“The concept for Hive Coliv was born out of a personal frustration with the lack of contemporary housing options available for younger generations in Dubai,” begins Bass Ackermann, the real estate entrepreneur behind the city’s new urban living concept that aims to remove the typical stresses of setting up a space in a new city. Having personally experienced a gap in the market for professionals seeking a flexible and community-driven home, Ackermann set out to develop a different kind of model “specifically tailored towards modern consumers who desire a more flexible, convenient and socially connected way of living”.
Focused on the development and management of ‘co-living’ communities, Hive Coliv teamed up with private multi-sector investment firm A.R.M Holding, who backed Ackermann’s ambitions which fall in line with its own aim of supporting pioneering projects both locally and regionally as well as globally. The UAE-born investment firm is also equally committed to supporting a community-led residential sector in the country. “The birth of Hive Coliv is an exciting step toward the next era of residential living for the myriad of young professionals who call the UAE home,” says Mohammad Al Shehhi, CEO of A.R.M Holding.
The first property to open under Hive Coliv is Hive JVC, located in Jumeirah Village Circle, and designed in its entirety – from the architecture and interior design to furniture and custom solutions – by Lebanese designer Fadi Sarieddine. “The entire project, in its architecture, interior and furniture, played a balanced role to respond to the brief which we had formulated with Hive Coliv; which was to create a place that is elegant yet simple, rich yet unintimidating,” Sarieddine comments.
Following extensive research on the targeted tenants and their behaviours, and the exploration of existing co-living properties across the UK and The Netherlands, Hive JVC was designed through a human-centric design process, mapping the behaviours of a number of typical ‘personas’ that represent the potential Hive Coliv tenants.
“These maps generated the communal facilities and their inter-relationships,” Sarieddine continues. “The aim was to provide a place where the community will be able to use the spaces smoothly and enjoy its functions in a natural manner, where the different clusters become symbiotic with their end-users. The private spaces on the other hand play a similar role on a smaller scale: the furnished residential units are perfectly sized and designed to be elegant and timeless, while allowing room for personalisation. The building, with its balance between the private and the public, achieves the goal of inviting the residents to interact and mingle, thus creating a communal bond.”
The building’s façade is made using wood-textured fairfaced concrete that contributes to the range of “honest materials” used across the property, adding a sense of rich tactility. In contrast, the various communal functions and indoor volumes use colourful elements to allow for a brighter spatial and visual experience.
Two floors of the building are dedicated to communal facilities, while a naturally lit open-plan ‘third space’ features a lounge, library and shared working facility. Other facilities include a gamers’ room, a 15-seat outdoor cinema, a tree-lined rooftop terrace with a 20-metre pool and DJ area, and a courtyard space complete with barbequing stations and a basketball court.
For residents with creative careers or simply a passion for creative expression, a fabrication lab offers dedicated workstations equipped with tools and equipment. Networking and collaborative events can be organised and attended just a few metres from home in the outdoor amphitheatre. Hive JVC is also sustainability-conscious, and is a green-accredited building, providing dedicated recycling facilities and electric vehicle chargers, and is the region’s first residence to incorporate an on-site composting facility in partnership with The Waste Lab.
“At the heart of Hive Coliv lies the notion of creating a living solution which is more connected and collaborative,” says Ackermann. “A place for like-minds to connect, network, inspire and grow.”
