Mohand Laouissat, co-founder and CEO at Davouj Design, talks about his influences, recent collaboration in the Middle East, and how sustainability is central to his process

Tell us more about Davouj Design and how your French design sensibility will influence your work in this region. Davouj is a nickname given to my father, who passed away when I was 18 years old; he has always been an inspiration to me, especially when I decided to start my own business in the UAE. I wanted to reflect him in some way, as well as offer my European influence and upbringing to the region, which I felt was lacking. While running my construction company in France, I began renovating apartments. It was a hobby that I did on the side because I loved and was passionate about interior design and transforming spaces for others. That, I believe, is part of what motivates me to witness the expressions on my customers’ faces after I have brought their idea to reality.

What were some of the key influences that inspire your design?
What inspires my designs is delivering sustainable and multi-functional spaces at affordable prices. The focus should always be about how the client wants to feel in his/her space. It’s a personal thing you see, your space! It should represent you and reflect your personality or character in some way.

What are your core competencies, could you briefly explain? Being a CEO I have to be resilient, multi-tasking, and make executive decisions on the spot sometimes. Good listener – Listening to what the customer wants and understanding what is the expectation of the client. Time management – Managing several projects across the UAE. Creatively and bring a French/European influence to my design approach and projects. Passion – I believe that when you enjoy what you do, you perform at a far higher level than your competition. Is your current collaboration with RR DECOR a strategy to expand into the Middle East market? I’d say a little bit of both, one part strategic because it was vital to me from the start to find a company that was focussed on sustainability and high-quality finishing, and the other is that we genuinely work well together, which is something I believe is quite rare to find.

There’s a lot of focus on sustainability now. How has that evolved?
People today are much more conscious of what they put in their homes, and many of my clients now inquire about whether or not specific products/materials are environmentally friendly. In terms of design and architecture, how do you see Dubai as a city? And how does it differ from well-known locations? Dubai is very different to France. Dubai is a city fairly young, you can view stunning architectural works of art like the Burj Khalifa and the Museum of the Future. France, on the other hand, has an architecture that dates back thousands of years, hundred-year old beauty both from exterior and interior.

How has COVID-19 influenced your design process, fit-out techniques, and sourcing?
COVID-19 gave me time to strategise and focus on which direction I wanted to take the business, because, as I previously stated, sustainability is important to me, so finding what I wanted in addition to looking at what the Middle East market lacks was important. Bridging that gap; which for me was the quality of detail and execution matched with a good price point

What trends are you are paying attention to in villa projects right now?
I’m focussing a lot on moulding work right now because there’s a lot of demand for it in the market. From classic to geometric wall panelling, which I enjoy doing because it has always been a part of French culture since the time of the Kings. Interview The customer desired a modern/classic style with a bright pop of colour for this project in Dubai Hills. Davouj Design wanted to match the walls to the furniture, so they did classic molding work on one wall and painted it a bold orange colour, and modern molding work on the second wall and painted it black with two white panels on either side of the wall to avoid a clash of the orange and black.

What has been one of your most interesting or rewarding project?
My most rewarding project was the one with Galleries La Fayette, Paris. It is was rewarding in the sense that we built a long-lasting work relationship that spanned over years and I got to work on a variety of projects with them. If you had to define the term “being creative”, what would you say? Being creative to me means not limiting yourself to a certain ideology of what interior design should be, what type of CEO you should be, or how is the best way to run your business. Be curious, don’t be afraid to be different, keep learning, and evolving. What is the next project you’re slated to work on in the region? I have a couple of projects in the pipeline in the UAE and Paris, and oddly, KSA has also been on my radar.

What do you hope to accomplish in the next 10 years? 
In the fast-paced life, we live in today 10 years feels like an eternity so will focus on the next five and I would like to be one of the most successful start-ups born in the UAE and expanded to the rest of the world. I want to be leading in this field creating an impact on the planet using sustainable materials and technologies, in addition to having a positive financial impact on people’s lives by creating jobs