Ignacio Gomez, Global Design Principal at Aedas

Gomez’s tipping point came when he didn’t really know what architecture was. “I was seven or eight years old in my hometown of La Línea de la Concepción, Cádiz, Spain. My father was involved in small real estate developments and often took me with him to meetings, municipality offices, lawyers and notaries. As a child, all those places felt grey, dark and incredibly boring. I could never understand what people were doing or why it mattered. Then one day he took me to an architect’s studio.

Everything changed. The drawing boards, pencils, rulers, markers and models felt magical. I was fascinated that people could make a living, actually make money creating drawings. It seemed almost unbelievable to me. Until then, work had looked administrative, bureaucratic and distant. Here, ideas were becoming reality through imagination, skill and craft.

Looking back, what stayed with me was something deeper than drawing itself. Architecture seemed to possess a profound order. Materials, proportion, light and geometry could transform ideas into something tangible and lasting. Great architecture has the ability to freeze time and energy into physical form.

More importantly, it taught me a lesson that has stayed with me throughout my life: follow what fascinates you. As a child, drawing was what I loved most. The architect’s studio was the first place where I saw that passion could become a profession. That visit did not lead to a dramatic decision. It created a quiet obsession that never left me.”

With over 21 years of experience in architecture and nearly two decades of practice in the Middle East, Gomez has contributed to one of the most significant periods of urban transformation in the Gulf, leading design across hospitality, residential, cultural, transport, leisure, and master planning projects.

His work is shaped by a clear belief: architecture must respond to people, place, climate, culture, and time. This approach has guided projects that engage with the evolving identity of the region, from contemporary hospitality destinations and transport infrastructure to adaptive reuse and culturally rooted developments. Alongside practice, Gomez contributes to the wider architectural community as a speaker, critic, and mentor. He is frequently invited as a guest critic at universities and has spoken at leading architecture and design platforms across the MENA region. Through his role at Aedas, he continues to shape design thinking with a focus on contextual architecture, cultural identity, urban transformation, and the development of the next generation of architects.