Words by Allegra Salvadori | Photography by Ieva Saudargaite
In Dubai, where towers often measure prestige by size, surface, and spectacle, Anarchitect has chosen another path. With the Blue Copper Loft — a private residence for modern, nomadic clients — the studio transforms a three-bedroom penthouse into a flowing duplex loft that privileges openness, tactility, and authenticity over excess. The result is what Jonathan Ashmore, Founding Principal of Anarchitect, describes as an urban escape: a home that dissolves boundaries, creating a sanctuary in the heart of the city.
“The clients came to us with a bold request to dissolve the boundaries of their home and live without the restriction of enclosed rooms,” Ashmore recalls. Their experiences traveling the world and staying in unique properties inspired them to ask for something radical: a loft without walls, a boundless space. To realize this ambition, Anarchitect stripped the penthouse back to its shell and reimagined its framework. The pivotal move was relocating the staircase, once an overpowering element in the living room, and reinventing it as a sculptural intervention. Clad in patinated copper, the stair became both anchor and art piece. “This single gesture gave the loft its defining character and allowed the clients to truly live ‘boundless’ as they desired,” says Ashmore.
The copper wall is more than backdrop; it is the keystone that unlocks the entire home. Rising through the double-height living area, it forms the shear wall to the staircase, a dramatic backdrop to the dining area, and the foundation for a cantilevered bridge above. At its summit, the staircase morphs into a pedestal of raw cement and stained timber, carrying residents into an open gallery level that spans the length of the apartment.
Patinated copper became the leitmotif, its turquoise sheen shifting subtly with daylight, animating the interiors. Clay-finished walls, hand-stained oak floors, and earthy fabrics were chosen to soften Dubai’s abundant sun. “We wanted an atmosphere that feels both calm and sophisticated, regardless of the time of day,” Ashmore explains. Privacy is achieved not with doors but with textures, thresholds, and ceiling shifts that carve intimacy out of openness. Sheer blinds and adjustable lighting allow the clients to modulate mood, ensuring the loft adapts to quiet solitude, family life, or social gathering with equal ease.
Craftsmanship is evident in every detail. Collaborations with De Castelli produced the copper feature wall; timber floors were stained with bespoke teal dyes to reveal their natural grain; even structural columns, often hidden, were wrapped in raw stone to celebrate their presence. “For us, craftsmanship is not about ornamentation,” Ashmore reflects. “It’s about creating permanence and quality in every touchpoint.”
The interiors are defined as much by what is not there as by what is. Instead of accumulation, the furniture and objects are carefully edited. A Jim Zivic hammock daybed floats six meters above the floor, offering a suspended perch for sunset views. An Arno Declercq charred wood dining table anchors the social heart of the loft like a monolith. A bespoke kitchen in leathered stone and burnished steel engages directly with the living area, blurring the line between cooking and gathering. Beyond, a charred-oak pocket door conceals a darker TV lounge, a cocoon of comfort in contrast to the luminous main space.
Upstairs, the gallery accommodates a home office and the master suite. Here, his-and-hers wardrobes flank a sultry ensuite clad in dark stone, featuring a double rain shower and petrified wood basin. Daylight filters through a second terrace lush with greenery, softening the view of the skyline. “Each space was considered as part of a continuous journey,” says Ashmore. “You never feel constrained by corridors or walls. Circulation becomes experience.”
In a city defined by grandeur, the Blue Copper Loft points toward a quieter, more enduring idea of luxury. “Luxury today is not about excess,” Ashmore concludes. “It’s about natural materials, light, and the freedom to curate privacy and openness as needed. In a city shaped by spectacle, this project reframes luxury as calm, intimacy, and authenticity.”
Credits
Location: Dubai
Interior Architecture & Design: ANARCHITECT
Client: Private
Photography: Ieva Saudargaite
Project Management: Savills
Procurement: Collectional
Contractor: BW Interiors
Suppliers: DeCastelli, Jim Zivic, Arno Declercq, Ochre, Matteo Brioni, Deltalight, PSLAB
