan Palace the first luxury waterfront resort in Sharjah, the Technology Innovation Park in KSA, Citywalk phase 5 in Dubai, and the Valley townhouses by Emaar. With his patent for a modular building system, he aims to provide a viable alternative to traditional construction methods by reducing waste to landfills by 90%, using less energy, reducing project timelines, and being more adaptable and flexible to future changing needs while maintaining the same standards.

Gilbert is a LEED accredited professional who is dedicated to a better future by promoting sustainable design methodologies and cradle-to-cradle thinking for long-term impacts on the built environment. He is focussing on a timeless design that is responsive, adaptive and enriching the context responding to the climatic, ecological, and social emergencies of our time.

His future plans include launching a platform utilising XR and immersive technologies in spatial cognition for architecture. As part of a growing legacy of designing extraordinary destinations across the world for over 85 years, OBMI has become renowned for luxury hotels, resorts, vacation destinations, and residences. Celebrating design excellence and innovation to consistently deliver the extraordinary.