The Link floats more than 100 metres above Dubai. It is one of the world’s longest cantilevered buildings, and from the outside it looks exactly like what it is: an act of architectural ambition so extreme it borders on provocation. Inside, on the 53rd floor, Bergman Design House was asked to design a cigar lounge. What they built instead was a room that makes the city feel, for the first time, like something worth pausing for.
N53 sits within One&Only One Za’abeel, and its position is the first thing the design has to reckon with. Marie Soliman, co-founder of the London-based studio, describes The Link in terms that go beyond engineering. “Physically, it bridges the two towers of the complex; symbolically, it links old and new Dubai, heritage and future, business and leisure, grounded tradition and elevated luxury,” she says. Rather than being conceived as a simple skybridge, The Link was designed as a destination in its own right. N53 is its most considered room.
The brief asked for a premium lounge offering a collection of 90 cigars from around the world. Soliman understood that the real brief was something hard to articulate. “This project presented a rare opportunity: to design not simply a cigar lounge, but a destination experience within one of the world’s most prestigious hotels,” she says. The difference between those two things is what the project spent twelve months resolving.
The palette Bergman Design House arrived at is deep and atmospheric. Caramel and cognac hues inspired the marquetry on the walls; rich charcoals run through the ceiling and rugs; smoked browns, dark bronzes, and subtle notes of amber and slate blue complete the composition. “These colors were chosen to echo the world of fine cigars while enhancing the play of light and shadow, creating a mood that feels both enveloping and luxurious,” Soliman explains. The effect is of a room that has absorbed its own contents, a space that feels, almost, of what it serves, before anything has been poured or lit.
The materials reinforce that quality at every surface. Rich woods, brushed metals, and leather sit alongside Cipollino marble and custom finishes developed specifically for the project. Murano glass floor lights, sourced through 1stdibs, cast a low amber glow. A ceiling cloud installation in mesh metal diffuses the light from above, softening the grandeur of the architecture without diminishing it. “Each material was chosen not only for its aesthetic value but for the way it ages gracefully, reinforcing the idea of legacy and timelessness,” Soliman says, a consideration that matters more in a hospitality context than almost any other, where surfaces absorb years of use and either improve or degrade with it.
At the center of the room, a large marquetry artwork anchors the wall. It depicts a falcon, a reference to falconry, one of the oldest and most significant traditions in the Gulf region, carrying connotations of power, precision, and heritage that run deep in the culture of the Emirates. Bergman Design House approached the image through a contemporary lens, stripping it of any illustrative literalism and letting the craft of the marquetry carry the meaning. It reads as both a tribute and a translation, honoring a tradition without reproducing it. “Every detail had to feel confident yet restrained,” Soliman says, and the falcon wall is perhaps the clearest expression of that discipline in the room.
The layout of N53 is open-plan, zoned to encourage both privacy and social interaction without forcing either. Seating clusters are arranged around the skyline views; a cigar display and retail area flows into curated bar moments; and for those who require it, a speakeasy VIP humidor sits locked behind the main room, accessible only to the hotel’s most discreet guests. The lounge seating and decorative lighting were designed entirely in-house by Bergman Design House, with additional lighting developed in collaboration with Maddison Black. Custom bar and display cabinetry came from Visionnaire. Cigar accessories are by Elie Bleu, and handcrafted leather pouches alongside Damascus steel cutters complete a retail offer that treats the ritual of the cigar with the same seriousness as the architecture around it.
What Bergman Design House was ultimately working toward across twelve months of prototyping, material selection, and bespoke craftsmanship was an atmosphere Soliman calls “quiet confidence and refined indulgence.” Not spectacle, not understatement, but the particular register that sits between them and is much harder to achieve than either. “Hospitality design demands a heightened focus on flow, durability, and sensory experience,” she says. “Unlike residential spaces, restaurants must perform flawlessly under constant use while maintaining visual elegance. Lighting, acoustics, ergonomics, and service circulation become as critical as aesthetics, all while creating an emotional connection with the guest.” On the 53rd floor of a building designed to be seen from across the city, making a room that encourages you to look inward rather than outward is, in its own way, the most ambitious thing the project attempts. N53 pulls it off.
