About
UT-R Studio, founded in 2016 by Tasnim Tinawi and Uthra Varghese, is an interdisciplinary practice operating out of Dubai and New York. Driven by a research-based methodology, the studio works across the fields of art and architecture to create site-responsive installations. At its core, UT-R Studio is a collaborative practice that examines how culture, ecology and the built environment shape one another. The studio has participated in many competitions and commissions at various scales and seeks innovative design methods through formal and material experiments.
Exhibitions:
- 2026, Sewing Seeds, Amman Design Week, Amman, Jordan
- 2026, Good Weather, Bayt Al Mamzar
- 2025, Coconut Chronicles, The Gramounce, Madrid, Spain
- 2024, Shifting Sands, Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
- 2022, Coralscape, Sikka Art Fair, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2021, Tanween, Tashkeel, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2021, The Kapok Collection, A Decade of Design at Tashkeel, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2021, Artifacts: Vacant Sands, Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation Residency, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
- 2021, Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival, Ras Al Khaimah, U.A.E.
- 2020, Reparations, End of Year Show, Columbia University, New York, U.S.A.
- 2020, Youth Assembly, Jameel Arts Center, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2020, Earth Vessels, Alserkal Cultural Foundation Exhibition, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2020, Plastextile, Plastic, Tashkeel, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2020, Re-dressing the Renaissance, Ras Al Khamiah Fine Arts Festival, Ras Al Khaimah, U.A.E.
- 2019, Agri-Industrial Housing, Shaping the Future, Sharjah Architecture Triennial, Sharjah, U.A.E.
- 2018, Duo-Loop, Proto-Pieces, Dubai Design District, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2018, Six Degrees, Dubai Design District, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2017, Aggregate Archive, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
- 2017, Aggregate Archive, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Recognition:
- 2020, William Kinne Fellows Prize
- 2019, ACSA/AIA Housing Design Education Award
- 2019, Christo and Jeanne Claude Award, Finalist
- 2018, World Architecture Community Award, Dubai Maritime Museum
- 2017, Berlin School without Classrooms, Finalist, Architecture Competition
- 2017, GAMMA Young Artist Award Winner
- 2016, Paris Peace Pavilion, Honorable Mention, Archasm Competition
Residencies:
- 2025, 421 Arts Campus Artist Residency
- 2024, Arctic Circle Artist Residency
- 2021, Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation Residency
Features:
- 2025, À Abu Dhabi, Un Nouveau Type de Biennale d’art dans La Ville, L’hebdo
- 2022, Meet the Designer, Tanween by Tashkeel
- 2021, Identity Magazine, Kapok
- 2021, Women in Leadership: 4 Arab Female Designers Participating in Tanween
- 2020, Abstract, Columbia GSAPP
- 2020, Game-Changing Architecture Graduates, The Funambulist
- 2020, Verticals Platform: Regeneration/Degeneration by Jameel Arts Center
- 2020, 160 Artworks, 34 Countries: RAK Arts Fest celebrates the world’s communities, Friday Magazine, Gulf News- 2019, Rethinking the Future, Agri-Industrial Housing
- 2018, Re-dressing the Renaissance, Harper’s Bazaar Art Arabia, Sikorski, S.
- 2018, A homage to Raphael, Gulf News, Weekend Review, Kalsi, J.
- 2018, AUS Students recreate Raphaelite Masterpiece, Gulf News
- 2018, Sharjah Students “Recreate” Raphaelite Masterpiece, Kuwait Times, Peter, S.
- 2018, Design Boom: Design Week 2018. Feature of Duo-Loop
- 2018, Rethinking the Future, Dubai Maritime Museum
Talks and Workshops:
- 2026, Planting Possibilities, Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation
- 2026, On Spectacle Interventions, 421 Arts Campus
- 2025, Entrusting Memory to Ice, 421 Arts Campus, Abu Dhabi
- 2024, Urban Futures: Art, Architecture and Environmental Change, Abu Dhabi
- 2024, Architecture and Reclamation, Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, Abu Dhabi
Logo Design by Dina Al Khatib
- 2026, Sewing Seeds, Amman Design Week, Amman, Jordan
- 2026, Good Weather, Bayt Al Mamzar
- 2025, Coconut Chronicles, The Gramounce, Madrid, Spain
- 2024, Shifting Sands, Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
- 2022, Coralscape, Sikka Art Fair, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2021, Tanween, Tashkeel, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2021, The Kapok Collection, A Decade of Design at Tashkeel, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2021, Artifacts: Vacant Sands, Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation Residency, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
- 2021, Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival, Ras Al Khaimah, U.A.E.
- 2020, Reparations, End of Year Show, Columbia University, New York, U.S.A.
- 2020, Youth Assembly, Jameel Arts Center, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2020, Earth Vessels, Alserkal Cultural Foundation Exhibition, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2020, Plastextile, Plastic, Tashkeel, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2020, Re-dressing the Renaissance, Ras Al Khamiah Fine Arts Festival, Ras Al Khaimah, U.A.E.
- 2019, Agri-Industrial Housing, Shaping the Future, Sharjah Architecture Triennial, Sharjah, U.A.E.
- 2018, Duo-Loop, Proto-Pieces, Dubai Design District, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2018, Six Degrees, Dubai Design District, Dubai, U.A.E.
- 2017, Aggregate Archive, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
- 2017, Aggregate Archive, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Recognition:
- 2020, William Kinne Fellows Prize
- 2019, ACSA/AIA Housing Design Education Award
- 2019, Christo and Jeanne Claude Award, Finalist
- 2018, World Architecture Community Award, Dubai Maritime Museum
- 2017, Berlin School without Classrooms, Finalist, Architecture Competition
- 2017, GAMMA Young Artist Award Winner
- 2016, Paris Peace Pavilion, Honorable Mention, Archasm Competition
Residencies:
- 2025, 421 Arts Campus Artist Residency
- 2024, Arctic Circle Artist Residency
- 2021, Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation Residency
Features:
- 2025, À Abu Dhabi, Un Nouveau Type de Biennale d’art dans La Ville, L’hebdo
- 2022, Meet the Designer, Tanween by Tashkeel
- 2021, Identity Magazine, Kapok
- 2021, Women in Leadership: 4 Arab Female Designers Participating in Tanween
- 2020, Abstract, Columbia GSAPP
- 2020, Game-Changing Architecture Graduates, The Funambulist
- 2020, Verticals Platform: Regeneration/Degeneration by Jameel Arts Center
- 2020, 160 Artworks, 34 Countries: RAK Arts Fest celebrates the world’s communities, Friday Magazine, Gulf News- 2019, Rethinking the Future, Agri-Industrial Housing
- 2018, Re-dressing the Renaissance, Harper’s Bazaar Art Arabia, Sikorski, S.
- 2018, A homage to Raphael, Gulf News, Weekend Review, Kalsi, J.
- 2018, AUS Students recreate Raphaelite Masterpiece, Gulf News
- 2018, Sharjah Students “Recreate” Raphaelite Masterpiece, Kuwait Times, Peter, S.
- 2018, Design Boom: Design Week 2018. Feature of Duo-Loop
- 2018, Rethinking the Future, Dubai Maritime Museum
Talks and Workshops:
- 2026, Planting Possibilities, Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation
- 2026, On Spectacle Interventions, 421 Arts Campus
- 2025, Entrusting Memory to Ice, 421 Arts Campus, Abu Dhabi
- 2024, Urban Futures: Art, Architecture and Environmental Change, Abu Dhabi
- 2024, Architecture and Reclamation, Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, Abu Dhabi
Logo Design by Dina Al Khatib
© UT-R studio