Middle East and Mediterranean Works

Based in Melbourne, delivering selected international projects in collaboration with local architects and consultants.

Davidov Architects is a Melbourne-based residential architecture and interiors studio. We design architecture where atmosphere is the primary outcome, shaped through light, sequence, and material longevity.

The Middle East and the Mediterranean are places where architecture is inseparable from climate. Heat, glare, shade, wind, privacy, and the long arc of the sun do not sit around the edges of a project, they are the project. These regions demand a disciplined approach, where comfort is achieved through restraint, calibration, and an honest relationship with the elements.

Our interest in the region is long-held and lived. It comes from deep familiarity with arid landscapes and coastal edges, with the big sky, the weight of shadow, the consistency of rock and sand, and the way a building must earn its place through shelter and composure. We are drawn to the clarity this produces, and to the quiet luxury of spaces that do not need to announce themselves to feel exceptional.

We approach these projects climate-first. Atmosphere is shaped through shelter before gesture, through sequence before image, and through proportion and material intelligence rather than surface complexity. Viewlines are composed. Light is borrowed, filtered, and slowed. Thresholds are thickened. Courtyards and voids create calm, privacy, and relief. At night, the building becomes a lantern in reverse, revealing only what matters.

This is architecture that can be warm or austere, quiet or robust, depending on site and brief. The constant is intention. We design for longevity, so buildings weather with dignity, settle into their setting, and become more familiar over time.

Our experience includes the Emirati Residence, a housing prototype designed for an international competition in the UAE and developed in collaboration with the Government of Dubai, exploring climate-first design, privacy, shade, and the translation of the Bayt al Sha’ar (Bedouin tent) into a permanent architectural form.

We are open to selected work across the region, including the UAE, and across the Mediterranean including Mallorca and the Greek isles. We work on new homes, renovations, heritage-sensitive upgrades, and boutique hospitality, where the brief aligns with our approach.

For international projects, delivery is tailored to the scope and jurisdiction. We collaborate with local architects and consultants where required, and work with existing collaborators in some markets. Depending on the project, our involvement can range from concept design through to full service delivery with a local partner team. In all cases, we remain closely involved to protect the integrity of the design, from first principles through detailing and material resolution.

We take on a limited number of projects each year to stay closely involved.

Related reading: Our Process, Atmosphere as the Vessel for Life and Editorial Archive.