Inside the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi, an upscale, contemporary interpretation of a traditional majlis — a space for gathering, dialogue and community — represents the epitome of Emirati hospitality. Titled Majlis Al Shaheen, the space was recently completed by Dubai-based design firm Agata Kurzela Studio, the team commissioned to lead the creative direction and interior design for a variety of spaces throughout the Zayed National Museum.
Now six months on from its inauguration, the institution — which opened on 3 December 2025 — is dedicated to the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who united the seven sheikhdoms of the United Arab Emirates in 1971. And as for its interior design? It slowly unfolds a contemporary take on the icons of Emirati life and culture — the majlis included.
“The premise of the project was always to shed light on the work of Emirati artists and designers alongside other creatives,” explains Kurzela, a Polish-born architect and interior designer who founded her eponymous Dubai-based studio in 2020. She explains how Emirati designers today are grounded in the heritage of their country where “the past becomes a springboard into something new. We wanted them to express themselves in a contemporary way, presenting a unique way of thinking, seeing and experiencing.”
The architecture and design of the museum capture the UAE 54 years into its existence through a blend of references to Emirati heritage and pioneering vision. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Lord Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, the contemporary structure is topped with five falcon wing-shaped lightweight steel towers symbolic of the UAE’s determination, resilience and innovation: character traits also symbolising the falcon, the country’s national bird.
The interior spaces are devised to sit in dialogue with the museum’s wider architecture and collections while championing the voices of local creatives, complementing the artefacts, documents and multimedia exhibits tracing over 300,000 years of the UAE’s ancient past to its present. The interiors, states Kurzela, are meant to “expand the legacy of the living culture of the UAE. We tried to build on the foundation of the museum while doing something different. We took traditions of ritual, ways of gathering and welcoming guests and the relationship between the local landscape and the season, transforming them into spatial, poetic languages.”
So what gives the warmest welcome? In Emirati culture, it has to be the majlis. The overarching theme of Majlis Al Shaheen draws from elements such as gahwa Arabic coffee, dates, enamel coffee pots and safeefah, the Emirati craft of weaving palm fronds. Distinguished guests are invited into an intimate area that employs a warm, textural palette that incorporates rope, wool, ceramic, camel leather, metal and stone — materials largely drawn from the UAE.
Blending references to Emirati heritage and contemporary design, the space uses specially crafted objects and artwork by Emirati and international designers, artists and artisans to culminate in an eloquent and contemplative space which — like the wider museum — blends traditions of the past with present innovation and a pioneering vision for the future.
Al Liwan, the public atrium, is the first space that visitors encounter and serves as one of the museum’s focal points. The Research Library overlooks the monumental Magan Boat — an 18-metre replica of a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age vessel believed to have sailed in the ancient Arabian Gulf — and is inspired by a traditional Bedouin tent, with its raw materials of reeds, goat hair and bitumen.
The voices of local designers were pivotal to their design, emphasises Kurzela. “Rather than recreating the past, we wanted to build on it,” she says. “This comes from a belief that the important part of the legacy we are discussing is about the future. It is not only what is inherited from Sheikh Zayed’s legacy, but what can be borne from it.”
Carefully considered design objects give life and meaning to each space. Furniture on display includes Wasl by Emirati architect and product designer Abdalla Al Mulla, which can be reconfigured into benches, individual stools and display stands. It draws inspiration from the misbah, or string of prayer beads used for reflection and remembrance across the UAE. “Through its adaptability, Wasl reinterprets a familiar cultural object for contemporary use, aligning with Zayed National Museum’s mission,” explains Al Mulla.
The Ned sofa and table system by Dubai-born Omar Al Gurg, founder of design studio Modu Method, is made from stone and papyrus-based biomaterial and is located inside the Majlis Al Shaheen. Its name is short for the Misned, a traditional, handwoven backrest cushion commonly used for floor seating in a majlis in the Gulf. “We physically elevated the couches from the floor up to regular sofa height and explored different sustainable materials from the UAE to make the side and coffee tables,” he explains. Suspended on either side of the majlis are yarn-wrapped pendant lamps by Emirati designer Roudha Al Shamsi, while displayed on the three walls are abstract artworks by Emirati artist Juma Al Haj.
“I always like the honesty of the materials to come through,” says Kurzela. “As designers we want to inspire certain emotions when people enter the space and touch the materials. We’re trying to challenge ourselves in how we use the materials.”
Such challenges are captured in how designers reference the country’s natural landscape. Several spaces take cues from the Al Durour calendar, the ancient Gulf system used to divide a year into four unequal periods based on climatic phases. The Majlis Al Hurr has two distinct spaces inspired by the calendar. Majlis Al Durour 2, for example, reflects al Qaith, the hottest season.
The space features objects made from materials, colours and shapes that reflect ideas of heat, the need for stillness and shade. Included is Emirati designer Aljoud Lootah’s Takya sofa system crafted with camel leather detailing as well as tables with a studded wooden slab that seemingly floats on thick, cast glass legs by Emirati Dubai-based One Third Studio. Also present are carpets by Agata Kurzela Studio and artworks by Stephanie Neville.
“We create pieces incorporating our heritage and traditions,” states Amna Bint Bishr, who runs Dubai-based One Third Studio alongside Dania Ajlan and Duna Ajlan. “We wanted the piece for the museum to reflect not only its legacy but its values too. The studs cladded on top of the wood recall the forms of sand dunes in Abu Dhabi.”
The interiors also capture the UAE’s cultural pluralism, acting as a multicultural hub for over 200 nationalities, and this sense of inclusiveness is exemplified through handcrafted rugs displayed throughout the museum. Supplied by Zuleya, the retail brand of the Dubai-based Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative (FBMI), the artisanal carpet enterprise relies exclusively on the handcrafted methods of Afghan artisans preserved across generations. “Through the hands of master weavers, the museum’s designs were transformed into enduring works of textile art,” says Maywand Jabarkhyl, CEO of FBMI, “creating pieces that honour the vision of Sheikh Zayed while simultaneously generating meaningful social impact far beyond the museum walls.”
The resulting design language is akin to the undulating rhythms of the desert and its people, flowing from one colour, texture, material and form to another, merging ancient history with the present. It’s a reflection of an innovative spirit of determination that’s so intrinsic to the UAE.
Originally published in the July/August issue of MOJEH Magazine. Subscribe here
