Jade & Ghalia are the founders of boutique interior & architecture practice shell+core, established early 2018 in response to a growing creative scene in Abu Dhabi.

Both born and bred in the UAE, their work is guided by diverse backgrounds of design, architecture, urban planning and engineering in an ever growing demographic – consequently designing spaces that are people-focused, locally inspired and constantly evolving.

shell+core’s portfolio jump-started with a series of freelance works, and quickly grew to multi-concept, emerging local brands including LOCAL, Number10, REACH, Ground and Alkalime – with briefs that required novel approaches in which ideas are continuously challenged, new materials thoroughly explored, and strong identities created.

Since its founding, the practice has created, led and delivered over 15 projects across the UAE, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. From a multitude of cafes and retail stores, to boutique residences, furniture design, barbershops, epiceries, bars and restaurants, shell+core gradually grew regional recognition as the “SME designing SMEs”.