At Fublis, our Design Dialogues series is dedicated to spotlighting the architects and designers who are redefining the industry through bold ideas, rigorous experimentation, and a deep engagement with cultural and environmental contexts. Through in-depth conversations, we uncover the creative journeys and philosophies that shape their work, offering valuable insights for professionals and design enthusiasts alike.

In this edition, we speak with Studio Niko Kapa, a practice that seamlessly blends research-driven design with real-world functionality. Known for its interdisciplinary approach, the studio challenges conventional boundaries, merging architecture, industrial design, and material experimentation to create meaningful and sustainable solutions. From the AlUla Collection, which bridges Saudi Arabia’s rich heritage with contemporary craftsmanship, to Drift, an interactive installation redefining social engagement, Studio Niko Kapa’s work embodies a deep respect for tradition while embracing the possibilities of modern technology.

Join us as we explore the studio’s design philosophy, its commitment to sustainability, and how architecture can serve as a powerful medium for cultural storytelling.

Studio Niko Kapa’s work emphasizes continuous experimentation and research-driven design. How do you balance conceptual exploration with the practical constraints of real-world architecture, ensuring that innovation remains functional and meaningful?

Niko Kapa: Through my work I try to find points of contact between diverse fields. From my perspective projects are nodes in the ongoing activity of knowledge production, underlining the experimental nature of architecture. I believe that architecture is not exclusive or limited in a closed sphere but reaches beyond. It can engage with art and science offering ground to be explored. Investigating architecture’s ability to communicate cultural content, I developed specific attentiveness in interface of traditions of craft, materiality, pattern and the ways material effects can be tuned to human occupancy. Following a creative approach lead by experience rather than a fixed discipline, I experiment with a variety of materials, processes and environments in fields of interest ranging from architecture, industrial design, installation and art. Defying conventional classification of design disciplines, their interwoven nature provides a platform for further research and dynamic experimentation, with the ultimate intention of practical implementation and contribution to society.

The AlUla Collection draws inspiration from Saudi Arabia’s rich history and UNESCO World Heritage sites. How did you ensure that the design respects and reflects the cultural and archaeological legacies of AlUla while making it relevant for contemporary audiences?

Niko Kapa: At a time of uncertainty about the future, our commitment is to save what we hold most dear: our roots and links to the world we have inherited and that we would like to pass on to the generations to come. To do so, I try to promote technological innovation that helps to mitigate the impact of industrial production, generating new value from the by-products of its processes. Human-engaged landscapes are more important than ever, serving as the backdrop for social connectivity. Addressing issues such as social inclusivity, sustainability and protection of culture through architecture and arts, project follows a design philosophy that is human-centred. Nature becomes a design tool in crafted objects possessing handmade qualities, aspiring to bring the ancient in dialogue with the contemporary and AlUla in dialogue with the world.

The collection merges traditional craftsmanship with advanced design processes. How do you navigate the balance between preserving artisanal techniques and leveraging modern fabrication methods to create pieces that are both timeless and innovative?

Niko Kapa: Driven by ecological context and relationship to cultural heritage, project is stimulated by ongoing research on sustainable design in Middle East – a part of the world facing pressing environmental issues surrounding energy consumption and the respectful use of natural resources. Manufacturing reduces impact of mining for natural resources and energy by reusing and recycling waste products and pure sand locally available. Product line is made locally, reducing carbon footprint by abiding to principles of circular economy. Moreover, the simplified manufacturing process doesn’t require technical expertise or special mechanical equipment, minimising workmanship and labour cost, while optimising logistics and fabrication time rendering objects suitable for production in bulk.

AlUla is described as a “living museum” where history and creativity converge. In your view, what role does design play in shaping cultural identity, and how can projects like this contribute to a deeper global appreciation of local heritage through everyday objects?

Niko Kapa: AlUla has been a place of creative inspiration and cultural exchange for millennia. As a journey through time, the spectacular landscape hosts an immense volume of archaeological discoveries. The physical landscapes as affected by time and human factor have been the basis of inspiration for the particular project. I am inspired by traditional techniques, as these often give the most high-tech solutions, highlighting the relationship with the human scale, the place and the climate. Arabic tradition and its transmission is seen as source of inspiration and imagination of possible futures, making a positive contribution to local and social well-being. Concept asserts that historic knowledge and artisan traditions of craft are able to furnish contemporary society with an alternative to our consumerist habits, in order to promote our respectful coexistence with one another and our planet.

Your designs frequently explore dynamic forms and fluid geometries. How does movement—whether of people, light, or natural elements—influence the way you shape space, and what do you aim for users to feel as they navigate your buildings?

Niko Kapa: I am inspired from movement and flow and how these can transform space. I draw inspiration from the study of the biology and the mechanisms of nature in order to apply this data to the design, trying to create devices that have a common mode of operation with those of the natural world. I thus exploit natural laws that have a self-evident validity and can ensure efficiency based on rules of economy, simplicity, endurance and adjustment. Nature is the best mentor, providing many examples of responsive systems that adapt to changing conditions, enabling each organism to develop and adapt to its complex parameters whilst maintaining clarity. What shapes my designs is the imitation of nature in order to solve a human problem, guided by the implementation of the engineering principles governing the natural systems. In order to maximize efficiency, a basic rule identified in nature’s design is followed as principle – the rule of economy.

Drift is more than just an installation—it’s an interactive social space that invites people to engage, play, and connect. How did you approach the challenge of designing an architectural piece that not only serves as an artistic statement but also actively fosters human interaction?

Niko Kapa: The particular project concretely combines design innovation, identity, creativity and research, opening up to multicultural dialogue. Installation was the focal point of events addressing the topic of globalization and its implications on production processes that use natural raw materials for architectural design. Embracing the power of localism, installation reflects the cultural, environmental and historical context of its location redefining what it means to build with a sense of place. Through vernacular design, critical regionalism and innovative use of materials, design honours its environment and sits in harmony with its context. Balancing global ambition with local relevance, work aims to illustrate the unique Arabic culture, traditions and ecological landscape. With an emphasis on place-making and community building, project questions the traditional notion of community participation and public involvement in art projects. Project visualises Interdependence. A visual reflection of people’s circulation, flow is converted to spatial experience. Using curved and parabolic lines inspired by local topography, linear motifs recall geometric patterns of Islamic culture, crests of sand dunes, sea waves and textured fabrics. The lines highlight our common roots and profound connection with earth, whereas the sea that connects different cultures unveils how mobility across space and time has shaped globalised environments such as Dubai. Strengthening social impact of design while relying in integration of landscape and architecture, proposal presents a reconciliation with nature, forming a discourse among built space and nature. The value of nature as a source of inspiration is combined with the impact of cultural confluence by abstracting such values to visual language through aggregation, alluding to intersectionality of cultures.

The installation features large porcelain stoneware slabs using cutting-edge Design Your Slabs (DYS) technology. How did sustainability influence your material selection, and how can large-scale urban installations like this contribute to more eco-conscious design practices?

Niko Kapa: Evolving from local to ‘glocal’, project comments on the ways natural environment is replaced by humanmade in relation to the rapid urbanisation of Dubai, questioning potentiality of generating discussion among the two, while design enhances the tactility that develops the human-space correlation with the ceramic surfaces. The value of nature as a source of inspiration is combined with the impact of cultural confluence by abstracting such values to visual language through aggregation. Reminiscent of ornaments found in local crafts and motifs of Arabic carpets, combinations allude to interweaving the multicultural fabric of Dubai. Referring to the unique local geography, desert dunes and terrain contours shaped by the wind illustrate how the trace of human intersects with the trace of time. Taking advantage of innovative printing possibilities of the DYS modus operandi, a dynamic dialogue with technology and progress is materialised. The continuous ripples add plasticity to 2-dimensional surface, reflecting the continuity of printing process and technical features behind the manufacture of Iris Ceramica ceramic slabs. With reference to traditional ceramics illustrating the long history of building with earth, pottery lines highlight our common roots and the deep connection with earth. Through visual and physical linkages, the ceramic slabs’ design forges a strong link with what is made of: matter extracted from earth.

As boundaries between architecture, urbanism, and technology blur, how do you see the role of architects evolving? Do you believe architects should take on a more interdisciplinary role in shaping the future of cities and the built environment?

Niko Kapa: I believe that strengthening cross fertilization between differing sectors is prerequisite for continuous innovation and experimentation in the wider sphere of cultural practice, reflecting the importance of the collective approach while advocating for inclusivity, diversity and equality. I think that architects should remain committed to practicing socially-purposeful design that resonates with culture, trying to reconsider the character of urban settings, examining how architecture can connect people through human engagement. Architects can nurture conscious communities that share common values and take over on the actions needed to fight climate change. I aspire to belong to a group of industry innovators whose commitment is to move the industry forward through discovery and recognition of tangible and intangible heritage, producing design work that shapes a better world.

Stagione is more than just a chair—it evokes nostalgia, comfort, and a connection to childhood memories. How do you approach designing furniture that goes beyond aesthetics and function to create an emotional bond with its users?

Niko Kapa: This work is about the positive feelings people get from their interaction with nature. The “green” aspect of the project has been carefully considered as integral part of the design from start to finish. My work revolves around innovation and improvement. Innovation is another way of looking at things. It is the translation of an idea into a new or improved product by responding to change in a creative way. Identifying the particular aspects of a problem and target their resolution is the core principle of all my work. The design was born from the idea of how to provide maximum flexibility that reflects the individual lifestyle, helping to tell the story of a design piece and the people who use it. Design that addresses efficiently such issues becomes more and more necessary. For me good design springs from knowledge and exploration. A philosophy that leads to a final product appealing on a number of levels, ranging from strict functionality to the intellectual adventure of connecting form to purpose in both the designer’s mind and that of the user.

Studio Niko Kapa’s designs often blur the boundaries between nature, time, and human experience, creating objects that feel both timeless and deeply personal. If architecture and design could capture a single, ever-evolving emotion, what feeling would you want your work to evoke, not just today, but for generations to come?

Niko Kapa: My works reveal a curiosity about constructed world. The perception that a designed object ceases to be inanimate and therefore creates a dynamic relationship with human. Architect can translate design into spatial object and through it influence people’s lives, mood and behaviour. This ability is the driving force behind creation, differentiation and innovation. The relationship with the organic and concepts of transformation, mutation and change could be seen as connection principle among most of my works. It is important for a designer to be able to build on the growing sense of awareness towards the environment and understand the social impact that design has on it. This is how innovation can ultimately influence our attitude and have a social benefit.