On 14 September 2025, Khaleej Times published an in-depth interview with Boubker Benjelloun, founder of Benjelloun & Partners, an architecture firm in Dubai, under the headline “Meet the architect behind Dubai’s record-breaking skylines”. Written by Husain Rizvi, the piece introduces him as one of the voices shaping Dubai’s skyline and looks at the two towers most closely associated with the studio.
Two towers, two stories
The conversation opens with COMO Residences on Palm Jumeirah and Solara Tower in Downtown Dubai. Boubker describes COMO as a sanctuary in the sky, shaped by the sea, the sky and the geometry of seashells, with the cascading planting that gave the tower its nickname, the “Waterfall of the Greens”. Solara tells a different story: a calm, Zen-inspired residential tower set within the energy of Downtown, recognised with the Innovation in Architecture Award at the Architecture Leaders Awards 2025.
“I don’t see form and function as separate; they are two sides of the same vision.”
The AED 500 million penthouse
Khaleej Times also asked what made the COMO Residences penthouse worth AED 500 million. Boubker’s answer focuses on experience rather than size: a residence of nearly 22,000 square feet with private access, glass terraces, a wraparound sky pool and 360-degree views, conceived as a single work of architecture rather than a collection of rooms.
Designing for a competitive skyline
On standing out in a city known for architectural ambition, he argues that the buildings that endure are the ones that carry emotion and offer a human connection, not simply height or spectacle. He singles out Solara as the project that challenged the team most, because the tower widens towards the top instead of tapering, giving the upper floors larger homes, more skyline views and generous terraces.
The interview closes with his view of the next decade of luxury housing in Dubai: less about scale and more about meaningful living, with technology, sustainability and social responsibility treated as essentials rather than extras.
Read the full interview on Khaleej Times. More coverage of the studio is collected on our Recognition page.