The Year of the 50th is indeed a lucky year for the Emiratis. Be in the field of architecture of development, Dubai has been soaring success. Another to add to is Dubai’s projects making to the finals at the World Festival of Interiors.

The festival named—Inside, two projects from Dubai in the Retail and Hotels categories have been named as finalists. The festival, one of the prominent ones in the field of interiors, has 111 projects named in the list spanning 23 countries.

Opus, which houses ME Dubai, is the only hotel to be designed inside and out by the late Zaha Hadid for Hotels and Presentedby –the luxury sneaker and streetwear reselling store in The Dubai Mall – for Retail are the two projects that will be competing with the rest of the entries.

The festival that will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, from December 1 to 3, will see all shortlisted designers compete in front of a live judging panel and an audience of their peers at the festival.

The World Festival of Interiors will be held in tandem with the World Architecture Festival, which also has six UAE projects, including Abu Dhabi’s currently under construction Zayed National Museum, nominated in various categories competing on a global level.

Presentedby –the luxury sneaker and streetwear reselling store, stocks rare in-demand items and collectibles that have sold out in retail outlets around the world. The store which is an attraction in itself opened on December 9 last year within Level Shoes in The Dubai Mall. The store’s striking design concept resembles Dubai’s qualities, its investment in technology, its progress, and future. The store also has 3D-printed lattice walls and interactive projections on the floor that is more like an exhibition space.

Located at the center of the space, the experience room displays a collection of the most exclusive training footwear, like a mini sneakers museum. There’s also a holographic projection show, giving the room an impression of infinite space.

The Opus developed by Omniyat, is the only building for which Hadid created both the architecture and interiors. The building was designed as two separate towers that come together in the form of a cube, with a large void in the middle that spans eight stories.

The two towers are linked by a four-storey atrium at ground level as well as a three-story bridge 71 meters above the ground. The inside of the void is lit up at night by a constellation of lights, each individually controllable. The hotel’s lobby is as striking as the marble floors that are contrasted against the golden edges of seating pods.