5 Questions with Intercon's Mohammed Adib

Mohammed Adib of Intercon has envisioned the Forum at Downtown Design 2023. Love That Design reached out to him with a few questions…

Mohammed Adib is a known name in UAE’s design diaspora. If not Mohammed Adib of Intercon, one might address him as the Chief Design Officer of Dewan Architects + Engineers, or as the Co-Founder of Waru. In a day and age where usurping one senior role in a design firm can be gruelling, Mohammed manages to juggle three roles with utmost ease—or at the very least, he makes it seem so.

Call him a serial entrepreneur or a man with a plan, Mohammed Adib has refused to follow the beaten tracks to forge his own journey. Even Intercon was a construction company started by Mohammed’s father in Iraq. But Mohammed’s innate passion led him to begin a ‘spin-off’ of the business focused on interior design. Once he had managed to earn just enough recognition while working from London under his father’s aegis, he decided to set up on his own under the same name. Then, even the economic recession in London could not contain his spirit. It was in 1993, and a young, convicted Mohammed opened up his independent design firm in Barcelona. It has been 30 years to that milestone today.

Over the decades, he has celebrated his wins, taken hits and reworked on his strategies to combat hurdles. His first year in Barcelona was also shadowed by the gloomy cloud of national financial depression, but that only made his resolve to entrench global boundaries stronger. A majority of Intercon’s projects are based in KSA, UAE, Egypt and Kazakhstan. Regions like the USA, Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and India further diversify the firm’s agency.

From undertaking renovations of luxury homes to slowly become one of the first international mid-size firms to acquire commercial projects, the path so far has been challenging but rewarding. And he would have it no other way. He has been an avid patron of change, and was even nimble enough to adapt to the ‘CAD-to-BIM’ wave. In fact, he converted into an asset to expand the business.

Now, as the founder of Intercon (may we remind you that is only one of the many hats he wears), his portfolio is the dream of many. It flaunts covetable projects like Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya and a shopping mall in Obhur for SEVEN.

Are we surprised by this feat? Not completely. This is the same man who did not take ‘no’, for an answer and found a work-around to acquire a piece of real estate he was eyeing for his studio in Barcelona. We imagine, while answering the five questions we asked him, Mohammed Adib was seated near the window of his studio sipping his favoured drink while overlooking the Gothic neighbourhood, he was so enamoured by….

Let’s start simple, how would you define design?

An informal and interactive discussion space in the clouds.

When did you first sense your inclination to design?

All my life I have been creating things and imagining situations. My father had a construction company, so I was not far away in terms of familiarity with this part of the world.

Intercon’s business model stands out amongst other design firms. The firm’s expansion in different regions has been heralded by your travels or by teammates moving to other regions. You brought in flexibility before it was cool. What would you say are the advantages of having such an approach? Are there any drawbacks to it as well?

I feel the world is getting smaller and we need to expand and share our knowledge to other markets which at the same time enriches our diversity and knowledge. In a creative business, any flexibility and well-being of the staff has only advantages to the company’s success, our team is what has made us what we are today.

“I feel the world is getting smaller and we need to expand and share our knowledge to other markets, which at the same time enriches our diversity and knowledge. In a creative business, any flexibility and well-being of the staff has only advantages to the company’s success, our team is what has made us what we are today.“

– Mohammed Adib, Founder, Intercon

Would you say Qiddiya in Saudi Arabia is the biggest project Intercon has undertaken? How did you land the project and how did you as a leader make sure the team was prepared for such a unique opportunity?

Not the largest but one of the most complex, especially as it was a sector we had never worked on. As one of our strongest capabilities at Intercon is understanding how people use public spaces, the client was convinced that we could offer the right design to their needs and to those of its users. Our multicultural staff also understands very well the “silk route” style that was needed there.

What has been the biggest learning after successfully completing 30 years in the business?

It is incredible how in our sector I learn something new every day, we design for people and their needs and expectations change daily, we either adapt to that or fail.