Global design firm Gensler has appointed Dima Rachid as landscape urbanism design lead for its Middle East Cities studio, a role based in Dubai that will steer the practice public realm and resilient-city work across the region.
The appointment
Rachid joins the studio as it scales up regional commissions tied to people-centred urban experiences in both public and private sectors (per Zawya). She will work under Steven Velegrinis, design director for Gensler Middle East and head of the Cities Practice for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, with a brief to deliver context-driven solutions that prioritise sustainability and long-term resilience (per Trade Arabia).
Background and prior projects
Rachid is an urban designer and landscape strategist whose portfolio spans large-scale public realm and regeneration projects. Her past work includes the Ministry of Culture JAX district in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, the Horsh Beirut regeneration plan, the JAX public realm regeneration plan, and a sustainable greywater treatment pilot inside one of Saudi Arabia giga-projects (per INTLBM). She has also held academic positions in Los Angeles, Beirut and Dubai, and contributes regularly to regional discussions on city-making.
Why the Cities studio is hiring now
Gensler Middle East has been expanding its Cities Practice as Gulf governments push large urban regeneration and master-planning briefs. The firm operates studios in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and the Cities team supports master plans, mixed-use districts and public-realm strategies tied to national visions such as the UAE Net Zero 2050 strategy (per Gensler Middle East regional briefing). Climate-responsive landscape design has become a baseline requirement on those briefs, with shading, water reuse and heat-mitigation strategies now embedded at the master-plan stage.
What it means for UAE projects
For UAE clients, the appointment signals that Gensler intends to bid more aggressively on landscape-led regeneration work alongside its building-architecture pipeline. The Dubai base also positions Rachid to work directly with Emirati municipalities and developers reviewing public-realm standards. Gensler has been involved in projects across the emirate, including workplace and mixed-use schemes documented in the firm regional portfolio (per GDN Online).
