Close

Lulie Fisher’s Studio Republik community facility in Dubai offers a transparent design

The facility is divided into three 'communities' focusing on fitness, wellness and the arts

Dubai-based Lulie Fisher Design Studio has completed an immersive, state-of-the-art community facility that offers studios for music, dance, fitness and yoga – composed within a transparent design and using technology as a safety tool in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lulie Fisher Studio Republik

The 5,550m2 Studio Republik is divided into three ‘communities’ including the Arena (a family of studios for aerial
, boot camp, 
cycling and group exercises); the Stage (offering studios for dance, 
drama
 and music) and The Lab (an integrated wellness centre including spaces fo yoga and pilates as well as nutrition counseling, personal training and rehabilitative services, approved by the Dubai Health Authority).

The eco-system is complete with a restaurant as well as co-working and performance spaces.

Studio Republik has been purposefully designed to occupy the first and second floors of what was a shell and core office building on Dubai’s main arterial road.

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic , the technology within the project that was originally conceived as a business tool to track and profile member usage, has now seamlessly been re-deployed to keep members safe i with the help of access control gates, smart wristbands and booking apps to control capacity, protect personal space and reduce the need for surface contact.

Lulie Fisher Studio Republik

The overall transparent nature of the design provides a backdrop of visual stimulation and creativity. The music studios are punctured with large acoustic windows, allowing visibility into the Technical Studios and Ensemble Rooms. The Boot Camp with its Tron style lighting grid and RGB-coloured lighting wands, provides the backdrop to the reception via acoustically glazed walls which also line the PT gym and GX studios. Every studio has its own unique design and finishes palette but follows a comprehensive design language.

With sustainability very much on the agenda, all materials have been locally sourced and all furniture and feature elements have been designed and locally manufactured to reduce the carbon footprint.

Lulie Fisher Studio Republik

In the lobby,  walls and ceilings are lined with fins of glowing coloured glass, mirrors and mesh conceal dense acoustic absorbency while 4K projectors imprint images onto gently swaying curtains.

On the first floor the journey continues down the 100m long “street”, lined with a lustrous dark blue woven wall covering to reception to the accompaniment of angled trick lighting and 8m wide edge bled projections, delivering inspirational and educational messages.

The restaurant, ROHA, is set within a central location with a staircase connection to the upper floor and access to the performance stage.

 The palette is raw yet refined, combining timber and concrete in the floor, blue stone bar counters, a sculptural concrete feature wall with a graphite metallic sheen and accents of pale blue and tan leather in the furniture.

The Arena  studios have been designed to create an immersive experience for the exhilarating adrenaline rush of the high impact classes being run within. The material palette for these areas has a raw night-club style aesthetic juxtaposed with sumptuous touches of glamour. The spaces are characterised by shiny black timbers, polished concrete, finned mirror planks providing endless reflections and black, pink and turquoise over-scaled floral wall coverings which wrap the ceilings and walls of the Aerial Studio.

The Stage has a warm, hospitable yet edgy palette of oak, recycled white brick, mirrors and ballet barres, black rubbers, meshes, wool crepe fabrics, deep burgundy and black velvet drapes and soft terracotta hues on the walls.

Lulie Fisher Studio Republik

The Lab is designed to be a sanctuary for enhanced well being and combines the light and ethereal aesthetic of grey timbers and billowing white sheers with the rigour of Japanese-style modulated screens, lined with backlit glowing shoji papers and white glass.

The Latest

What are the bathroom trends in 2025?

Villeroy & Boch and Ideal Standard unveil a fresh perspective on bathroom design for 2025

identity Design Awards 2025 | Submissions open

identity Design Awards 2025 is now open for submissions

Access our submissions link, criteria, deadlines, and checklist here.

A Sensory Escape

Soft pastels, natural materials and artistic craftmanship take centre stage at Villa Miraé

Things to Covet – Summer 2025

Here are the bold and statement pieces that caught our eye this month

A Ruin Turned Intimate Retreat

Tucked away in the Andalusian countryside near Gaucín, a small town located between Marbella and Gibraltar, Cortijo Genesis in Spain has recently been renovated by Victoria-Maria Geyer

A Parisian Touch

Interior designer Juliette Spencer of Atelier RO revives a storied pre-war apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side with an elegant fusion of New York structure and French soul.

A Local Connection with a ‘70s Twist

Designed by Barcelona-based studio El Equipo Creativo, the newly renovated Kimpton Los Monteros hotel in Marbella, Spain is deeply inspired by Marbella’s rich landscape and cultural heritage.

Roar global consulting firm

A bold exploration of culture, nature, and the future of work by Roar

Roar has recently designed a new office for a global consulting firm that boldly reimagines the UAE's landscapes and cultural heritage into a workplace

Dare to be Bold

“No one does colour quite like Caroline Stanbury,” shares Kate Instone, Founder and Creative Director of Blush International

Zaha Hadid Foundation launches scholars program

The Zaha Hadid Foundation partners with the American University of Beirut to support the next generation of architectural talent.

Zayed National Museum

Zayed National Museum to open in December 2025

The Foster + Partners designed striking museum will honour the Founding Father of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Culture & Conversations

identity hosted a roundtable and workshop in honour of Emirati Women's Day in collaboration with Casamia