id50 2025 – MMA Projects

An architecture and interior design firm founded in Italy in 1999 by Marco Mangili, MMA Projects has consistently embarked on some spectacular projects in both the Middle East and China. Their multicultural team made up of architects, designers, engineers, and researchers provide integrated solutions to clients, ranging from residential complexes to commercial spaces, headquarters, and hotels. Marco Mangili handles the Middle Eastern projects, Architect Alessandro Vaghi oversees the Italian and Chinese markets. Interior Designer Dorotea De Simone oversees the interior design projects and communications aspect of the business.  The studio works closely with a carefully selected network of established Italian professionals and artisans with whom they collaborate on project development and execution.

Villa ABK Photography by Natelee Cocks

With a focus on contemporary design and expressions, the design philosophy of MMA projects seeks the dialogue between design and scenography, as well as architecture and technology. They then apply this to the context and needs of the client to create both functional and poetic spaces. Harmony and balance are the foundation of the creative code that characterises the minds at MMA Projects – a high visual and aesthetic approach that blends with practicality, functionality, precision, and attention to detail. 

Villa ABK Photography by Natelee Cocks

Some of the firm’s most notable projects include the soon to be open Mama Shelter hotel in Business Bay for which they worked on the façade design, a contemporary villa in Ajman, the 198,877 sqm Sci-Tech Innovation Prism Park in Shanghai, Hotel Radisson Collection Lingang Shanghai which draws inspiration from the ocean and the galaxy, and a residential stone-clad villa in Pearl Jumeirah that is cantilevered above the water to reveal a stunning sea view. The firm has also notably designed the Axiom headquarters in Dubai – an iconic building divided into three key zones with a central garden by melding sustainability, greenery and technology. The project uses three key materials – cement, black glass and corten steel to give a strong visual impact akin to a large stone viewed from afar. 

The studio is currently working on the Ritz Carlton Residences in Business Bay in Dubai; a tower in Shanghai aptly named ‘The Flow of Music’ because of its fluid façade design, and several high-end residential villas in Dubai for local ultra-high net worth families.