Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) have today (7 November) opened a new office within the Dubai Design District in the United Arab Emirates.

The practice have 30 years experience working on 16 projects in the Middle East and North Africa – recently including a masterplan for Lusail City in Qatar and a cultural and research complex in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia – and have opened the new office in response to “solid growth in demand from new and existing clients across the region.”

In a statement, the firm said: “ZHA is working with the many diverse histories and cultures of the region to address important issues in a meaningful way – contributing to the development of more ecologically sustainable and integrated built environments.

“[The new office] will provide even greater levels of assistance, coordination and communication with our increasing client base throughout the Middle East.”

In an interview with CLADmag, ZHA director Patrik Schumacher said the studio’s current focus is “on establishing the notion in the world that ZHA is continuing” following the death of Zaha Hadid in March.

“There's a strong collective leadership which is the same as it was and that the way we develop projects – which was always collaborative – is continuing,” he said.

The Dubai Design District was commissioned by the UAE prime minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum as a purpose-built community to nurture emerging local design talent and provide a base for international architects working in the region. In addition to ZHA, architecture firms Foster + Partners, Benoy and Santiago Calatrava have also opened offices there.